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For many years now, growing cucumbers on a windowsill has become commonplace for those people who do not have a summer house or a personal plot. It should be noted that they can be grown not only on a windowsill, but also on a heated loggia; a glassed-in balcony may also be suitable for cucumbers. Many varieties are designed specifically for home cultivation, most of them are hybrid varieties of cucumbers that pollinate without the intervention of insects. The main part is occupied by parthenocarpic cucumber hybrids that have female flowers that set without pollination.
Benefits and conditions for growing cucumbers at home
Grow cucumbers on the windowsill winter is not only exciting, but also beautiful, from an aesthetic point of view. Young cucumbers grown on a windowsill are pleasing to the eye, and they are also environmentally friendly. And blooming on your windowsill in winter, they will remind you of the warm summer and exude a pleasant aroma of garden beds. In order to grow cucumbers on a windowsill in winter, a number of requirements must be met:
- It is necessary to provide the cucumbers with additional lighting; artificial lighting is suitable for this purpose; ideally, a fluorescent lamp can be used. If this is not available, cucumbers can be planted from mid-February, when there is more sunlight.
- The temperature in the room should be between 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 time the harvest to coincide with 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. These will mainly be parthenocarpic varieties, which are recommended not only for growing on window sills, but also for greenhouses. In any case, all the detailed information can be read on the back of the package; most say whether such varieties can be grown on a windowsill or balcony.
Soil for seedlings
In addition to the conditions described above, it would not be amiss to take care of the soil for your cucumbers grown on the windowsill. An ideal option for fertilization is the use of 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.
You can prepare the soil mixture with your own hands; for this you usually use ordinary soil (garden soil), 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 intended specifically for growing in winter; these cucumbers are the best in terms of resistance to temperature changes and increased shade.
Hybrid Khutorok
A variety with rapid fruit ripening; after planting the seeds, the first cucumbers will appear within a month.
It is classified as pollinated by bees, but if desired, it can be pollinated by hand; to do this, you just need to pick the male flowers and run the stamens over the pistils of female cucumbers. For a more convenient process of pollinating cucumbers, it is recommended to use a brush. The fruits of this variety have high taste qualities; the greens grow to an average size of about 10 cm, with black thorns, which characterize the variety as a universal one, intended for pickling and eating raw.
Cucumbers Shchedrik
On the best examples of these plants, you can collect up to twenty cucumbers about 12 cm in size in one harvesting period.
This hybrid can also be classified as early ripening cucumbers grown on a windowsill. The ripening period does not exceed one and a half months. We can also say that this variety has one of the best fruiting characteristics of those grown on the windowsill. From 5 to 8 greens are formed on one ovary, with the overall small size of the bush.
Hybrid Khrustik
With proper care of the plant, even on a windowsill, a harvest of 40 - 45 cucumbers per seedling can be harvested.
These cucumbers have a slightly longer ripening period, it is usually one and a half to two months; this variety is self-pollinating and high-yielding. Typically, from five to seven small greens are formed on one ovary.
Onega F1
An excellent self-pollinating hybrid for growing on a windowsill or balcony. It will delight you with fruits already in the first week of the second month after the leaves appear. The greens of this plant are slightly smaller than average in size, and they can be eaten in any form, either salted or fresh.
Hybrid Buyan F1
Small bush causes an average yield of up to 8 kg of cucumbers, the variety is classified 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 developed variety has been tested over twenty years of good harvests and is used more often for growing on a windowsill in winter.
Variety Emelya F1
The fruits of this variety are quite large, weighing up to 150 grams, and their ripening period is 40 - 50 days after planting.
Parthenocarpic hybrid of cucumbers, has high cold resistance properties. This gives it an advantage over other varieties that produce slightly worse harvests in winter. 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.
Hybrid Ant F1
From 3 to 7 greens are formed on one ovary, growing up to 100 grams. And during the entire fruiting period, you can collect about 4 kg.
It is usually recommended for use in closed or open ground, but practice has shown that it can also be grown on a windowsill. A distinctive characteristic of this cucumber variety is its rapid ripening period; in winter it lasts from 38 to 40 days. Convenience is added by its belonging to a parthenocarpic species, which eliminates the process of manual pollination. Another important property for growing on a windowsill is the slight growth 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 female, with 1 to 3 flowers per node. Zelenets is quite large, reaching 28 cm in length and weighing 240 g. It is prone to bunch formation of ovaries and has a high yield.
Early maturing hybrid Masha F1
This variety begins to bear fruit after 40 days from planting; it is also highly resistant 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 balcony, Masha F1 has the largest grouping of clusters, reaching 7 cucumbers per ovary, this is partly due to the small size of the adult fruit, they do not exceed 10 cm in length. Cucumbers of this variety have dark skin and high tuberosity, which indicates that they belong to the pickling family.
A 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 have good taste.
The parthenocarpic variety of cucumbers shows high results in terms of 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 require additional conditions for this, such as the absence of sudden changes in temperature or increased illumination, but in any case, by choosing any of these varieties, if the necessary requirements are met, you will get good results.
