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For many years, growing cucumbers on the windowsill has become commonplace for those people who do not have a summer cottage or garden plot. It should be noted that they can be grown not only on the windowsill, but also on a heated loggia, as an option for cucumbers, a glazed balcony may also be suitable. Many varieties are designed specifically for home cultivation, mostly hybrid cucumber varieties that are pollinated without insect interference. The main part is occupied by parthenocarpic cucumber hybrids with female flowers, which are tied without pollination.
The benefits and conditions of home cultivation of cucumbers
Grow cucumbers on the windowsill in winter it is not only fascinating, but also beautiful from an aesthetic point of view. Young cucumbers grown on the windowsill are pleasing to the eye, besides, they are environmentally friendly. And blooming on your windowsill in winter, they will remind you of the warm summer, and exude a pleasant aroma of country beds. In order to grow cucumbers on a windowsill in winter, you must comply with a number of requirements:
- It is necessary to provide the cucumbers with additional lighting, artificial lighting is suitable in this capacity, ideally you can use a fluorescent lamp. In the absence of such, cucumbers can be planted from mid-February, when there will be more sunlight.
- The temperature in the room should be within 18 - 22 degrees, the window, on the windowsill of which your cucumbers will stand, should be facing south or southeast.
- To successfully grow cucumbers, you need to get rid of drafts, so choose the right place for planting.
Many lovers of fresh cucumbers in winter try to adjust the harvest for the New Year in order to surprise guests with the fruits grown on their windowsill. If you also want to boast of such successes, you should plant cucumber varieties in early November. Naturally, not all varieties of cucumbers are suitable for this. Basically, these will be parthenocarpic varieties, which are recommended not only for growing on windowsills, but also for greenhouses. In any case, all the detailed information can be read on the back of the package, most of them write whether such varieties can be grown on a windowsill or balcony.
Seedling soil
In addition to the conditions described above, it will not be superfluous, it will also take care of the soil for your cucumbers grown on the windowsill. The ideal option for fertilization is the use of a soil substrate, in an amount of at least 5 liters per adult cucumber bush. In this case, the root system will receive everything it needs for growth.
The soil mixture can be prepared with your own hands, for this they usually use ordinary soil (garden), adding humus, sawdust, sand and ash to it in equal proportions.
The best varieties of winter cucumbers
There are a number of varieties that are designed specifically for growing in winter, these cucumbers are the best in terms of resistance to temperature extremes and increased shade.
Hybrid Khutorok
A variety with fast ripening of fruits, after planting the seeds, the first cucumbers will appear after a month.
It is referred to as pollinated by bees, but if desired, it can be pollinated by hand, for this you just need to pick the male flowers and hold them with stamens along the pistils of female cucumbers. For a more convenient process of pollination of cucumbers, it is recommended to use a brush. The fruits of this variety have high palatability, greens grow medium-sized about 10 cm, with black thorns, characterizing the variety as universal, intended for pickling and eating raw.
Cucumbers Shchedryk
On the best examples of these plants, you can harvest up to twenty cucumbers about 12 cm in one harvesting period.
This hybrid can also be attributed to early ripening cucumbers grown on the windowsill. Ripening period does not exceed one and a half months. It can also be said that this variety has one of the best fruiting characteristics of those grown on a windowsill. On one ovary, from 5 to 8 zelents are formed, with an overall small size of the bush.
Hybrid Khrustyk
With proper care of the plant, even on the windowsill, the crop can be harvested in 40 - 45 cucumbers per seedling.
These cucumbers have a slightly longer ripening period, it is usually one and a half to two months, this variety is self-pollinated and high-yielding. Usually, from five to seven small greens are formed on one ovary.
Onega F1
An excellent self-pollinated hybrid for growing on a windowsill or balcony. He will delight you with fruits already in the first week of the second month after the appearance of the leaves. Zelents of this plant are slightly smaller than average, and they can be eaten in any form, both salted and fresh.
Hybrid Buyan F1
Small bush causes an average yield of up to 8 kg of cucumbers, the variety is referred to as universal, it is equally good for consumption both fresh and salted.
It has a fairly long ripening period, up to 50 days after planting, the disadvantages include the need for additional lighting in winter. The bred variety, tested for twenty years of good yields, is used more often for growing on a windowsill in winter.
Emelya F1 variety
The fruits of this variety are quite large, weighing up to 150 grams, and the ripening period for them is 40 - 50 days after planting.
Parthenocarpic hybrid of cucumbers, has high cold resistance properties. This gives him an advantage over other varieties that yield a harvest in winter, as a result of this, somewhat worse. It should be noted that this variety is most often used for growing in a greenhouse, but they take root well on a balcony or on a spacious and well-lit windowsill. Initially, the variety was bred for fresh consumption, but it can be used for any purpose.
Ant F1 hybrid
On one ovary, from 3 to 7 zelents are formed, growing up to 100 grams. And for the entire fruiting period, you can collect about 4 kg.
It is usually recommended for indoor or outdoor use, but practice has shown that it can also be grown on a windowsill. A distinctive characteristic of this variety of cucumbers is a fast ripening period, in winter it is 38 to 40 days. Convenience adds its belonging to the parthenocarpic species, which excludes the process of manual pollination. Another important property for growing on a windowsill is a slight overgrowth of the bush in width.
Babylon F1
Probably the longest ripening variety of cucumbers, recommended for growing in winter. The ripening period reaches 70 days, provided there is good lighting and no drafts.
The color is predominantly feminine, with 1 to 3 flowers per node. Zelenets is quite large, reaches 28 cm long and weighs 240 grams. It is prone to bundle formation of ovaries, and has a high yield.
Early ripening hybrid Masha F1
This variety begins to bear fruit after 40 days from the moment of planting, it also has a high resistance to various diseases.
An important nuance will be special care during the formation of the ovary. Of all the varieties grown on a windowsill or a balcony, Masha F1 has the largest clustering of brushes, it reaches 7 cucumbers per ovary, this is partly due to the small size of an adult fruit, they do not exceed 10 cm in length. Cucumbers of this variety have a dark skin and high tuberosity, which indicates that they belong to the pickling family.
Variety with the self-explanatory name Miracle on the window F1
The fruit of a cucumber grown on a windowsill reaches a maximum length of 8 cm, like all small cucumbers, they are distinguished by good taste.
Parthenocarpic cucumber variety shows high results in yield per bush, in relation to other varieties. The fruiting period begins on average 40 - 45 days after planting.
Conclusion
Here are the best varieties, directly or indirectly, bred for planting on the windowsill, most of them show excellent fruiting results in winter. Others need additional conditions for this, such as the absence of sudden changes in temperature or enhanced illumination, but in any case, choosing any of these varieties, subject to the necessary requirements, you will get high results.
