The vegetable garden is on the windowsill. What can be grown on a windowsill?

In winter, there is not enough fresh greenery and vegetables from the garden. What can you grow on a windowsill to enjoy natural products? The list of crops suitable for apartment conditions is wide enough - from parsley and salad to tomatoes and cucumbers.

Grow greens on the windowsill in winter or summer can be the same as in the garden. But it should be noted that some plants are quite demanding. In this article, we'll look at simple-care cultures.

If you are a beginner gardener, and therefore do not know what can be grown on the windowsill, it is better to start with green onions, watercress, parsley. And spicy herbs - basil and rosemary - will not only be useful in the kitchen, but will also spread their scent throughout the apartment. More experienced amateurs can start immediately with the cultivation of cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers.

Winter garden will appeal to children. Even a kid can grow a green onion on a windowsill. Caring for plants will not only entice the child and give him a new useful experience, but also provide vitamins.

Preparation

After you decided to grow on the windowsill, you need to prepare pots, soil, seeds. The set is the same for most cultures. Experienced summer residents who know how to grow seedlings on the windowsill already have almost everything they need.

To equip the garden on the windowsill will need deep drawers or wide flower pots for planting plants. They can be equipped with plastic caps to create a greenhouse effect. For these purposes, you can use conventional plastic bags.

Pots must be filled with earth from a flower shop or by a self-prepared substrate. From the use of land from the garden or garden is better to abandon, because it can remain insect larvae and seeds of weeds. If the land from the street is not prepared and not burned, then it is likely that one can grow a single weed on the windowsill.

You also need to prepare a container for settling the water - gentle young plants should not be watered directly from the tap. It will take a spray or a small watering can.

The foil, which is placed behind the plants to reflect sunlight, will also be useful. If the foil is not used, then boxes and pots with plants must be turned 180 degrees daily, otherwise they will tilt towards the window and grow crooked.

If the plants are grown in spring and summer (landing in February-March), then they will have enough sunlight from the street. But the winter garden, planted in the autumn, will require additional illumination. For this purpose, fluorescent tubes are suitable.

It should be understood that it is possible to grow only undemanding herbs on the windowsill in winter without lighting, but it will not be possible to get a good harvest of tomatoes without using phytolamps. In winter, sunny days will require additional lighting in the evening, but with cloudy weather, the lamp will have to be turned on for the whole day.

Green onions

How to grow a bow on a windowsill, show children in kindergarten. This is the simplest culture for growing at home, it does not require special care, it grows rapidly and is very useful.

For forcing the pen, you can use both a large onion (selections) and a regular onion-repliku. Feathers from a small bulb are more tender, but the small head is exhausted quickly. A large bulb gives abundant greens a longer time.

Suitable not only yourself grown onions, you can use and bought in a supermarket or a shop for summer residents. The easiest way to plant onions for pasture is to water. To do this, take a small glass and fill it with ordinary water or nutrient solution. The bulb needs to be set so that the surface of the liquid touches only its tip. Change the water you need every day.

When planted in water, the bulb may begin to rot and spread an unpleasant odor. This can be avoided, since it is possible to grow onions on a windowsill with a landing in the ground. The substrate must be poured into a shallow plastic box. If there are no drainage holes on the bottom of the tank, then to prevent rotting of the roots, it is reasonable to pour a small drainage layer of expanded clay, pebbles, broken bricks, etc.

It is not necessary to deepen the heads, make the landing densely, bulbs are not afraid of close proximity. Planting should often be watered, not allowing the soil to dry out. Do not use all the seed material at once, it is better to break it into several servings and plant it with a difference of 2-3 weeks, then a fresh onion will last for the whole winter.

Green onions can be grown not only in boxes. Onions can be planted vertically. To do this, you can buy a special vase in the store for the truckers or independently make holes in a ground filled plastic bottle.

Cress salad

What can you grow on a window sill for a beginner? Another simple culture for growing on the windowsill is a watercress. It is known for its useful properties, and its unpretentiousness makes it one of the most common salads for growing a house. To the use of watercress is ready already in 2-3 weeks after planting. Seeds can be purchased at a shop for summer residents.

To grow a salad, you do not need a deep container, and a regular tray will do. As a substrate, you can use a thin (about 3 cm) layer of clay or peat soil, folded several times the fabric, cotton or paper towels.

Plant cress-salad should be dense, so that young plants support each other. Seeds, a little press into the moist substrate. The plant does not require additional lighting, just put it on the windowsill.

How to grow a salad on a windowsill? The main thing - do not allow the drying of the soil, although you do not need to fill the salad either. Does not like the plant and the heat. The optimum temperature is not higher than 18 degrees Celsius. To avoid overheating in winter, it is enough to move the container with a salad closer to the window.

In order for the green watercress to be present on the table constantly, it is necessary to plant it on a convenient scheme for you. It is possible to sow a new container every week or two or to sow a small amount of seeds every 3-4 days.

Leaf salad

Growing a leaf salad is somewhat more complicated. To know how to grow a salad on the windowsill, you need to consider the variety of the plant. Best in the apartment conditions show themselves varieties of Lollo Ross, Lollo Bionda, Odessa, Vitamin, New Year, Red Credo.

In autumn and winter leaf salad will need additional lighting. If the room is hot and dry, the plant does not get enough moisture, then the leaves will become bitter, coarser, and flower stalks will quickly form. Leaf lettuce loves moisture, coolness, feels well on the glassed balcony until late autumn.

Leaf lettuce is planted in the ground quite densely, at a distance of 1-2 cm. Before the first shoots, the container is covered to create a greenhouse effect. In time, thinning will need 4-5 cm. The plant needs watering and good light.

After the bushes begin to release the arrows, they become unfit for consumption. They can be removed, and new seeds can be planted in their place.

Parsley

Many mistresses are wondering how to grow parsley on a windowsill. After all, it often requires only a few leaves of this plant, and I do not want to buy a whole package in the store. In spring and summer, parsley can be grown from seeds. The plant is photophilous, therefore in winter it will need additional illumination. The seeds germinate quite slowly, but the shrub will serve for a long time. To the temperature, parsley is not demanding, it grows well on a window sill or on a balcony. The plant is hygrophilous, watering is abundant. In winter, parsley should be watered less often.

Cut the first greens can be only after a month and a half, but it can be done for a whole year. Before planting, seeds should be soaked in a solution of potassium permanganate. Plant parsley can be in small containers, in peat cups or immediately in pots.

How to grow parsley on a windowsill in autumn and winter, because growing of seeds at this time is too long and time-consuming process? There is another way - forcing out the rhizome. This method is somewhat simpler and better suited for the autumn-winter period. Planting material can be harvested independently on the plot or bought at an ordinary grocery store.

Rhizome should be healthy, without signs of wilting, and the apical bud is whole. Root should be placed in a pot and sprinkled with moist soil. Too long roots can be planted obliquely.

The first green shoots will appear in a few days after planting, and cut the leaves can be in a couple of weeks. The greens will appear on the rhizome for six months.

Basil

What can be grown on a window sill besides ordinary onions, parsley, salad? Something more exotic, such as basil or rosemary.

The sort of basil does not matter, it is suitable for both green and purple. Basil can be propagated both with the help of seeds, and with the help of cuttings. The plant is thermophilic - the optimum temperature is 20-25 degrees, and it is hygrophilous - good drainage and abundant watering are mandatory.

Cutting is a quick way to grow basil. You can just buy a few twigs in the store, put them in the water and after one or two weeks, move the seedling with the roots in the pot. To cut off the young shoots will be ready in a couple of weeks. Cut better lateral shoots.

Basil, planted with a handle, grows quickly, but it also blooms quickly. As you know, after the beginning of flowering, the plant is not suitable for food. To have fresh basil on your table constantly, you need to update the planting every 3-4 months.

Planting basil with seeds will require more effort. But such a bush will not bloom for about a year. Seeds need to be soaked, covered, sprouted in pots. Cultivate basil with the help of seeds is better in the spring, since in the winter period it will be necessary to lighten up.

Rosemary

Rosemary in a clay pot on the windowsill will not only decorate the kitchen, but it will also come in handy when cooking. This plant can be grown in summer in the country, and in the winter it will feel great at home.

It will take a wide pot, in which a thick drainage layer is poured. Rosemary is demanding for lighting and air. He prefers the south side, and in the summer the pot with the plant must necessarily be planted in the open ground, put on a balcony or put out the window, otherwise the leaves will not accumulate enough essential oils.

For planting rosemary, both seeds and cuttings are suitable. The seeds of the plant have poor germination. They need to be soaked for 2 days, then put on the ground, without sprinkling on top, cover with a film and spray every day from the spray gun. If shoots did not appear after 4 weeks, new seeds are planted. When the seedlings release three or more leaves, they are planted in spacious pots.

It is easier to grow rosemary with the help of cuttings. To do this, you need a stubby shoot of the plant. It is placed in a container with water or wet sand, and after rooting is transplanted into a pot.

Rosemary likes frequent but moderate watering. It is better to dry the primer than to pour it. If there is a shortage of moisture, the lower leaves of the plant begin to turn yellow, and if there is an overabundance, rot roots, which will lead to the death of the plant.

If the winter is to provide the plant with a low temperature (up to 5 degrees), then in the spring the rosemary will blossom. The adult plant must be constantly cut, forming a bush.

Cucumbers

Growing cucumbers on the windowsill in winter is a rather tempting prospect. This can not only be an experienced gardener, but also a beginner. Cucumbers grow quite quickly, you can get the first harvest after a month and a half.

For cultivation on a window sill, not any kind of cucumber will do. First, it must be self-pollinating. During flowering, the bush should be shaken daily to cause pollination. Secondly, it will be much more convenient if the plant is shrubby. Thirdly, for early growing, an early variety is better. Finally, the ideal option is a shade-loving plant. You can grow cucumbers on the windowsill in the winter grades Connie, Masha, Legend, Debut, Flight, Babylon. Knowing the necessary parameters, you can pick up another variety.

Growing cucumbers at home has its own subtleties. After all, to ensure all the necessary conditions can be difficult. Cucumbers are photophilic, therefore, for their cultivation, windows on the southern and eastern sides are suitable. If there is still not enough light, then additional illumination with fluorescent lamps will be needed.

The temperature in the room should not be below 20 degrees, so it's not too close to the cold window to move the vases. Cucumbers are very fond of moisture, so you need to make sure that the soil does not dry out. The pot with the plant can be put in a bowl with water. The leaves need to be sprayed twice a day from the spray gun.

Tomatoes

Many people think that growing tomatoes on a windowsill is a very difficult and inaccessible business for a beginner. But this is not so! Especially since for indoor growing there are special varieties.

Visiting the store for truck farmers, note that on some packages with seeds it is written "Recommended for potted cultivation", "Harvest on the window", "Home garden". Yes, and the names of varieties speaking - Room surprise, Balcony miracle, Japanese room. There are also ample varieties that will look great in pots - Peruvian home, Cherry, Talisman.

Even if you do not find special room varieties, the usual ones will do. Note that these tomatoes should be deterministic (dwarfish, and preferably dwarfish), self-pollinated (for pollination, shrubs are shaken during flowering) and small-fruited. For example, Alaska, Bonsai, Bonsai micro, Pearl (red and yellow), Canada News, Minibel, Pinocchio, etc.

Tomatoes can be planted directly in large pots or picking, choosing the strongest sprouts. During the flowering and tying of fruits, tomatoes should be watered abundantly and sprinkled with leaves.

The room where tomatoes grow should be regularly ventilated - plants do not like stagnant air. In winter, additional illumination is needed. The plant should be fed periodically. The first fruits can be obtained in 3-4 months.

Tomato is a perennial plant. At home, with good care, it will bear fruit for several years. After a period of active fruiting, the bush should be transplanted into a larger pot and renewed by trimming the branches. In addition, tomato can be propagated by cuttings. The plant, grown from the cuttings, will begin to bloom after a few weeks.

Sweet pepper

How to grow pepper on a windowsill? This is not harder to do than grow tomatoes. True, wait for the harvest to last longer - 5-6 months. But pepper is a perennial plant, with good care, annual transplant and pruning, it will bear fruit for several years. The plant can be propagated not only by seeds, but also by cuttings. Caring for pepper is also similar to caring for tomato, but with one significant difference - if tomato does not tolerate stagnant air, then pepper is afraid of drafts, so it's better not to settle on one window.

The best for cultivation in the apartment will suit self-pollinated early-maturing varieties - Californian miracle, Ode, Jupiter, Patio-Ivo.

Pepper needs good light, heat, loose soil (it is necessary to routinely loosen the soil). This plant is not capricious, and will long please you with its fruits. Grow in the home can be and hot peppers, but these plants should not be in the same room, otherwise there will be a perepilation.