Vegetables on the windowsill - what can be grown and when to plant
Kyiv • UNN
For a home garden, it is important to choose special varieties and deep pots with drainage. Vegetables need regular watering and the right amount of soil.
Having your own mini-garden on the windowsill looks not only very aesthetic but also practical. After all, the harvest is organic and always at hand. Nowadays, people grow not only greens but also vegetables and even strawberries. UNN will tell you how to choose the right varieties for a good harvest at home.
Details
In fact, growing vegetables on the windowsill is very popular, so there are special varieties that feel comfortable in pots. However, for a good harvest, you need to follow certain rules.
A pot limits the space for plant growth, so it is important to choose the right varieties that will survive in such conditions, and most importantly - bear fruit. After all, some plants will not even sprout if they do not receive enough nutrients.
There are special varieties for growing on the windowsill, including:
- Eggplants (varieties Pot Black, Pinstripe, Ping-pong F1, Golden Eggs 0.1 g, Chinese Lantern);
- Peppers - usually hot peppers are grown on the windowsill, but it is quite realistic to grow sweet varieties (hot Fireworks, sweet Poupylla, Treasure Island, Gift of Moldova, Dwarf);
- Tomatoes - cherry tomatoes are usually chosen - Balcony Red, Thumbelina, Spencer;
- Onions - Schnitt, April, Parade;
- Radishes - Champion, 18 days, Early Red;
- Greens - basil, arugula, dill, mint;
- Lettuce - Balcony mix, cress Aphrodite.
The first step is choosing the soil. Usually, a ready-made soil mixture for growing on the windowsill is purchased. It is universal for seedlings and suitable for all crops.
The container plays an important role; it is important that the plant feels comfortable. What principle to choose a pot or container by:
The container should be deep enough. To determine the correct size, you need to focus on the height of the adult plant; the pot should cover half of it. The container should also be wide and spacious.
There must be drainage holes; they help avoid water stagnation and root rot. It is worth placing trays - excess moisture will drain there.
Greens do not require special conditions, so they can be planted directly in a pot. For better germination of vegetables, cassettes or peat tablets, ceramic or plastic containers, including pots, are used. But over time and with growth, vegetables need more space, so they need to be transplanted into larger containers.
Cucumbers
Cucumbers need a lot of space, so they should be planted immediately in containers with a volume of 5-6 liters. Seeds should be placed at a depth of 1-2 centimeters, then covered with film or glass for a greenhouse effect. Regular spraying will help maintain moisture. After the first shoots, pinch the top; this will stimulate branching.
Tomatoes
For home conditions, the best choice of variety is cherry tomatoes or dwarf varieties. For tomatoes, you need a pot with a volume of 4-5 liters. Tomatoes need regular warmth and watering.
Pepper
Growing peppers depends on the variety; for example, sweet peppers need a larger container than hot peppers. It is best to sow peppers under film until germination. Also, do not forget about regular watering with warm, settled water. Hot peppers ripen faster in 3 months, bell peppers in 5 months. It is important to grow sweet and hot peppers on different windowsills to prevent cross-pollination.
Indoor Eggplants
The first harvest can be collected in 2-3 months. Eggplants are very capricious; they need 23-25 degrees of heat and a pot with a volume of 3 liters or more. On cloudy days, they need additional lighting, and watering only with settled water. Usually, the first harvest comes in 2-3 months.
Beans
For beans, like all legumes, a bowl or a wide pot is needed. The best option is bush varieties of asparagus beans. They need regular watering, loosening of the soil, and fertilization.