Hydroponics Resources

How Can We Grow Vegetables On The Balcony?

In our articles you found, basically, tips on how to grow vegetables in the open field. However, what about those who do not have a dacha? In this article, we will answer this question. The fact is that vegetables can be grown at home. Not only peppers and tomatoes but even cucumbers and strawberries. Therefore, all year you can enjoy fresh vegetables grown at home, without shopping.

The advantages of home mini – garden

This method has many advantages. Firstly, in the apartment, you will be able to enjoy fresh vegetables, fruits, greens for a whole year. The next advantage (and the most important thing in our time) is saving. After all, it is no secret to anyone that in the winter the price of vegetables and fruits increases markedly. And you want to see fresh cucumbers, tomatoes at home on the New Year’s table. With a mini garden on the balcony, you will not depend on the shops and prices.

The undoubted advantage is the cultivation of vegetables on the balcony, that you will know more about the plants and the methods of their cultivation in the apartment, will gain invaluable experience in gardening. Vegetables on the windowsill, in addition, can become a favorite hobby. Such landings at home are a cause for pride. Just imagine how you will surprise loved ones with fresh vegetables.

How to grow vegetables on the windowsill

Garden on the windowsill

 

A place

First, decide on a place. Balconies or window sills are great for growing vegetables. The ideal option for the location of the garden at home would be the lighter side. If there is no such place, do not be in a hurry. Also, if there is not enough space at home, it is allowed to construct special racks or extend the window sill.

 

Tara

Everything is clear with the place. Next, go to the choice of packaging. You can use clay or plastic pots, as well as wooden boxes. Just do not forget to make holes in the bottom of the container to drain the water. Pots used as a place for growing vegetables should be placed on special pallets.

 

The soil

Another issue that needs to be addressed before planting seeds in the soil. In the store, you can find a large number of mixtures intended for the cultivation of vegetables in room conditions. Often, they all consist of three components: peat, turf, and compost. Some gardeners themselves prepare the soil for the future plot.

 

Seeds

The selection of seeds must be approached carefully. Read all that is written on the package. After all, some seeds are great for home, and others – only for open ground. It is advisable to read the specialized literature in advance or ask an experienced gardener to decide on the variety. In addition to the above, it is recommended to purchase dressing, fertilizers, thermometers, capacity, where water will settle. Note that the home garden should be watered with a pre-settled liquid. It remains to solve the main question – what to plant.

 

What can be grown on the balcony

The most common vegetable crops in the apartment on the balcony or windowsill are peppers, tomatoes, radishes, carrots, cucumbers. Let’s take a look at each of the vegetables individually and find out how to get a big harvest at home.

 

Peppers on the windowsill

The temperature in the room should be +25 degrees. You can get a harvest in 100 – 130 days after planting seeds. It is recommended to use a special soil that will be saturated with useful microelements.

Place the seeds of the pepper in small containers and cover them with cling film on top. Next, vegetable culture is placed in a warm place at home. If you see sprouts, make punctures in the film. After some time, the sprout should get stronger. This means that it is time to transplant peppers in large containers.

 

Peppers on the windowsill

The procedure for transplanting vegetables is done carefully. Not one root of the pepper should not suffer.

It remains to pour the water over the pepper. Further, the irrigation process should be systematic – once a day. This vegetable culture is constantly in need of light. Keep peppers from drafts and direct sunlight. Fertilizers with a nitrogen content are excellent for feeding with peppers. Do not use potash fertilizers. They adversely affect peppers. If you do it right, the pepper will grow in the mini – garden not for a year, but two.

Cherry tomatoes on the balcony

For home, garden uses the following varieties of cherry: bead, bonsai, pygmy. The optimum temperature at home for a tomato is +23 degrees. The plant ripens about 100 days after planting. The land is better to buy in a specialty store.

As a container, use a cylindrical container, so the root system will be better to fill the container. Germinate seeds in small containers. Next, place the planting material at a depth of one and a half centimeters. Cover the pot with foil and leave in a warm place until germination.

 

Cherry tomatoes on the windowsill

 

After the sprouts get stronger, they need to be planted in a large container. It is necessary to organize uniform lighting. To this end, many gardeners install fluorescent lamps above the plant.

Watering should be done carefully. As soon as the cherry gets stronger, you can begin to periodically loosen the soil and make nutrient fertilizers. If you see that the trunk breaks under the weight of the fruit, it should be tied to a stick or any other support. Constantly observe the plant, because it can suffer from pests or other diseases. On the balcony, you can grow not only cherry tomatoes but also ordinary tomatoes.

Mini garden with radishes

For radish enough temperature of +18 degrees. It is possible to enjoy ripened fruits after 40 days. This vegetable culture grows well in containers of wood or clay. However, ordinary plastic glasses will do as well. For a radish, select loose, well-drained soil. Before planting, be sure to check the planting material for the ability to sprout. Next, the seeds are placed in a container to a depth of one centimeter.

After planting radish seeds should be watered and covered with a film. It is allowed to remove the film only after shoots have appeared. Experienced gardeners occasionally place a container of vegetables in the house for three days at a place with a temperature of up to +18 degrees. This serves as a kind of hardening for the plant. It is necessary to feed a radish in 5 days from the moment of emergence of the first shoots.

 

Radish on the windowsill

 

Water it as needed. It is desirable that at home in the room the air was not dry.

We grow carrots on the windowsill

Amsterdam variety is well suited for indoor cultivation. Carrots should be in a place with a temperature of about +25 degrees. You can enjoy the vegetables after 70 days. When choosing a soil, give preference to drainage. Plant seeds to a depth of 2-3 centimeters. Shoots need thinning: leave the strongest, and weak ones – remove. At the same time, the shoots should be at a distance of two centimeters from each other. Carrots love moisture. However, watch that there is no overabundance of moisture because the vegetable can simply rot. Fertilizers with a minimum nitrogen content are excellent for feeding.

 

Homemade Cucumbers

The following varieties of cucumbers will grow excellently on the windowsill: miracle on the window, ant, room Rytov. Choose a place with a temperature of +24 degrees. You can make a cucumber salad after 45 days (depending on the variety). The only problem in the cultivation of cucumbers associated with the choice of packaging. Six-liter containers are required. Use loose soil with peat and compost.

When growing vegetables, home-grown varieties of culture grow better at home. Before planting seeds need to check for germination. To do this, place the planting material in a weak salt solution. If some seeds have surfaced, they must be thrown away. They will not germinate in the soil. Put good seeds in solution with potassium permanganate.

Next, planting material should be washed on a wet gauze and planted in the soil. As in the previous cases, the container is covered with a film. After the sprouts grow, they should be transplanted into larger containers. Watering should be done once a day. Use potassium nitrate as a fertilizer. The scourge of cucumber must be tied up on special supports so that the culture can weave.

Related Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *