Prices are going through the roof: how to get a crop of cucumbers at home in three weeks

Cucumber prices skyrocketed in grocery stores. Kilo – 400-500 rubles! If you think that merchants unreasonably raise the price tag on this traditional vegetable for our table, try growing cucumbers yourself. Experienced gardeners say that for a rich harvest at home, you need only three things: a sunny window, fertile land, and enough moisture.

Cucumber-well done – everyone’s favorite. You can’t do without it either on holidays or on weekdays. He is so firmly entrenched in our menu that, it seems, he comes from Russia. In fact, his homeland is India, and the word “cucumber” is of Greek origin and means unripe, that is, green. Cucumbers appeared in Rus’ in the 10th century, they say, Novgorod merchants from Byzantium brought them to us, and the first vegetable farms, where they began to grow them for the royal table, appeared under Peter I. And since then they have firmly settled in any garden in Russia.

“Cucumber is a hardy plant. He perfectly acclimatized in most of the territory of our country. All he needs is the sun, abundant watering and loose fertile land, ”says experienced gardener Daria Kucherukova.

But what is easy and simple in the summer in the garden, in the winter in the room no longer looks like such a trifling matter. According to Daria, if you still decide to grow cucumbers on a windowsill or a glazed balcony, you first need to provide your green pets with a stable temperature regime, about 20-23 degrees Celsius and good lighting. In this case, from one bush in winter you can get up to 40 cucumbers

“Our winters are cloudy, there are few sunny days, so even if your windows face south, this level of insolation is not enough for normal plant growth. We need an LED phytolamp, at least for the first time, while the cucumber seedlings are gaining strength, ”advises Daria.

The expert also warns against frequent, abundant watering of young plants, their root system is very sensitive to stagnant water, and the cucumbers themselves (especially modern hybrid varieties) are prone to numerous diseases, so the soil in the containers where you are going to grow them should be well drained, its breathability is an important factor for maintaining healthy seedlings. Watering can and should be supplemented with daily spraying of the leaves, but they should have time to dry before nightfall. Water carefully under the root or from the pan, several times during the fruiting period you need to pour a weak solution of potassium permanganate so that root rot does not start. For irrigation use only settled water at room temperature.

“Beginner gardeners often make the same mistake. When cucumber seedlings grow up, they take a large container with earth (10 kilos) and plant several plants there at once. Of course, it’s easier to take care of your garden this way – you can make a common support in the form of a trellis for all cucumber lashes, it will also decorate a window or balcony. But what is acceptable for a summer garden, where there is a lot of sun, is not suitable for poor winter lighting. Your cucumbers, planted in a heap in one pot, will shade each other, and you will not expect a good harvest from them. I recommend one pot. – one lash, and choose those varieties that have few leaves, ”Daria teaches.

By the way, about varieties. It is necessary to choose early and mid-early hybrids, and many manufacturing companies have already begun to produce varieties specifically for home cultivation. But even the most precocious individuals will still delight you with the first pimply greens (as agronomists call young cucumbers) no earlier than 5–6 weeks after the first shoots appear. Therefore, planting now, you can get the first harvest from your window garden only for the May holidays. On the other hand, who knows how much more store prices may rise by then, and you will already have your own crispy fresh cucumbers.

Here are a few more life hacks for growing cucumbers from experienced gardeners:

1. In order for the seedlings to be healthy, you need to protect it from fungal and viral infections, to do this, calcine the soil in the oven at 100 degrees Celsius before planting the seeds, and soak the seeds themselves in a weak solution of potassium permanganate or in a special disinfectant for seeds. After dressing, the seeds are left for 2-3 days to swell in a saucer with warm water or wrapped in a damp cloth. When they hatch, you need to sow them to a depth of one centimeter.

2. Seeds of cucumbers can be immediately planted in large pots, or you can sow them in planting pots, and then dive and transfer from a smaller container to a larger one – here whoever likes it more. But during transshipment, it is easy to damage the fragile root system. Therefore, some gardeners use empty egg shells as planting pots for seedlings, and when the roots of plants become crowded in it, the bottom of the shell is carefully cut out, and the remains of the egg shell, along with a clod of earth, are planted in a new larger pot. Its volume must be at least five liters, some gardeners use garbage bags for this purpose, inserting one into the other for strength.

3. Growing cucumbers on a balcony, even a well-insulated one, can catch cold plants, they are very sensitive to temperature changes. To avoid hypothermia of the root system, place a sheet of foam or drywall under the pots, and it is best to cover the seedlings with a transparent film until it hatches, thus creating the effect of a greenhouse. When shoots appear, weak sprouts are removed, the shelter is removed and the lamp begins to illuminate.

4. As we have said, cucumbers love loose, well-fertilized soil. Top dressing should begin after the appearance of the second leaf. As a fertilizer, a solution of fermented crushed banana peels or rye bread is perfect.

5. You need to water on sunny days every day, on cloudy days every other day. If the apartment is dry, then you can put water containers next to your garden, and cover the batteries with wet towels.

6. When the crop is ripe, greens – young cucumbers – need to be harvested every day. This contributes to the formation of new ovaries, and the overgrowth of fruits, on the contrary, leads to depletion of the plant and a decrease in the taste of cucumbers.