Pollinating cucumbers on the windowsill: methods

The dishonesty of vegetable farmers, often characterized by their liberal use of chemicals, and the high cost of produce at the market are the main reasons why more and more apartment owners are trying to grow cucumbers right on their windowsills. To ensure a bountiful harvest, it's important to know how to pollinate cucumbers growing on the windowsill—this determines the number of ovaries.

Important secrets

Pollinating cucumbers on a windowsill is essential for one reason: the process will result in the formation of ovaries, which will develop into juicy, crisp fruits. For this to happen, pollen from the male flowers must reach the female flowers.

Inexperienced gardeners, lacking experience, won't be able to distinguish the sexes of inflorescences, because to them, all flowers "look the same." In fact, it's simple: male flowers are usually located near the main stem and clustered in small groups. Female flowers most often grow singly, with a small, long swelling near each inflorescence, shaped like a tiny cucumber. This process is what allows the small fruit to begin developing and grow into a large, tasty cucumber.

This fascinating process can be undertaken in either winter or spring, depending on when the vegetable seeds were planted. The earlier you pollinate cucumbers on your windowsill in a private home or apartment, the sooner the plants will yield a harvest.

It's best to pollinate 20-24 hours later, not on the day the flowers open. Try to increase the humidity on the windowsill. This can be done with a household spray bottle or simply by placing a wide bowl of water near the plant containers—the evaporation will add much-needed moisture to the air.

Most homeowners prefer to carry out this process in winter to achieve an early harvest, but it is recommended to repeat the process over several months, which will allow you to enjoy the taste of your own crispy produce almost the entire season.

It's best not to pollinate during the day; the ideal time is early morning or evening. If the weather is cloudy, you can do this interesting activity during the day. When pollinating plants in bright sunlight, ensure shade—use newspaper or a light curtain (tulle).

Read also:

• Watercress: Growing on a Windowsill
• How to grow dill on a windowsill in an apartment?

Using a brush

The easiest way to get cucumbers to set is to pollinate them indoors with a brush. For plants growing on a windowsill, choose a small tool with soft, natural bristles. Such a brush is not cheap, but it will serve you reliably for many years.

Proceed in this order:

1. Arm yourself with a brush and carefully collect pollen from male flowers.
2. Make sure there's a tiny amount of dry dust (usually a bright yellow color) remaining on the bristles. The brush must be completely dry, otherwise, the pollen will remain on the bristles.
3. Carefully apply pollen to female cucumber inflorescences.
4. During the process, you can take pollen from the male flowers of one plant and pollinate the female flowers of other cucumber bushes - this will allow you to grow even, beautiful cucumbers.
5. Cover the finished flowers with “caps” made of paper.
6. The next day, carefully examine all female inflorescences and remove wilted ones.
7. Remove the protective "caps" only after you notice the ovary is growing. Care remains the same, but you can increase the amount of moisture during watering.

It's best not to remove male flowers, as pollen can be collected from them for several days. Only after they begin to fade should they be removed from the plant, so the cucumber plants don't waste energy and instead focus their energy on growing and ripening the fruit.

Resourceful owners of windowsill garden beds often use cotton swabs for pollination. This is not recommended, as it significantly reduces the effectiveness and a lot of pollen simply gets stuck in the cotton swabs.

A simple method

Growing crisp cucumbers at home doesn't require any special skills or knowledge, as the plant itself provides everything needed. Pollination requires only flowers, and they must be both male and female.

Step by step process:

1. Pull out the male inflorescence, it must be large and healthy, without spots or dry areas on the petals (they often indicate the presence of a disease).
2. Remove all petals, leaving only the pistil.
3. Carefully run your finger over the pistil and make sure that there is a lot of pollen on it (it is clearly visible on the skin of the fingertip).
4. Touch the stamens of the female flower with the pistil, you can even rub them.
5. If the cucumber bushes are generous with male flowers, the pistils can be left in the female inflorescences; this ensures that pollination will occur and the ovary will begin to grow.
6. To avoid repeating the process, you can mark the finished flowers using a thread.

You can visualize the process by watching an interesting video on how to pollinate cucumbers. This informative video will answer questions that often arise during the process.

Some useful tips and tricks

Temperature is crucial in this process, increasing the chances of ovary development and the number of new flowers. The windowsill temperature should not exceed 24-27 degrees Celsius.

A high temperature regime risks causing pollen to lose its fertilizing properties, and even if it does, the cucumbers will stubbornly refuse to grow. Low temperatures (around 10-14 degrees Celsius) also won't increase the yield—the fruits will be small and crooked.

After the first harvest, you can stimulate new blooms. To do this, simply lower the temperature by 7-10 degrees and apply fertilizer. Organic fertilizers, such as diluted mullein or chicken broth, are recommended.

In urban areas, organic ingredients are difficult to obtain, so you can use commercial products whose main components are:

• phosphorus;
• potassium;
• urea.

Urea is especially beneficial, as it promotes increased ovary production. You can prepare a solution of a few handfuls of compost, 10-20 grams of urea, and a bucket of water. After this "treat," the plants will delight their owners with lush foliage and abundant blooms.

Growing a superb harvest of cucumbers on your city windowsill is quite easy. Don't be discouraged if you can't find self-pollinating cucumber varieties—you can manage this exciting process yourself.

Knowing the rules will help you cope with the task with dignity, and you'll have plenty of crispy fruits to enjoy and fill your shelves with fragrant preserves.