Fresh vegetables in the cold season will be a pleasant and healthy addition to your daily diet. To do this, it is not necessary to buy imported products in the nearest supermarket, it is quite possible to organize a mini garden in your own apartment.
To crown a good harvest, you should select special, parthenocarpic hybrids - varieties that do not need pollination. Each of them has its negative and positive traits knowing which is easier to achieve the desired result.
Shchedryk
This variety is specially designed for this type cultivation. The first harvest of full-weight green fruits up to 15 cm long can be obtained on the 45th day after planting the seeds.
"Shchedryk" is not picky about light, so it is ideal for windows facing the north side of the house. With regular watering and observing temperature regime one bush produces up to 20 fruits per season.
Rytov's room cucumbers
The best variety of cucumbers for growing on the windowsill in winter, specially bred.
High-yielding, bushy, does not require a special garter and additional lighting with a short light day. It is exacting to heat and watering, well reacts to top dressing with mineral fertilizers.
Zozulya
The F1 hybrid, relatively young and not very famous, has proven itself among gardeners of the "room" scale due to the following qualities:
- self-pollinating;
- high-yielding;
- resistant to the most common diseases;
- suitable for use in fresh as well as for salting.
The main disadvantages of the variety include its light-loving nature, therefore, when planting on a shaded windowsill, one should increase light time days with lamps.
Russian winter
The variety was bred in 2013, based on the Klin varieties of the plant, glorious since Tsarist Russia increased disease resistance.
They have remarkable qualities characteristic of the main variety:
- shade resistance;
- low branching;
- good commercial and taste qualities.
Unlike other varieties, it has pimply fruits with faint whitish stripes.
Brownie Kuzya
Varieties of cucumbers for growing on a windowsill in winter, selected taking into account the characteristics indoor growing, differ significantly from plant species intended for open ground.
This variety is noted by many lovers for the following qualities:
- low requirements for lighting;
- resistance to temperature changes in the room;
- fertility - 2-3 bushes give out up to 10 kg of full-weight products per season;
- taste qualities.
Likes watering with warm water and loose soil. It is good both fresh and as a lightly salted preparation.
Masha
It belongs to the earliest hybrids. The first harvest in the amount of 5-6 medium-sized greens can be obtained a month after germination.
Advantages:
- does not outgrow;
- fruit well in room conditions;
- resistant to .
Flaws:
- needs additional lighting winter time;
- demanding for feeding;
- lashes grow strongly, so large windows should be chosen for cultivation.
Best of all, the variety responds to watering with organic types of fertilizers - for example, a solutionprepared at a rate of 1:10.
crunchy
Relatively young hybrid suitable for equally, both for the greenhouse and for growing cucumbers on the windowsill in winter.
A distinctive feature of the variety is the high yield and excellent taste of the fruit - the characteristic bitterness is removed from the greens at the genetic level. Of the shortcomings, strong branching and tall stature should be noted - 2-3 bushes on window sills can completely obscure the room.
city cucumber
Mid-season gherkin, well tolerated by the lack of light in winter period.
Highly productive and resistant to powdery mildew and olive blotch. Several bushes planted on the windowsill are capable of short time give up to 20 kg of full-weight pimply fruits with a thin skin and good density.
Enduro F1
A wonderful variety, of Dutch origin, makes growing cucumbers on the windowsill in winter a very exciting and profitable activity.
It is prone to bunching ovaries, which allows you to get high yields in a small area, tolerates temperature changes and low air humidity. Subject to all the rules of agricultural technology, the fruits grow up to 40 centimeters in length.
Moscow greenhouse F1
One of the oldest hybrids, bred back in Soviet times, is different large sizes fruits and good resistance to various diseases.
With regular watering with warm water and fertilizing with mineral fertilizers, it gives up to 15 kg of high-quality salad products.
Alternative type of container
In order to use the entire space of the window sill as efficiently as possible, you should use containers that allow you to put the bushes close to each other without harming the root system. Growing cucumbers on a windowsill in winter in a bag is a great replacement for bulky ones. wooden boxes or buckets.
Only dense polyethylene products with a capacity of at least 5 liters should be used for this purpose. Under the mini-bed, it is imperative to install a pallet where excess moisture will collect, flowing from the drainage holes located at the bottom of the bag. Plant care in such a container is identical to the generally accepted one used for bushes planted in rigid containers.
VIDEO: how to grow cucumbers on the windowsill?
This video talks about the principles of planting and growing cucumbers on the windowsill, common to any variety:
If there is a great desire to grow cucumbers on your own, but no own dacha or at least a small homestead territory, do not despair. This is not yet a reason to abandon your ideas. Modern breeders are well aware of this common problem and have come up with a variety of varieties. indoor cucumbers which give an excellent harvest.
Even on the windowsill, you can independently cultivate this vegetable crop. The main thing is to choose the right variety.
It is also worth considering that such plants are unpollinated and self-pollinated.
The second option is simpler and more convenient to grow. Popular self-pollinated varieties of cucumbers for the windowsill are represented by several varieties.
These include hybrids:
- Danila;
- Cheetah;
- Emelya;
- Buyan.
This category also includes varieties Masha, Karapuz, Balalaika, Legend, Lada, Claudia, Ant, Kinglet, Stella, Prestige, Klinsky, Tournament. An attractive feature that distinguishes self-pollinating cucumbers on the windowsill is that they do not need to be pollinated. manually, which gardeners often have to do at home. These hybrid forms are also quite unpretentious and are not afraid of a small amount. sunlight.
Among the variety of this kind of varieties, the April F1 cucumber on the windowsill has proven itself to be excellent, which also belongs to the category of self-pollinated vegetable crops. This plant rightly belongs to the category of early ripe varieties. Also, a hybrid variety is considered salad. However, its fruits are tasty not only fresh. They are perfect for salting, marinating and preparing a variety of culinary masterpieces.
Positive reviews about the April F1 cucumber on the windowsill exist for another reason. The fruits of this vegetable crop are medium tuberculate, ribbed, cylindrical in shape. They are quite large. Their weight varies from 160 to 300 g. The length of greens ranges from 15 to 25 cm. They have a thin and delicate skin, and the flesh is juicy, crispy, sweetish. There are no voids and even a hint of bitterness in it. At the same time, a hybrid variety that can be grown at home is very productive. You will need to harvest 2-3 times a week.
There are other self-pollinated ones that are popular for the windowsill, which even a novice gardener can successfully cultivate. These varieties include varieties of City Cucumber, Balagan, Hummingbird, Balcony, Swallowtail and Calendar. All these options are balcony type. They are recommended to grow in hanging planters. The volume of the baskets must be at least 5 liters.
Unpollinated varieties of indoor cucumbers
No less popular and fruitful are non-pollinated indoor cucumbers, which, subject to certain rules of agricultural technology, will allow you to get tasty and juicy fruits.
These vegetable crops include: 
- manul;
- Relay race;
- Taiga;
- Kamchatka;
- Marathon;
- Olympics.
It should be noted right away that unpollinated varieties should be understood as varieties that cannot produce pollination on their own. To carry out such a procedure, the gardener will have to manually pick an empty flower that has just blossomed. This is the male flower, from which it is then recommended to cut off the leaves. Then, with a stamen, it is necessary to delicately and carefully touch the female varieties of flowers, which have also just opened.
With the help of one barren flower, gardeners will be able to pollinate about a couple of female "individuals". In order to grow more male flowers, experienced gardeners recommend sowing pollination-oriented hybrids. These include versions of Hercules, Ermine and Gladiator.
Indoor cucumbers for growing in winter
Not only in the spring-summer season, you can get a bountiful harvest at home, it is worth mentioning the best varieties cucumbers on the windowsill in winter, which are productive and high yield. Growing them is pretty easy. The agricultural technology of such vegetable crops is considered standard, it involves the systematic implementation of irrigation, loosening the soil, and fertilizing.
So, what cucumbers to plant on the windowsill, including in winter? Among these varieties is the hybrid variety Ant. This vegetable crop does not require pollination, which attracts numerous gardeners. Even a novice gardener can handle growing cucumbers Ant F1. As a result of simple manipulations, compact fruits can be obtained, the length of which does not exceed 11 cm. Fresh vegetables are very juicy, tasty, sweet and crunchy. Okroshka or salad with them will turn out very appetizing.
Universal varieties of cucumbers for window sills
What other cucumbers can be grown on the windowsill in winter and summer? The all-purpose variety is Miracle on window F1. This is a hybrid variety that belongs to the category of early ripe vegetable crops. Only 40 days pass from the moment of emergence of seedlings to harvesting. Another advantage of this homemade variety of cucumbers is their intensive fruiting. Also, greens of this variety attract with their rich taste and juiciness.
Naming the varieties of cucumbers for growing on the windowsill, one cannot ignore the hybrid form of the Prestige variety. This indoor vegetable crop is characterized by long fruiting. Having decided to plant such a variety at home, you can enjoy fresh and delicious cucumbers. This is a parthenocarpic variety. It produces small fruits, the length of which usually does not exceed 12 cm.
There is a whole year fresh cucumbers- the dream of every vegetable lover. However, in the cold season, cucumbers can only be found in supermarkets, where they are very expensive, and the taste of such fruits is low.
You should not be upset - if you wish and follow the technology, you can grow cucumbers at home on the windowsill.
If you really want to have fresh cucumbers on your table in the winter, then you should start growing them on your windowsill.
First of all, be patient and then you need the following:
To grow indoor cucumbers the first time, you need to familiarize yourself with some literature or read the advice and recommendations of experienced gardeners. Well-known facts about growing cucumbers:
- The plant is thermophilic. It does not tolerate extreme heat, does not like drafts, but loves moisture very much. To get fruits from a plant that grows in an apartment on a windowsill, you need to create conditions close to the natural environment.
- A plant of any variety is endowed with a root system that is close to the soil surface. Because of this, cucumber bushes are recommended to be covered with mulch. This applies to plants that grow not only in the summer in the garden, but also those that grow on the windowsill in the winter.
- If cucumber bushes are often harvested, they will bear fruit better.
- In order for the fruits to set at home, the plant needs daylight. In a day, for a full-fledged vegetation, he needs 10 hours of light. Since the days are very short in winter, it is necessary to acquire fluorescent lamps that need to be turned on above the plants. They will provide the seedlings with full-fledged lighting, as a result of which the plant will not stretch upwards, and the fruits will not take on an ugly shape.
Seed selection
It is worth noting that not all varieties of cucumbers will grow and bear fruit in apartment conditions. That's why, choosing seeds in the store Yes, this must be taken into account.
Experts recommend paying attention to self-pollinating hybrids, the seed bags of which are labeled F 1. They easily tolerate lack of sunlight and temperature changes. Hybrid varieties are distinguished by the presence of a large number of female flowers, due to which the yield is increased and cultivation is facilitated.
The most famous varieties of indoor cucumbers are hybrid, these are: "Zozulya", "Ant", "Prestige", "Miracle on the Window", "Masha", etc. Kuzya's brownie cucumber should be especially noted.
To germinate the seeds, you will need cotton cloth or cotton pads. They need to be thoroughly moistened, placed on a saucer, and put cucumber seeds on top. The fabric must not be allowed to dry out.
If the room is warm enough, then after 2-3 days the seeds will hatch. Then only they can be planted in previously prepared soil. Growing seedlings at home will take a little time.
Seedling placement
The south side of the house is suitable for the growth and development of the plant. If there are windows facing south, then it is on their windowsills that seedlings should grow, and then cucumbers.
If in your apartment not a single window faces the south side, you should not be upset, as it can be replaced by the east or west side. But the north side should be avoided, since even seedlings cannot grow normally there.
When the houseplant begins to grow and trail, it will take up almost a small part of the window. In this case, it is important that the window sill is wide..
To create cucumbers natural conditions, they need to be planted not quite close. To do this, the pot must be quite spacious. Great for this purpose homemade box, in which you can plant not a couple of plants, but 3-4 pairs at the same time. You can also use five-liter containers from under the water - they need to cut off upper part along with the neck.
In any container that you would not choose for planting cucumbers, you will need to make holes for drainage excess water and good root ventilation.
Soil preparation
To grow cucumbers at home, you need loose, nutritious land and good drainage. Soil can be bought at any specialized store - you will need a special one for seedlings. But you can cook it yourself. This will require:
- land from the garden;
- peat;
- humus;
- sand;
- wood ash;
- mineral fertilizers.
To prepare good mix, you need to take equal amounts of peat, humus and earth. Add coarse sand and ash to the resulting mixture. Ash is needed in the soil to reduce its acidity. All components are thoroughly mixed, and then mineral fertilizers are added to them, at the rate of two matchbox on a bucket of the resulting mixture.
The resulting soil must be disinfected. This will minimize the incidence of bacterial diseases. The procedure can be done in two ways:
- calcine in the oven;
- pour a solution of potassium permanganate.
At the bottom of the box, in which cucumbers will grow on the window in winter, drainage is laid out in an even layer. Suitable small pebbles, expanded clay or small pieces of brick. It must be recalled that the bottom of the box should be in holes distributed evenly.
seed processing
In order to choose high-quality seeds from a bag of seeds, you need to pour them into pre-prepared salt water (0.5 tsp per 200 ml of water). Seeds that have surfaced are considered defective and do not sit down.
temperature dependent, the seeds hatch in 2-3 days. Then they are laid out in containers with specially prepared soil and covered with a layer of earth, 1-2 cm, landing takes place. special film or glass, cover the container with planted seeds, put in a warm place, the temperature in which can even be 25 °. There they are waiting for the shoots.
When the first shoots appear in the box, protective film or glass - removed, and the container with seedlings is placed on the windowsill, where the temperature should not fall below 20 °.
When 4 or 5 leaves appear on the plant, then pinch the top. This will allow better development of the root system, and also enhance the growth of lateral lashes.
Be sure to make additional lighting, for this you need to buy 1-2 fluorescent lamps. And all because daylight hours in winter are very short, and for normal growth and development of the plant, heat and light are required 10 hours a day.
The basics of proper care
To get a crop of homemade cucumbers on the windowsill, you need to form a bush correctly and on time. For this you need:
- remove everything promptly side shoots and ovaries;
- make the first pinch after the appearance of the 5th sheet;
- the second and subsequent pinchings should be done after every 6 knots;
- the stem of the plant must be tied up.
After pinching for the first time, you need to start preparing the support for the cucumbers. After all, if the plant is provided good care, then growing cucumbers at home of any variety will become a game.
As a support, you can take a pair of long pegs, to which growing lashes will be tied. Or you can just use a nylon thread or twine, which will be tied at regular intervals, on a wall or on a window.
The support must be at least 70 cm high, and more can be made. The main thing is that it be strong and stable, but at the same time - comfortable and light. The fact is that the planted plant, at least once a day, must be rotated around its axis by 180 °. The same procedure must be done with seedlings.
To get a beautiful and even bush, you need to do the described procedure regularly. After all, the plant, with its leaves and stems, reaches for the light source, therefore, if it is not twisted, the stem will be twisted, and subsequently this will affect the crop.
In addition to the prop the plant needs to be fed regularly- this will be reflected in the yield and life expectancy of the plant itself. Depending on the chosen top dressing, the frequency of its use also depends:
- fresh biohumus is poured into a pot once a month;
- for irrigation, a solution of the "Growth" agent is used: 1 cap per 2 liters of water;
- means "Agrolife" - 1 teaspoon per upper layer soil.
When buds appeared on the plant, it is recommended to use wood ash: 1 cup per 10 liters of water. It does not depend on the type of plant.
You need to cook and healthy top dressing, consisting of 25 grams mineral fertilizer diluted in 10 liters of water . The consumption of such feeding per plant is 250-500 grams, and the interval is 10-12 days. Experienced gardeners It is recommended to use alternately organic and mineral fertilizers.
When the plant begins to bear fruit, the fruits must be removed in time in a timely manner, to prevent them from overripe. So everything useful material will not go into an overripe fruit, but into a ripening or tying one.
To prevent the soil from drying out, it must be watered daily, but little by little.
As soon as the first shoots appear, they need to be provided with weekly top dressing from mineral fertilizers.
If somehow the roots of the seedlings appeared above the ground - add more earth to the box, fill in the roots that have appeared.
If the plant has a lot of female flowers, then some of them need to be cut off. This will allow the fruit to form faster, and the plant itself will not be overloaded and depleted.
As soon as it becomes very hot in the room, the cucumbers quickly react to this and shed not only the leaves, but also the cucumbers that have already started.
It is worth considering that houseplants cucumbers will never be small and compact, even if the seed producers promised you this. And all because they lack the sun and light, and they stretch.
Cucumbers that are grown in the apartment on the windowsill in winter, they live only 2 months from the moment when the first crop was harvested.
So that the earth in the pot does not dry out, you just need to take a container larger than the pot in which the plant is planted and pour water into it. Since there is always a hole in the planting pot, the plant that is in it will take as much moisture from the larger container as it needs.
Attention, only TODAY!
Cucumbers on the windowsill in winter are no longer a myth, but a reality that avid gardeners organize at home. But this is possible only when using special varieties of cucumbers for growing in the winter in an apartment and following all the rules for caring for them.
Varieties of cucumbers for the windowsill
Thanks to the hard work of breeders, today every gardener can purchase cucumber seeds that can grow and bear fruit even in room conditions. Among these cucumbers for growing on a window in winter include:
- Cucumbers "Courage"- a variety that is characterized by fast ripening (the smallest ripening period when grown in a greenhouse is 36 days), good fruiting and large greens (up to 15 cm in length and 3 cm in diameter);
- variety of cucumbers "Shchedryk" ripens within 45 days from the moment of sowing the seeds, on each node of its bush, from 5 to 8 greens are formed, each of which is up to 12 cm long; when grown at room conditions, each bush gives up to 20 greens;
- variety "Khutorok" refers to the fastest ripening, since the first fruits from it can be harvested 30 days after sowing; Zelentsy are characterized by a length of 10 cm and the presence of black spikes, as well as excellent taste;
- Cucumbers "Khrustik" ripen quite late - 50 days after sowing, however, even when grown on a windowsill, up to 40 fruits can be harvested from one bush, however, when sowing this variety, keep in mind that it is vigorous, so it will require a lot of space;
- variety "Masha" also early ripening - the first greens can be harvested 35-40 days after sowing; the bush of the plant is formed quite thick, on each shoot 5-7 greens are formed about 11 cm in length;
- Cucumbers "Prestige" except for its precocity and excellent palatability are characterized by a length of 8-10 cm and are distinguished by non-simultaneous ripening of fruits, due to which fruiting can stretch for a month.
Important! For sowing on the windowsill, you can choose others early maturing varieties cucumbers, consider only that they must be parthenocarpic. We are talking about the ability to bear fruit without pollination and self-pollination.
Container for growing cucumbers at home
Cucumbers will do well growing in individual pots as well as in large boxes, which are usually used for planting seedlings. Just keep in mind that the boxes must have a hole for excess moisture to escape. 
When sowing seeds in boxes, keep in mind that no more than 5 cucumber bushes should be placed at a distance of 70 cm. In this case, the box should be wide enough, since this plant has a fairly strong root system. This will make the planting light enough, and will also protect young seedlings from excessive stretching.
For normal growth of cucumbers on the windowsill, the volume of the pot should be about 4 liters per plant. When preparing boxes and pots, keep in mind that their depth must be sufficient to lay out a drainage layer at the bottom. Since the thickness of the drainage for cucumbers can reach 3 cm, the container should not be too small.
soil for growing cucumbers
Good growth of cucumbers can be achieved only when they are planted in loose and sufficient fertile soil. For this purpose, you can purchase a soil substrate in a flower shop (universal or specially prepared soil for growing pumpkin plants is suitable for planting cucumbers).
If possible, it is better to prepare the soil mixture for cucumbers yourself by mixing in equal volumes:
- soil from the garden;
- soil from the forest;
- humus;
- sand (large is better, then the soil will be looser and it will be better to pass moisture);
- wood ash;
- sawdust (it is desirable that they have time to overheat and turn black).
Important! Before sowing seeds, the soil should be spread out in boxes and pots a few days before the intended planting. Thanks to this, he will have time to sink, and the seeds after sowing will not deepen and seedlings will appear faster.
Preparation of cucumber seeds
Most varieties of cucumbers can be sown dry directly in open ground. However, in this case, the first shoots will appear on about 2-3 days, and the crops themselves will have to be thickened in order to be planted later.
Since there is not much room for seedlings at home, it is recommended that cucumber seeds be germinated first, which can be done as follows:
- Soak the seeds in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for 30 minutes, then rinse with warm water.
- We lower the seed material for another 2-3 hours in water with a temperature of no more than +35 ˚С.
- Having taken out still warm seeds, we wrap them in a burlap moistened with water and cover with sawdust. In this form, they must be placed in a place where the temperature regime is kept at +30 ˚С.
- After 1-2 days shoots appear. They will be ready for planting almost immediately, since the length of the spine should not be allowed to grow by more than 1 mm. It is very important to dry them a little before planting.
Did you know? To increase the resistance of cucumber bushes to cold, you can harden them in the form of seeds. For this purpose, the seeds are first soaked in warm water, and then wrapped in cloth in a swollen form and placed in the refrigerator (preferably under the very freezer) for 1-2 days. After that, they can be planted, and the resulting seedlings can be kept even on window sills with a temperature of +17 ˚С.
Sowing seeds of cucumbers
Seeds can be sown in different dates, but it is best to do this in stages so that fresh greens constantly ripen in the house. The stages of sowing depend on the rapid growth of cucumbers on the windowsill.
If the variety is early, it can be sown every 20 days. However, keep in mind that in the period from November to February, cucumber bushes will not be enough natural light, since the days in these months are short and the sun does not appear as often.
When planting germinated seeds, they should be immersed in the soil to a depth of no more than 1.5 cm, and it should be moist. Until the cucumber seedling appears above the ground, containers with it should be kept under a film and at a temperature not lower than +25 ˚С.
When the first shoots hatch above the ground, the film should be removed, and the box with them should be rearranged on the windowsill, where the temperature will be cooler - about +20 ˚С.
There is another nuance in sowing cucumber seeds. Many gardeners sow them for seedlings in separate small pots, so that later they dive seedlings into large containers.
This option is quite acceptable, however, during transplantation, small seedlings are very often damaged. To prevent this, during transplantation it is better to transfer the soil from the cup along with the seedlings. In this case, both the roots and leaves of the plant will remain intact.
We create conditions for growing cucumbers at home
In order for cucumbers on the windowsill to show good growth, they should be placed only on the south side, since this plant is sensitive not only to heat, but also to light. Even better, if you have a heated balcony on the south side of the house, which receives light from three sides at once.
Under such conditions, cucumber bushes will grow quite strong, and their leaves will have a dark green color, like in the beds.
Lighting
In order for the cucumbers to have enough light, they are always highlighted. To do this, you can use special biolamps, or ordinary fluorescent lamps (it is not necessary that they be turned on all day, just calculate the time of their activation so that the daylight hours for cucumbers last up to 15-16 hours a day).
To enhance the effect of the lamps, you can install reflectors around the cucumbers - a mirror or foil. Do not forget about tying the weaving bushes, which will allow each shoot to receive the maximum amount of light.
Temperature
As for the temperature regime for growing cucumbers, from the moment the first shoots appear, the plant should be kept at a temperature of +20 ˚С. If the temperature in the apartment is higher, then the cucumbers will need to be provided with regular watering and spraying so that the moisture from the bushes does not evaporate too intensively.
Important! When growing cucumbers on a windowsill, keep in mind the fact that a cold window sill can also cool a box with plants, as well as their roots. In this case, cucumbers may begin to fade or stop growing. To avoid hypothermia of the roots, it is recommended to place small pieces of polystyrene under pots and boxes with cucumbers.
Cucumber care at home
Cucumbers on the windowsill, in cultivation and care, are no less demanding than when they are planted in open ground. It is very important to organize the growth of the bushes in such a way that they do not stretch out, and each of their shoots remains thick enough.
Formation and garter bushes of cucumbers
The question, "How to properly form cucumbers on the windowsill?" is very important, since the strength of the crop will depend on this. It must be understood that even if there is a large amount of ovary on the bushes, with excessively dense growth of shoots and low light, they can completely crumble and not bear fruit.
For this reason, it is important to tie up cucumbers, giving each shoot the opportunity to grow along its own individual trajectory.
In this regard, a support for cucumbers on the windowsill is also a useful item, since it is not always convenient and not aesthetically pleasing to tie with laces.
In addition, it is important to immediately decide for yourself whether it is necessary to pinch the cucumbers on the windowsill. In fact, it is this procedure that allows good harvests.You need to pinch the bush of cucumbers when 4-5 leaves appear, due to which the growth of the main shoot will stop, but the side shoots will develop, on which the main part of the crop is formed.