If you enjoy fussing with vegetable crops, then there is no point in interrupting your communication with nature during the winter.
For example, instead of flowers on the windowsill, you can start growing cucumbers. If you hurry, you can harvest them by the New Year holidays.
Anastasia Kovrizhnykh , an expert of the online publication "BelNovosti", an agronomist and landscape designer, told how to grow cucumbers on a windowsill.
Variety or hybrid
First of all, early or mid-season hybrids are chosen for an indoor garden. These will be cucumbers that produce fruits, not lush greenery.
These can be hybrids "Anyuta", "Artel", "Berendey" and others, which bear fruit on the 40-44th day after emergence (each marked F1).
How to sow
1. Cucumbers need a lot of warmth and light, so choose a southern window and insulate the windowsill so that the glass does not blow cold.
2. Select a suitable container (based on the fact that one plant requires a volume of 6-8 liters), as well as loose nutritious soil.
We must provide for the possibility of tying up the seedlings and providing illumination. We fertilize the soil.
3. If you choose pelleted seeds, you can plant them without any preliminary preparation. In other cases, everything follows the standard scheme: soaking, disinfection, etc.
4. When 5-6 leaves appear, prepare a garter by sticking pegs into the soil at a height of about 1.5 meters and pulling the twine.
5. Cucumbers are illuminated for 6-8 hours starting at 7 am.
6. It is important to monitor the air temperature (+22-24 degrees) and humidity (75-80%).
7. You need to water cucumbers 1-2 times a day, but as the soil dries out, use settled water at room temperature.
8. Fertilizing is carried out 1.5-2 weeks after the emergence of seedlings, and then another week later with industrial or folk fertilizers.
Don't forget about preventive treatment, and then the cucumber harvest will be guaranteed!
Expert: Anastasia Kovrizhnykh
