Cultivation of cucumbers on the balcony: fresh vegetables in winter cold

What they are delicious, crispy cucumbers. That's just a pity that their season is not very long, so in the winter time they have to be content with their taste only in home sunsets. But you want so much in winter, when snow outside the window, but in the heart of melancholy, to eat fresh cucumber, that's just where to get it? You can search in stores and give a kilogram fabulous price, but you can grow cucumbers at home. Do not believe me, then read on!

Recently, cultivation of various cultures has been practiced at home. For example, you can grow onions, strawberries, tulips, carrots. Cucumbers can also be added to this list. And it's not just that, but because many vegetable growers really managed to harvest the cucumber harvest in the winter time 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 do you start growing cucumbers at home? First you need to buy seeds. In this case, self-pollinating species are best suited, but other varieties can also be grown, they will simply have to be pollinated on their own. Next, the seeds should be folded into a gauze pouch and put on a saucer. Then the seeds need to be sprinkled with water and do this until the burrs appear.

Now you need to think about the insulation of the balcony. Cucumbers need warmth, so here you already have to come up with something. The main thing, remember that the heat should be 24 hours a day. It is in this lies the whole hitch, because create warm conditions on the balcony is not so simple. But, say, you solved this problem. Then you should decide on where to plant the plants. The most convenient way is to grow cucumbers on a balcony in long boxes, but you can also use flower pots, plastic bags. The soil is better to buy a special one, or cook it yourself in the fall. Its composition should be approximately the same: the topsoil, humus and peat. In the same mixture it is necessary 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: sufficient light, no drafts, high humidity air. The lack of daylight can be compensated for by artificial lighting with the help of lamps. To avoid drafts, the windows should be tightly closed and during the growth of cucumbers should not open at all. To ensure that plants do not lack moisture, they should be sprinkled periodically with water. It is best to cultivate 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. Approximately once a week cucumbers need to be fed with mineral fertilizers. It is also important to build a cucumber support, according to which they begin to curl. To cucumber yield fruit, you need to cut off the top after 12 leaves.

If you plant a non - self - pollinating variety of cucumbers, then pollination will have to be done on your own. This is done in this way: separate the male flower (i.e., a void) and guide it with stamens along the flower pestle with a small cucumber (this is a female flower). Do this best in the morning, when the pollen is wet and easily sticks to the pistils. Pollination can also be carried out with a thin brush or cotton swab.

As you can see, growing cucumbers on the balcony is not such a difficult task. But you will have your own cucumbers in the winter. As already mentioned above, growing cucumbers on the balcony is complicated by the fact that there they will not be enough heat. However, if you want to use this room in the summer (for example, you do not have a dacha or your own plot where you can plant a garden), then the balcony will be as never before. In fact, this is a small greenhouse.

If you do not have the opportunity to make a balcony warm, then you can organize the cultivation of cucumbers on the windowsill. Just do the work described above and enjoy the harvested crop.