How to grow a pumpkin at home on the balcony or windowsill

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Container cultivation of field crops allows you to collect the real, and most importantly - the edible harvest now in the conditions of a city apartment. Pumpkin - an attribute of any vegetable garden, but it can be grown at home on the balcony. A limited balcony space can be a great place to ripen an ordinary pumpkin or its decorative counterpart.

How to grow pumpkin at home on the balcony

The plant will take root well and will bear fruit if it creates the necessary conditions. Pumpkin does not need a lot of light and heat. Better if the balcony faces south, south-east.

For planting, you can use ready-made soil with an acidity not higher than 6.5 pH. You can prepare the soil yourself. Prepare:

• 1 part of sand;
• 4 pieces of peat;
• 1 piece of land;
• 4 pieces of humus;
• 1 part sawdust.

On the bucket of the soil mixture you need to add 3-4 tbsp. wood ash and mix everything thoroughly.

Planting seeds in a pot

How to prepare the seeds for planting?

1. Soak in warm water for 3 hours.
2. Pour 30% brine, pop up seeds to throw out.
3. Put the remaining seeds on wet sawdust, cloth or gauze.
4. Hardened by placing them in a cool place for 4 hours.

Prepared pumpkin seeds are sown in the middle of May. 2-3 seeds sunk into the hole to a depth of 2-3 cm, watered. The box is tightly covered with a film, which, after the appearance of sprouts, is cut, bringing the stems out. The soil warms up better, and the plant is actively developing, spreading along the film. As the pumpkin lash grows, they tie it up to the trellis, forming a decorative green screen.

Growing seedlings

2-3 weeks before planting early plants (at the end of April), seedlings are prepared.It is better to use peat pots, so as not to injure the root system of the plant during transplantation. The pots are filled with a mixture of humus and turf, mixed with river sand (1: 1: 0.5). In addition, 15 g of NPK and 30 g of lime are added to 10 kg of the mixture. Placing 2-3 seeds in the ground, they are watered with warm water and the tray with peat container is placed on a brightly lit window-sill. At the same time it is necessary to maintain the temperature:

• before germination, 20-25 ° C during the day, 15-18 ° C at night;
• after germination 15-20 ° C during the day, 13-15 ° C at night.

This mode is adhered to for 7 days so that the formation of the seedlings is not strongly stretched. Then the temperature on the loggia rises again.

When the sprout will have 2-3 fully formed leaves (the end of May - the beginning of June), it can be planted in a container.

Vegetable care

10-15 days after planting fertilize plants with a nutrient solution. To do this in 10 liters of water is recommended to dissolve:

• 10 g of urea;
• 1/4 part of the tablet of Riga complex microfertilizer;
• 10 g of potassium sulfate;
• 20 g of superphosphate.

You can use ready-made complex fertilizers, presented in specialized stores.Further feeding is carried out every 5-10 days, using 2-3 liters of fertilizer per plant. In the same volume (2-3 liters per plant) is carried out daily watering. Loosen the soil regularly.

When the vegetative period is over, the pumpkin stems are cut, the ground is thrown away, the containers and the trellis are disinfected.

Pollination process

On a pumpkin whip are evenly arranged single large flowers of bright orange-yellow color. Male flowers have long pedicels. The rudiments of the ovary are formed inside the female flower. Self-pollination in this culture does not occur, then you need to help the plant. A soft brush collects pollen from the stamens of a male flower and transfers it to the pistil of the female.

This procedure is performed several times. Usually male colors are much larger. Excess need to be removed so that the plant does not spend power on empty flowering. Inspect the flowers you need daily, so as not to miss the moment when both male and female specimens will bloom at the same time.

When the ovary will quickly grow in size, it becomes clear that pollination was successful. Otherwise, the ovary will turn yellow and disappear.

Balck Gourd Varieties

Balcony decorative gourds are of two types:

• with a long weaving stalk;
• with a short stem;
• bush type.

Plants with a long stem may well form on the loggia a green wall of bright green leaves, large yellow flowers. Over time, pumpkins of various sizes, colors and shapes will appear. But this type requires a large amount of soil. Therefore, it is best to grow such pumpkins on spacious balconies.

Small-fruited varieties

1. "Orange". Fruit weight 250g. Fruits are bright orange, round or slightly flattened.
2. "Baby Boo". Spherical fruits with white skin, diameter - 10 cm.
3. "Kleine Bicolor". The fruits are similar to a pear, the upper part of which is colored bright yellow, and the lower part has a dark green color with a light stripe. Fruit length up to 12 cm.
4. "Sweet Dumpling". Fruit weight - 500 gr. The gaps between the light yellow segments are filled with dark green stripes with white patches.

These pumpkins are edible only in an immature form. Ripened, they lose their nutritional and taste value. Fruits do not become poisonous, but acquire a specific taste, the flesh becomes hard, its juiciness is lost.

Pumpkins with a short stem (up to 1 m) and bush varieties are very compact. The stems grow upward, providing airing of the soil, which allows to avoid rotting of the fruit. They are formed and grow in the root zone, compact.

Selecting seeds for planting container gourd, preference is given to varieties with a hard peel - they ripen faster, are stored longer and sweeter in taste.

Bush varieties

1. "Amazon". Early variety. From the emergence of seedlings to full maturity 80-85 days. The shape of the fruit is flat, the weight reaches 1.5 kg. Bark dark orange color. Dense, bright orange, sweet flesh.
2. "Barn".Mid-season variety. Fruit weight 2-2.5 kg. The bark is dark green with black patches. Sweet, bright orange flesh.
3. "Spray Orange". Early maturing variety with thin bark of orange color. The mass of the fetus reaches 4 kg. Round or cylindrical shape. The flesh is yellow.
4. "Medical". Early variety. Fruit weight 3-4 kg, bark thin, light gray color with intermittent stripes. Orange, sweet, juicy flesh.
5. "Smile". Early variety. Fruits are round, slightly flattened, weighing up to 1-1.5 kg. The bark is orange, smooth or slightly segmented. The flesh is very sweet, has a melon flavor.

The flowerpot, in which the balcony gourd grows, is placed on a well-lit window sill. As the vines grow, you can put the pot on the floor. The main thing - the green part of the plant and the fruit should be well lit by the sun.

Growing pumpkins on the balcony for some is an empty exercise, which entails only unjustified expenses.Others get a harvest, albeit small, and with it positive emotions, a charge of inspiration for new achievements.