Cucumbers on the balcony: growing in plastic bottles

Is it possible to grow cucumbers on the balcony?

Anyone who has ever seen cucumbers growing on someone’s windowsill will not be surprised to notice that behind the glass railings of balconies and loggias there are green vines with large leaves and hanging elongated pimply fruits. Unfortunately, not all vegetable growers who grow cucumbers on the balcony achieve the long-awaited result.

Many people lack knowledge about all the intricacies of working with seedlings, about creating the necessary microclimate, about preparing the soil and planting containers, about varieties and hybrids that are suitable for balcony production conditions.

But those who have familiarized themselves with the recommendations and experience of experts in the step-by-step cultivation of cucumbers in cramped apartment conditions, without much effort manage not only to feed fresh cucumber salad to their household, but also to preserve a considerable amount of their favorite vegetable grown on their own balcony. (Recipes “What can be prepared from cucumbers” HERE)

Balcony cucumbers: diseases and pests

Balcony cucumbers, compared to garden cucumbers, are less susceptible to diseases and harmful insects. However, they may appear. The factors causing them include:

• use of cold water for irrigation;
• high or low air humidity;
• the presence of scanty soil in the boxes. This happens when there is insufficient feeding.

To prevent diseases, you need to avoid the causes that cause them. During the growing season, balcony cucumbers are sprayed with Fitosporin.

Diseases

Diseases of cucumbers growing in apartments are similar to those in gardens or greenhouses.

Powdery mildew . This fungus is found very often on this crop. A white powdery coating appears on the leaves. At the first sign of it, you need to remove the affected parts and disinfect the soil. In case of extensive infestation, use insecticides “Carotene”, “Topsion” and others.

Antakoz . Both leaves and fruits are affected. Brown spots appear on the plant, and rot appears on the fruit. In this case, you will have to destroy it, since the disease cannot be treated.

Root rot . It starts from the roots and moves to the stems. The plant is also destroyed. The cause of the disease is undisinfected seeds and soil.

White rot . The disease is characterized by the formation of a whitish coating similar to cotton wool on the stems and leaves. Mucus gradually appears. After removing the formations, sprinkle with slaked lime. The appearance of rot is associated with high air humidity, so regular ventilation is necessary.

Gray rot . Caused by watering with cold water and high humidity. Weeping gray spots appear on leaves, flowers and fruits. Control methods are similar to those for white rot disease.

How to grow cucumbers on the balcony

For beginning balcony gardeners, before planting seeds for cucumber seedlings, it is important to make sure that they can create the necessary microclimate and provide regular care for the plantings.

A balcony or loggia that is not glazed will not allow you to maintain the required optimal temperature and humidity. The location of balcony windows strictly north or south will require the use of additional lighting or shading. The ceilings on the balcony must be suitable for installing structures to which twine will have to be attached for tying cucumber vines.

You will need spacious growing containers that can hold at least 5 kg of soil and have drainage holes.

It is necessary to foresee in advance the possibility of a long absence of owners, and consider options for autonomous watering of plants. The purchase of an indoor automatic irrigation watering system entails additional financial investments, but an agreement with a neighbor to look after a balcony garden threatens with stories on the bench near the entrance about what she will see in someone else’s apartment.

After all these issues are resolved positively, you can begin the first steps of growing cucumbers on the balcony.

When can cucumbers be planted?

The time for planting cucumbers will depend on the created microclimate. First of all, and equally, three indicators are taken into account: air temperature and humidity and the optimal length of daylight hours. If conditions are maintained artificially, then growing seedlings can begin immediately after disinfection and germination of the selected seed material and preparation of planting pots and soil.

If it is impossible to maintain sufficiently bright lighting for 12-14 hours, the indoor air temperature is at least 18-20°C, and the humidity is from 80 to 90%, it is better to postpone the first stage of working with cucumbers on the balcony.

It is worth waiting for the natural optimal atmospheric conditions to arise from mid-April to the first days of May. But in any case, the need for periodic illumination in dense clouds, irrigation in highly dry air and shading in the scorching sun will not disappear.

Varieties and hybrids of cucumbers suitable for growing on a balcony

Bitter disappointments accompanied the first experimenters who decided to start a garden with cucumbers on the balcony in the winter or spring months. At first, tested seeds for open ground and ventilated greenhouses were used for seedlings. But only occasionally, under the condition of very painstaking and constant work associated with artificial fertilization of female flower stalks, was the harvest volume intended by the breeders harvested from the bushes.

Then hybrids and varieties of cucumbers appeared, specially created for the limited capabilities of small enclosed spaces that do not allow pollinating insects inside.

It is also important that the characteristics of balcony cucumber species, in addition to self-pollination, resistance to low humidity and lack of light, provide for the formation of a strong root system, a long central stem with a small number of short side shoots and reduced leaves.

Cucumber seeds for growing on the balcony

On packs of seeds, manufacturers must indicate, in addition to the name, consumer properties, expiration dates, degree of processing and planting location. For growing cucumbers on window sills, balconies and loggias, shade-tolerant, early-ripening parthenocarpic gherkins are mainly recommended. These include:

• "Urban cucumber F1";
• "Balagan F1";
• "Balcony F1";
• "Hummingbird F1";
• "Swallowtail F1";
• "F1 debut";
• “Granddaughter F1” and many others.

Cucumber seeds for growing on the balcony

Selecting a location

Balcony cucumbers in a container
How to grow cucumbers on the balcony at home? You should start by choosing a location. The north side will not work. It is not advisable for pots with gherkins to be located on the south side, since the hot rays of the sun will constantly illuminate the growing area. The ideal location would be east, southeast, which can provide enough heat and sun.

Preparing the site

With the onset of sunny spring days, they begin to equip a place for cucumbers. First, carefully inspect the balcony or veranda. If it is cool here, then you need to try to insulate the walls to avoid sudden temperature changes. The room should be well ventilated, but there should be no drafts. If the place is shaded, then you should think about additional lighting. This could be a fluorescent lamp.

Choosing growing containers

Various containers are selected that have holes at the bottom so that excess water goes into the pan. Otherwise, the roots may rot. Pots are suitable for planting seedlings; their volume should be at least 5 liters for each bush, as well as long special boxes that are bought in the store. You can use large cut plastic bottles with drainage holes.

The soil

For planting and normal growth of cucumbers, you need to make a soil mixture. There are three cooking methods. Let's look at each one separately:

1. In the first, soil is prepared, consisting of five components, taken in equal quantities and well mixed. It will include garden soil, organic humus - compost, ash, peat and sawdust. Everything is mixed in a large container and treated with a solution using potassium permanganate.
2. For the second option, add to one bucket of the first composition from 10 to 15 g of fertilizer - nitrophoska, up to 10 g of urea. Stir well to distribute the added substances evenly.
3. To prepare the mixture according to the third method, take 5 liters (one-half of a 10-liter bucket) of garden soil and compost mixture, 400 g. ash, 15 gr. complex fertilizers for flowers, 50 gr. slaked lime. Mix everything thoroughly, put it in a bag and dig it into the soil for 7 days. During this period, the mixture will become crumbly. Treat it with a weak manganese solution.

Growing cucumbers on the balcony step by step

After the first step towards a harvest of cucumbers on the balcony, which consisted of creating optimal atmospheric conditions and choosing planting material, you need to decide whether the seeds should be disinfected and stimulate growth, and then decide which planting method to use - through seedlings or sowing seeds in a permanent place in a container for growing.

How to choose quality seeds for cucumber seedlings

We identify seeds that have lost their germination: we pour them into a container with water, shake the water and wait until it becomes motionless; damaged and dried seeds remain on the surface of the water, they must be removed. Then we drain the water and carry out procedures with the remaining seeds to ensure resistance to pests and diseases.

To do this, we use either folk remedies (for example, soak in a pink solution of potassium permanganate for 20 minutes), which actually remove the infection only from the surface of the seeds, or we use modern fungicides and biological products according to the manufacturer’s instructions, or we skip this step if the manufacturer provided information on the packets of seeds about seed treatment.

It is better to germinate cucumber seeds by allowing sprouts to emerge from the seed pod to a length of no more than 0.5 cm.

If the seeds are dressed in a multi-colored glaze with the addition of the necessary microelements and disinfectants, we plant them in moist soil in the form in which the manufacturer poured them into the packaging.

Selection of containers and soil for seedlings

In urban conditions, it is best to purchase a ready-made soil mixture specifically designed for growing pumpkin crops, which include cucumber, or a universal one with normal acidity. In addition, you will need drainage material - fine expanded clay, vermiculite, purchased ready-made, or homemade from polystyrene foam, sunflower or buckwheat husks, crushed hard parts of walnuts.

When choosing a container for cucumber seedlings, they most often choose individual plastic transparent cups with a capacity of 100-150 ml; their use allows you to control the development of the plant’s root system. The roots of the plant should be white; areas of gray or black indicate that the plant is waterlogged and rotting. It is possible to grow together in plastic cassettes with the same cell volume. Containers must have holes for water drainage. Drainage is poured into the bottom of the cups, soil mixture is placed on top, filled to 2/3 of the height.

Seeds are sown to a depth of 1-2 cm in moist soil. A hole is first made in the soil and the seeds are placed flat. Transparent bags are placed on top of the glasses and tied at the bottom; a piece of glass is placed on the cassette, that is, mini greenhouse conditions are created. Once a day, the bags and glass are removed for 20-30 minutes, and the soil is moistened if necessary. It is better for containers with ungerminated seeds to be kept in a dark and warm (25°C) place. With the appearance of the first arcs of sprouts, this usually happens on days 5-7, the cups or cassette are opened and moved to the light.

During the first three days, during the lighting stage, the temperature is maintained within 20°C, at night - 16°C. For constant cultivation, daytime temperature should not exceed 22°C, night temperature =18°C.

As the plants grow, add soil to the glasses or cassette and make sure that the seedlings do not become thin or stretched out. Daily monitoring of soil and air humidity and artificial lighting are necessary. The length of the day should be at least 16-18 hours in the first week after germination, then 12-14.

Transplanting seedlings and growing in plastic bottles

When two or three true leaves appear on cucumber seedlings, they begin to prepare containers for permanent cultivation of plants from plastic bottles with a volume of 5 to 10 liters. Fill half the volume with the same soil and drainage. The soil is compacted and moistened. If no holes are made in the bottom of the bottles, then the drainage layer must be significant.

The containers can not be shortened along the entire circumference, but only in the upper part, openings can be cut for the stems. In the latter case, it will be convenient to tie the cord not to the bottom of the cucumber stem, but to the top of the bottle. The stems of an adult plant will curl along it.

It is not advisable to replant overgrown (over one month old) cucumber seedlings. When transferring plants into large containers, try not to damage the root system and not to bury the central stem into the soil. To do this, the soil under the seedlings is not heavily moistened so that the lump of earth can keep its shape and not crumble when touched, and after transplanting the soil is well watered using some kind of rooting agent.

Growing Tips

The right varieties of cucumbers for growing on a windowsill or balcony do not in themselves guarantee high yields. A good care program and adherence to the most important rules are a necessary component of home growing:

1. The best place where cucumbers can and should be planted is the southern part of the house or apartment. And if you have the opportunity to choose, without the slightest doubt, choose this option. Choose spaces that are protected as much as possible from possible drafts, which are detrimental to the cucumber crop. If you plan to plant cucumbers on the windowsill in winter, keep in mind that the loggia must be heated.
2. Don't forget to take care of an additional lighting source. To plant plants where, in winter conditions, only a few hours of scanty natural light will be at their disposal, means knowingly dooming them to a useless existence. There are special artificial lamps (fluorescent, LED, sodium) that perfectly solve this problem. They turn on for 10-12 hours on dark winter days and for 4-5 in the spring, when the sun shines much longer and more often. The area of ​​the balcony determines how many lamps you will need to install.
3. Pay attention to the arrangement of drainage in containers for growing, this will prevent stagnation of water, which provokes root rot - a dangerous cucumber disease. The optimal soil composition is considered to be a combination of compost, peat, soil and sawdust in the proportions of 40:30:20:10. Previously used soil must be disinfected with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
4. The germination of seeds is accelerated by pre-soaking them in warm water and then wrapping them in gauze soaked in liquid. However, in the case of some hybrid varieties, this is not recommended (usually this fact is indicated on the packaging). Monitor the ambient temperature - it should not fall below 22C.

How to get a big harvest at home

Feeding cucumbers

The first feeding is necessary at the seedling stage. It is carried out when the second true leaf appears. Use complex water-soluble fertilizers containing microelements, nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus according to the manufacturer's instructions.

The following feedings are carried out once every 2 weeks. At different stages of plant development, fertilizer compositions are selected that are appropriate to the age of the bush.

During the period of elongation and growth of the green mass of stems and leaves, nitrogen and phosphorus should predominate; when the fruits ripen, the emphasis is on potassium-phosphate fertilizers.

After the first harvest is harvested, they return to nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium fertilizers. Feeding can be root feeding, while watering the plants, and so-called leaf feeding, while spraying water over the bush.

Bush formation

The most difficult task for beginners who like to grow cucumbers on a balcony or on a windowsill is always timely inspection of cucumber bushes. It is necessary to remove unnecessary shoots, tendrils and ovaries, then the cucumbers left on the bush will receive the necessary substances and moisture in full.

The bushes should not be thickened. When growing on a balcony, the plant is left with one central stem and one ovary in the leaf axils. All side shoots up to a height of the main vine of 50 cm are removed. Then you can leave another stem and tie the plant with two strands of jute twine, spaced at least 40 cm apart.

It is important to consider that it is not the rope that is wrapped around the cucumber stems, but vice versa. You can attach the twine to a reusable plastic garter attached to the first leaf from the root. It is securely attached with the help of blunt notches along its surface, and at the same time, the tightness of contact with the plant is adjusted at the discretion of the gardener.

Soil care

The soil in bottles or jars with cucumber bushes should not dry out. A single watering of young plants is carried out in the morning.

During fruiting, double watering (morning and evening) is necessary, because fruit filling occurs at night.

Over time, the soil compacts and settles; if necessary, the volume of soil is gradually increased, carefully pouring it into containers for growing cucumbers up to the very edges. Do not allow a crust to appear on the ground above the roots of the cucumbers. Loosening is carried out regularly, but very carefully, trying not to damage the plant.

When the first cucumbers reach the required size, making them suitable for consumption, there is no need to delay removing them from the bushes. Balcony plants have little strength, so let them better give it to the remaining ovaries. In order to improve the condition of adult cucumber plants on the balcony, you can carefully transplant them into buckets or other growing containers with a larger volume than before.

Balcony cucumbers - care

Balcony cucumbers
A week after transplanting the plant, it needs to be tied. To do this, at the top, at a distance of 1.5 meters from the box, a wire is pulled horizontally, to which twine in two threads is attached above each plant, carefully tied by the stem and passed between them so that it does not fall. The cucumber stem should curl along the stretched twine.

Once a week you need to trim your mustache. When the plant reaches the top wire, the crown is pinched, the same is done with the lateral shoots emerging from the leaf axils as soon as they reach a length of 20 cm.

Watering is carried out with warm, settled water. Feeding is carried out once every 8 days. For this, both drunken tea, ground eggshells, and mineral fertilizers are suitable - nitroammofoska, crystallin, nitrophoska, a solution is made from them - 1 teaspoon per three-liter jar of water. 1 liter of solution is added to each bush.

Cucumbers on the balcony (video)

How the owner treats his pets will determine the size of the harvest and the joy of the household when they see fresh, hand-grown cucumbers on the table.

As you can see, you can harvest cucumbers on your own balcony or windowsill! Vitamins all year round! Well, it’s up to you to decide what to cook from cucumbers! You can read the best recipes for dishes made from cucumbers in the article “What can be prepared from cucumbers” .

Health to you and your loved ones! Natalya Belokopytova.

Review of the best self-pollinating varieties and hybrids of cucumbers for the balcony

Specially bred balcony varieties and some hybrids intended for greenhouses are suitable for growing on a windowsill. Let's look at the most popular and well-proven ones.

Hummingbird

This is a gherkin-type hybrid that does not require pollinators. The leaves of the plant are small, the side shoots are short, the internodes are short, and from 3 to 10 ovaries are formed in them. The crop is high-yielding, cucumbers grow tuberculate and white-thorned, spindle-shaped, 5-8 cm long and weighing up to 80 g.

The hybrid has an interesting watermelon color. The first fruits appear already 40 days after planting the seeds. Hummingbird is completely unpretentious in cultivation and tolerates darkening well.

Another advantage is high resistance to many diseases. No pest damage is observed.

Hummingbird is good for canning.

City pickle

If there is very little growing space, the City Cucumber is an ideal option. A very hardy and unpretentious hybrid. Gherkins grow in clusters, with 4 to 10 ovaries in nodes. Fruit length is 10-12 cm, weight is up to 95 g.

The cucumber is early ripening - the fruits ripen already on the 40th day after planting - and very fruitful - they harvest from the bush for a long time.

The urban cucumber is highly resistant to many cucumber diseases. Very tasty, suitable for salads and canning.

Debut

Self-pollinating hybrid, early ripening and high-yielding. Lumpy, cylindrical greens grow up to 12-14 cm in length and weigh up to 100 g. The first cucumbers ripen 45 days after the bushes appear.

The plant is low, with a bunched ovary. It does not require special care and has good disease resistance. Debut is not suitable for canning, but fresh it has excellent taste.

April

Self-pollinating early-ripening hybrid - the fruits begin to ripen on the 45th day of planting the seeds . The plant is low, bushy. The vegetables have large tubercles and white spines, the weight reaches 200-250 g. With good care, up to 15 kg of crop can be harvested from 1 m².

There are also disadvantages: the hybrid is not suitable for winter canning and is not very resistant to cucumber diseases.

Attention! If the fruits are not collected in time, they will overgrow and turn yellow.

Balagan

The hybrid is ideal for growing on a windowsill or balcony. The leaves are medium-sized, do not obscure themselves, the root system is compact, the internodes are short, and have from 3 to 9 ovaries.

Balagan is early ripening - ripening begins at 41 days. The fruits are small, up to 10 cm long and weighing up to 85 g, and do not outgrow for a long time. The hybrid tolerates lack of light and moisture well and is resistant to disease.

Swallowtail

Swallowtails are planted by lovers of large cucumbers. Their length is up to 12 cm, weight - up to 110 g. This is an early-ripening self-pollinating bunch hybrid with short shoots on the sides and internodes, on which up to 11 flowers appear.

Easy to care for and resilient. The excellent taste of Machaon is preserved during canning and pickling.

Calendar

Self-pollinating high-yielding hybrid. It is highly resistant to cucumber infections and has excellent taste. Gherkins are up to 10 cm long and weigh 80-90 g, white-spiked and tuberculate. The calendar is used both fresh and for canning.

Zozulya

The most popular hybrid of cucumbers grown on balconies and plots. In greenhouses, the yield is significantly higher than in open ground plantings.

The plant is small, bushy, cylindrical cucumbers with tubercles 20-22 cm long and an average weight of 220 g . Zozulya is immune to disease.

Cucumbers are without bitterness and are suitable for fresh consumption and in salads. They are not intended for canning or pickling.

Elegant

The Graceful variety is an early ripening variety. The first fruits are harvested already 40 days after germination. The plant is medium-climbing, forms from 5 to 7 lateral shoots. It is characterized by increased resistance to diseases such as powdery mildew, bacteriosis, and olive spot.

The cucumbers themselves grow up to 14 cm in length and weigh up to 15 g, smooth, with small tubercles. The taste is high. The variety is universal, suitable for salads and canning.

Balcony miracle

The hybrid gives a high yield on the window and has an excellent fruit taste. The plant is weakly climbing and medium-sized, with a compact root system. This makes it possible to grow it even in flower pots and flowerpots.

Preparing and germinating seeds

It is better to sow seeds that are stored for 2-3 years (they are more similar and produce more female flowers). If there are none, take freshly harvested ones.

Preparing and germinating seeds step by step looks like this:

1. A week before sowing, the seeds are warmed up by gradually increasing the temperature. For three days at t=50°C, for a day –t=75-77°C. The latter is done to destroy viruses.
2. The heated seed is treated for 15 minutes with a 1% solution of potassium permanganate and washed with cold water until the pink color disappears. Next, the seeds are placed for 0.5 days in a solution of microelements (2 tablets per 10 liters of water). A growth stimulator (succinic acid, sodium hummate, etc.) can be added to this solution in the proportions indicated on the drug packaging.
3. After this, the seeds are slightly dried (until they flow) and treated with antifungal and antibacterial drugs.
4. For germination, prepared seeds are sown to a depth of 2-3 cm in wooden boxes with steamed sawdust. Then cover with film and keep at a temperature of 26-28°C. At this stage, care consists of watering to prevent the sawdust from drying out.

Coniferous sawdust cannot be used for germinating cucumbers.

On the third day, the cucumber seeds germinate, after which:

1. After another day, they are picked (the main root is shortened by 1-1.5 cm) and planted.
2. Two weeks after picking, the seedlings are distributed into 24-27 plants per 1 m². The gaps between the pots are filled with a nutrient mixture.

Step-by-step preparation and germination of cucumber seeds are presented in the video published by user Galina Gorshkova “How to sow cucumber seeds correctly. Advice for beginners."

Transfer to containers

A month after sowing, the seedlings are moved into prepared containers, the soil in which is preliminarily spilled with hot water. The plants are transferred to new containers with special care along with a lump of earth.

To do this, the culture is removed from a plastic cup, moved into a container and pressed with earth. When growing cucumbers on a balcony, they must be protected from drafts and direct sunlight. Corners and end walls are considered ideal places to place them.

Final part

When choosing a suitable variety for growing on a loggia, you should focus, first of all, on what conditions you can create for the plants. It is important to choose a variety that does not require pollination by bees, is shade-tolerant and immune to temperature changes.

If you are going to try to grow indoor cucumbers at home, then remember, choosing the right variety is half the success. The second half depends on you and consists of proper care, the right place for planting and maximum consideration of all kinds of factors that take place during the growing process. The best cucumber seeds for a balcony, window sill or room, their specifics and features, how to properly plant and grow balcony plants - we will try to answer all these questions in today’s article.

Criteria that balcony cucumber options must meet:

1. It is necessary to choose varieties of cucumbers for a window sill, balcony or room that can easily withstand the lack of humidity and lighting.
2. Cucumbers growing on the balcony should have a long stem, short internodes, medium-sized leaves and well-developed roots.
3. For balcony options, it is better that the period during which they bear fruit is long. Alternatively, you can constantly replace seedlings of super-early ripening varieties after the end of their fruiting period.
4. Choose varieties with gherkin fruits; they grow very quickly, and the faster the more often you remove them from the branches.
5. It is worth remembering that the female type of flowering guarantees higher yields of cucumbers.