Growing cucumbers on the windowsill in winter. Varieties, planting, care. How to grow cucumbers all year round at home? Cucumbers at home growing

07.11.2019

No, which will allow you to harvest vegetables even in winter. However, in order to harvest a full-fledged crop, seeds of varieties bred for cultivation in an apartment should be preferred. .

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Features of growing cucumbers on the windowsill

Cucumbers when grown at home will not have those natural conditions that affect the rapid germination and ripening of fruits.

Factors affecting sowing and seedlings:

Lighting. In winter, you will have to abandon the idea of \u200b\u200bplanting cucumbers if there are problems with installing fluorescent or helium lighting. auspicious days for planting seeds the first days of March. At this time, there is more light, which will favorably affect the seedlings.
Temperature. It is necessary to have young sprouts as far as possible from drafts. Drafts adversely affect the efficiency of seedlings. For this reason, constant monitoring of temperature regime. The best option- 17-18 degrees.
Watering. Should be carried out as the earth dries up. The plant does not like excessively moist soil. If this rule is neglected, soil infection with diseases can occur, which will lead to the death of sprouts.
Top dressing and introduction of fertilizers into the soil. At each stage of growth, growth stimulation is necessary for a rich harvest.
Timely pinching and garter.
seed preference. To obtain a full-fledged crop of this vegetable in an apartment, a careful choice of variety is needed.

When forming strong bushes of grown cucumbers, the necessary moment is the maximum free space. This is necessary for the organization of high-quality lighting. A good location will be remoteness from other plants.

On the video filmed by the HitSadTV channel, the expert gives a very helpful tips how to grow cucumbers on a windowsill.

The best varieties for growing at home

Before planting cucumbers on the windowsill, it is recommended to study the characteristics of cucumber varieties. Breeders have specially identified varieties with the possibility of breeding indoors. Most of them are hybrids. The peculiarity of these species lies in the ability to form fruits, regardless of environment. Given the limited space in which they will grow, they were created with the possibility of self-pollination. In scientific terminology, hybrid types of cucumbers were called parthenocarpic.

To plant cucumbers in winter, most often they use such varieties bred for cultivation in an apartment:

Balcony. The first hybrid was bred in 2007. Excellent for growing in room conditions. Planted in closed and open ground. Undemanding to the area of \u200b\u200bhabitat, a variety with early ripening, the average term is 39-41 days from the first shoots. High yield. The length of the lashes is small, the branching is normal. The variety is self-pollinating.
Buyan. This hydride needs an abundant supply of light and is demanding on temperature conditions. It is distinguished by its duration of fruiting, the compact size of the branches. Has an average of 5 ovaries per node. How better conditions content, the more fruit will be obtained from the bush.
Ant. Differs in precocity. Bred for sowing in open ground. Suitable for canning. At right technology care, the yield will be 10–12 kg. He will not need help in pollination.
Marathon. This variety of hybrids needs third-party pollination. Thanks to this process, it has a high fruiting of more than 25 kg with square meter. Harvest begins to appear on the 85th day from the first shoots. Popular with gardeners for its disease resistance.
Olympics. Commercial yield in the winter greenhouse 23.2 and 32.8 kg/sq. m. Resistant to microbe cucumber mosaic. Advantages of the hybrid: the highest yield and marketability of products, good taste properties Zelentsov.

Sowing cucumbers on the windowsill

At the first sowing, it is necessary to adhere to proven technology. It is necessary to take into account all the factors affecting the yield and the time of full ripening of the fruit.

Preparing seeds for sowing

To quickly pass the stage of preparing seeds for sowing, purchase ready-made seeds in a specialized store. They can immediately be taken to work, without any additional manipulations. If ordinary seeds or self-harvested seeds were chosen, they must undergo the necessary procedures for germination.

Germination procedures consist of the following steps:

Disinfection. It is carried out using potassium permanganate or hydrogen peroxide. If there is no time to create a solution on your own, a ready-made solution is sold in specialized stores. Using them according to the instructions, it is easy to replace your solution. After soaking, the seeds are washed with water.
Growth stimulation. There are two options here. Buy a ready-made composition, or you can cook at home from aloe juice. The solution recipe is simple, 20 ml of juice is diluted in 100 ml of water and the seeds are left in it for 4 hours. It makes it possible to identify strong specimens at an early stage of germination.

Sowing dates

In winter, we grow cucumbers in 3 stages:

December sowing. Sprouts make their way to the first of February.
Sowing in January. Harvesting is possible by the end of February, beginning of March.
February. When sowing seeds in this winter month, the first shoots of cucumbers will appear by the end of March.

If we plant cucumbers at a certain time of the year, then we can regulate the appearance of the crop on the table. To have fresh cucumbers by May 1, seeds for seedlings must be sown in the second half of February. But in practice most favorable time January and February are considered for sowing. When sowing in December, there is no necessary amount of lighting for the healthy development of cucumbers. They will need additional light during this period. You can also plant in September-October, but it is almost impossible to achieve a strong harvest.

Choosing a place to grow cucumbers at home

The locations of the seed containers should be correctly placed on the southern windows in order to get maximum light. Early shoots are equally susceptible to both light and heat. You also need to consider the possibility of installing additional lighting, since daylight hours do not last long in winter.

Soil selection

Beginners can take the easy route and buy ready-made cucumber growing mix. For this purpose, lands with high fertility, loose, with good water and air permeability are suitable. Slightly acidic soils may be suitable, but yields will decrease. The ideal option becomes peat soil. Such material has a low level of acidity and already contains many additives.

You can prepare the earth mixture with your own hands.

It is prepared from:

peat;
humus;
fine-grained river sand.

Proportions 3:3:1 are respected. Sand, if necessary, is replaced with coconut flakes. It is characterized by a neutral pH of 7.0, and also promotes moisture retention, increases breathability. To prepare the soil mixture, coconut flakes are poured with water according to the instructions. Coconut flakes can be replaced with overripe sawdust hardwood trees. The prepared soil mixture is recommended to be disinfected.

Disinfection is usually carried out in several ways:

In the oven. This is done by calcination. The oven heats up to +120°C and warms up within 30 minutes.
using liquid solutions. A weak solution of potassium permanganate or a special chemical agent can be used. Many gardeners advise pouring boiling water on the ground, but do not give a full guarantee of complete cleansing of pests.
Freezing. Feel over effective way disinfection rather than calcination. Since the high temperature of the procedure kills not only harmful organisms, but also beneficial features fertilizers. The prepared soil is placed in the cold for about a week, then returned to the house. After the earth warms up, it must again be placed in the cold. And so repeat 3 times.

Capacity selection

You need to choose a container for growing cucumbers in winter, taking into account their needs at this time. The vessel should contain a volume of soil from 5 to 7 liters. It should also be high for easy growth and root formation. Accordingly, the more convenient the container, the stronger the whip of plants. Under the container it is useful that there are small boxes and plastic buckets at hand. The main thing is with a depth of at least 15 cm.

Basically, it is recommended that each cucumber be placed in separate container. A regular plastic cup will do. plastic bottle with a volume of about 1 litre. On the initial stage a peat cup is suitable for growing cucumbers, when the plant increases in size, it can be immediately planted in a larger container.

Seeding rules

Let's analyze the sequence of sowing seeds that gave sprouts:

Small indentations are made in the ground by 2-3 centimeters. Seeds are located root down.
Sprinkle with a small layer of earth.
We cover the vessel with a film and send it to a warm place.

You can sow from a pack, without pre-soaking, in the same way. The difference is in the number of seeds suitable for sowing. Several seeds are planted in a container at a time. After the first leaves appear, be sure to add two centimeters to the ground. For less injury to seedlings, cucumbers are sown in the container in which they are planned to be grown. You can sow cucumbers already germinated or dry.

Growing cucumbers at home

Cucumbers planted on the windowsill in winter are more demanding to care than ground cucumbers.

These activities are carried out on an ongoing basis:

quality watering;
fertilization;
garter;
pinching bushes.

Watering cucumbers

Each stage of cucumber ripening on the windowsill has its own level of watering. In the early period, while the seedlings are green and in the stage of intensive growth, watering should be carried out systematically, without stagnant water. At the time of the formation of flowers and the ripening of fruits, the bush requires more moisture; at this time, watering should not be skipped. This is where intensity matters. By constantly spraying the leaves with a spray bottle, you can increase the humidity level. In this case, green plants will be provided with additional nutrition from the outside. Watering cucumbers is only in the pan.

Fertilization

If fertilizers were originally applied to the soil, then the best period for new dressings will be the manifestation of the first leaves. To increase the duration of the growth of the bush and achieve a rich harvest, it is worth feeding cucumbers every 2-3 weeks.

The following options are possible:

once a month, renew the old biohumus in the container;
apply watering with a solution of the "Growth" agent - 1 cap per 2 liters of water;
a little Agrolife on the top layer, 1 tsp is enough;
as the buds are tied, feed the plant with wood ash, dissolve 1 cup in 10 liters of water.

Top dressing should be different, otherwise there will be no benefit from it. It is recommended to apply organic fertilizers after mineral fertilizers.

In winter, it may be the remains of indoor plants:

dry twigs;
leaves;
potato peel.

They are suitable for herbal decoction. An infusion of ash is also suitable. You can buy it in flower shops. Brew the infusion according to the instructions on the pack. The concentrated solution is diluted with water.

The optimal temperature for growing cucumbers at home

The following rules must be observed:

initially, the plants are under a temperature of 20 ° C;
for more intensive growth use 23–25°C;
when the first sprouts appear, the temperature is not sharply lowered;
lowering the temperature is done after the germination of the leaves.

In winter it is much cooler than in summer or spring. To protect plants from the cold, auxiliary lighting and heating are installed. Otherwise, the harvest is not worth waiting for. In order to avoid hypothermia of the earth in the boxes, the boxes are installed for a while to warm up in a warm place, for example, on a battery. To insulate the container, you can wrap it with a material that retains heat.

Illumination of cucumbers

Illumination of cucumbers is carried out as follows:

On cloudy days and in spring, you need to compensate for the lack of lighting with a daylight device. Organized with the help of mirrors, foil.
In winter, the plants must be supported by an additional source of heat.

Cucumbers need at least 13-15 hours of daylight to grow. If the harvest fell in December, then at least 16 hours of additional light is required. In January-February, 12 hours of heat is required for the proper development of plant buds.

Diseases of cucumbers in the apartment

Cucumbers on the windowsill in winter are the least susceptible to disease. In apartments, the air is quite dry, so a pathogenic atmosphere does not develop. There is in this cold time the only threat in the form of black leg. It can infect cucumbers at every stage of growth. But in most cases, seedlings and young bushes are exposed to the disease.

There are several environmental factors that can cause diseases of cucumbers on the windowsill:

non-observance of air humidity and temperature regimes;
watering with very cold water;
lack of nutrition of cucumbers.

Cucumber pests

Indoors, sciarids are activated in spring and during late autumn. These flies appear when vegetables are stored in the house. As insects, they pose no threat. Their larvae are dangerous, which destroy plants by eating the roots. Their actions are in October and mid-spring. Flies appear with an increase in humidity, which is inevitable when growing cucumbers on a windowsill, since the saturation of watering cannot be reduced.

When pests appear, it is worth using drugs:

fly-eater;
Zemlin;
Aktar;
Bazudin.

Aktara - 45 rubles Bazudin - 28 rubles

Growing cucumbers on the windowsill in winter is a fascinating, interesting thing, in addition, hanging young cucumbers will delight not only the owners, but also the incoming guests with their beauty. In addition, homemade cucumbers on the windowsill are environmentally friendly cucumbers, and everyone can grow them. Also, cucumbers in winter on the windowsill will give a feeling of summer and a pleasant aroma.

If you are wondering if it is possible to grow cucumbers in an apartment in winter, website says yes! But to grow cucumbers on the windowsill in winter, the following conditions must be met.

In winter, plants require additional illumination in the form of artificial lighting. You will need . If it is not there, then you should start growing cucumbers no earlier than mid-February, and the room temperature for growing this plant should be at least 20-22 ° during the day, and 18 ° at night. It is desirable that your window is facing south or southeast, it will be dark on the northern windowsill even with additional illumination of plants. In addition, cucumbers do not like cold and drafts, choose a protected landing site.

To grow cucumbers on the windowsill for the New Year, you need to plant them in early November

Varieties of cucumbers for the windowsill

To, you should choose the appropriate seed variety or hybrid. You can choose the so-called parthenocarpic (self-pollinating varieties), which do not require pollination, such varieties are also recommended for growing in greenhouses. Also on the back of the bag with seeds indicate:

that this variety or hybrid is suitable for growing on a balcony;
able to grow in the shade;
has small compact fruits.

But varieties that are shown to be grown outdoors should not be grown at home.

Popular parthenocapic cucumber hybrids for home growing on the windowsill, balcony in the apartment:

F1 City Gherkin,
F1 Balcony,
F1 Balagan,
F1 Berendey,
F1 Courage,
F1 Manul.

Planting cucumbers on the windowsill

First you need to buy a fluorescent lamp to extend the light of the day. You can start sowing seeds from mid-January. In this case, the plant will bear fruit somewhere in early April. For the soil mixture, turf and humus soil should be mixed in equal proportions. As a mineral supplement, add a glass of wood ash to 1 bucket of this mixture. Then fill the pots with this mixture, leaving a little space to the brim, then pour it in, and then put all the pots in boxes.

Before planting seeds, they should be selected by pouring them into a solution table salt(1/2 teaspoon per glass). All floating seeds are discarded. Then they should be treated with a solution of potassium permanganate and left in a warm, moist environment for germination. After pre-sowing preparation and seed treatment, they should be planted one in each pot to a depth of 1 cm and watered. For good drainage, holes should be made at the bottom of the pot and a layer of expanded clay should be laid.

You can prepare the seedlings in advance, so that later the young plants can be planted. In this case, plant the seeds in a wide pot filled with soil mixture, and then cover with a film. After 3-4 days, the shoots that have appeared should be allowed to grow and transplanted into pots.

Temperature regime

To germinate, the temperature in the apartment must be above 20 - 22 °. Germinated sprouts should be rearranged in a very lit place, or placed under a lamp. So that the seedlings do not stretch out, the backlight must be turned off at night, so they will also rest.

The room should be regularly ventilated, but at the same time protecting the plants from drafts. Cucumbers do not like drafts very much, and therefore the box with pots should be removed from the windowsill.

Watering

Watering cucumbers in winter on the windowsill should be warm water- 22 - 24 °, so that the soil is sufficiently moist, you can every day or every other day. From time to time, humidify the air with a sprayer, because cucumbers are demanding on air humidity - 85-90%.

top dressing

Fertilizing cucumbers with mineral fertilizers can be started at the age of two weeks. For these purposes, a solution of 10 g of ammonium nitrate, 10 g of double superphosphate and 8 g of magnesium sulfate should be mixed with 10 liters of water. This top dressing should be used at the rate of 1 cup of solution for 5 plants. After 10 days, top dressing should be repeated, but already use 1 cup for two plants.

Seedling transplant

So that the plants do not interfere with each other's growth, you need to arrange them conveniently. Seedlings should be transplanted into large pots when 3-4 true leaves appear on them. To do this, pour a small layer of earth on the bottom of the container, plant a plant in the center, and then sprinkle it with earth, leaving some space for backfilling. Tie a cucumber seedling to a peg 70-80 cm high. Place pots with plants in a pan with water poured into it. This will help keep the soil moist.

Formation of bushes

When the 3rd true leaf appears, it must be pinched (read also: →). Thus, the appearance of side shoots will be stimulated. And when 5-6 leaves already appear on the side shoot, then again you should pinch the top. To not spend useful material on some whiskers, they are removed, leaving the most necessary shoots.

Care during fruiting

When the first fruits appear on the branches of indoor cucumbers, they should continue to be fed every 7 to 10 days. You can use the same fertilizer, but its amount should be increased to 0.5 liters per plant. Harvesting is a pleasant activity for a gardener when growing cucumbers on a windowsill in winter. It is only necessary to remove young cucumbers in time. With good care, from 10 to 30 cucumbers can be removed from each plant bush.

Not many people grow cucumbers on the windowsill in winter - for beginners who like to cultivate green beds in apartment conditions, this is generally some kind of “special ritual”, as a result of which delicious greens appear almost out of nowhere. But, there are rules of agricultural technology and not everything is as complicated as it seems at first glance ...

Cucumbers on the windowsill in winter - the best varieties

If you're going to get in the winter delicious harvest Zelentsev in an apartment or at home, then first of all, pay attention to the best varieties cucumbers for growing on the windowsill or suitable for cultivation at home.

But, before opening the list of recommended varieties, consider a couple more points: when you want to get a crop, in the autumn-winter period, or in the winter-spring turnover, also pay attention to additional lighting - is there one? Indeed, without it, it is very, very difficult to grow cucumbers in winter.

It is important to note that in closed conditions it is necessary to grow parthenocarpic self-pollinating varieties in order to harvest. This condition is a pledge of harvest on the windowsill. The opinions of summer residents and experienced gardeners about the inscription on the seed bags “for balcony growing” were divided, some believe that it is necessary to plant only such hybrids and varieties, while the other part of the experienced consider it sufficient that the cucumbers are parthenocarpic and do not have to be marked for the balcony garden.

If there are lamps for lighting, we have decided on the period, then we look and choose the best varieties of cucumbers and hybrids for growing on the windowsill - for beginners it is recommended to start with them so that there are fewer problems: F1 Window-balcony, F1 Athlete, home miracle F1, Balcony Miracle F1, Berendey F1 and others. For example, it is not suitable for growing on a windowsill, as it is too bushy and will require too much care and time to get a crop.

When buying seeds for growing on a windowsill, pay attention to the branching of cucumber lashes (the smaller, the better; if it bushes strongly, then there will not be enough nutrients for the fruit), look at the height of the plants, whether you need to pinch and shape them in any special way. You can make it easier for yourself to grow already at the stage of buying seeds by making right choice.

For those beginners who are going to grow cucumbers on the windowsill in winter, you need to master a few important points agricultural technology or in another way, the rules:

Prepare containers in which cucumbers will grow on the windowsill - choose a container with a volume of at least 5 liters, preferably 7 or 10. Be sure to have holes in it for water to drain so that there is no stagnation excess fluid. Many summer residents advise growing cucumbers in high-density plastic bags - the minus of such an undertaking is that there are no holes for the liquid to drain and it is necessary to look for a pallet, plus the bag does not stand very steadily;
The second point is good soil . The soil mixture should be loose and nutritious, you can cook it yourself. Take a piece of soddy land and humus, the same amount leaf ground, add some sand, mix thoroughly. Instead of sand, some summer residents use vermiculite, which prevents soil compaction, caking, hardening, makes the soil breathable, porous and loose;
or immediately into a container where the culture will constantly grow - there is no fundamental difference where the seeds will be planted. If there is no additional lighting, and on the street it is October or November, even through seedlings to grow, even immediately into the ground, sprouts will still stretch. If you plant seeds immediately in a flower pot, then it is better to put cucumber seeds for germination before hatching, for one and check germination. If you want to grow cucumbers on the windowsill for the New Year, then sowing will need to be done at the beginning of October, but by March 8 - sow in mid-January and remember, take early-ripening varieties of cucumbers;
Planting cucumber seeds- make a small depression on the surface of the soil (you can just push it with your finger) to a depth of 1-2 cm, spill the hole with water and plant the seeds that have sprung. It is desirable to plant one seed in one pot, two can be used, but then the weaker sprout will need to be removed or transplanted. From above, just sprinkle with earth without watering, otherwise the seeds will go deep;
Put a container of cucumbers on the windowsill, closer to the light, but it is better to put a plank or a piece of foam under the bottom so that the cold window sill does not allow the soil mixture to cool. Be sure to cover the container with cling film or polyethylene to form a "greenhouse" and do not open it until the cucumbers appear from the ground. Not everyone succeeds in cucumbers on the windowsill - for beginners it can be problematic to achieve the germination of plants, but, as a rule, cucumbers are the least troublesome for home cultivation;
It remains to be seen as the crop grows and harvest the long-awaited harvest. Well, of course, questions about how to form, what to feed will not go away, so we explain. It is best to keep cucumbers on the windowsill in one stem and you need to form it like this - up to 4-5 real leaves you blind all internodes, i.e. remove everything that appeared between the stem and leaf. Next, form into one stem. A cucumber appeared, grew, you plucked it, removed the antennae, pinched off the stepchildren there so that your culture would not grow anywhere;
Garter of cucumbers on the windowsill- you will have to build a “trellis” on the window, or rather, fix the rope twine in such a way that the plant has the opportunity to grow and reach up, as a rule, a carnation is nailed at the top of the window, a rope is fixed on it and lowered to the windowsill where the cucumber sits, wrapped around a couple of times. By tomorrow evening, the plant will already curl on its own;
How to feed cucumbers on the windowsill? You can make an extract from humus or rotted compost, and it will be natural and nutritious. Fill a bucket with 1/4 of the rotted compost, pour hot water(+60 ֯С) and let it brew for a day, after which you can use the infused solution as top dressing (0.5-1 l per bush). Another fertilizer for cucumbers on the windowsill is Orgavit or Sodium Humate, which you can purchase for feeding (dilute according to the instructions);
Diseases of cucumbers on the windowsill- well, this happens, especially if they filled it in or chose the wrong container, the cucumbers start to hurt. To prevent the appearance of rot, use Fitosporin-M, dilute according to the instructions and spill the ground. When growing on a window, the main diseases are associated with malnutrition, but this is more likely not a disease, but a lack of space for the growth of the root system and nutrition, so keep an eye on top dressing and fertilize your balcony cucumbers at least 1 time per week. Water as needed, quite often you will have to, but do not flood.

As you can see, growing cucumbers on a windowsill in winter, even for beginners, is not such a difficult thing, you just need to figure it out a little and approach the process correctly, and then a delicious harvest will definitely be on your table for the New Year or March 8!

There is not a single person who would not like such a dish as a salad based on cucumbers. It is especially pleasant if the cultivation of greens was carried out step by step on the windowsill or on the balcony with your own hands. There is a category of gardeners who are not limited to the cultivation of tasty and healthy fruits on country beds, balcony cucumber - the pride of any specialist.

Cucumbers on the windowsill

For many novice gardeners, it may seem impossible to grow cucumbers on a windowsill, but this is quite real. Of course, you will have to work hard to get the harvest, but for those who like to show their talent in agricultural technology this process gives real pleasure. In addition, such an activity can become a family hobby.
There are no restrictions on the landing time. But to plant is one thing, and to look after is to observe step by step plan events, especially in winter, is quite another. The conditions for success are the installation of a daylight lamp near an improvised bed from November to February, proper watering, attention to flowering, pinching and garter. Insufficient light adversely affects the vegetation.

Due to the absence of time limits, it is possible to plant and harvest fruits at any time of the year.

The best varieties to grow on a windowsill

In the abundance of varieties it is easy to get confused

The main rule on how to grow greens in a room is the right choice of seeds. What variety to use for planting? If you take the first variety that comes to hand for cultivation, the development of seedlings will be slowed down, which, most likely, will lead to the death of the seedling.
The following varieties are suitable for cultivating cucumbers on the windowsill.

Balcony

An unpretentious early ripe variety with a fruit ripening period of 40-42 days from the moment of germination. The yield per square meter is 8-11 kg. To successfully grow this variety and get a big harvest, the main thing is to water it correctly according to the instructions.

Buyan

A variety that does not require pollination has a long fruiting period. Zelentsy ripen 44-48 days after the appearance of the first shoots. The average yield is 3.5-5 kg per m2.

Ant

The characteristic quality of the variety is ultra early ripening, the fruits appear on the 37-38th day after the mass germination of seeds. The plant does not require pollination. With proper care, 10-12 kg can be removed from 1 m2.

Marathon

A hybrid that requires pollination has a high yield (over 25 kg per 1 m2). Ideal for window cultivation due to its compact vine size and high disease resistance.

Olympics

The plant, although it has a long lash, adapts well at home. The fruits ripen on 47-49 days after germination of seeds on the surface of the soil. When grown in a greenhouse in compliance with the technology, up to 45 kg are removed from 1 m2, at home it is also noted high yield - over 24 kg per 1 m2.

Basic growing rules

Cover with lid to protect seedlings

Pledge of receipt good harvest cucumbers will be inviolable implementation of the basic rules of agricultural technology:

Plant only varieties suitable for window growing.
Conduct soil and seed disinfection.
Observe the temperature regime characteristic of each stage.
Avoid drafts.
Control the degree of soil and air moisture, as well as the level of lighting.
Timely transplant and garter, introduce fertilizers and top dressing
Hand pollinate the flowers of those varieties that require it.
Periodically loosen the soil to provide access to the roots of oxygen.

When to plant cucumbers at home?

Seedlings sprout and gain strength in pots

More often, sowing seeds for seedlings is done step by step in March. A month later, the grown seedlings are transferred to separate pots. This decision is due to the appropriate time of the year, when there will simply be no shortage of good lighting.

What is the most suitable technology term for planting?

You can start sowing in January, this is also practiced quite often. There are no strict restrictions on the timing of planting on the street; when determining the period, one should be guided by the possibility of creating favorable conditions for the vegetation of the plant.

The right soil for growing early varieties in a pot

Loose fertile soil is used for growing cucumbers. A ready-made universal substrate or a self-prepared mixture of equal parts is suitable: fertile soil, humus, sand, ash, rotten sawdust. Why not do this at home? For aesthetic reasons, you should not fill the house with these smells.
To disinfect the substrate, it is necessary to warm it up in the oven. With the help of such a procedure, it will be possible to get rid of various larvae and spores, which can subsequently infect young shoots.

Preparing seeds for planting

The preparatory process for sowing on a balcony does not differ significantly from the usual procedures that are used when growing a crop in open ground or in a greenhouse. In addition to disinfection, carried out in a weak solution of potassium permanganate, it is necessary to sort out the highest quality seeds. A feature of home cultivation is the preliminary germination of seeds. This must be done in order to determine the exact number of bushes that fit into the box. In the cold season, there is nowhere to transplant adult seedlings, and it is blasphemous to throw away developing shoots. Forcing all the windows with cucumbers is not a way out, therefore it is better to sow only germinated specimens.

To accelerate the germination of seedlings, it is recommended to treat the seed with a growth stimulator before sowing.

How to plant and transplant at home

Seeding is conveniently done in wooden boxes or individual pots. You can also use plastic cups, it is important that there is a hole on the bottom to release excess moisture. After germination, the seeds are buried in moist soil by 1.5 cm. Until the emergence of seedlings on the surface of the soil, the container should be covered with glass or plastic wrap to create a greenhouse effect. Temperature regime on this stage is at least 25°. After 2-3 days, it will be possible to observe how green dots break through the soil. After the shoots appear, you need to remove the shelter and reduce the room temperature to 20 °.
It is necessary to transplant strengthened seedlings with 3-4 leaves into more capacious pots, where up to 5 liters of soil can fit. Also, some owners use boxes, where 3-4 bushes are planted per 1 m2.

The shoots are transferred to a new place carefully together with the soil so that the weak root system is not damaged.

Care for the first shoots and seedlings in the apartment

Seedling care is tremulous, it is at this stage that it is important to help the shoots grow stronger, which in further development will play a positive role.

Lighting in spring and summer

Cucumbers need a lot of light, so it is better to choose a window sill or a loggia for a garden bed on the south or southeast side. On cloudy days and in spring, you need to compensate for the lack of lighting by installing fluorescent lamps. So that in the summer the plant does not dry out from the sun's rays in the apartment, the glass is tinted with a thin tulle. Light shading will protect the whips from ultraviolet radiation.

You can create additional lighting using mirrors, foil and other reflectors that will redirect sunlight to the bushes.

Watering indoor cucumbers

Seedlings are moistened by spraying. For this, it is better to use a spray gun. It should be filled only settled warm water.

Seedling feeding

After sowing, the seedlings are in a warm place with a temperature regime of at least 23 ° for 25-28 days. During this time, it is necessary to introduce several dressings: the first time 15 days after germination and another 10 days later. As nutritional composition It is recommended to use complex fertilizers.

Garter of grown lashes

Garter - necessary condition plant development

The growing lash needs help - tie it up.

For the garter, a trellis net is used, which is easier to wrap in a semicircle. After immersing it in the ground and fixing it, the stalk should be launched onto the formed wall. Then he himself will wrap around the grid. You can tweak it, but do it carefully so as not to damage the plant. Excess tendrils are removed.
The garter is also organized using a cord, which is fixed on a specially made frame of slats. The sequence of the process is as follows:

a cord is attached to the top of the frame ( from natural fibers);
the end of the cord descends to the root zone of the bush, wraps (not tight!) Several times around the stem and
returns to the top rail;
both ends of the cord are tied together.

When and how to pinch?

To increase the yield, it is necessary to form a bush of cucumbers. Often the plant lays male shoots on the stem, the so-called barren flowers. To prevent their formation, after gartering the whip, remove the side shoots from the bottom. Next, 6-8 sheets are passed along the stem and pinched (cut off the edge). This procedure provokes the formation of lateral branches, on which greens are well tied.

Watering and feeding

For irrigation, it is used exclusively warm water , cold liquid inhibits the development of roots and reduces the formation of ovaries in the sinuses. You need to irrigate the bushes once a week. AT summer time the intensity of moisturizing, if necessary, is increased up to 2-3 times a week. You can also spray the whips throughout the day using warm, clean water.
Fertilizer should be introduced into the soil regularly, about 1 time in 10 days. The first time this should be done 2 weeks after sowing. For these purposes, ready-made mixtures of minerals or solutions based on organic matter are used:

mullein and water (1:10);
bird droppings and water (1:15);
infusion on onion peel, etc.

How to pollinate

How to manually pollinate cucumbers

When choosing pollinated varieties, it is necessary to provide artificial pollination, in conditions open ground this function is performed by bees.
Before you conduct it, you need to learn to distinguish empty flowers from female flowers. The female inflorescence is formed on a green seal that looks like a mini-cucumber. Pollination is the transfer of pollen from the male flower to the fertile one. To do this, the barren flower is plucked and the stamens are opened as much as possible, removing all the petals. It remains only to touch the stamens of the female flower, repeating the procedure several times (to be sure). This should be done carefully so as not to damage the delicate inflorescence.
How to successfully grow cucumbers on the windowsill? The secret lies in the systematic care of plants, which will certainly thank you with a generous harvest.

In winter, we also need vegetables and fruits; in the cold and gloomy season, we need vitamins more than ever. On the shelves of supermarkets, the range of these products, of course, is large - but their benefits and quality leave much to be desired.

But what if you try to grow at least some crops at home? Greenery on the windowsill is no longer news, but I want to try something new.

For example, some summer residents do not part with cucumbers even in winter. For some time now, I can classify myself as one of them, and today I want to tell you in detail about the agricultural technology of growing cucumbers in an apartment.

First of all, it is necessary to strictly monitor the drafts in the house, because cold air detrimental to young plants.
Important for seed germination and the temperature in the apartment.

Watering should be plentiful, but without overflows - otherwise fungi will appear in the soil that can destroy all your crops.

It is also important to purchase high-quality material for sowing - it must meet certain requirements:

variety of cucumbers indoor cultivation should be bushy. The liana will look like an elongated long lash, while the bush plant will be lush and thick.
The yield of a variety is of great importance. A variety of vegetables, which initially, by its characteristics, is not capable of bringing a large harvest, will bring little joy. In home conditions that are unusual for a cucumber, and even in winter, in any case, you will have to make an effort to get a crop, and if the return on the bush is small, it will be, to put it mildly, a shame.
The variety must necessarily be unpretentious, since excessive capriciousness makes the life and fruiting of a cucumber on the windowsill impossible. This is especially true of the culture requirements for light and humidity. The absence of high pretentiousness in these aspects is the main sign that you will get a full harvest of tasty fruits.

Varieties of cucumbers for home and apartment

Looking at colorful bags of cucumber seeds for winter cultivation at home, pay attention to the new hybrid varieties. Their advantage is that they do not need bees or other insects for pollination, their female flower stalks independently form fruiting ovaries. Such cucumbers are called parthenocarpic.

The following varieties can be distinguished:

Shchedryk - the ripening period is one and a half months. In the brushes 6-8 fruits 10-12 cm long, saturated green color are formed. When grown on a windowsill during the winter, about 20 cucumbers can be obtained from one plant.
The farm is ready for harvest already a month after the emergence of shoots - this is super early ripe variety. Cucumbers are dark green with dark spikes 10 cm long. This plant needs help in pollination, this procedure is not at all complicated - just pick a male flower and pollinate the female ovary with it.
Khrustik will give you the first harvest after 50 days. It is self-pollinating and very productive. good care will allow you to collect up to 40 fruits from a bush.
Courage, Prestige, Miracle on the Window, Room Miracle, Our Masha are also among the varieties ideal for home cultivation. With proper care, all of them will delight you with a good harvest.

Agricultural technology for growing cucumbers at home

Before you start sowing, find cucumbers right place, optimally sized containers, a suitable substrate and carry out a stimulating seed preparation.

Choosing a place for indoor cucumbers

It is necessary to place cucumbers only in a well-lit place. In addition to light, young seedlings need warmth. So the best option there will be a south window or an insulated loggia or balcony, which is especially good, because in this case the cucumbers will be lit from three sides at once.

The winter day is very short, and cucumbers cannot develop without sufficient lighting. Therefore, to obtain a good harvest, one cannot do without additional lighting with phytolamps, thus providing vegetables with a continuous daylight hours lasting 14-16 hours.

Cucumbers grow and develop well at a temperature of 20 degrees. If it exceeds this mark, then it is imperative to keep the soil moisture under control.

We select a container for planting

The type of containers for cucumbers does not matter much - you can plant them in separate pots or in a common container, the main thing is to observe the nutritional area necessary for the bush.

For every 70 cm, no more than five plants should fit. Too dense planting will negatively affect the development and growth of the mass of the bush. Drainage holes must be present in the selected container, and the pot itself must be wide enough.

Cucumbers are distinguished by a powerful root system, their full development is possible only if there is a sufficient amount of nutrient substrate. Each bush needs at least 4 liters of soil.

We prepare a fertile substrate

The soil should be loose, nutritious, easily permeable to oxygen and moisture. A store-bought substrate for indoor or pumpkin plants is perfect for this description.

But, of course, it is better to use the soil prepared on your own. To do this, you will need forest and garden soil, ash, humus, sand and old sawdust that has rotted to a dark color. All components are thoroughly mixed and calcined for half an hour in an oven at 200 degrees.

How to prepare seeds for sowing

Whole planting material it is processed during packaging, so the disinfection stage can simply be bypassed by simply sowing it into the substrate. But for your own convenience, in order to avoid thinning and picking thickened plantings, you can carry out simple activities:

Grains for half an hour are placed in a weak solution of potassium permanganate;
Empty seeds that have floated to the surface are removed, since there is still no way to wait for seedlings from them;
The seeds washed with warm water are kept in water for three hours, the temperature of which is +35 degrees;
Next, the planting material is wrapped in a damp cloth (you can sprinkle it with sawdust at the same time) and moves into a room with an air temperature not equal to about 30 degrees Celsius.
After a couple of days, the roots will hatch and the seeds need to be planted in pre-prepared soil;
Before sowing, seeds with root rudiments are slightly dried.

All the procedures carried out will harden future plants - they will develop and grow rapidly.

Planting cucumbers

Before sowing, the soil is well moistened. This is done so that she settles well. When sowing seeds in dry loose soil, watering causes the seeds to deepen more than necessary, as a result, seedlings may not wait. By the way, the optimal landing depth is 1.5 cm.
Planted cucumbers are covered with moist soil and covered with polyethylene or covered with glass so that young plants sprout they need greenhouse conditions. For rapid and successful germination, a temperature of about 25 degrees above zero is required.
As soon as the first shoots hatch, the shelter is removed - the extra condensate is now useless, since it provokes the appearance of fungal pathologies.
In the future, the temperature of the content drops to 20 degrees, but the level of illumination, on the contrary, increases.

Watering should be moderate, avoiding root flooding. It is advisable to water young shoots with a syringe, deepening it into the ground. So you do not expose the delicate root system of the plant. Only boiled liquid, settled for at least two hours, is used.

Cucumbers need organic fertilizers. For example, at home, a fermented infusion has proven itself well. banana peel. The finished liquid is diluted with water in a ratio of 1/10, a healing infusion is used every two weeks.

After the plant has 4-5 leaves, pinch it to cause active growth of side shoots. In general, the bush should have a maximum of three side lashes.

Then you should wait until each of them forms 10 leaves and remove the apical buds again. This method will allow you to form a lush strong bush.

Do not ignore the garter of whips - each of them must be carefully directed and tied to the trellis.

In addition, keep an eye on the illumination of the bushes, for the formation and ripening of fruits, unhindered exposure to sunlight is necessary.

How to deal with illness

In the absence of competent care and constant care, cucumber kuts can hit:

Powdery mildew is a fungal disease, the symptoms of which are manifested by the appearance of a white coating on the foliage;
Root rot affects the condition of the entire bush - it begins to fade. The cause of the disease lies in the constant overflow of cucumbers;
Anthracnose is also a fungal disease that affects the fetus and leaf apparatus;
White rot - the appearance of this disease is evidenced by the appearance of a white coating on the entire surface of the bush.

You can cope with them by spraying with insecticides.

At the slightest suspicion of a disease, take immediate action, otherwise you will lose all your plants - these ailments tend to spread with incredible speed. And timely detection of the problem allows you to solve it without noticeable losses for the crop.