Growing cucumbers on the balcony and windowsill: how to plant, pollinate and care

Quite a few vegetable growers have heard that some varieties of fruit-bearing crops can be grown on windowsills. However, not everyone knows that cucumbers can be grown in the same way. Growing cucumbers on a balcony is a rather complicated process that needs to be prepared in advance.

Choice variety

In order for growing cucumbers at home on the windowsill to bring a good harvest, you need to choose varieties that can be grown in this way. There are several varieties of cucumbers that grow well in pots.

April

This variety is characterized by compact low bushes.It is thanks to this that such cucumbers are most often grown on the window. April cucumbers are an early ripe vegetable, as they ripen 50 days after the first sprouts appear. The main advantage of April cucumbers can be considered their fruits. They are quite large and grow up to 25-30 cm in length. The mass of one cucumber reaches 300 grams.

Courage

Courage variety is excellent for growing cucumbers on the balcony. Such cucumbers are suitable for lovers of early ripening vegetables, since it will be possible to start collecting the first ripened fruits 35-40 days after planting. The main advantage of Courage cucumbers is resistance to many diseases, from which most other varieties die. The plant has good resistance to:

root rot;
mosaic;
spotting;
powdery mildew.

Debut

When choosing cucumbers for growing on the balcony, you need to pay attention to Debut. This is one of the most productive varieties that can be grown on the windowsill in the apartment. The first cucumbers begin to tie 45 days after the appearance of the first bushes. The fruits of the Debut cannot be called too large. Their length is 10-15 cm, and their weight is 80 grams. The advantages of the variety include its resistance to powdery mildew and spotting.

Stresa

To grow cucumbers at home and get a good harvest, it is recommended to plant Stresa cucumbers. This variety has been specially developed for indoor cultivation.

The bushes near Stresa grow rapidly and therefore they will have to be tied to special supports. Such a cucumber cannot be attributed to early ripening plants, since it begins to ripen only after 100-120 days.

Ginga

Such cucumbers were bred relatively recently by domestic selectors. They can be grown only in greenhouse conditions or on a loggia. If you create optimal conditions for growing, then the first crop can be harvested 50 days after planting. Ripe fruits are cylindrical in shape and slightly ribbed. The average length of one cucumber is 14 cm, and the weight is 80 grams.

How to grow cucumbers on a balcony

Before you grow cucumbers on the windowsill, you need to familiarize yourself with the features of this process.

Seed preparation

To grow he althy seedlings of cucumbers on the windowsill, you need to prepare planting material in advance. Quite often, balcony cucumbers die from various diseases. You can protect the plant from diseases by pre-disinfecting the seeds with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.To prepare it, 3 grams of the substance is added to a small glass of water. The finished mixture should turn a bright purple color. If the liquid has a purple or pink hue, then you will have to add another 2 grams of potassium permanganate.

During processing, cucumber seeds are placed in the solution for half an hour. Then they are removed from there, washed with clean water and dried thoroughly.

Soil preparation

Before planting cucumbers at home, you need to learn how to properly prepare the soil mixture. If you plant seeds in the wrong soil, the growing bushes will begin to wither due to a lack of nutrients.

In order for seedlings to grow well, it is recommended to use sandy or loamy soils. They have a low level of acidity, which has a positive effect on productivity.Before planting in the ground, fertilizer must be added. First, the soil is mixed with fresh manure. After a few days, mineral fertilizers are added to it.

Capacity selection

It is very important to choose the most suitable container in which to plant cucumbers. You can grow cucumbers in boxes, flowerpots and pots. To slightly speed up the growth of indoor cucumbers, it is recommended to choose larger containers for cucumbers. In them, the root system will develop better and thanks to this, the seedlings in the greenhouse or on the windowsill grow much faster. It is not worth using too small pots for planting, as the plants dry in them.

How to plant seeds

It is quite easy to plant cucumber seeds yourself. First you need to slightly warm up the previously prepared soil mixture. Its temperature should be at least 20 degrees. Then the soil is distributed into planting containers.

In each pot, 2-3 holes are made for planting seeds. The distance between the seeds should be about 5 cm and therefore the holes should not be too close to each other. Plant two seeds in each hole. When all the seeds are planted, the holes are sprinkled with soil and spilled with warm water.

Care

When the planting of cucumbers is completed, you should think about caring for seedlings. Caring for cucumbers on the balcony must be done, as the quality of the crop depends on it. Before you start caring for cucumbers on the windowsill, you need to study the features of growing cucumbers.

How to pinch cucumbers on the windowsill

Pinching and shaping cucumbers is a must, as this plant grows quite quickly. If the formation of a bush or its pinching is not carried out in a timely manner, then this will reduce the yield several times.

Pinching cucumbers on the balcony is pretty easy. To do this, it is enough to remove all unnecessary side shoots that begin to move away from the main stem of the plant. To simplify pinching, the plant should be tied to a support in advance. For the first time, pinching is carried out when the main stem grows up to 50 cm. In this case, you will have to pinch all the lower inflorescences, ovaries and shoots.

Some people are wondering if it is necessary to cut off the whiskers of cucumbers during pinching. It is recommended to prune them regularly, as sometimes the mustache begins to squeeze the main stem of the plant.

How often to water seedlings

In order for the fruits to grow large and juicy, cucumbers must be watered regularly. Watering cucumbers must be carried out correctly, since excessive dryness of the soil or its waterlogging can adversely affect the condition of the soil and grown cucumbers.Before flowering, moisten the soil enough once a week. During flowering and fruiting, the amount of watering is doubled. During this period, the plant needs moisture and if the seedlings do not spend the right amount of water, then it will gradually wither and die.

It is recommended to use warm and settled water for irrigation, as too cold water can damage the roots.

How to feed cucumbers

There are times when the bushes dry up from insufficient amounts of nutrients in the soil. Therefore, you need to take care of the grown bushes and feed them regularly.

Fertilization should be carried out in several stages. In the first weeks after planting, all bushes are fed with nitrogen, since at the initial stage of vegetation this substance is not enough for plants. When the first lashes begin to appear on the plant, the cucumbers need potassium and therefore it must be added to the soil.

How to pollinate cucumbers

During the cultivation of seedlings on the balcony, artificial pollination of cucumbers is carried out. Therefore, to obtain fruits, you will have to study some of the features and secrets of manual pollination.

You can pollinate a plant yourself in several ways:

Tassel. More often, indoor cucumbers are pollinated with a brush with natural bristles. To do this, you must first collect pollen from the flower. In this case, you need to make sure that it is firmly settled on the brush. After that, the pollinated female flowers are smeared with a brush.
Flower. This method is used a little less frequently than the previous one. In this case, you will have to pick a male flower and touch it to the pistils.

Garter

Many are interested in why cucumber seedlings are falling. This problem appears if the bushes are not tied to supports.

A special support is installed in each pot for tying the bushes. Most often, an ordinary wooden plank is used for this, to which the bushes will stick. It is recommended to tie them to the support with wide fabric strips that will not squeeze the stem.

Conclusion

Many people who like to make salads with fresh cucumber in winter grow this vegetable on the balcony at any time of the year. To get a crop from bushes grown in this way, you need to familiarize yourself with the features of growing cucumbers on the windowsill and caring for them.