Description of indoor cucumber Balcony F1 and growing on a window or loggia

For those without a garden, the Balkonny F1 cucumber is a good choice: growing this variety on a windowsill isn't much more difficult than caring for regular houseplants. The main things to consider are sufficient light and soil volume for normal root growth.

General characteristics of the variety

The bush is a medium-sized, trailing shrub, with stems reaching a maximum length of 2 meters. Fruiting is clustered. Each internode produces 3-8 female flowers with an ovary. The hybrid does not require pollination by bees, so male flowers (empty flowers) are almost never produced.

With proper care, one vine yields 0.5-0.7 kg of fresh cucumbers daily. It's best to harvest daily, as infrequent harvesting makes it difficult for new ovaries to develop. To achieve good fruiting, each plant requires at least 8 liters of soil, so window and balcony cucumbers are conveniently grown in 10-liter plastic buckets.

The vines have medium foliage, with leaf blades reaching 12-15 cm in size and slightly wrinkled. The stems are strong and robust, easily supporting the weight of developing ovaries.

The Balcony cucumber is resistant to fungal diseases, powdery mildew and mosaic viruses, and is weakly affected by root rot. Although intended for indoor cultivation, this cucumber hybrid also produces well in plastic greenhouses or open beds. The variety is tolerant of temperature fluctuations and tolerates minor cold snaps (down to +10°C), and is stress-resistant.

Description of the Balcony cucumber fruit

This hybrid cucumber is an early variety. Commercial yields can be obtained as early as 45-50 days after germination, but fruiting begins in earnest a few days later. Reviews from those who have grown cucumbers indicate that the vine bears fruit throughout the summer season, for 2.5-3 months.

The fruits are small in size and, when biologically ripe, do not exceed 10-12 cm in length. The cucumbers are usually slightly smaller, with an average weight of 70-90 g. They are cylindrical in shape, with a length-to-thickness ratio of 3:1.

At technical maturity, the skin is tender, dark green, and lightens toward the top of the fruit. The surface is covered with numerous small bumps with light, sharp spines. As the cucumbers mature, the bumps become less noticeable.

The flesh is sweet, juicy, moderately firm, and crunchy. The Balcony cucumber doesn't develop bitterness, and its flavor remains intact even with temperature fluctuations and insufficient watering. There are no voids inside the fruit, and none develop even during storage after picking. The core, containing the seeds, occupies approximately half the cucumber's total diameter.

The purpose is universal. Early harvests allow for vegetable production as early as the beginning of summer, and as the yield increases, vegetables can also be used for canning. Slightly overripe fruits are peeled, and the pulp and seeds are removed, then pickled in the form of picklesSmall fruits - gherkins - are perfect for vegetable assortments and marinades.

How to grow cucumbers on a balcony?

You can also grow other varieties of cucumbers on the loggia: Balcony crisp, Faust, City cucumberPlanting and care are the same. Before sowing, soak the seeds of the F1 Balcony variety in warm water with potassium permanganate added. This is done if the seeds are untreated by the manufacturer and have a natural color. Colored seeds do not require soaking.

Wrap the prepared seeds in a damp cloth and place them in a warm place (+30°C) to germinate. If the temperature is sufficient, they will germinate within 20-24 hours. Plant those that have developed a white root tip, and leave the remaining seeds in a warm place for a while longer. Any seeds that haven't sprouted within 2-3 days should not be used for sowing.

The most convenient way to sow seedlings is in paper or peat pots. Store-bought soil or a mixture of equal parts soil, sand, and peat moss can be used to fill the containers. The mixture should be loose and permeable.

The sprouted seed is carefully placed in a hole about 1 cm deep and covered with soil. When sowing, it is important not to break the rootlet protruding from the seed coat. In a warm place (around 30°C), seedlings will appear in 3-5 days.

During the initial development stage, Balkonny cucumbers require constant soil moisture, so water as soon as the top 0.5 cm of soil dries out. When the seedlings have 4-5 true leaves, they can be transplanted into a bucket filled with soil to approximately 2/3 of its capacity. When sown in early spring (February-March), the plants will require supplemental lighting with fluorescent lamps or phytolamps. Daylight hours should be at least 15 hours.

Cucumbers can be placed on a glazed balcony when the night temperature there stops falling below +15°C. The same applies to transplanting seedlings into a greenhouse or open ground. I space the plants in the beds at a rate of 4 per square meter.

As balcony cucumbers grow in buckets, add soil, covering the roots that form near the soil surface. This will help the plant better supply the ovaries with nutrients. For fertilizer, use phosphorus-potassium mixtures with low nitrogen content (Kemira, Agricola, etc.), designed for pumpkin plants.