How to grow a pumpkin on the balcony at home and properly care for it

Growing vegetables at home is a challenge for creative gardeners. They do not have a plot of land, but they want to grow and get fresh herbs, cucumbers, tomatoes, pumpkins and even watermelons for the table.

Enthusiasm city summer residents do not hold. They study specialized literature, select planting material, study the properties of planting soils, get acquainted with organic fertilizers and mineral complexes. People are ready to give their brightest window sill and favorite balcony to plants.

Producers strive to meet the needs of gardeners. Companies produce a series of seeds of the "balcony miracle" category. Varieties and hybrids are selected taking into account growth in specific conditions: low light, high air dryness, limited nutrition.

The results of joint activities are impressive. Gardeners are proud of zucchini, eggplant, pumpkins. Hand-grown products please with ecological cleanliness and taste. The experience is passed on to friends and acquaintances.

What does pumpkin love?

Before planting a pumpkin on the balcony, it is recommended to study the preferences of melons. Plant requires:

Large pot (45 or more liters will do). It is recommended to check for holes for water drainage when watering and place a tray under the container.
Nutrient soil (pH about 6.0). The soil mixture for pumpkin seedlings should be enriched with mature compost (2 parts) and sand (1 part). You can make the land yourself (garden land: humus: peat: sand in a ratio of 2: 1: 1: 1).
Supports. Pumpkins grow fast. Green mass requires uniform illumination. The culture should be able to weave in pre-prepared structures.
Illumination. It is required to expose a pumpkin pot to the southeast, southwest, east or west side of the apartment. On the northern balcony, the plant is reluctant to set fruit.

It is necessary to provide for the possibility of regular humidification of the air: a pumpkin needs it on a glazed balcony.

Selecting planting material

The gardener decided on the choice of location, purchased planting containers, made up the soil. It's time to go shopping for pumpkin seeds. You should be careful: the harvest depends on a good choice.

Some urban summer residents do it simply: they use seeds from a pumpkin bought on the market. I liked the taste, why be smart? But the mother plant matured on melons in the open field. Climatic conditions made it possible to withstand a long vegetative period. It is unlikely that it will be possible to repeat the same thing on the loggia.

Pay attention to whether a variety or hybrid was purchased. In the latter case, pumpkin seeds will not transfer the properties of the parents. The gardener will spend a lot of effort, and at the end he will get something unintelligible.

It's smarter to go shopping. Sellers arrange a special shelf with seeds for city summer residents. It is there that you should look for the right planting material.

If it is not possible to buy seeds of the "balcony miracle" series, it is recommended to stop at early maturing varieties or hybrids of spray pumpkins. They do not require formation and normalization, they take up less space.

How to plant correctly?

Home-grown pumpkins have benefits. A glazed balcony or loggia shifts the timing of planting: there is no need to wait for the establishment of consistently warm weather.

Forcing seedlings will further reduce the time to fruit. It is recommended to sow the seeds of the plant 2-3 weeks before the intended planting in a large pot. When placed in a permanent location, the pumpkin should have 1-2 true leaves.

Deepen the pumpkin seed by 1.5-2 cm. Place it horizontally (preferably flat). It is recommended to cover the container with a film with holes and put it in a warm place. After the appearance of the cotyledon leaves, remove the film.

Pumpkins don't like transplants. Seedlings should be transshipped. When using peat pots, plants are not injured. Before transplanting, it is recommended to put the pot in a container of water until completely wet.

How to care?

Growing pumpkins indoors requires certain rules to be followed. Recommended for a good harvest:

Regularly water containers with plants. The ground must be moist.
Monitor the humidity. Early in the morning or in the evening (after sunset), spray the plant with warm water.
It's good to combine pumpkin spraying with foliar feeding. Before fruit set, the use of a urea solution is effective.
Once every 10 days, the pumpkin should be fed. Before flowering, it is recommended to apply organic fertilizers. A solution of bird or cow manure will do. Then you should make a mineral complex (according to the manufacturer's instructions). Stop fertilizing two weeks before harvest.
May need artificial pollination. It is produced in the morning until 11 o'clock. Use a soft brush or cotton swab. Pollen is collected from the male flower and carefully applied to the female pistil.
You can avoid time-consuming manual pollination by planting nearby spicy aromatic plants (basil, hyssop, mint). They will attract bees and bumblebees.
It is not recommended to allow the temperature to rise above 30 degrees Celsius. The pollen of the plant is sterilized: it will not be possible to pollinate the female flowers.
Pumpkin should be aired regularly. This measure will help reduce temperatures and provide access for pollinating insects.
When placing a container with a pumpkin on the northeast or northwest windowsill, a backlight will be required. It is better to use an agrolamp.

Normalization should not be neglected. Sometimes an exhausted plant drops green pumpkins. Removing excess fruit allows you to save the main crop.

Growing pumpkins at home is necessary with insufficient lighting and limited nutrition. To obtain marketable fruits, it is recommended to remove excess side lashes from the plant.

Reviews

After gardeners have planted a pumpkin at home and grown it, it's time to share their impressions.Summer residents note a direct dependence of the quality of the resulting crop on the selected material. Some managed to collect the fruits of late varieties: glazing creates the effect of a greenhouse. I like the taste and marketability of the product. But the price of soil, planting containers and fertilizers is disappointing.

Failures were only for those who were irresponsible in the preparatory work (selecting seeds, preparing seedlings) and did not follow the rules for caring for the plant.