How to easily grow and care for pumpkins on your balcony

Growing vegetables at home is a challenge for creative gardeners. They do not have a plot of land, but they want to grow and get fresh herbs, cucumbers, tomatoes, pumpkins and even watermelons for the table.

City summer residents are full of enthusiasm. They study specialized literature, select planting material, study the properties of planting soils, and become familiar with organic fertilizers and mineral complexes. People are ready to give up their brightest windowsill and favorite balcony to plants.

Manufacturers strive to meet the needs of gardeners. Companies produce a series of seeds in the “balcony miracle” category.Varieties and hybrids are selected taking into account growth in specific conditions: low light, high dry air, limited nutrition.

The results of joint activities are impressive. Gardeners are proud of their zucchini, eggplants, and pumpkins. Home-grown products please with their ecological cleanliness and taste. Experience is shared with friends and acquaintances.

What does pumpkin like?

Before planting pumpkins on the balcony, it is recommended to study the preferences of the melon crop. The plant requires:

1. Large pot (45 liters or more is suitable). It is recommended to check the presence of holes for water drainage when watering and place a tray under the container.
2. Nutritious soil (pH about 6.0). The soil mixture for pumpkin seedlings should be enriched with mature compost (2 parts) and sand (1 part). You can make up the soil yourself (garden soil: humus: peat: sand in the ratio 2:1:1:1).
3. Supports. Pumpkins grow quickly. Green mass requires uniform illumination. The culture should be provided with the opportunity to braid pre-prepared structures.
4. Illumination. It is required to place the pumpkin pot on the south-east, south-west, east or west side of the apartment. On the northern balcony the plant is reluctant to set fruit.

It is necessary to provide for the possibility of regular air humidification: on a glazed balcony the pumpkin needs this.

Selection of planting material

The gardener decided on the choice of location, purchased planting containers, and composed the soil. It's time to go to the store for pumpkin seeds. You should be careful: the harvest depends on a successful choice.

Some city gardeners do it simply: they use seeds from pumpkin purchased at the market. I liked the taste, why bother? But the mother plant ripened on a melon field in open ground.Climatic conditions made it possible to withstand a long growing season. It is unlikely that it will be possible to repeat the same thing on the loggia.

Pay attention to whether the variety or hybrid was purchased. In the latter case, pumpkin seeds will not transfer the properties of their parents. The gardener will spend a lot of effort, but the end result will be something incomprehensible.

It makes more sense to go to the store. Sellers are setting up a special shelf with seeds for urban summer residents. This is where you should look for the right planting material.

If it is not possible to buy seeds from the “balcony miracle” series, it is recommended to stick to early ripening ones. varieties or hybrids of bush pumpkins. They do not require formation and normalization and take up less space.

How to plant correctly?

There are benefits to growing pumpkin at home. A glazed balcony or loggia shifts the timing of planting: there is no need to wait for consistently warm weather to set in.

Forcing seedlings will further reduce the time before fruiting. It is recommended to sow the seeds of the plant 2-3 weeks before the intended planting in a large pot. When placed in a permanent place, the pumpkin should have 1-2 true leaves.

The pumpkin seed should be buried 1.5–2 cm. Place it horizontally (preferably flat). It is recommended to cover the container with a film with holes and place it in a warm place. After the cotyledon leaves appear, remove the film.

Pumpkins do not like transplanting. Seedlings should be transshipped. When using peat pots, plants are not injured. Before transplanting, it is recommended to place the pot in a container of water until completely wet.

How to care?

Growing pumpkins indoors requires compliance with certain rules. To get a good harvest, it is recommended:

1. Water containers with plants regularly. The soil should be moist.
2. Monitor air humidity. Early in the morning or in the evening (after sunset), spray the plant with warm water.
3. Not bad to combine spraying pumpkin with foliar feeding. Before fruit setting, the use of a urea solution is effective.
4. Once every 10 days, the pumpkin should be fed. Before flowering, it is recommended to use organic fertilizers. A solution of bird or cow manure will do. Then the mineral complex should be added (according to the manufacturer’s instructions). Stop fertilizing two weeks before harvest.
5. Artificial pollination may be necessary. It is produced in the morning before 11 o'clock. Use a soft brush or cotton swab. Pollen is collected from the male flower and carefully applied to the pistil of the female flower.
6. You can avoid labor-intensive hand pollination by planting spicy aromatic plants (basil, hyssop, mint) nearby. They will attract bees and bumblebees.
7. It is not recommended to allow temperatures to rise above 30 degrees Celsius. The plant's pollen is sterilized: it will not be possible to pollinate female flowers.
8. The pumpkin should be ventilated regularly. This measure will help reduce temperatures and provide access to pollinating insects.
9. When placing a container with a pumpkin on a north-eastern or north-western window sill, lighting will be required. It is better to use an agricultural lamp.

Normalization should not be neglected. Sometimes an exhausted plant drops green pumpkins. Removing excess fruit makes it possible to preserve the main harvest.

Growing pumpkins at home requires insufficient lighting and limited nutrition. To obtain marketable fruits, it is recommended to remove excess lateral shoots from the plant.

Reviews

After gardeners have planted a pumpkin at home and grown it, it’s time to share their impressions. Summer residents note a direct dependence of the quality of the harvest obtained on the selected material. Some managed to collect fruits of late varieties: the glazing creates the effect of a greenhouse. I like the taste and marketability of the products. But the price of soil, planting containers and fertilizers is disappointing.

Failures occurred only among those who were irresponsible in the preparatory work (selection of seeds, preparation of seedlings) and did not follow the rules of caring for the plant.