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A vegetable garden on the windowsill: we grow cucumbers, tomatoes and various varieties of peppers

A windowsill vegetable garden provides a convenient, space-efficient way to cultivate fresh produce right at home. An ideal project for urban gardeners, this type of mini-garden can yield cucumbers, tomatoes, and various colorful peppers. Perfect for passionate kitchen gardeners and urban agriculturalists alike, a windowsill vegetable garden offers a reliable source of healthy, organic vegetables in an array of flavors and shapes. Growing these vegetables requires only a few simple steps, giving a great opportunity for people to enjoy the process of garden-to-table eating.

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Vegetables are a valuable low-calorie dietary food product, the regular consumption of which has a beneficial effect on human health. In this article, we will tell you how to grow vegetables in a city apartment, we will deal with the peculiarities of agricultural technology for growing cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers.

A vegetable garden on the windowsill. We grow cucumbers, tomatoes and various varieties of peppers

Vegetables are the main source of vitamins necessary for humans. Eating various vegetable salads stimulates the body’s defenses and protects us from the adverse effects of the environment. This is especially important in winter and early spring, when the body so much needs protection from influenza and respiratory infections..

You can grow the amount of vegetables necessary for a family in winter on window sills and insulated heated balconies. For this, it is necessary to observe specially developed agricultural techniques for indoor cultivation. Let’s see what they are..

We organize the beds correctly

You can grow cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers in the apartment all year round. It is not at all difficult to build beds on the windowsill. If your windowsill is narrow, then first you need to expand it. This can be done in two ways.

You can use a sheet of plywood with a thickness of 7-10 mm, a width of 20 cm and a length equal to the window sill. Plywood just needs to be slipped under the frame with one side and secured – now the area for the garden will be quite sufficient.

You can increase the area using stools. To do this, we put two stools near the window by the radiator and put a board 20 centimeters wide on them. In this case, the upper part of the containers should be at the level of the windowsill. In this case, the vegetable plants will be warm and light..

You can use any containers for growing, the main thing is that the plants are spacious in them. We will talk about this in more detail a little later. It all depends on your financial capabilities. You can use expensive ceramic pots, or you can adapt a 5–6 liter water bottle for these purposes. For growing vegetables, you can make your own boxes from pine or spruce boards, again adhering to the required volume for each individual plant. We talked in more detail about the containers and drainage in them in the article “A vegetable garden on the windowsill: we grow greens, leafy vegetables and herbs”.

A vegetable garden on the windowsill. We grow cucumbers, tomatoes and various varieties of peppers

You can prepare the soil for growing vegetables on the windowsill yourself, or you can buy a ready-made substrate. If you use garden land, then the following proportions must be observed: 80% of the soil from the garden, 10% of humus, 10% of sand. It is advisable to disinfect the garden soil before planting seeds by spilling it with boiling water. A quality substrate can be prepared from biohumus and coconut fiber. To do this, they are mixed in proportion: vermicompost – 1 part, coconut fiber – 2 parts. These ingredients can be purchased at specialized stores..

A few basic rules

To successfully grow vegetables on the windowsill, you must clearly follow the recommendations described below:

  1. Choosing the right seed is important. Self-pollinated early-maturing undersized or bush hybrids are suitable for growing in a city apartment. To date, special varieties have also been bred for home cultivation, in this case, the bags with seeds will be marked – “suitable for growing in an apartment”.
  2. In order for a beautiful lush fruiting bush to grow from a seed, the plant must be provided with a suitable temperature and the required amount of light. Vegetable beds should be placed on the south or southeast windows. On short winter days, supplementary lighting with fluorescent lamps is mandatory.
  3. It is necessary to water the plants with warm, settled water, at a temperature of 20-25 degrees.
  4. The vegetables on the windowsill need to be fed regularly, especially during the fruiting period. For these purposes, you can use a universal fertilizer for indoor flowers or specialized growth concentrates..
  5. Pots with seedlings and mature shrubs must be turned 180 degrees once a day. This is necessary so that the bushes are even, since plants tend to bend towards the light.

Basic rules for supplementing vegetable beds on the windowsill

On cloudy short winter days, it is simply impossible to grow lush bushes in an apartment without additional lighting. As you know, light is the main component of such an important process for a plant as photosynthesis, without which normal growth and development of culture does not occur..

It is recommended to organize additional lighting using white and daylight fluorescent lamps. Such lamps provide illumination similar to sunlight without generating heat. Therefore, they can be located close enough to plants. Today, in specialized stores, you can also buy phytolamps adapted specifically for indoor growing vegetables..

A vegetable garden on the windowsill. We grow cucumbers, tomatoes and various varieties of peppers

Luminescent lamps are suspended at a height of 10 cm for light-loving plants and 40-50 cm for shade-loving plants. For 1 sq. m of the window sill, lighting of 200-300 watts is required. You can organize additional lighting using the following formula:

  • lamp power = 200/300 W sill area

It is best to choose the length of the lamp equal to the length of the window sill..

It is very convenient to connect fluorescent lamps using a special timer. In this case, the additional lighting will turn on itself, exactly at the time interval that you set, for example, from 7:00 to 10:00 in the morning and from 15:00 to 21:00 in the evening. The timer lamps will also turn off independently.

Features of growing cucumbers on the windowsill

For growing cucumbers in a city apartment, the main thing is to choose the right seeds. For these purposes, specially bred self-pollinated greenhouse varieties are suitable. It is most convenient to grow bush species of this culture on the windowsill. If you want to grow bee-pollinated cucumbers on the windowsill, then pollination will need to be done manually.

Cucumber is a light-loving and thermophilic culture, therefore, the beds must be located on the southern or southeastern windows. This plant is extremely negative about drafts. The window, near which the containers with cucumbers are located, must be well insulated, and the window must be covered with polyethylene to prevent cold air from entering during ventilation. You can get a good harvest only if the beds are supplemented in the winter with fluorescent lamps..

A vegetable garden on the windowsill. We grow cucumbers, tomatoes and various varieties of peppers

It is best to pre-germinate seeds before planting to accelerate emergence. To do this, they must be placed in several layers of toilet paper and put in a flat container, pour warm water on top. Then we keep the seeds at a temperature of 28-30 degrees and high humidity for 2-3 days. If the paper dries up, it should be moistened periodically. The appearance of seedlings 2-3 mm means that the seeds are ready for planting in the soil.

Sprouted seeds can be planted in small plastic cups to obtain seedlings, or they can be placed immediately in a permanent place in a container. It should be borne in mind that one adult plant for full development will need a volume of 3–3.5 liters.

A vegetable garden on the windowsill. We grow cucumbers, tomatoes and various varieties of peppers

After planting the germinated seeds in the ground, the containers are covered with plastic wrap and placed in a warm place. After the shoots have appeared, the pots are moved to the south window and, with a short daylight hours, provide additional lighting. If you grew seedlings in small cups, you can transplant them to a permanent place when the plant has two or three leaves.

After the cucumber grows 5-6 leaves and begins to release a mustache, you need to tie it to a peg or a taut twine. Pinch the cucumbers grown on the windowsill over 11-12 leaves. The faster you do this, the faster the cucumber will begin to bear fruit. The emerging side shoots must also be removed..

A vegetable garden on the windowsill. We grow cucumbers, tomatoes and various varieties of peppers

If you prefer to grow bee-pollinated cucumber varieties in your apartment, pollination can be done manually. To do this, they pluck a bright yellow male flower and touch the female flower with it (they, as a rule, do not have a bright color). Pollination can also be carried out with a piece of cotton wool wound around a match. It is best to pollinate cucumbers in the morning. If you create optimal conditions for the plant, you can get 12-15 medium-sized cucumbers from one bush.

Features of growing tomatoes on a windowsill

Tomato is a light-loving and thermophilic culture, therefore, the beds must be placed on the southern or southeastern windows. Unlike cucumber, this plant has a positive attitude towards drafts, so the air temperature can be controlled by ventilating the premises. The optimum temperature for growing tomatoes is 28 degrees during the day and 15 degrees at night..

It should be noted that low-growing, early-ripening small-fruited tomato varieties are best suited for apartment cultivation..

A vegetable garden on the windowsill. We grow cucumbers, tomatoes and various varieties of peppers

You can grow tomatoes on the windowsill, like cucumbers, either by seedling, or by planting seeds immediately in a large container. The optimum volume for each adult plant is 3.5–4 liters. After planting the seeds, the containers must be placed in a warm place (25 degrees) and covered with foil. After germination, remove the film and place the plants on the windowsill. In winter, when the daylight hours are short, tomato beds need additional lighting.

The main problem when growing tomatoes on a windowsill is their predisposition to fungal diseases, which, in most cases, occur with increased soil and air humidity. Therefore, it is necessary to water the tomato beds on the windowsill very carefully, avoiding waterlogging. Watering adult plants should be 1-2 times a week with warm, settled water. If there is high humidity in the room, in order to avoid the development of fungi, you can spray the plants with a Bordeaux mixture. For its preparation, a liter of water is poured into glassware, 10 grams of copper sulfate is dissolved in it. Then 20 grams of slaked lime is diluted in 100 grams of water – this milk of lime is poured into a solution of copper sulfate in a thin stream and mixed well. This mixture can be stored throughout the day..

A vegetable garden on the windowsill. We grow cucumbers, tomatoes and various varieties of peppers

Tomatoes do not need artificial pollination, but for better fruit setting, you can lightly tap the flower brushes several times a week. After the formation of the main part of the fruit, the top of the plant and flowering clusters must be removed. If this is not done, the formed fruits will not be able to fully ripen..

Features of growing pepper on a windowsill

Pepper belongs to those crops that are much easier to grow in an apartment than cucumber and tomato. This is especially true for bitter varieties. For growing peppers on a windowsill, any varieties of your choice are suitable. Most importantly, do not put sweet and bitter peppers next to each other in order to avoid over-pollination..

If you have a summer cottage or vegetable garden in which you grow pepper bushes during the season, for the winter several well-preserved bushes can be dug up and transplanted into a pot. Pepper is originally a perennial crop, so it can grow in a room for several years. With regular feeding (2 times a month), an adult plant needs a volume of 3.5-4 liters, and even less bitter varieties – 1.5-2 liters.

A vegetable garden on the windowsill. We grow cucumbers, tomatoes and various varieties of peppers

You can also grow pepper on a windowsill by planting seeds in the ground. For better germination, they must be soaked in warm water at a temperature of 25 degrees for 3-4 days. To do this, the seeds are placed in a piece of cotton cloth, placed in a flat container and moistened with warm water as it dries..

Swollen seeds are planted in permanent pots, covered with foil and placed in a warm place. After the emergence of shoots, the containers are moved to the window, in the winter they organize additional lighting. The first shoots appear in 2–2.5 weeks. When the plants have 5-6 leaves, we leave one seedling for 4 liters of soil volume, the rest can be transplanted.

A vegetable garden on the windowsill. We grow cucumbers, tomatoes and various varieties of peppers

The main care for pepper consists in regular watering with warm water as the soil dries up, loosening and feeding. When growing pepper, it should be remembered that this culture loves light and does not react well to sudden changes in temperature and drafts. Almost all varieties of pepper need pollination, so during flowering it is necessary to shake the branches with flowers.

As you can see, growing vegetables on the windowsill is not difficult. Vegetable beds in the apartment will not only provide your family with the necessary vitamins, but will decorate your home, giving it a stylish and unique look.

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Comments: 3
  1. Isla

    That sounds like a wonderful way to have fresh produce at home! I’m curious, how do you go about growing cucumbers and peppers on a windowsill? Do you use specific containers or techniques to make it work?

    Reply
  2. Penelope Morgan

    How successful is growing a vegetable garden on a windowsill? I’m curious to know if cucumbers, tomatoes, and peppers thrive well in such conditions. Any tips or suggestions for a beginner like me who wants to embark on window gardening?

    Reply
    1. Oliver Robinson

      Growing a vegetable garden on a windowsill can be successful, but it depends on various factors. While cucumbers, tomatoes, and peppers generally prefer more sunlight and space to grow, they can still thrive in such conditions with proper care. Consider choosing compact varieties suitable for container gardening. Ensure your windowsill receives at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight per day or supplement with grow lights. Use well-draining and nutrient-rich soil, and provide regular watering to avoid over or under-watering. Adequate air circulation is important to prevent disease. Start with seedlings or young plants, and provide support for vining plants like cucumbers. Regularly monitor for pests and treat them accordingly. Remember to harvest mature fruits to encourage continuous growth. Enjoy the process and learn from any challenges along the way!

      Reply
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