What delicious, crispy cucumbers they are. It’s only a pity that their season is not very long, so in winter you have to be content with their taste only in home sunsets. But you really feel like it in the winter, when it is snowing outside the window, and you feel longing for a soul, eat a fresh cucumber, but where to get it from? You can search in stores and pay a fabulous price per kilogram, or you can grow cucumbers at home. Do not believe me, then read on!
Recently, at home, cultivation of a variety of crops has been practiced. For example, you can grow onions, strawberries, tulips, carrots. Cucumbers can also be added to this list. And not just like that, but because many vegetable growers really managed to harvest cucumbers in the winter from the fact that they settled on an ordinary balcony. Of course, some efforts will have to be made, but it's worth it.
So, where to start growing cucumbers at home? First you need to buy seeds. In this case, self-pollinating species are best, but other varieties can also be grown, you just have to pollinate them yourself. Next, the seeds should be folded in a gauze bag and put on a saucer. Then the seeds must be sprinkled with water and do this until bores appear.
Now you need to think about warming the balcony. Cucumbers need warmth, so here you yourself have to come up with something. Most importantly, remember that the heat should be 24 hours a day. This is where the whole snag lies, because creating warm conditions on the balcony is not so simple. But let's say you solved this problem. Then you should decide where to plant the plants. It will be most convenient to grow cucumbers on the balcony in long boxes, but you can also use flower pots and plastic bags. It is better to buy special soil or prepare it yourself in the fall. Its composition should be something like this: topsoil, humus and peat. In the same mixture, you need to add wood ash, ground chalk and granules of superphosphate.
It is important to ensure that the cultivation of cucumbers on the balcony is accompanied by the following conditions: a sufficient amount of light, no drafts, high humidity. The lack of daylight can be compensated by artificial lighting using lamps. To avoid drafts, the windows should be tightly closed and should not open at all during the growth of cucumbers. So that the plants do not experience a lack of moisture, they should be sprayed periodically with water. It is best to grow cucumbers on the balcony, which is located on the south side.
After the seeds have been planted, the box must be covered with a film until sprouts appear. About once a week, cucumbers need to be fed with mineral fertilizers. It is also important to build a cucumber support on which they begin to curl. In order for the cucumbers to bear fruit, it is necessary to cut off the top after 12 leaves.
If you planted a non - self - pollinating variety of cucumbers, then pollination will have to be done on your own. This is done as follows: separate the male flower (i.e., the empty flower) and move its stamens along the pistil of the flower with a small cucumber (this is a female flower). This is best done in the morning when the pollen is wet and easily sticks to the pistils. Pollination can also be carried out using a thin brush or cotton swab.
As you can see, growing cucumbers on the balcony is not such a difficult task. But in the winter you will have your own cucumbers. As mentioned above, growing cucumbers on the balcony is complicated by the fact that there they will not have enough heat. However, if you want to use this room in the summer (for example, you do not have a summer house or your own plot where you can plant a garden), then the balcony will be more than ever needed. In fact, this little greenhouse.
If you do not have the opportunity to make the balcony warm, then you can organize the cultivation of cucumbers on the windowsill. Just do the work described above and enjoy the harvest.