Cucumbers growing on the balcony

Of course, I’ve heard for a long time that cucumbers can be successfully grown in boxes and buckets right on the balcony or loggia.

This growing method greatly extends the season for consuming fresh, very aromatic products. By growing cucumbers in pots in the spring on a glassed-in loggia, you can start eating your own cucumbers almost earlier than summer residents with greenhouses.

And a few years ago I decided to try planting cucumbers on the balcony; to my surprise, I received a good harvest already in the first season. Now I have already gained some experience in this matter and I want to tell you about it.

I plant seedlings in containers at the age of 2 - 3 true leaves. After planting, I water the plants well and mulch the soil surface with chopped straw, decorative wood chips or bark in a 2-3 cm layer to maintain moisture and isolate the soil from external influences.

If you are not interested in early production, then you can do without growing seedlings, and plant the seeds when it becomes warm directly in buckets or boxes. Only in this case, after watering, you need to cover the containers with film, otherwise the soil will quickly dry out, and with it the planted seeds.

It is important to place the container in a warm, sunny place oriented to the east or southeast.

It is very important to form cucumber bushes correctly; this is done like this:

• When forming plants in the lower 3-4 nodes, the ovaries and side shoots are completely removed.
• In the next 1-2 nodes, the ovaries are left, and the side shoots are pinched.
• Above, the side shoots are left, pinching them to the middle of the height of the trellis by 2 leaves, and above - by 3-4 leaves. This technique accelerates the growth of the stem in height and enhances the filling of greens.
  

  You need to shape the cucumbers according to this pattern

   

Not all varieties and hybrids are suitable for growing cucumbers in containers or pots, but only parthenocarpic, shade-tolerant and resistant to temperature changes. These qualities are inherent in salad-type cucumbers:

• Window-balcony F1
• Gift of the East F1
• Mustafa F1

The very names of the latter indicate the great popularity of cucumbers of this type in Asian countries, where they are added to a variety of dishes and even served as dessert. During the period of mass fruiting, 15-25 beautiful, uniform, smooth (without tubercles or thorns), shiny cucumbers, without bitterness in taste, are almost simultaneously formed on one plant.

The hybrid Gift of the East F1 is distinguished by bunch fruit formation, up to 4-5 greenlings 8-10 cm long per node.

Cucumber Window-balcony F1 has more elongated fruits, up to 14-16 cm, and Mustafa F1 - 18-20 cm.

In Europe, “salad” cucumbers are also popular, but, unlike “Asian” ones, they have large and sparse tubercles.

Among such cucumbers of the “window-balcony” type, one can distinguish a hybrid with the telling name Spring Caprice F1. It produces fruits up to 20 cm long, very fragrant, juicy, with thin, delicate skin.

Hybrids bearing the feminine, truly aristocratic and royal names Ekaterina F1 and Elizaveta F1 produce longer fruits (up to 25-30 cm), however, when grown in a window, it is better to harvest them at a size of 10-12 cm. All these hybrids do not require pollination, which provides them with a long period of fruiting both in the greenhouse and on the balcony or windowsill.

Growing cucumbers in containers will allow you to get your favorite juicy fruits, even if you do not have a greenhouse or do not have enough space on your site. Besides, it's just interesting! Try, experiment, delight yourself with delicious and healthy products grown with your own hands!

This is an article from the “And I do this..” section.

You might be interested:

1. Growing early cucumbers in a greenhouse
2. How to grow cucumbers in the ground
3. Why did the leaves on the cucumbers turn yellow?
4. 5 different ways to feed cucumbers
5. What problems can you encounter when growing cucumbers?