Content
- 1 Is it possible to grow radishes on a windowsill or on a balcony in winter
- 2 Radish varieties for growing on the balcony or at home
- 3 How to grow radishes on a windowsill in an apartment
- 4 How to grow radishes on a windowsill
- 5 Harvesting
- 6 How to get radish seeds at home
- 7 Pests and diseases
- 8 Conclusion
It is possible for beginners to cultivate radishes on the windowsill in winter if you make an effort. The plant is unpretentious, grows quickly, you can get a harvest almost all year round.
Is it possible to grow radishes on a windowsill or on a balcony in winter
The culture is unpretentious in its care, therefore, with its correct organization, it is possible to obtain a fresh harvest of radish in winter.
The maximum amount of vegetables grown in winter can be obtained by planting them in a heated greenhouse. In the absence of conditions, radish grows successfully at home: on a windowsill or balcony.
Conditions for growing vegetables in winter:
- ambient temperature 10-16 ° C, but radish tolerates frosts down to -5 ° C;
- air humidity up to 65%;
- providing artificial or natural lighting for several hours a day.
The general principles of caring for radishes that are grown in winter are watering, loosening the soil, feeding with nutrients in case of insufficient growth.
Is it possible to grow radishes on a windowsill in spring
In the absence of conditions for cultivating a vegetable in the garden, there is the possibility of obtaining a harvest at home. You can plant any radish on the windowsill, but there are varieties that give the maximum amount of harvest.
Radish varieties for growing on the balcony or at home
The main requirements for a cultivated plant at home are early maturity, high yield, resistance to adverse conditions.
For growing radishes at home on the windowsill, the following varieties are used:
- Champion: early ripe species, has good taste, retains the elasticity of the pulp for a long time. Fruits are round, slightly elongated, reaching 20 g in weight. When planting varieties in winter, it is recommended to use loose and fertile soils. Seeds sprout at a temperature of 16-18 ° C.
- French breakfast: the period from planting to harvest is 21-25 days. The fruits grown in winter are characterized by a cylindrical shape, pink skin and white, juicy flesh. The mass of one radish reaches 15-20 g. The optimal time for sowing is mid-April and August;
- Radish 16 days: fruits are round, red in color, with juicy pulp. They are not prone to shooting and cracking. To get a summer harvest, sowing is done in April, and autumn-winter roots can be harvested by planting radishes in July. The variety is ultra-early ripe: the period from sowing to harvesting vegetables is 16 days.
It is possible to grow radishes at home in winter from varieties such as Zarya, Rudolf, Gusar or Zhara.
How to grow radishes on a windowsill in an apartment
One of the main requirements is the presence of a heated room.Radish is grown at home in winter on any convenient surface to which the sun's rays penetrate: a balcony, a windowsill or a table.
Most often, glazed balconies are used for cultivating vegetables. The best option is the location of the balcony on the south side, where there is enough light. Radish, which is grown in winter in the northern part of the house, ripens smaller, and is more likely to get sick.
The advantages of growing radishes on a balcony windowsill in winter: access to fresh air for seedlings, the availability of the necessary space for work, the possibility of increasing the ambient temperature due to the heating system.
Recommended timing
In its natural environment, the culture grows well from the second half of February to May. For growing radishes from seeds on a windowsill in winter, it is recommended to give preference to early or ultra-early varieties. To get a harvest, you can plant them in the second half of January on a windowsill on the south side. It is allowed to grow a plant on the western and eastern windows from the second half of February.
If you need to get a year-round harvest, sowing in winter can be done every two weeks. Providing all the necessary conditions, the cultivation of root crops is not difficult: they ripen evenly, in accordance with the timing.
Selection of containers and soil preparation
Any container can be used as containers for seedlings for growing plants in winter. The best option is wooden boxes with pallets, 15 cm high and a width equal to the width of the window sill.
Convenient to use and widespread in the sale of plastic containers with ventilation holes. The size of one cell must be at least 5 * 5 cm.
Radish at home on the windowsill is grown in winter in egg cells, plastic glasses and even plates. It is important to provide drainage holes and build pallets.
The selected container for growing a plant must be rinsed well with soda and dried, then filled with soil by 2/3. Radish prefers fertile soil, so it is recommended to purchase a soil mixture intended for growing cucumbers and tomatoes in stores.
Soil manufacturing options:
- In the proportions of 2: 2: 2: 1, garden and forest land, sand are mixed. To achieve homogeneity, the soil mixture is mixed and sieved.
- For 1 bucket of soil from the garden, add 1 glass of ash and half of the crushed eggshell.
- In equal quantities, it is necessary to combine the earth and peat.
Self-made soil mixture for growing in winter is treated from insects and pests: spilled with a solution of potassium permanganate or steamed.
When replanting seeds in the same containers, the soil must be fertilized first or the soil in the boxes must be changed.
How to germinate radish seeds at home
Getting a good harvest in winter is possible both from purchased seed material, and from self-collected. To grow radishes at home on a windowsill, you need to use fresh seeds for sowing. They are characterized by brown color and integrity. As a test for germination, they are placed in a container of water. If it gets into the liquid, bad seed will settle to the bottom, and good seed floats.
Before sowing, the seeds are treated with a solution of potassium permanganate, damaged samples are removed.
How to plant radishes at home on a windowsill
After preparing the container, soil and seeds, they begin the planting procedure: the container is filled with soil, which is moistened with water.With a dive stick or other improvised means, it is necessary to make holes at a distance of 5 * 5 cm and a depth of 1.5-2 cm.
In each of them, one seed is placed with tweezers and then moistened with a spray bottle to compact the soil.
At the end of the procedure, the container is covered with glass or film and transferred to the windowsill until shoots appear.
It is necessary to remove the cover from the container 6-8 days after planting, then move the container with seedlings to a cooler place with a temperature of 8 ° C for 3-4 days. This procedure allows the plant to become more resistant to adverse external factors. At the end of hardening, the container is returned to its original place.
Alternatively, you can grow radishes at home using egg trays:
- a hole is cut in each compartment, then the cassette is placed in a balcony box, pre-filled with earth;
- the soil is moistened, and then one seed is placed in each cell and lightly sprinkled with earth;
- at the end of the procedure, it is recommended to cover the box with cling film.
How to grow radishes on a windowsill
The step-by-step cultivation of radish on the balcony consists in observing the rules of agricultural technology: timely watering, loosening, feeding and creating conditions.
Creation of an optimal microclimate
Temperature control is very important for successful winter radish cultivation. The room air temperature is not suitable for the culture: the plant stretches and bends, the roots, which are cultivated in winter, ripen flabby and with low taste.
Placing boxes with radishes next to radiators is impractical: not only heat emanates from central heating radiators, but also dry air, which prevents the normal growth of seedlings.
The optimal conditions for seedlings are + 1-2 ° С, but it is most comfortable for the plant to form root crops at an ambient temperature of + 16-18 ° С. During the growth of seedlings, it is recommended to warm up the air in the room to + 6-8 ° C.
Natural lighting of radish when grown in winter is not enough, therefore, the deficit of sunlight is made up artificially. For this, fluorescent lamps are used, which are placed near the boxes with plantings.
It is recommended to periodically rotate the boxes so that the seedlings are evenly lit and developed.
How many times to water radishes at home
It is recommended to moisten the soil regularly as needed. As it dries, water is sprayed over the soil surface using a spray gun, excluding it from falling on the leaf plates. Excessive moisture leads to decay of the roots, therefore, the next day after the procedure, it is recommended to loosen the soil, to spud the radishes.
The culture does not need additional feeding, which makes it possible to obtain environmentally friendly products. If desired, you can periodically add compost mixed with ash to the soil.
Thinning
When growing a crop in winter in a common box, it must be thinned out. The procedure is required when the plant has 2-3 leaves. Weak seedlings are removed, leaving only strong specimens. At least 1.5 cm must be kept between the plants.
Harvesting
Ripe root crops are suitable for consumption. It is important not to overexpose them in the soil so that they do not crack and lose their taste. It is possible to carry out selective harvesting when growing radishes in winter, but it is necessary to perform the procedure carefully so as not to damage nearby plants.
After removing the root crop from the ground, the tops are cut off, and the radish itself is washed, then used for its intended purpose. Long-term storage of the harvested crop is impossible.
How to get radish seeds at home
When growing a root crop in winter, you can get not only a crop, but also seeds. Self-collection of seed allows you to be confident in your variety.
Nuances of obtaining radish seeds:
- the plant has a cross-pollination method, therefore, the flowering bush is placed away from other varieties;
- it is impossible to obtain good seeds when trying to collect them from hybrid representatives of radish (the purity of the species is not preserved when trying to grow again).
Self-collection of seed is a guarantee of its germination at the next planting. The success of the event depends on adherence to the procedure algorithm.
Initially, you should decide on the method of collection (interchange or direct). The second involves continuing to grow the plant in winter at the end of the harvest season.
With the transfer method, the largest root crops are selected. The tops must be cut, the root must also be shortened to 3-4 cm. After that, the radishes are transplanted and grown in a separate container, ensuring good watering.
When determining the required number of mother plants, it is important to take into account that it is possible to get up to 15 g of seeds from one plant. About half a glass of seed is obtained if 10-15 fruits are planted. This amount is enough to provide a family with radishes for the whole year.
When planting root crops on seeds, they are grown in such a way that a distance of 40 cm remains between them: as the plant grows, the bush grows.
Care for radish grown for seeds consists in timely watering and loosening. 2 weeks after planting, the culture is fed with organic fertilizers.
As the queen cells grow, arrows form on them, and then flowers and beans with seeds appear.
The seed is ready to be harvested when the pods turn yellow. After that, the bushes are completely cut off and left hanging in a ventilated room until the testes are completely dry. The duration of the process is 2-3 weeks.
The dried pods are removed and the beans are removed from them, which are rubbed by hand. The resulting mixture is poured with water. Viable seeds will settle to the bottom, all other debris must be removed. The collected material is dried naturally and packed in cardboard boxes or canvas bags.
Pests and diseases
Growing radishes in winter helps prevent the attack of many pests. Among the diseases that can infect a plant are keela, bacteriosis or black leg.
The development of diseases is one of the reasons why the process of growing radishes is difficult. Keela is a fungal disease. It manifests itself in the process of growing a root crop with fusiform or spherical growths on it. At the initial stages, they are poorly distinguishable, but as they develop, they change color from pink to brown, which indicates the beginning of the decay process.
The symptom of bacteriosis is the blackening of the veins on the leaf plates, which leads to their yellowing and death. The leaves are deformed and change color, turning black at the base with a black leg at the radish.
As a preventive measure, the soil in containers before starting to grow a crop is sufficient to treat it with fungicides or a solution of potassium permanganate.
Conclusion
Trying to grow radishes on a windowsill in winter for beginners is not only one way to try your hand at gardening, but provide the family with fresh greens. The culture is rich in vitamins, unpretentious in care, it can be grown all year round.
