Growing cucumbers at home on a windowsill. How to grow cucumbers in winter at home - the basics of planting and growing

Growing cucumbers in the winter at home is quite possible, but this requires some effort. These are light and heat-loving plants, so they should be placed on the sunny, southern side, the temperature in the room should be within + 20 ... + 25 ° C.

All cucumbers are divided into greenhouse (greenhouse) and garden beds (grown in the open field). The peculiarity of these vegetables is that they can be grown at home: on windowsills, balconies or loggias, if certain factors are required for their cultivation. Growing cucumbers at home requires additional lighting with fluorescent lamps (at least 15-16 hours a day). In order to avoid freezing of the roots, it is recommended to insulate the bottom of boxes or pots (install them on a board, foam rubber or other insulation).

Choosing a variety of cucumbers

For home cultivation, special varieties have been bred - self-pollinating, early maturing and high-yielding. As a rule, these are hybrid varieties of cucumbers. Hybrids are marked with the F1 symbol (heterotic), their shoots differ significantly from the parent plant, since their characteristic features appear only in the first generation.

The parthenocarpic hybrid is a female-flowered gherkin that does not require pollination to set fruit. Depending on the variety, the size of hybrid cucumbers can reach from 12 to 25 cm, the ripening period is 30-50 days.

To grow cucumbers on a windowsill in winter, the following varieties are most suitable:

Masha F1;
Claudia F1;
Bianca F1;
Marinda F1;
Room Rytov F1;
Shchedryk F1;
Prestige F1;
Farm F1.

For example, the variety Masha F1 ripens in 30-40 days, the yield is high (5-7 fruits per branch, on the windowsill - up to 20 pieces per branch). Shchedryk F1 yields a harvest in 40-45 days, fruit size 12-14 cm, yield up to 20 pcs. from a branch. Marinda F1- a high-yielding variety, characterized by the simultaneous ripening of all fruits.

Cucumber variety Masha F1

Khutorok F1- early ripening variety (starting from 30 days), fruit size up to 10 cm, green cucumbers with black thorns, pollinated by hand. Crunchy F1- ripening time 50 days, yield up to 7 cucumbers per branch. Differs in tallness, which allows them to decorate the balcony, like a liana. When creating favorable conditions for plant growth, up to 30-40 fruits can be harvested from each bush.

The date of planting is determined based on the ripening period of the fruit and depends on the date by which fresh cucumbers are expected. From the emergence of the shoots to the maturity of the fruit, an average of 45-50 days are required.

Crockery and soil for growing cucumbers on the windowsill

For growing seedlings from seeds, it is better to use small plastic cups (from under yoghurts, sour cream, mayonnaise, etc.), or pots with special soil, or peat cups. 3-4 small holes are made in the bottom of the dishes.

For growing cucumber bushes from seedlings, large containers with a capacity of up to 5 liters or 5 kg are required (plastic pots, buckets, special deep boxes). At the bottom of the container, small holes are drilled to ensure soil ventilation and remove excess moisture. The bottom of the container is covered with drainage from small pebbles or sand with a layer of 5 cm, then covered with soil.

Vegetable garden on the windowsill

The choice of land is of great importance. Gardening stores sell special soil enriched with essential minerals and substances, where you can also get advice on how to grow cucumbers on your own. Experts advise to prepare the soil yourself.

For example, use the following mixture:

2/3 of the container is sod or garden soil, which is previously disinfected with a weak solution of potassium permanganate;
1/3 of the container - fertilizers (5-6 g of potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen, 20-60 g of lime), humus;
1 glass of chalk;
2 glasses of ash;
4 cups ripe leaves garden trees or rotten sawdust.

It is better to prepare such a soil mixture in advance, in the fall. It is calcined in the oven to neutralize the eggs of various insects, then watered abundantly. The soil should be well moistened and loose. When cultivating cucumbers in boxes of 60-70 cm, 5-6 bushes of seedlings are planted.

Growing seedlings

The seeds are pre-soaked in a light pink solution of potassium permanganate, and the method of planting dried seeds or as they are is also used. The seeds are germinated first in a saucer in a warm dark place at a temperature of + 25 ° C. After the appearance of the first sprouts 0.5-1 cm long, they are transferred into cups or pots with soil, covered with polyethylene and placed in a well-lit place. The temperature regime in the room must be at least + 20 ° C. It is necessary to water and feed the seedlings.

After the appearance of real leaves, the seedlings are carefully transplanted into large containers, making every effort not to damage the roots of the plants. If the seedlings were grown in peat cups, then they can be moved into containers without removing them from the cups.

You can use the method of sowing seeds directly into large boxes. Sprouted or dry seeds are planted in moist soil in holes 1.5 cm deep and covered with soil and polyethylene. The boxes are placed in a warm place with a temperature not lower than + 25 ° С. As soon as the first shoots appear, they are rearranged on the windowsill, where the temperature should be + 20 ° C.

Growing cucumbers from seedlings

Containers with seedlings are placed in a warm and well-lit place. During this period, special care for the cucumbers is required. After the appearance of 4-5 leaves, the first pinching is carried out, after 5-6 leaves - the second. Then pinch the main stem over 11 leaves. In the future, as the stem grows, it is necessary to remove side shoots, which take away the vital juices from the plant, interfering with fruiting. Above the ovary, the shoots are pinched and only 1 leaf is left. To support the growing lashes and provide better lighting, they make a garter of the growing stems - they stretch the ropes on which the sprouts are fixed.

It must be remembered that cucumbers are a moisture-loving vegetable and bushes must be sprayed 1-2 times a week from a spray bottle. For spraying, as well as for irrigation, use warm, settled water. Watering is carried out when the top layer of the soil dries up. Excess water in the soil can lead to decay of plant roots and its death.

Cucumbers on the window are at risk of dehydration due to dry air. To maintain a humid microclimate, containers with water can be placed near the plants.

Cucumber bushes must be well lit to ensure healthy growth. In winter, additional lighting is used, preferably with special infrared lamps (at least 12 hours a day). The lamps are turned off at night. Cucumbers should be protected from cold air and drafts.

For varieties requiring pollination, manual pollination is required. To do this, male inflorescences are plucked and female flowers are pollinated with them. Pollination can be done differently - with a brush or cotton swab.

Top dressing of seedlings

When growing cucumbers in winter, it is very important to feed the plants with special fertilizers every 10 days. It is good to use organic fertilizers, for example, fermented banana peel infusion (ratio 1:10). After the buds appear, the plants are watered with a solution of wood ash (1 glass per 10 liters of water). During the period of fruit ripening, nutrition from mineral fertilizers(12-25 g per 10 l of water), 1 bush is watered with up to 0.5 l of the mixture. Mineral dressings alternate with organic ones.

When weakening plants, it is advisable to use foliar feeding with mineral fertilizers with the addition of microelements. To prepare a mixture in 10 liters of water add 5-15 g of urea, 10-20 g of double superphosphate, 1-5 g of sulfur magnesium or 10 ml of a mother liquor of trace elements. The mixture is prepared 1 day before use, is often stirred and filtered through 4 layers of gauze filter. Cucumber bushes are sprayed with the mixture, usually in the afternoon or in rainy weather. In this case, salt deposits remain on the leaves, which are recommended to be washed off with clean water.

Harvesting

Cucumbers are harvested daily as they ripen. You can not leave the ripe fruit on the bush, as it takes away the strength of the plant.

If all the necessary conditions are met, growing cucumbers at home in winter is quite simple. You can provide your table with these wonderful fresh vegetables all year long and get bulk positive emotions from the growing process itself.

There have been fans of pampering themselves with vegetables in the cold winter at all times. Prince Menshikov grew oranges in his greenhouses, thanks to which the whole suburb of St. Petersburg, where the estate of the Splendor was located, received the name Oranienburg. But there are amateurs who do not set themselves no less "grandiose" plans. The secret knowledge of how to grow cucumbers at home on a windowsill in winter is the subject of their eternal youth and a favorite pastime.

Is the game worth the candle?

Cucumber - well known in Russia vegetable plant... Its cultivation in the garden is almost mandatory for the vast majority of summer residents - gardeners. And how can you imagine a hot summer evening, a pleasant pastime with friends and ... without a vigorous crispy cucumber, straight from the garden?

For women, a fresh cucumber is an inexhaustible source of youth - masks of their fresh cucumbers are an almost integral ritual for people who are especially concerned about the health and youth of the skin.

But what if the passion for this unassuming vegetable is so great, and the budget is so modest that you cannot afford to buy a fresh cucumber in the store in winter?

Of course - try to grow it at home - on a windowsill or balcony.

Firstly, those who start such an event will have to face some inconveniences at home: to turn their apartment into a greenhouse for some time with all the ensuing consequences: high humidity, a specific "garden" smell, the daily hassle of watering and tying fast-growing plants, and the possibility of allergic reactions of the body to smell, flowers or plant tops. You will have to sacrifice sunshine in the room for the sake of cucumbers, which have abundant tops. Living at home in winter you will be like in the lower tier of the Amazonian selva - in eternal twilight and humidity.

Secondly, it will initially determine the goals of growing a cucumber at home. Either the harvest is your main goal and you give priority to the quantity and taste of products, or - cucumbers are vital for you in winter for cosmetic purposes. In this case, 1-2 plants of a salad variety are enough, which will provide you with fruits for a couple of winter months.

Depending on the goals set, all further tactics of your actions will also differ.

Selection of varieties

As home plant- cucumber is definitely not the most best plant... This is due to the rather significant size of the plant itself, for which at least half a meter of area is required. Placing more than three plants on the windowsill is quite problematic.

There are already a sufficient number of breeding varieties intended for home cultivation. The first distinguishing feature of these varieties is that they are all parthenocapic hybrids - that is, they do not require insect pollination (important in winter)! The second advantage of these varieties is the miniature size of the fruit. For balconies, size is much less critical, but self-pollination is the same necessary condition.

The big plus is that the cucumber is an unassuming and not capricious plant. Even from one bush during the growing season at home, you can get 2-3 kilograms of crispy fellows, not inferior in taste and aroma to soil brothers.

The second condition is the soil for growing. Cucumber is especially good if the soil is richly saturated with organic components - humus, well-rotted leafy soil, low-lying peat. Therefore, it is necessary to take care of the soil for cultivation from the fall.

The use of purchased soils "for vegetable crops"- ideal, but even it will require additional work. Bringing the composition and structure to the required "condition".

Processing and germination of seeds

Having printed out at home the coveted bag of the variety you like, rarely in which you will find more than 7-10 seeds. Therefore - if your plans do not extend beyond the windowsill - this is quite enough. If you seriously decided to create a plantation on the balcony - buy 2-3 sachets and preferably different suitable varieties. Due to the fact that the plants are parthenocapic, they do not become over-pollinated and each of them will give rafts of the exact variety and type that you expected.

A prerequisite is the processing of seeds (only white, natural) color in aqueous solution potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate) in a concentration of 1: 1000. The solution should be saturated purple... Processing is carried out within 20-25 minutes. After treatment, the seeds are washed and placed to stimulate germination in a solution of epin or sodium hummanate (in accordance with the instructions for use of the drug).

The processed seeds are wrapped in filter paper (toilet, napkin) or gauze and placed on wet sand or in a saucer with water. Cover with foil and put in a warm place. Cucumber seeds hatch quickly. On the 2-3rd day, small white seedlings appear. So it's time to sow.

Soil or growing medium

As noted above, cucumber is a big fan of fertile soil.

The approximate composition of the soil for growing:

Alternatively use ready mix"For vegetable crops" sold in hypermarkets or seed stores.

Additionally, it is recommended to add baking powder and water retainers to the finished mixture - coconut substrate or vermiculite. This will give the soil lightness, air permeability and will maintain it in an optimal moisture condition,

The land harvested in the fall must be treated (disinfected) by steam treatment or hot water... The treated soil must necessarily rest for two to three weeks - stand at home at room temperature - to restore the microflora.

Growing seedlings

Depending on where you grow your winter green miracle- it makes sense to talk about seedling or non-seedling growing methods.

If the plants throughout the growing season will grow at home on the windowsill in winter, there is no point in fiddling with seedlings. Plants are sown directly into a container in which they will grow until the end of the growing season.

If cultivation at home is planned on the balcony, and the weather outside the window is by no means summer - then we plant the seeds one at a time in small (100 ml) disposable cups, without howling, melt the drainage hole at the bottom of each cup.

Window sill option

Having planted the seeds in a pot, place them on the windowsill. The window sill should be located, if possible, on the southern, sunny side of the house. In this case, additional lighting will be required in winter. It is arranged from a package of two or three fluorescent lamps, two warm white light and 1 cold daylight. This combination allows you to obtain the closest to the solar spectrum of light with a color temperature of about 5400 K.

Further care is reduced to regular watering, feeding (best of all - natural organic fertilizers- infusion of mullein, bird droppings (dilution 1:40 for mullein and 1-60 for bird droppings). It is necessary to regularly spray the plants with warm, settled water. The plant is formed in several lashes. Upon reaching the central branch of length 45-60 cm pinch the top, which stimulates the growth of lateral shoots.

The plant on the windowsill must be tied to a net or trellis, forming a vertical bush.

After the appearance of the ovaries, the growth of the fruit is monitored. Fruits that have already grown up to 5-7 cm should not be left on the plant. They become rough and take a lot of energy from the plant.

Balcony option

The cultivation of cucumbers on the balcony is no different from that on the windowsill, except that the planting cups are planted only when the average daily temperature reaches + 15-16 C. and the threat of night frosts has completely passed.

For plant growth, they arrange trellises along the wall of the house or along the balcony fence. The first option is preferable, since the plant is less exposed to wind load and does not block the sunlight in the apartment with leaves.

When grown on the balcony, you can use "salad" varieties that give large long fruits. In favorable years, you can get a solid harvest from such plants, comparable to the harvest from a garden bed.

Conclusion

Wherever you decide to grow cucumbers - at home on a windowsill in winter or on a balcony in summer - this activity will bring you closer to communicating with the world of plants. She will instill the skills of caring for plants and, ultimately, will delight you with completely edible, fragrant and environmentally friendly cucumbers. Good luck in your endeavors!

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

If you are thinking whether it is possible to grow cucumbers in an apartment in winter, superda4nik.ru says yes! But to grow cucumbers on a windowsill in winter, the following conditions must be met.

In winter, plants need additional lighting in the form of artificial lighting. You will need seedling lights. If it is not there, then you should start growing cucumbers not earlier than mid-February, but room temperature to grow this plant, it must be at least 20-22 ° during the day, and at night - 18 °. It is advisable that your window faces south or southeast; it will be dark on the northern windowsill, even with supplementary lighting of the plants. In addition, cucumbers do not like cold and drafts, choose a protected planting site.

To grow cucumbers on the windowsill for the New Year, they need to be planted in early November.

Sorts of cucumbers for the windowsill

To grow cucumbers at home, you should choose suitable grade seed or hybrid. You can choose the so-called parthenocarpic (self-pollinating varieties), which do not require pollination, such varieties are still recommended for growing in greenhouses. Also on the back of the seed bag indicate:

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

But the varieties that are shown to be grown in the open field should not be grown at home.

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

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

We plant cucumbers on the windowsill

First you need to buy fluorescent lamp to extend the light of 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, sod and humus soil should be mixed in equal proportions. How mineral dressing 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 in, and then put all the pots in the boxes.

Before planting seeds, they should be selected by pouring them into a solution of table salt (1/2 teaspoon per glass). All floating seeds are not used. Then they should be treated with a solution of potassium permanganate and left in a warm, humid environment for germination. After pre-sowing preparation and seed treatment, they should be planted one at a time 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 seedlings in advance so that you can plant young plants later. In this case, plant seeds in a wide pot filled with potting soil, and then cover with foil. After 3 - 4 days, the emerging seedlings should be allowed to grow and transplanted into pots.

Temperature regime

For cucumber seeds to germinate, the temperature in the apartment must be above 20 - 22 °. Sprouted shoots should be rearranged in a very bright place, or they should be placed under a lamp. To prevent the seedlings from stretching, the backlight must be turned off at night, so they will also rest.

You should regularly ventilate the room, 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

In winter, cucumbers should be watered on the windowsill with 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 spray, because cucumbers are demanding on air humidity - 85-90%.

Top dressing

Feeding 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, you should repeat the feeding, but already use 1 glass for two plants.

Transplanting seedlings

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 real 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 a little space for adding. Tie the cucumber seedling to a peg 70-80 cm high. Put the pots with plants in a tray with water poured into it. This will help to moisten the soil.

Formation of bushes

When 3 real leaves appear, you need to pinch it (also read: → how to pinch cucumbers). Thus, the appearance of side shoots will be stimulated. And when 5-6 leaves appear on the lateral shoot, the top should be pinched again. So as not to spend useful material on some mustaches, they are removed, leaving the most needed 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 experience for the gardener when growing cucumbers on a windowsill in winter. You should only remove young cucumbers on time. At good care from each bush of the plant, you can remove from 10 to 30 cucumbers.

Growing cucumbers on a windowsill in winter- not a crazy idea, as it seems at first glance. For those who like to pamper themselves and their families with delicious and fresh vegetables all year round, you can resort to this growing option.

It should also be noted that growing cucumbers at home is gaining popularity. It is affordable, profitable, simple and useful. The main condition in the implementation of the presented venture is compliance with all the rules and features that will be described below.

Home-grown cucumber varieties

Correctly selected varieties of cucumbers for growing on the windowsill- the key to success in your home gardening endeavors. The basics of home and outdoor care differ significantly. This aspect has also been confirmed in matters of seed selection.

There is a similar article on this topic - Growing cucumbers in a greenhouse and open field.

For optimal growth in winter, hybrids should be chosen, among which there are:

Claudia F1;
"Marinda F1";
Bianca;
"Masha";
"Moscow hothouse";
"Romance";
"Gribovchanka";
"Legend".

During the flowering period, cucumbers need pollination, which is achieved through the active intervention of bees. Such actions contribute to the formation of an ovary, that is, the further growth of vegetables.

The given varieties of indoor cucumbers belong to self-pollinated representatives, which makes it possible for their further growth without the additional intervention of the "gardener" himself. The presented hybrids yield crops where the length of cucumbers can reach an average of 25 cm.

Choosing a variety, video:

The basics of growing cucumbers on a window in winter

As mentioned above, growing cucumbers in the winter at home significantly different. Here you should take into account some of the features in self-planting and caring:

In winter, the growth rate of vegetables is significantly reduced, so this fact must be taken into account first. To grow fresh vegetables for New Year's table, the seeds should be planted at the end of September.

The listed varieties of cucumbers, which are intended for germination at home, can please gardeners with a good harvest when proper care... Each bush can be harvested from 30 to 40 ripe cucumbers.

The container should be installed in a place far from the window, which has the ability to freeze in cold weather, as well as from a hot battery, since homemade vegetables do not tolerate excessive cold or heat.

The lighting of the bushes also plays an important role. It is better to install containers near windows facing east and south.

For a fruitful harvest, additional lighting will be required, because the optimal lighting duration is at least 6 hours. It is better if the light falls on the bushes for about 12 hours without a break.

By observing all these basics, every resident of a comfortable apartment can create a garden with green and useful splendor.

Planting seeds

How to grow cucumbers at home in winter? There are two methods of planting seeds here, each of which is simple, but requires adherence to certain rules.

Method number 1 - planting seeds in the ground. The first method is simple and does not take much time. It is already used by experienced gardeners who understand seeds. The method consists in the preparation of seeds and their subsequent planting in the ground immediately, without carrying out the germination and transplantation procedure.

So, you should prepare the seeds after drying them. For this, the seeds are placed near the battery.

Then, before planting, you should soak the seeds in a weak solution of potassium permanganate (no more than 20 minutes) and move them into aloe juice for 12 hours. Thus, the seeds are saturated with useful microelements, which will have a beneficial effect on the further growth of cucumbers.

At the final stage, the seeds are again slightly dried (during the day) and planted in a container of at least 5 liters.

The process of growing cucumbers on the windowsill has been launched in winter. This is followed only by care and regular watering.

How to grow cucumbers on the windowsill, video:

Method number 2 - growing seedlings. Many beginner "home" gardeners are rather skeptical about the above method of planting seeds, so they carry out preliminary procedures before the main planting. It is about growing seedlings.

This process takes a long time. Transplantation and further adaptation in a new place will take about 2 weeks.

But if gardeners are afraid to fail at self-cultivation cucumbers on the windowsill can resort to this method, which includes the following steps:

at the initial stage, all methods of action presented in description 1 should be repeated;
after soaking in aloe juice, the seeds are left in wet gauze for germination for 2-3 days, here it is important to ensure that the material is always moist;
then they prepare containers for seedlings, you can take ordinary plastic cups;
earth is poured into each glass and one seed is planted;
all cups are removed in a warm place (can be installed on the top drawer of the kitchen unit);
before germination of seeds, they are watered and fed;
as soon as 3-4 full-fledged leaves have formed, the seedlings are transplanted into large capacity for further growth.

Gardeners must decide for themselves which method is acceptable to them. Regardless of the chosen method of seed preparation, special attention should be paid to the preparation of containers for growing cucumbers.

Soil features

Question, how to grow cucumbers on a windowsill in winter, will be defective if you do not consider the features of soil preparation and containers for planting vegetables. Before planting seedlings or planting seeds, you should prepare by following these steps:

Prepare the dishes. Better to take plastic container, at the bottom of which you need to make several holes.
Then a drainage layer is laid on the bottom of the container.
Cover the container with earth to the brim, leaving only 2 cm.

As for the preparation of the soil, there are also several options here. Firstly, a suitable primer can be obtained from a specialized store. Secondly, the most optimal option is to take land with garden plot, if he is. Thirdly, the soil can be prepared independently by mixing certain compounds:

sod land and rotted manure in proportions 1: 1;
peat;
sawdust;
20 g superphosphate;
wood ash in the amount of 2 tablespoons;
10 g of urea.

By mixing all the components, you can achieve a suitable primer that will contribute to growing cucumbers on the windowsill in the apartment.

Cucumbers on the balcony, video:

Cucumbers on the windowsill: growing and care

You can place containers with planted seedlings or seeds on the balcony, but only if it is insulated. It is important to remember that planting seeds or seedlings is just the beginning of the whole process. Next, you should regularly carry out the manipulations necessary for normal growth.

Lighting

For the favorable growth of vegetables, it is necessary to create good lighting for the bushes. Better to give preference to infrared lamps. But some gardeners use regular household lighting.

At the same time, it should be noted that the apartment electricity may not be enough for the bushes. The foliage itself will grow normally, but you can't wait for vegetables - no ovaries are formed.

When using the lamp, the light is turned off at night so that the plant recovers and "rests".

Watering and humidity

It is important for cucumbers to create favorable moist conditions. To do this, you need to purchase a special humidifier or place bowls of water near the containers with vegetables. Ovaries are not formed without proper moisture.

Watering is equally important. The soil must always be moist. Watering should only be done with warm water that has settled for several days.

Pay attention to this material - How to use peat tablets for seedlings?

Top dressing

If we consider the question, how to grow cucumbers on a windowsill in an apartment, thoroughly, then it is necessary to determine the conditions for the correct feeding. Here it is necessary to use suitable solutions containing full complex mineral fertilizers. These can be purchased from a specialist store.

Means such as "Growth", "Agrolife" and others will do. Feeding is carried out according to the instructions, on average, once every 2-3 weeks.

Garter and further care

Everyone knows that cucumbers are a climbing plant, so they need to provide a large area for growth. Of course, this is impossible to achieve on window sills, so gardeners resort to a simple garter method.

You will be interested in this article - The best varieties tomatoes: varieties and characteristics.

There are several options here, including:

As it grows, it is necessary to remove the side shoots, which will interfere with the cucumber ovary and their growth. To speed up the growth of cucumbers, you can pinch, leaving only 10-11 leaves on each bush. This must be done for the rapid formation of the ovary, since the greens take away most of the useful trace elements that come with watering or feeding.

Is it possible to grow cucumbers on a windowsill in winter? Answer: you can. You can always please yourself and your loved ones with ripe and fresh vegetables, it is only important to want and observe the basics of growing cucumbers on the windowsill.

Indoor cucumbers have long been to the taste of residents of urban high-rise buildings. This is not surprising, as crispy, aromatic cucumbers can be grown even in winter. Caring for them is so simple that even a beginner can harvest a good harvest. Today we'll talk about how to grow cucumbers on the windowsill so that you don't have to buy overseas counterparts without taste and smell.

When to carry out work on planting indoor cucumbers

You can grow cucumbers on a balcony or windowsill all year round, and the result does not depend on the season. You can determine when to sow your seeds and plan your harvest time in advance. For instance:

If you want crispy cucumbers for the New Year, then you need to plant, starting in mid-October;
The pimpled babies sown in January will ripen by March 8th.
From the moment of leaf formation to the first harvest, it often takes about 45-50 days.

What variety of cucumbers to choose for planting in an apartment?

Growing indoor cucumbers on the balcony in winter is slightly different from planting in open ground... It is necessary to choose and buy only certain varieties of indoor cucumbers:

Farm - pollination can be carried out with a simple brush, transferring male stamens to female pistils. They have a high taste, and cucumbers with black spines grow about 10 cm. They are suitable both for pickling and for simple “raw” eating.

Shchedrik - yield about 20 pieces, 12 cm each for 1 harvesting period. Refers to early ripening, as the ripening period is less than 1.5 months. 5-8 fruits grow on one ovary.

Khrustik- ripens for 1.5-2 months, self-pollinates, gives a generous harvest. On 1 ovary from 5 to 7 fruits.

Important! The peculiarity is the wide growth of the bush, so prepare more space and support for the grown lashes.

Onega f1 is a self-pollinating hybrid. The first fruits can please you already in the first week of the second month. Cucumbers are slightly below average in size, but you can eat them in any form.

Buyan. Matures 50 days after disembarkation. Of the minuses - the need for additional lighting in the winter.

Emelya is resistant to cold weather, which gives it certain advantages. Originally intended for "raw" consumption, cucumbers can be rolled up and salted.

Ant - maturation 38-40 days, and it belongs to the parthenocarpic species, which means the exclusion of manual pollination. Note that the shrub grows a lot in width.

Babylon - flowers are often female, from 1 to 3 flowers per node. Cucumber up to 28 cm long and weighing 240 g. More often the ovary is formed by a bunch.
Baba Masha requires special care during the appearance of ovaries. There are 7 cucumbers in one ovary, it depends on it small size fruits that have dark skin and high tuberosity.

Miracle- maximum length fruit - 8 cm, but, despite the diminutiveness, babies-cucumbers are very pleasant to the taste. Harvesting is possible within 45 days after disembarkation.

How to process and germinate cucumber seeds

Seeds purchased in a store must undergo special processing before sowing them, which consists of certain stages:

Check for freshness and germination. For this, cucumber seeds are poured into a container and poured with salty solution (half a teaspoon of salt in a glass of water). It is better to throw out the pacifiers that float up, and the full-bodied pot-bellied ones go further.

Disinfection - soak the sowing material for 20 minutes in a weak solution of potassium permanganate, then rinse them thoroughly.
Germination - wrap the processed and washed seeds in a wet rag or napkin, put in a bowl, and leave in a warm place for germination.

Wait until it cools down.

Algorithm for sowing seeds of indoor cucumbers

Provided that all preparations are completed, you can proceed to sowing. To indoor cucumber on the windowsill was pleasing to the eye in winter, do the following manipulations:

Make a hole 1 cm deep in the center of the plastic cup.
Put 1 seed in the hole and sprinkle a little with soil.

Place the cups in a common deep tray, cover with cling film or glass.
Keep the tray in the dark and warm until germination. The appearance of sprouts is a signal to that. that you need to move the tray to a bright place.

For fast and effective development, you should create favorable conditions for seedlings:

When the surface of the soil dries up, add lukewarm water to it. Water with a spray bottle to avoid blurring the roots.

Add some light on cloudy or at night. To do this, equip the place with special phytolamps and fluorescent lamps.

The optimum temperature is +15 +17 during the day, and at +13 +15 at night.
To humidify the air, spray the plants with water from a spray bottle or periodically hang wet towels on the batteries.
Cucumbers grow normally in indoor conditions even on a cool windowsill. To prevent hypothermia of the roots, place the box on a piece of styrofoam.

Transplanting seedlings of indoor cucumber

With the development of the root system, cucumber seedlings, as well, require larger area, therefore, when the cucumbers form 2 true leaves, they can be transplanted into flower pots with a volume of 4-5 liters. A pick is best done in cloudy weather. The procedure is as follows:

Half fill the containers for planting with the substrate, initially lay the drainage on the bottom.
Water, make a hole.

Carefully remove the seedlings and move them into the hole without disturbing the earthen ball.
Immersion is necessary until the cotyledonous leaves of the cucumber.
After finishing, cover the plants for 2-3 days with thin paper or cloth so that they adapt.

Shaping the indoor cucumber bush

To grow a large and developed indoor cucumber, it is customary to form it into 1-2 large lashes, therefore, all processes that develop to the sides on the central shoot must be pinched.

It is better to tie up already grown bushes. For this, a stretched over the window is suitable construction mesh with large cells. On it, clinging to the antennae, whips will grow. This cucumber curtain will look fresh and spring-like.

Watering mode for cucumbers

Watering is required 2-3 times a week to stimulate flowering.
As soon as the bush blooms, watering is intensified.
The procedure is best done in the morning or late in the evening with +28 +30 degrees water.
Waterlogging threatens disease, and a lack of moisture will lead to the fact that the fruits become bitter.

Feeding indoor cucumbers

Top dressing of indoor cucumbers begins from the time when the first fruit ovaries appear on them. For 1 l hot water dissolve 100 g of wood ash. Water the soil.
Dry yeast can significantly increase the yield of cucumbers. 100 g yeast + 2 tablespoons sugar + 10 liters of water. Let it brew for a couple of hours, and after that the leaven is diluted in 50 liters of water. This composition should be watered around the seedlings.

Harvesting is easy. Do not overexpose ripe fruits on the whip, pluck carefully, trying not to damage the stem. Also remove crooked, underdeveloped, spoiled specimens.

As you can see, growing cucumbers on the windowsill is quite a simple matter. If you have life hacks or secrets of the procedure, be sure to share them in the comments.

Video: Simple ways to grow indoor cucumbers

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

Cucumbers on the windowsill

It may seem impossible for many novice gardeners to grow cucumbers on the windowsill, but this is quite real. Of course, you have to work hard to get the harvest, but for those who like to show their talent in agricultural technology, this process is a real pleasure. In addition, such an activity can become a family hobby.
There are no restrictions on the timing of disembarkation. But planting is one thing, and looking after - following a step-by-step plan of events, especially in winter - is quite another. The conditions for success are the installation of a lamp near an impromptu bed with daylight from November to February, proper watering, attention to flowering, pinching and garter. Insufficient illumination negatively affects the growing season.

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

It's easy to get confused in the abundance of varieties

The main rule of how to grow greens in a room is the correct choice of seeds. Which 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 ripening variety with a fruit ripening period of 40-42 days from the moment of germination. Productivity with square meter is 8-11 kg. To successfully grow this variety and get a large harvest, the main thing is to water it correctly according to the instructions.

Buyan

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

Ant

The characteristic quality of the variety is ultra early ripening, the fruits appear 37-38 days after the mass germination of seeds. Pollination is not required for the plant. 10-12 kg can be removed from 1 m2 with proper care.

Marathon

A hybrid requiring pollination is distinguished by a high yield (over 25 kg per 1 m2). Ideal for window growing due to its compact lash size and high disease resistance.

Olympiad

The plant, although it has a long lash, adapts well to a home environment. Fruits ripen 47-49 days after seed germination on the surface of the soil. When grown in a greenhouse in compliance with 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 rules for growing

Cover with a lid to protect the seedlings

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

Plant only varieties suitable for window cultivation.
Conduct disinfection of soil and seeds.
Follow temperature regime characteristic of each stage.
Eliminate drafts.
Control the degree of moisture in the soil and air, as well as the level of lighting.
Timely transplant and garter, introduce fertilizers and top dressing
To manually pollinate flowers of those varieties that require it.
Loosen the soil periodically to provide access to the roots of oxygen.

When to plant cucumbers at home?

Seedlings sprout and gain strength in pots

More often, the sowing of seeds for seedlings is done step by step in March. A month later, the matured seedlings are transferred to separate pots. This decision is due to a suitable time of the year, when there will simply not be a shortage of good lighting.

What is the most suitable time for planting according to the technology?

It is possible to start sowing work 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 opportunity to create favorable conditions for the growing season of the plant.

The right soil for growing early varieties in a pot

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

Preparing seeds for planting

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

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

How to plant and transplant at home

Sowing is convenient to do in wooden boxes or individual pots. You can also use plastic cups, it is important that there is a hole on the bottom for the release of excess moisture. After germination, the seeds are buried in moist soil by 1.5 cm. Until the emergence of shoots on the surface of the soil, the container should be covered with glass or plastic wrap to create a greenhouse effect. The temperature regime at this stage is at least 25 °. After 2-3 days, it will be possible to observe how little green dots make their way 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 mature seedlings with 3-4 leaves in more capacious pots, where up to 5 liters of soil can be placed. Also, some owners use boxes where 3-4 bushes are planted per 1 m2.

Shoots are transferred to a new place carefully along with the soil, so that the weak root system is not damaged.

Caring for the first shoots and seedlings in the apartment

Caring for seedlings is distinguished by trepidation, it is at this stage that it is important to help the shoots get stronger, which in further development will play a positive role.

Lighting in spring and summer

Cucumbers need a lot of light, therefore, it is better to choose a window sill or 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. To prevent the plant from drying out from the sun's rays in the apartment in summer, the glass is tinted with thin tulle. Light shading will protect the whip from ultraviolet radiation.

Additional lighting can be created using mirrors, foil and other reflectors that will redirect sunlight onto the bushes.

Watering indoor cucumbers

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

Top dressing of seedlings

After sowing, the seedlings are kept in a warm place with a temperature 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. It is recommended to use complex fertilizers as a nutritional composition.

Garter of grown lashes

Garter is a prerequisite for plant development

The growing lash needs help - to 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, you should run the stem on the formed wall. Then he himself will wrap around the net. You can correct it, but do it carefully so as not to damage the plant. Excess antennae are removed.
The garter is also organized using a cord that is fixed to a specially made frame made 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 goes down to the root zone of the bush, turns (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 cucumber bush... Often, the plant lays male shoots on the stem, the so-called barren flowers. To prevent their formation, it is necessary to remove the lateral shoots from the lower part after tying the lash. 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

Used exclusively for watering warm water , the cold liquid inhibits root development and reduces the formation of ovaries in the sinuses. You need to irrigate the bushes once a week. In summer, the intensity of hydration, if necessary, is increased up to 2-3 times a week. You can also spray the whips throughout the day using warm, clean water.
You need to introduce fertilizer 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 organic-based solutions are used:

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

How to pollinate correctly

How to manually pollinate cucumbers

When choosing pollinated varieties, artificial pollination must be ensured, in open ground conditions, this function is performed by bees.
Before you carry it out, you need to learn how to distinguish barren flowers from female flowers. The female inflorescence is formed on a green seal that looks like a mini-cucumber. The pollination process involves the transfer of pollen from male flower to the fertile. To do this, they pluck the barren flower and open the stamens as much as possible, removing all the petals. All that remains is 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 the plants, which will certainly be rewarded with a generous harvest.

In winter, fresh vegetables can be safely attributed to delicacies: they are not cheap, and it is difficult to find a product. good quality... But how you want to feast on cucumbers plucked from a bush, and not pickled! Therefore, more and more Internet users are interested in what is needed to grow cucumbers on a windowsill in winter.

What you need to know and which seeds to choose

Correctly selected varieties of cucumbers are a guarantee good growth and a high yield. It should be remembered that in an apartment or house, the conditions for growing vegetables are sharply different from open ground in the summer. Therefore, the seeds must also be suitable.

The optimal varieties of cucumbers for growing in winter on the windowsill are such hybrids as:

Claudia F1;
"Marinda F1";
Bianca;
"Masha";
"Moscow hothouse";
"Romance";
"Gribovchanka";
"Legend".

These varieties are self-pollinating, they are not capricious and you do not have to manually pollinate them during flowering in order to achieve the ovary. Such hybrids give high yield tasty fruits up to 25 cm in size.

The right seed varieties will ensure a good harvest

Also, fans of growing cucumbers at home distinguish the "Room Rykov" variety. Although he belongs to bee-pollinated, he feels very good in indoor conditions and is not at all capricious.

In winter, the growth of cucumbers usually slows down. If the seeds are sown in early December, the fruits will ripen by the end of February. If you want to get your first crop by the end of March, plant at the very beginning of February.
Good, properly created conditions for the growth of cucumbers will provide you with a harvest of 30-40 fruits per bush. Pick up ripe vegetables in time to avoid rotting or overripe.
The cucumber bush does not tolerate cold or excessive heat. Do not hold the container with the plant too close to a window, which may freeze, or near a hot battery.
The optimal location of the cucumber bush is by the windows facing the east or south sides.
Cucumber is a light-loving plant. You may need additional lighting as the optimal lighting duration is 6-12 hours.

Choosing soil, planting seeds

Properly prepared soil is the best breeding ground for growing seedlings. You can purchase it in specialized stores, or you can prepare it yourself. In the fall, stock up on a mixture of humus and turf soil. The optimal proportion is 1: 1 or 1: 3, respectively.

Add to the bucket of the mixture:

50 grams of lime;
2 glasses of wood ash;
potash, nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers- 5 grams each.

Mix the resulting mass thoroughly and place in polyethylene bags. Be sure to check the looseness and softness of the soil.

Before planting in the soil, cucumber seeds must be germinated.

The seeds need to be germinated first. To do this, they are wrapped in a damp cloth, for example, in gauze, and placed on a saucer, which is placed on a well-lit surface. You can spend additional processing seeds. Dip them in a warm, weak solution of potassium permanganate and leave for 3 hours. The floating seeds can be thrown away - they have a low germination rate. Remove those that have sunk to the bottom and leave to drain on a cotton cloth.

Please note: if you have purchased already processed seeds, in a red or green shell, then you do not need to soak them. They are fully prepared and planted dry in the soil.

When the size of the sprouted roots reaches 0.5-1 cm, plant the seeds in pots in pairs.

Cucumber seed germination process

Seed or seedling planting options

Cucumber seeds can be planted in two ways: directly into a prepared pot, or into cups, followed by picking (transplanting). The second method is more costly and troublesome, but it allows you to weed out unsuccessful and weak seedlings before final planting for quality growth.

Healthy seedlings of cucumber seeds in the soil

The diameter of the seedling pots should be at least 10 cm. The best option is a capacity of 3 to 4 liters. Pour the soil into the pot, tamping slightly, spread the seeds and add the soil with a layer of 1.5 cm.About 4 cm of space should remain to the top edge, which will need to be filled up after a month. Thus, the most powerful seedlings will break through to the surface.
When you plant the seeds, cover the pots with plastic wrap until the seeds emerge. The best air temperature for growing cucumbers is 20 degrees.
After seed germination, be sure to ventilate the room in which the cucumber pots are located, providing access fresh air... Now you can lower the temperature in the room to 15-16 degrees. At higher temperatures, the sprouts can stretch in length, which will adversely affect both the shape of the bush and the fruit yield.
If you decide to grow seedlings in cups so that you can then dive them into large pots, then the transplant should be done about 4 weeks after germination. Gently grasp the glass, holding the seedlings between your fingers, and gently shake the soil out into your palm. Without shaking off the soil from the roots of the seedlings, place the clod in a prepared pot filled with the mixture. Cover the remaining space with earth to the level at which the cotyledon leaves are.

How to properly care for cucumbers during growth

Among all vegetables, cucumbers "leave" the earliest. If you grow cucumbers on a windowsill in pots in winter, then their life will be about 2 months from the moment the first harvest is obtained.

The growing season of cucumbers is short. The plant begins to bear fruit in about 4 weeks after planting. Since, unlike tomatoes and peppers, the cucumber does not propagate by cuttings, the bush must be changed a maximum of 3 months after it began to bear fruit.
Shake the bush a little once a day during flowering to ensure better pollination.
After about 5 full-fledged leaves appear on the bush, the cucumber is pinched. This will give the plant density and splendor, and will not allow the branches to grow. Thus, you get two short lashes instead of one long one. All ovaries formed up to the pinching point and on it must be removed.
Cucumbers are very sensitive to moisture. Provide them with regular watering, the ground should always be moist. Drying out of the soil or excessive dryness of the surrounding air will lead to the shedding of the ovary from the bush. Spray the plant with a spray bottle twice a day.
Getting too carried away with hydration is also harmful. Overflowing the plant, especially during its initial growth period, increases the risk of diseases such as blackleg.
When growing cucumbers on a windowsill in winter, do not water them too often, since there is not much heat and sun during the cold period. The exception is when the air in the room is too dry.

The soil in the pot with cucumber seedlings should always be moist.

Tip: to avoid drying out or waterlogging of the soil, provide the plant with constant access to moisture. To do this, make a small hole in the bottom of the pot and place the container in a deep saucer of water. The soil in the pot will take in the required amount of moisture.

Supports and feeding for cucumbers

Cucumber is a climbing plant, and its lashes can reach considerable lengths, even if you pinned them correctly. Therefore, it is very important to provide him with a good support of a suitable height, from 70 cm to 1 m. You can use a net, trellis, support of any shape, the main thing is strong and stable.

In addition, the support should be light and comfortable, because at least once a day, the potted plant must be rotated 180 degrees around its axis (this also applies to seedlings in cups). Each plant stretches with leaves and stems to the light source, therefore, leaving the cucumber bush in one position for too long, you risk getting an asymmetrical, ugly and curved bush, which will ultimately affect the harvest.

Support the cucumber bush

To prolong the life of the bush and get a bountiful harvest, do not forget to feed the cucumbers every 2-3 weeks. This can be done in the following ways:

Pour fresh vermicompost into the pot once a month;
pour the solution of the "Growth" agent - 1 cap for 2 liters of water;
a small amount of Agrolife (1 teaspoon) for upper layer soil;
after the buds appear, the plants need to be fed wood ash(1 glass for 10 liters of water).

It will also be useful to feed from 25 grams of mineral complex fertilizer or 100 grams of a vegetable mixture, diluted in 10 liters of water. The consumption of such a solution for 1 plant will be 250-500 grams.

Advice: such feeding should be carried out with an interval of 10-12 days, and experts recommend alternating mineral and organic fertilizers.

When the plant begins to harvest, be sure to harvest the fruit on time. Overripe should not be allowed: in this way, the bush gives useful juices to aging fruits instead of distributing them between new, ripening and setting ones.

Video about growing cucumbers on a windowsill in winter

We all love fresh vegetables very much, and in winter it is especially important to have on hand constant source vitamins. As you can see, growing cucumbers in the winter at home on your own is not only possible, but also very simple. You just need to be patient and properly care for the plant so that it will delight you with a generous harvest.

Surely our readers know the secrets of growing cucumbers on the windowsill in winter. Please share them in the comments, as well as ask questions that you might have after reading our article. We wish you a big harvest and comfort in your home!

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

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Features of growing cucumbers on the windowsill

When grown at home, cucumbers will not have those natural conditions that affect fast emergence and ripening of fruits.

Factors affecting sowing and emergence:

Lighting. In winter, you will have to give up the idea of planting cucumbers if there are problems with installing fluorescent or helium lighting. Favorable days for planting seeds are the first days of March. At this time, there is more light, which will have a beneficial effect on seedlings.
Temperature. Place young shoots as far away from drafts as possible. Drafts have a detrimental effect on seedling efficiency. In this regard, constant monitoring of the temperature regime is needed. 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, the soil can become infected with diseases, which will lead to the death of the shoots.
Top dressing and introduction of fertilizers into the soil. At each stage of growth, stimulation of growth is necessary for a rich harvest.
Timely pinching and garter.
Seed preference. To get a full harvest of this vegetable in an apartment, you need a careful choice of variety.

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. Good location will become remoteness from other plants.

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

The best varieties for growing at home

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

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

Balcony. The hybrid was first bred in 2007. Perfectly adapted for indoor cultivation. They are planted in indoor and outdoor ground. Undemanding to the habitat, a variety with early ripening, the average period is 39–41 days from the first shoots. High productivity. The length of the lashes is small, the branching is common. The variety is self-pollinated.
Buyan. This hydride requires an abundant supply of light, is demanding on the temperature regime. It is distinguished by its duration of fruiting, the compact size of the branches. It has an average of 5 ovaries per knot. How better conditions content, the more fruits will be obtained from the bush.
Ant. Differs in early maturity. Bred for sowing in open ground. Suitable for canning. At the right technology leaving the amount of the crop will be 10–12 kg. He does not need help with pollination.
Marathon. This is a variety of hybrids that needs third-party pollination. Thanks to this process, it has a high fruiting rate of more than 25 kg per square meter. The harvest begins to appear on the 85th day from the first shoots. Popular among gardeners due to its resistance to diseases.
Olympics. Marketable yield in a winter greenhouse is 23.2 and 32.8 kg / sq. m. Resistant to the cucumber mosaic microbe. Advantages of the hybrid: the highest yield and marketability of products, good taste of zelents.

Sowing cucumbers on the windowsill

When sowing for the first time, you must 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 fruits.

Seed preparation for sowing

For a quick passage through the stage of preparing seeds for sowing, purchase ready-made seeds in a specialized store. They can be immediately taken into work, without any additional manipulations. If ordinary seeds or seeds collected by hand were chosen, they must go through the necessary procedures for germination.

Germination procedures consist of the following stages:

Disinfection. It is carried out using potassium permanganate or hydrogen peroxide. If there is no time to create a solution on your own in specialized stores, it is sold ready solution... 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. Purchase a ready-made composition, or you can make it at home from aloe juice. The recipe for the solution 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 by the first day of February.
Sowing in January. Harvesting is possible by the end of February, beginning of March.
February. When sowing seeds this winter month, the first cucumber shoots will appear by the end of March.

If we plant cucumbers at a certain time of the year, then the appearance of the crop on the table can be regulated. To have fresh cucumbers by May 1, seeds for seedlings must be sown in the second half of February. But in practice, January and February are considered the most favorable time for sowing. When sowing in December, there is not the necessary amount of lighting for the healthy development of cucumbers. During this period, they will need additional light. It can also be planted in September-October, but it is almost impossible to achieve a strong harvest.

Selection of a place for growing cucumbers at home

The locations of the seed containers should be correctly positioned on the south windows in order to get maximum light. Early seedlings are equally susceptible to light and heat. You also need to take into account the possibility of installing additional lighting, since in winter daylight hours do not last long.

Soil selection

Beginners can take the easy route and buy a ready-made mixture for growing cucumbers. For this purpose, lands with high fertility, loose, with good water and air permeability are suitable. Slightly acidic soils may work, but yields will decrease. Ideal option will become a peat soil mixture. Such material has low level acidity and already contains many additives.

You can make an earthen mixture with your own hands.

It is prepared from:

peat;
humus;
fine-grained river sand.

The proportions are 3: 3: 1. The sand, if necessary, is replaced with coconut flakes. It has a neutral pH of 7.0, as well as promotes moisture retention, increases air permeability. To prepare the soil mixture, pour coconut flakes with water according to the instructions. Coconut shavings can be substituted for ripe hardwood sawdust. It is recommended to disinfect the prepared soil mixture.

Disinfection is usually carried out in several ways:

In the oven. This is done by calcining. The oven heats up to + 120 ° C and heats up for 30 minutes.
Using liquid solutions. A weak solution of potassium permanganate or a special chemical agent... Many gardeners advise pouring boiling water over the ground, but they do not give a complete guarantee of complete cleansing of pests.
Freezing. It is considered a more effective method of disinfection than calcination. Because heat procedures 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 be placed in the cold again. And this is repeated 3 times.

Selection of capacity

It is necessary to choose a container for growing cucumbers in winter, taking into account their needs at this time. The vessel should hold 5 to 7 liters of soil. It also needs to be tall for easy growth and root formation. Accordingly, the more convenient the container, the stronger the lash of plants. Small boxes and plastic buckets will come in handy under the container. The main thing is with a depth of at least 15 cm.

Basically, it is recommended to place each cucumber in a separate container. An ordinary plastic cup, a plastic bottle with a volume of about 1 liter will do. At the initial stage of the growth of cucumbers, peat cup when the plant grows in size it can be immediately transplanted into a larger container.

Sowing rules

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

Small depressions are made in the ground for 2-3 centimeters. The seeds are arranged with the root downward.
Sprinkle with a small layer of earth.
Cover the vessel with foil and send it to a warm place.

Sowing from a pack, without pre-soaking, can be done 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 that appear, be sure to add two centimeters of soil. 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 a windowsill in winter are more demanding to care for than ground ones.

These activities are carried out on an ongoing basis:

high-quality watering;
fertilization;
garter;
pinching bushes.

Watering cucumbers

Each stage of ripening of cucumbers on the windowsill is characterized by its own level of watering. In the early period, while the seedlings are green and are in the stage of intensive growth, watering should be carried out systematically, without stagnant water. At the time of the formation of flowers and ripening of fruits, the bush requires a greater amount of moisture, at this time watering should not be skipped. Its intensity is important here. By constantly spraying the leaves with a spray bottle, you can increase the humidity levels. Wherein green plants will be provided with additional power outside. Watering cucumbers should only be in a tray.

Fertilization

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

The following options are possible:

renew the old vermicompost in the container once a month;
add watering with a solution of "Growth" - 1 cap for 2 liters of water;
a little Agrolife for the top layer, 1 tsp is enough;
as the buds are tied, feed the plant with wood ash, dissolve 1 glass 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, these can be leftovers from indoor plants:

dry twigs;
leaves;
potato peel.

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

The optimal temperature regime for growing cucumbers at home

The following rules should be observed:

plants are initially at a temperature of 20 ° C;
for more intensive growth use 23-25 ° C;
when the first shoots appear, the temperature does not drop sharply;
lowering the temperature is done after the germination of the leaves.

It is much cooler in winter than in summer or spring. To protect plants from cold weather, 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 set for a while to warm up in a warm place, for example, on a battery. To insulate the container, you can wrap it up with a material that retains heat.

Cucumber lighting

The highlighting of cucumbers is as follows:

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

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

Diseases of cucumbers in the apartment

Cucumbers on the windowsill are the least susceptible to disease in winter. In apartments, the air is rather dry, so the pathogenic atmosphere does not develop. There is in this cold time the only threat in the form of a 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 factors external environment 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 for cucumbers.

Cucumber pests

Indoors, sciarids are active in spring and late autumn. These flies appear when vegetables are stored in the house. As insects, they are not a threat. Their larvae are dangerous, which destroy plants by eating the roots. Their actions fall 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 irrigation cannot be reduced.

When pests appear, it is worth using drugs:

Fly eater;
Zemlin;
Aktara;
Bazudin.

Aktara - 45 rubles Bazudin - 28 rubles