How to grow cucumbers on a balcony

What could be better than home-grown vegetables plucked from the table! It turns out that it is possible not only in the country but in town. Try to grow cucumbers on a balcony. If you use a special balcony hybrids, the process is not only fascinating but also simple.



For cucumbers suitable balcony oriented to the East or South-East. On the North side of the house that the plants will be dark even with supplementary lighting. If the house is located in a windy place and the balcony is not glazed, with the idea it is better to leave the cucumbers do not tolerate drafts.

What you need to prepare for cucumbers on the balcony

Seeds. Be sure to view the description of the variety on the back. It should be said that this variety of cucumber is suitable for growing on the balcony shade, compact fruit, vines have short internodes, variety does not require pollination (parthenocarpic). Now there are a lot of suitable hybrids: cucumber F1 City, F1 Balcony, F1 circus, F1], F1 Spirit, F1 Manul.

Container flowers balcony (80 x 25 cm) with drainage holes at the bottom and a stand for water (check in the division with flower pots). It is best to choose light colors to avoid overheating in the sun.

Universal soil for vegetables — bag of 25 L. As a rule, composed of peat moss with added perlite (of vermiculite).
 

  • Drainage, you can use small clay pebbles
  • A bottle of liquid fertilizer for indoor plants (1l)
  • Sprayer for indoor plants (1l)
  • Holder for clothesline
  • A coil of clothesline or twine
  • Sowing seeds and growing seedlings of cucumbers
Cucumber seeds can be sow April — early may, on a long day when you don't have to dosvechivat plants. If you plant cucumbers before, budding coincides with the stay of plants in the apartment, part of the ovaries will fall off, the vines are strongly elongated, as they are dark and the balcony make the plants early. Modern hybrids are usually early-maturing — from germination to fruiting takes 45-50 days.

1. How to prepare the soil for planting cucumbers.

Cucumbers love the light fertile soil. It is best to ask friends-gardeners garden soil or rotted compost, and mix with the purchase prepared soil for vegetables, adding perlite (4:1:1) If this is not possible, use ready-made universal soil for growing vegetables with the acidity of pH in the range of 6.3 to 6.8. To cucumber vines were able to fully develop, the consumption of soil should be around 5 l per plant. Before sowing seeds to prevent disease prepare the soil to be decontaminated in any way: steamed over boiling water, to shed a fungicide to warm up in the microwave.

On the bottom of the container pour drainage layer of 2-3 cm Fill the container with a prepared soil mix, not cosipa 5 cm to the top edge. Pour the soil, add after shrinkage.

2. How to sow the seeds of cucumbers.

The fragile sprouts of cucumber, sow sprouted seeds are hard, and therefore preferable to planting dry seed. Major manufacturers supply the seeds that are already treated against diseases and pests, so if the seeds of the painted shell, they do not need to be disinfected before sowing.

In the center of the container, retreating from the walls to 15 cm, make holes at a distance of 40 cm from each other. For hedging against possible neproroschennye sow two seeds into the hole. Deeply to seal the seeds do not need 1.5-2 cm, Cover the crops with foil, a plastic bag and keep the container in a warm bright windowsill with a temperature of +24...+26°C.

3. Rearing cucumber seedlings at home.

If I germinate all seeds ugrozov, the weakest shoot in each hole, remove by cutting at the soil surface with a sharp knife, but not pulling. As the drying of the top layer evenly moisten the soil with room temperature water from a spray bottle (so that the seeds are not sucked into). Seedlings should appear on the 4-6-th day, then the film can be removed. After that, it is advisable to maintain the air temperature at +20...+24 º C, and soil +18...+20°C, the plants are not stretched. Before the onset of sustained +15°C keep house plants in the bright window, watered as the drying of the upper soil layer. 10-20 days in the phase of 2-3 true leaves of the plant are ready for gradual hardening. To do this, you can leave them a day under an open window at midday in calm weather, accustomed to direct sunlight, starting with a morning hours warm — about 10-11 am. Shift the plants on the balcony, when the threat of frost passes, or to carefully monitor weather reports in order to bring plants into the house. When plants have formed 2-3 true leaves, they can be fed once a week with a solution of liquid complex fertilizers. In phase 5 leaves, water your cucumbers once a week with a solution of fertilizer to wet soil, but not less than 250 ml per plant.

How to tie a whip cucumbers

In phase 5 leaves without support the plants already hard. So they did not break under its own weight, as a temporary measure in each container, you can install a plastic trellis for climbing plants room.

The emergence 6-8 leaves — the signal that the vine must be tied to a taut rope. At a height of about 2.5 m (above the raised hand) to the wall drill the holes, put the screws holder, clothes line, tie the rope, leaving free one end of a length of about 1.5 m (it will be useful to tie up the vines when they grow up), obvate vines around the strained cords and strengthen a weak loop.

Caring for cucumbers on the balcony

In hot weather (above +30°C) plants need pritenyat from direct sunlight that did not burn the leaves. To increase humidity you can, if you put on a balcony in a bucket of water near the plants, soil, mulch damp sphagnum, in the evening to spray the leaves and be watered every day — cucumbers consume a lot of water. The growth of the roots penetrate the drain holes in the lower tray, and will be there to actively absorb water.

When vines will grow above the garters, they can be a little lower, untied the rope from the support, and tie on a new length. To pinch off the balcony do not need hybrids, but if they are growing, can be pinched in the phase of 10-12 leaves.

In early August (Elijah the Prophet) on the night you need to wrap the containers with burlap or spunbond (density of 60 g/m2), so the roots are not cold, because the difference between day and night temperatures will already be significant. After the end of fruiting (the development cycle of a cucumber is about 90 days) the vines can be cut, dig up the rhizome. The soil of the boxes put in plastic bags — it can be used as a base for the following year (only to replace half of the amount of new soil), containers and rope to wash, to rinse in a solution of "White" and clean until the next season.

P. S. And remember, only by changing their consumption — together we change the world! ©

Source: vk.com/maihoum?w=wall-52361900_92624

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