Top dressing for cucumbers at home
Growing cucumbers on a balcony or windowsill is an exciting experience. Green cucumber lianas can not only please with crispy fruits for a fresh salad, but also serve as an excellent decorative element. The key to successful gardening is proper care, and correctly chosen cucumber dressing at home for the growth and development of bushes is the basis for a good harvest and plant health.
Top dressing for cucumbers at home
Growing
The main stages of growing indoor cucumbers include:
- variety selection;
- sowing seeds for seedlings;
- care and feeding.
Variety selection
For home gardening, it is important to choose the right variety. Self-pollinated varieties are recommended, which are less demanding on lighting and grow well in confined spaces. They tie 5-10 fruits in one internode. The varieties Ekol F1, Pasalimo F1, Pasamonte F1, Hummingbird F1, Balconnoe miracle, Masha F1 are well suited.
Landing
You can grow indoor cucumbers at any time of the year, but you need to take into account that additional lighting will be required in the autumn-winter period.
Any containers are suitable for planting cucumbers: flower pots with a volume of more than 5 liters, balcony boxes and even ordinary buckets. For cucumbers, a universal or specialized soil mixture designed for growing vegetables is suitable.
Seeds are sown directly into large containers at a permanent location. Sowing seedlings is also a good option. It is convenient to grow young plants in peat tablets. When 2-3 true leaves appear, the seedlings are transplanted into large containers.
Care
To ensure the growth of cucumbers on the windowsill, it is worth remembering the peculiarities of caring for the crop.
For growing cucumbers, choose the brightest place. In case of a lack of daylight, the plants are illuminated with special photolamps, but if they are not available, ordinary fluorescent lamps will do.
Cucumbers are a moisture-loving plant, and therefore watering should be carried out regularly. Absolute drying of the soil must not be allowed, otherwise the plants will quickly dry out and turn yellow. Overflow should also be avoided.
It is important to pay attention to the health of the plants. Monitor the plant for pests.
Why do you need top dressing
Unfortunately, it will be difficult to grow indoor cucumbers without careful and regular feeding.
Cucumbers require a constant supply of nutrients for intensive growth, and a limited amount of soil is quickly depleted. This is why the plant needs constant feeding.
Potted soil needs to be enriched periodically.
Regular feeding will provide:
- the formation of the root system;
- plant growth and development;
- intense flowering;
- the formation of ovaries;
- the growth of quality fruits;
- extended fruiting period.
Specialized feeding
When the first shoots appear on the windowsill, the question arises of how to feed and fertilize indoor cucumbers so that they grow well and bear fruit. For this, both special mineral and organic fertilizers are used, as well as a variety of natural dressings according to folk recipes.
Mineral fertilizers
For feeding cucumbers, mineral fertilizers are used. The best option is a specialized mineral fertilizer in the form of chelates or a solution. For example, Master, Yara, Blank sheet. These types of fertilizers are easy to use. The mixtures are most often packaged in small packages.
Fertilizers are readily soluble and contain no chlorine. The composition of trace elements is balanced and most suitable for cucumbers. The approximate NPK ratio is 22: 8: 16. The presence of B (boron), Cu (copper), Zn (zinc), Mn (manganese), Fe (iron), Mo (molybdenum) has a beneficial effect on plants.
3 main dressings are carried out with a frequency of 10-14 days, the first time the cucumbers are fed no earlier than 10 days after the emergence of shoots. Fertilizers are dissolved in accordance with the instructions and watered.
Sometimes carbamide and superphosphate are used for feeding. For the first, take 5 g of carbamide and 5 g of superphosphate, dissolve the granules in 3 liters of water and pour the cucumbers with the resulting solution. The second feeding is carried out with the same solution. In the third, only superphosphate is used.
Organic fertilizers
To get an environmentally friendly product, cucumbers are fed with organic humate-based dressings. These fertilizers are produced on the basis of humic acids, they are enriched with amino acids. The composition contains all the components necessary for plants. Such feeding stimulates root formation, growth and fruiting.
Fertilizers are diluted according to the instructions and cucumbers are watered every two weeks.
Folk recipes
Top dressing based on folk recipes is popular and as safe as possible, but they are suitable only as an aid.
Ash
One of the most popular fertilizers among gardeners. Ash is rich in trace elements, including phosphorus and potassium, which provide the plant with intensive flowering and fruiting.
Ash will increase the productivity of plants
For feeding indoor cucumbers, an infusion of ash is used. To do this, add 1.5-2 tbsp to 3 liters of water. l. ash, mix and insist for at least 24 hours. The finished infusion is filtered, after which the bushes are watered.
This feeding is alternated with other types of fertilizers. The best time to use ash infusion is during flowering and fruit set.
Banana peel
Plain banana peel has worked well as a homemade potassium fertilizer for cucumbers. In addition to potassium, it is rich in amino acids, which have a positive effect on the growing season.
The peel is used, well dried and crushed to a powder state. The resulting banana powder is poured under the bushes. For one bush, 1 tsp is enough.
You can also prepare an infusion. To do this, put the peel in a jar and fill it with water, leave for 2 days. The resulting infusion is poured over cucumbers.
Onion peel
A wonderful remedy with a double effect. Serves as a nutritious feeding, and also protects plants on the balcony and in the house from pests.
The husk is more convenient to use by preparing the infusion. To do this, pour 5 liters of boiling water into 30 g of husk, let it brew for 2-3 days. The infusion is filtered, after which the bushes are sprayed over the leaves.
Peelings from potatoes
The value of potato peelings lies in the presence of starch in them. Starch is a substance that plants themselves produce during photosynthesis. Often, cucumbers are grown at home with a lack of lighting, which slows down the process of photosynthesis, respectively, the amount of starch produced by the plant decreases. A decoction of potato peels will make up for the lack of this nutrient.
The broth is prepared in an elementary way: the peel is boiled in water and then cooled.The tool is watered with the bushes once every 2 weeks.
Sugar
Green plants produce sugar through photosynthesis. It provides the bushes with the energy they need to grow. Sweetened water will be very beneficial for indoor cucumbers. To create top dressing, 2 tsp are dissolved in 3 liters of settled water. Sahara. The resulting sweet water is watered cucumbers twice a week. Instead of sugar, pharmacy glucose is often used.
Thick coffee
Coffee grounds are used to grow not only indoor flowers, but also vegetable crops. It has a beneficial effect on the structure of the soil: the soil becomes looser, air, moisture and nutrients are better supplied to the roots.
Only natural roasted coffee grounds are used as fertilizer. Before use, they are dried and poured under the plants only in dry form, thoroughly mixed with the top layer of soil.
Eggshell
Eggshells take the leading position among effective dressings for indoor growing vegetables. For feeding cucumbers, an infusion on the shell is used. For cooking, the washed shells from 4-5 eggs are poured with clean water (it is better to do this in a glass jar), covered with a lid and placed in a dark place. After a few days, the water becomes cloudy and takes on a specific smell. Cucumbers are watered with ready-made infusion every other day.
Conclusion
To grow cucumbers at home, you need proper feeding, it is she who will allow you to harvest a high-quality crop. Plants with beautiful leaves and stems will decorate the windowsill or balcony of the house better than indoor exotics.