How to grow greens at home on a windowsill in winter. Instructions for growing herbs on the windowsill - herbs in the kitchen. Thyme - a medicinal herb on your windowsill

How to grow greens at home on a windowsill in winter. Instructions for growing herbs on the windowsill - herbs in the kitchen. Thyme - a medicinal herb on your windowsill

In winter, when even the latest garden crops have already completed their harvest season in the garden, you can please yourself with the freshest vegetables grown at home.

A miniature summer cottage on the windowsill is an excellent opportunity to get a fresh and tasty harvest in winter. Vegetable gardening on a windowsill in winter can be a rewarding experience for beginning gardeners.

Growing at home

Growing garden crops is slightly different from growing them in open ground, as it occurs in a limited space and with less sunlight.

  • You should not plant several different plants in one container. Each crop requires different conditions for growth, often incompatible with each other. If there is a need for additional space on the windowsill, you should design a multi-tiered shelving unit.


    Multi-tiered vegetable garden

  • It is not recommended to collect soil from a garden plot. It can be infected by pests and pathogens. In indoor conditions, it is almost impossible to cope with them without the use of chemicals. And this can be dangerous to health.
  • Use kitchen window sills for growing. In the kitchen, as a rule, the air temperature and humidity are slightly higher than in other rooms. You can speed up seed germination by using plastic bags and creating a kind of greenhouse out of them.
  • Before planting, seeds should be soaked in warm water. The appearance of sprouts from the seeds is a sign that they are ready to be planted. This method significantly increases the germination of seeds, and a garden on a windowsill in winter (for beginners, photo) will delight gardeners with an excellent harvest. As a container for soaking, you can use a saucer in which seeds wrapped in a cloth are placed. They should be moistened as the moisture evaporates from the saucer.


    Economical onion growing

  • Seeds should be planted in moist soil. Having sprinkled them with soil, the soil must be moistened again, compacted and covered with a bag. The package is removed after the first shoots appear. Watering is done with warm water.
  • In winter, daylight hours are very short. For full growth, it is necessary to provide plants with additional lighting. It is recommended to purchase special phytolamps that produce light similar to sunlight. For plants that need high humidity, special air humidifiers will be needed.
  • To prevent water from stagnating, good drainage is necessary. The easiest way to improve moisture-conducting properties is to add expanded clay a couple of centimeters thick to the bottom of the container. Stagnant water promotes the appearance and proliferation of fungi, causing root rot.


    Additional lighting

  • Use publicly available information. When deciding to grow a vegetable garden on a windowsill in winter for beginners, the gardening forum, thematic websites and modern literature for gardeners should be used first. Based on the personal experience of other users of these resources, you can find out what actions should or should not be taken.
  • Plants on the windowsill, as well as in open ground, need fertilizing. You should use only proven and safe organic and mineral fertilizers that will not harm people.

Plants for the windowsill

To grow plants on a windowsill, it is recommended to choose the most unpretentious garden crops that can adapt to indoor conditions.

  • Dill. It is considered the most hardy and unpretentious plant. Its seeds do not require pre-germination. Most varieties show very good germination. Growing it does not require any special gardening skills, and as a result you can get fresh and aromatic greens. You can also read how to plant dill in beds.


  • Parsley. This type of greenery is traditionally used together with dill in cooking. Before planting seeds in the soil, they should be soaked in warm water for a day, after which they are dried and rubbed with sand. This helps them better tolerate indoor conditions and contributes to the enrichment of nutrients. Parsley is a moisture-loving plant, so do not let the soil dry out.


    Parsley

  • Green onions. The most common plant, without which it is impossible to imagine a garden on a windowsill in winter for beginners, is onion. You don't even need land to grow it. It can be grown in jars or special containers for growing green onions. The onion root system should be constantly in water, which should be added if necessary.


    Green onions

  • Basil. It is a heat-loving plant, so you need to choose only the warmest places for it. Basil is very sensitive to any coolness and temperature changes in the direction of its decrease. When planting seeds, leave at least 6 cm of free space between them. In this case, the harvest will be more spreading. Be sure to read more about how to grow basil.


  • Spinach. A fairly unpretentious plant that requires sufficient lighting and good watering for full growth. Planting seeds deep into the soil is not recommended. In this case, they will sprout for a very long time. This is the reason that novice gardeners cannot grow spinach on a windowsill.


  • Arugula. A very demanding plant for lighting. In winter conditions, it simply needs additional lighting. Don't forget to moisten the soil generously. The depth of sowing seeds should not exceed 1.5 cm.


  • Radish. A garden on the windowsill in winter will help replenish the winter loss of vitamins, and for beginners, radishes can be the best vegetable. It contains many essential vitamins and minerals and is quite easy to grow. When choosing seeds, you should give preference to brown seeds. They have a higher germination rate. Radishes love cool temperatures, so you should ventilate the rooms where they grow more often. We have a very interesting article about planting radishes in egg cells.


  • Hot peppers. You can please yourself with hot peppers even in winter. To do this, you should choose early varieties. They do not require additional lighting. The seeds should be germinated and planted in the soil to a depth of about 1 cm. After this, the container is covered with a film, which should be removed after several leaves appear. The problem with growing is finding a suitable location.


    Hot peppers

  • Bell pepper. Perennial varieties can provide gardeners with a harvest throughout the year, but they are very troublesome to grow. Drafts and lack of light negatively affect yields. Requires well loosened soil. Learn more about how to plant sweet peppers.


    Bell pepper

  • Tomatoes. You can grow such a vegetable on the windowsill. Seeds should be selected from self-pollinating hybrid low-growing varieties. The soil for tomatoes should be suitable and watering should be moderate. Tomatoes do not like excess moisture, but a lack of it can negatively affect growth rate and yield. Bushes obtained by cuttings have a higher survival rate and begin flowering faster.


  • cucumbers. The next vegetable that beginners can enjoy gardening on a windowsill in winter is cucumbers. For growing indoors, you should choose self-pollinating varieties bred specifically for the home. Cucumbers are moisture-loving plants, so watering should be plentiful, especially in the initial phase of cultivation. After emergence, cucumbers should be fed periodically. It is recommended to use an infusion of wood ash as a fertilizer.


  • Strawberry. Ornamental strawberry varieties are ideal for growing on a windowsill. It can bear fruit all year round even in low light levels. After flowering begins, pollination should be carried out manually. To do this, you can use cotton swabs and walk them over all the flowers.


    Strawberry

  • Salad. The plant really loves illuminated areas, so it will be necessary to provide additional lighting for it. Watering should be moderate. Lack of moisture will greatly affect the growth rate of lettuce. But its overabundance is even worse. If there is excess moisture, lettuce roots quickly begin to rot.


  • Thyme. Growing thyme requires good light and light soil. Temperature conditions do not affect the growth rate and condition of plants. Watering should be moderate.


Vegetable garden on the windowsill in kindergarten

An indoor vegetable garden can be used for various purposes. A vegetable garden on a windowsill in winter is becoming a very popular teaching method for beginners in preschool educational institutions. This helps kids gain knowledge about growing plants and take direct part in it.

Experienced educators note that children’s interest in any activity increases many times over if they can observe the results of their work. Growing green onions is very often used as the easiest method for obtaining a full harvest on the windowsill.


In kindergarten

Starting with a windowsill, you can expand the scale of your garden. In winter, the seedlings will grow indoors, and with the onset of spring, the children's garden can be moved to open ground and grown there. Using imagination, experienced teachers turn this ordinary activity into a real holiday for kids.

On thematic forums for educators, you can often find topics with a full description of how activities for growing vegetables are carried out in a kindergarten with many photographs and videos.

You can get more information about gardening on a windowsill in winter for beginners in the video. An experienced gardener will help you learn about the main problems of growing plants indoors, and will also share the secrets of solving them.

A miniature home garden with spicy and aromatic herbs is not only a storehouse of vitamins that the housewife always has at hand, but also an original interior detail. By planting plants of different colors and textures in one container, you can create interesting compositions - this is another argument in favor of growing greens on the windowsill at home.

Preparing containers and soil

So, you decided to grow greens on the windowsill. First of all, it is worth taking care of the environment in which the future crop will grow.

It is advisable to use fairly wide but shallow containers and flower pots as containers for sowing seeds and propagating seedlings. It is better if they are plastic or clay, because wooden ones rot quickly.

As soil, you can use both soil from the garden and specially prepared compounds from the store. A prerequisite for the successful growth of home greens is drainage layer at the bottom of the container. You can buy ready-made drainage or use fragments of a clay pot, brick or foam chips as it. Without drainage, plant roots are at risk of rotting.

Lighting

You are unlikely to be able to grow herbs on a windowsill without enough sunlight. You can compensate for the lack of lighting in spring and winter with the help of lamps. You can install a fluorescent lamp next to the container, but a phytolamp is best. In order for homemade greens to grow tasty and juicy, they will need lighting for 12-14 hours. But in the spring it is easier to grow greens on the windowsill, especially if you have a sunny side, then you will not need additional lighting.

Seeds and seedlings

There are 2 ways to plant greens at home: be patient and grow greens on the windowsill from seeds, or you can use the faster vegetative method of propagating greens (using seedlings and dividing the root system).

If you decide to grow greens on a windowsill from seeds, purchase fresh planting material from a store of a variety suitable for indoor cultivation. Before sowing seeds, moisten the soil well with a spray bottle. or watering cans with small holes. Then cover the seeds with a thin layer of soil, water again and firm the surface of the soil with the palm of your hand. To make seedlings appear faster, cover the container with cellophane film and place in a dark place. After the first sprouts appear, remove the plastic and move the container to a well-lit place.

You can plant greens at home by propagating herbs sold in the store in a pot. This is done very simply, just divide the root system of the plant. Some plants, for example, basil, can be planted by first sprouting the roots in water.

Popular aromatic herbs and salad plants will easily take root in the balcony garden: parsley, dill, basil, spinach, lettuce, mint. Let's tell you more about each plant.

Parsley

You can grow this greenery on a windowsill by sowing seeds or sprouting roots.

Before planting the seeds in the ground, hold them under warm running water for a while and then soak them for a day. You should not plant parsley in a deep pot, the fertile soil layer should not exceed 1 cm, The same layer of seeds is sprinkled on top. Before sprouting, the container with parsley is kept in a dark place and watered moderately every other day. You will be able to taste the harvest in 6 weeks.

To force parsley from root vegetables, select short but wide enough roots (at least 2 cm in diameter). It’s good if the root vegetables have petioles. The roots should be planted in well-moistened soil, then leave in a cool place for some time. After the petioles begin to grow, the containers should be moved to the window. The parsley harvest from the planted roots can be obtained in 3-4 weeks.

Dill

Dill for the home garden is grown from seeds. The harvest will please you for quite a long time if you renew the crops every 30-40 days. For a 15 x 40cm container you will need at least 3g of seeds. Dill should be watered abundantly; fertilizing with fertilizer is recommended every 2 weeks.

Mint

The easiest way to grow mint is from a seedling kept in water for 3-4 days for roots to sprout. Mint should be watered every other day. For greater bushiness, pinch out the buds regularly. When cutting a crop from a bush, be sure to leave 10 cm of shoot.

By the way, mint or lemon balm is good, you will breathe much easier.

Watercress

Growing watercress on a windowsill is very easy. This plant is unpretentious and, with proper moisture, sprouts from seeds even on an ordinary household sponge or cloth. When sowing in the ground Watercress seeds do not need to be sprinkled with soil. The plant will produce its first shoots in a week, and leaves after a few weeks. Lettuce will need plenty of daily watering.

Spinach

Spinach loves cool conditions and bright light. A room with a temperature no higher than 18 °C and windows facing south is suitable for growing it. Before sowing, the seeds should be soaked for several days and then sown in furrows to a depth of no more than 2 cm. Abundant watering is required.

Basil

Basil can be grown from a bunch of fresh herbs purchased at the market. To do this, it is enough to place the branches in water for 5 days so that they sprout roots. When germinating basil from seeds, the container should be covered with film until shoots emerge. When the 5-6th leaf appears, the basil should be pinched so that it begins to grow in width. The buds that appear on the plant should be cut off.

________________________

By the way, some greens can be planted in old dishes, it will look cute in a rustic way.


Light hand to you and good harvest!

All year round, what is home hydroponics and what devices exist to do it beautifully.

Many people like to plant flowers in their apartment. Sometimes you walk past a house, and in the window you can see a whole meadow of flowers, the entire window sill is covered. Or even a balcony. In the house opposite, a woman grows cacti; she has more than a hundred of them. My neighbor grows geraniums; her apartment always has an intoxicating smell of these flowers.

I think that such a love for house plants is a kind of addiction; you want more and more. Take care, water, look for unique specimens, rejoice at the first inflorescences. For some reason all my fresh flowers dry up. Even near the computer it withered away, I had to give it to a neighbor to save it.

But flowers on the windowsill are so “feminine”, cute and cozy. After some thought, I found a solution to their situation and started growing greens at home. It turns out that this is no less interesting!

WHAT TO GROW?

There are so many seeds on sale now that it’s dizzying. You can grow at least cucumbers in your home garden.

So, what greens can be grown on the windowsill in winter?
● green onions
● watercress
● lettuce
● parsley
● dill
● basil
● arugula

Here is a strategic supply of vitamins grown independently. And cheap, and environmentally friendly, and always within reach - you just need to extend your hand. The only thing to grow greens at home is to provide the plants with conditions for growth.

FACTOR ONE. LIGHTING

Winter is long, and the darker it is in the apartment, the sadder our home garden will be. So that the greenery does not fall into the blues, we will take care of the right light.

The simplest solution is to install a table lamp—not the most correct. A regular light bulb produces a lot of heat, so you can't place it close to plants, otherwise it will burn the leaves. It also lacks the so-called blue spectra, which are necessary for photosynthesis, so the lamps are used only for heating the air in small greenhouses.

If you seriously decide to grow greens at home all year round, you can purchase a phytolamp. It will cost an order of magnitude more, but there will be more benefits - different spectra provide:
● good photo- and biosynthesis;
● thicken the crop;
● make plants stronger.

You can also install fluorescent lamps, but they are not easy to understand, there are so many modes and nuances of use.


For those who like ready-made solutions, there are special pot-lamps from Aerogarden, Click&Grow and Lightpot for growing greens; they are convenient and practical to use. Prices for these mini indoor gardens start at $58 on Amazon.com.

Note. Green onions do not need additional lighting; they live well in normal day and night conditions.

FACTOR TWO. THE SOIL

It is easy to disinfect soil in the oven - lightly steam it. As an option, pour it with a solution of potassium permanganate, or you can simply freeze it.

FACTOR THREE. AIR HUMIDITY

In winter, the heating in the apartments turns on and the air dries out. They especially suffer from dry air, because they are located on the windowsill above the radiator.

The solution is to buy a spray bottle and spray the greens. Or move it closer to the plants.

Note.For additional hydration he will say “Thank you!” not only basil on the windowsill, but also your body.


It is easier to monitor air humidity and temperature if the plants are placed in a small greenhouse. These are sold at IKEA. And they can become original for mom or grandma. Such greenhouses cost approximately from 300 to 920 UAH.

FACTOR FOUR. REGULAR WATERING

Tap water is harmful to greenery. It is advisable to enrich it with citric acid or apple cider vinegar. But how to correctly calculate the volume of water for irrigation?

A godsend for a good gardener is hydrogel. Colorless balls are dipped into enriched water, then placed in boxes with seedlings. The balls gradually, in measured doses, release moisture to the roots of the plants. More precisely, the plants themselves take as much water as they need. My experiment showed that the yield in boxes with hydrogel was richer.

FACTOR FIFTH. TEMPERATURE REGIME

Hang the thermometer directly on the window. It is colder near the window than in the apartment itself, so you need to monitor the temperature.

If cold is coming from the windowsill, raise the box with seedlings to a small height using a stand. When ventilating the room, remove the seedlings from the windowsill.

Note. If the chosen plant is whimsical and capricious, you can plant it in a glass greenhouse. These can be purchased from IKEA or Butlers.

FACTOR SIX. FEEDING

If you purchased the soil in a store, then most likely, feeding will not be needed at first.

It is advisable to add fertilizer to simple soil. A flower shop salesperson will help you choose mineral complexes for a specific plant. Here you need an individual approach to each type of greenery.

AND A FEW MORE SECRETS

A very convenient thing for growing greens is an aqua farm. A completely unexpected solution: an aquarium with special trays on top in which greenery grows. Fish waste serves as fertilizer for plants, while plant roots serve as a filter for water in the aquarium. The cost of such a toy at the official representative office of the manufacturer in Kyiv is neither more nor less - 3499 UAH. On Amazon.com - a little cheaper, about $50.

Note. There are quite a few ready-made sprouted herbs on sale in a pot, or seeds with soil in special vacuum bags (you can ask both in regular supermarkets and in those that have garden departments, for example, in Epicenter). They already contain the necessary soil and come with a brochure on proper care.

I recently learned about such a wonderful thing as hydroponics. It sounds mysterious, but in fact it is the art of growing flowers and greenery without soil. Research has shown that seedlings and mature plants can thrive without soil, getting everything they need through water.


This method is not difficult, and the system itself can even be placed in a closet or sent into space. Recently, home hydroponics has been gaining popularity, because you can make it yourself.

The guys from New York developed the Windowsfarm hydroponic system, which combined two of the most important eco-trends of the last decade: the vertical garden and the home vegetable garden. Such a system is not cheap—one section $129. But it looks absolutely amazing.

To imagine the full aesthetic potential, watch the film “The Last Witch Hunter,” which was recently released in theaters. One of the scenes features an entire green wall, constructed from Windowsfarm, illuminated by fluorescent lamps.

IN CONCLUSION

A home garden is not only interesting, but also useful, because we don’t know what quality of greens and vegetables are sold in stores. But we can be completely confident in the safety of the crop grown with our own hands.

And don’t be afraid to involve children - they will be incredibly interested in tinkering with seeds, pots, monitoring the lighting and the degree of soil moisture.

Methods and technologies for growing greens on the windowsill.

Greens are a source of vitamins and microelements. But unfortunately, it is not possible to grow such plants in the garden due to changing weather conditions. But if you want to please your loved ones and yourself with fresh herbs all year round, you can start growing them on the windowsill.

Greens on the windowsill all year round for beginners: necessary conditions for growing seeds

In fact, growing herbs on a windowsill is not easy. Greens that are sown in spring or summer grow best from seeds. At this time there is long daylight. In winter, plants will develop extremely slowly, so additional lighting is necessary.

  • To do this, install fluorescent lamps above the pots at a distance of 10-50 cm. On cloudy days, it is necessary to illuminate the plants in the morning. In winter, it is illuminated in the evening. In general, daylight hours should be 13-15 hours.
  • Regarding humidity, it should be quite high and constant. Plants must be constantly sprayed and if there are heating sources nearby, then wet towels must be placed on them. It would be appropriate to purchase a humidifier. There is no need to water frequently. It is enough to moisturize once every 2-3 days and maintain high air humidity.
  • You need to fertilize with organic and synthetic means. In addition, for uniform growth, it is necessary to rotate the flowerpots 180 degrees once a day. It’s good to use organic matter, but it’s not very convenient at home, so soluble fertilizers are mainly used.

What greens grow well and quickly on the windowsill: list of varieties and names

Scroll:

  • Dill. Greens grow very slowly and poorly on the windowsill, so choose the varieties Grenadier, Gribovsky, Richelieu.
  • Parsley. Choose varieties that ripen early. Among them are “sugar”, “harvest”, “leaf”.
  • Choose annual varieties of basil.
  • Onion. In principle, any variety will do. It can be grown from large bulbs or seedlings.


How to plant and grow onions on the windowsill: growing rules, tips, technologies

It is best to grow onions from large bulbs. To do this, you can make a mini garden bed. It is made from a 5-liter plastic bottle.

Instructions:

  • Take a 5-liter eggplant and cut off the top for convenience. Sprinkle some soil and select large bulbs without defects
  • After this, cut holes in the bottle with the diameter of an onion
  • Push the bulbs into the holes with the growing side sticking out of the holes.
  • Now place it in a bright place and water the soil once every 3 days, shoots should appear after a while
  • Before planting, you can cut off the top of the bulb, this will speed up germination.


How long does onion grow on greens on the windowsill?

Initially, sprouts will appear in about 1 week. After this, the onions must be watered and illuminated in winter. In about 2 weeks you will receive your first harvest. Try to plant in a cyclical order, so you will always have a harvest.

How to plant and grow parsley on the windowsill: growing rules, tips, technologies

There are two options for growing parsley:

  • From seeds. To do this, sow the material into the ground.
  • Forcing. Produced from the roots. This method is easier, but you need to have a suitable root vegetable

It’s easier, of course, to sow the seeds, but they will sprout no earlier than in a week. Therefore, it is worth soaking the seeds for a day in advance and sowing them in loosened soil. After this, frequent watering and fertilization are carried out. More details in the video.

VIDEO: Growing parsley on a windowsill

How to plant and grow leaf lettuce on the windowsill: growing rules, tips, technologies

In fact, the technology is quite simple. Choose early varieties that ripen quickly. Can be planted in soil or hydroponically.

Instructions:

  • Plant in a mixture of compost, soil and coir. Sow seeds in a damp substance and cover with polyethylene
  • There is no need to trample down or bury seeds deeply into the soil.
  • Wait for the gatherings. Be sure to light the salad and spray the leaves every 2 days


How to plant and grow dill on the windowsill: growing rules, tips, technologies

Early ripening varieties are chosen for growing on a windowsill. There are also many options for growing dill. This is hydroponics or soil. The easiest way to plant is in the ground. Many people think that it is enough to sow the grains and simply water them, expecting fragrant greens. But it's not that simple. If not properly cared for, you will end up with thin branches on your windowsill.

Instructions:

  • Mix garden soil with potting soil and moisten it
  • Sow dill seeds and sprinkle with peat and compost
  • Moisten the surface slightly and cover the flowerpot with polyethylene
  • After 7 days, the first shoots should appear; regular watering and lighting with fluorescent lamps are required.
  • Fertilize once every 2 weeks with complex fertilizers


How to plant and grow basil on the windowsill: growing rules, tips, technologies

Basil is one of the most difficult crops to grow. It is better to grow low-growing and small-leaved varieties on the windowsill. They grow quickly. Technologies for growing in soil or hydroponics. Coconut fiber is often used.

Instructions:

  • Take garden soil and mix it with potting soil. The substance needs to be calcined in the oven
  • After this, soak the basil seeds for a day, changing the water every 12 hours.
  • Pour some drainage into the flowerpot, and then soil. After this, moisten the substance
  • Sow the seeds and cover with soil. Cover with cling film and leave in a warm place
  • After germination, if necessary, thin out the bushes and add fertilizers.
  • Be sure to light the greenery. It is necessary that the plant has 12-15 hours of daylight

How to plant and grow mint on the windowsill: growing rules, tips, technologies

Not all mint is suitable for growing on a windowsill. Pepper is mainly used. More details in the video.

VIDEO: Growing mint on a windowsill

How to plant and grow spinach on a windowsill: growing rules, tips, technologies

Growing it is quite simple. The main condition is light, at least 12 hours a day, and timely watering.

Instructions:

  • Mix the soil with garden soil and pour it into the drainage container
  • Moisten the soil slightly and leave the seeds to soak for 1 day in warm water.
  • Before sowing, soak the seeds in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for 3 hours.
  • Sift the seeds and sprinkle them with soil. Cover the glass and leave it warm for 7 days
  • After the first shoots appear, thin out the bushes and lightly spray them
  • Water once every 2 days. If the box is located near a heating radiator, then spraying is necessary
  • Light with lamps. The total daylight hours should be 12 hours


How to plant and grow cilantro on a windowsill: growing rules, tips, technologies

The technology itself is standard. Lighting should be constant for 12-14 hours. Watering is not very abundant, but quite frequent.

Instructions:

  • It is necessary to prepare the seeds as in the previous paragraph. They are soaked in water and kept in potassium permanganate. After this, they begin to prepare the soil.
  • Typically, loamy or sandy soils are used. They can be purchased at a flower shop.
  • After this, drainage and wet soil are poured. On top of it are rows of cilantro.
  • The pot should be deep, since the plant’s root system is developed.
  • After sowing, add 1-2 cm of soil and cover with film. Leave for 7 days.
  • After the shoots appear, thin out and water. Place the flowerpot in a well-lit place and additionally illuminate it with lamps.
  • Water once every 2 days. 15 minutes after watering, drain the water from the saucer. This prevents powdery mildew from occurring.
  • Use complex fertilizers.

How to plant and grow rosemary on the windowsill: growing rules, tips, technologies

You can watch this in the video.

VIDEO: Growing rosemary on a windowsill

How to plant and grow garlic on the windowsill: growing rules, tips, technologies

It is better to grow from cloves. Since only the root system is formed from seeds in the first year. Therefore, it is necessary to sort out the seed, that is, disassemble the head into cloves. After this, the soil is selected.

Instructions:

  • It is best to mix garden soil, humus and peat in a 1:1:1 ratio. Pots 20 cm high are filled with this substance.
  • Moisten the substance and insert the teeth at a distance of 5 cm from each other.
  • It is necessary to deepen it by 4 cm. After this, the pot is watered a little and placed on the window. In about 2 weeks you will get sprouts.
  • Now you need to water the sprouts.


How to plant and grow arugula on the windowsill: growing rules, tips, technologies

This greenery has become popular in our country quite recently. Growing greens on a windowsill is quite simple.

VIDEO: Growing arugula on the windowsill

How to grow greens on a windowsill in a pot or bag?

Options for growing greens in pots were discussed above. This is traditional cultivation in the ground. But there are more interesting ways. You can grow greens in bags. This is one of the options for hydroponics.

Instructions:

  • Pre-soaked sawdust is poured into a plastic bag and the prepared onions are pressed deeply.
  • The tops of the bulbs are first cut off and the roots are pressed into the wet substance.
  • When the entire surface of the sawdust is completely covered with bulbs, the bag is tied and left in a dark place until the leaves appear.
  • After this, the bag is transferred to a bright place and the soil is moistened from time to time.
  • You can use toilet paper instead of sawdust. It is laid out in several layers and moistened.


How to grow greens on a windowsill without soil, in sawdust, water: tips, technologies

There are many unusual options for growing greens, including growing on sawdust, cotton wool or hydrogel. Actually, growing requires moisture, minerals and light.

Options:

  • Hydrogel. It is necessary to fill the hydrogel with water and allow it to swell. After this, place in a colander and allow the water to drain. Seeds are sprinkled on top. There is no need to soak them. Cover with film or glass and allow to germinate for 7 days. After this, the sprouts can be collected and planted in the ground.
  • Cotton wool. To grow, the cotton wool is moistened and seeds are sprinkled on it. Let it germinate.
  • Egg trays. Used for growing onions. It is necessary to make holes in the plastic trays. Place the trays side by side and make a spacer. It is necessary that there is a gap between the trays. Water is poured into the lower one and the upper tray is installed. This creates a convenient tray for growing onions. It is placed on the windowsill in a well-lit place.
  • Toilet paper. The idea is simple and brilliant. Take toilet paper and lightly moisten it with water. The seeds are laid out on it and rolled loosely. Place the roll in a glass of water and wait for the first drops. After their appearance, they are transplanted into pots or hydroponics. The advantages are the absence of blackleg, dirt and rot. You can see which sprouts are weak and which are strong. In this case, after the appearance of 2 leaves, transplantation into the ground is carried out.
  • It is also easy to grow in sawdust. They are soaked for a day, and then squeezed out and placed in a pot or bag. They create a greenhouse effect and let it germinate.


Growing greens at home is not difficult. Choose the most appropriate method and regularly water and illuminate the seedlings.

VIDEO: Greens without soil


Not everyone has a dacha, but every family needs fresh parsley, dill, and green onions. The solution is simple: growing greens on the balcony or on the windowsill will allow you to have vitamin seasonings all year round. Some housewives tried this method and gave up because the herbs turned out tasteless and not aromatic. The reason is improper care: in winter there is little light in the apartment, too dry air and other unfavorable conditions that need to be taken into account when growing vegetables at home.

What can you grow at home?

They can grow in a small amount of soil, so they can be grown in containers, boxes and pots on a windowsill.

Suitable for growing at home:

  • dill;
  • leaf mustard;
  • parsley;
  • green onions;
  • watercress;
  • celery;
  • leaf salad;



You can start creating a home garden with green onions. It does not require soil - take a jar with a narrow neck, fill it with water and place the onion so that its edges rest on the sides of the container and the roots are immersed in the liquid. You will only need to change the water from time to time and cut off the green sprouts for food. When the bulb shrinks and becomes soft and shoot growth stops, replace it with a fresh specimen.

It’s easier to grow each species in a separate container, so you can choose the right soil composition, provide the necessary conditions and watering. In addition, a large heavy box is difficult to move and turn towards the light so that the plantings are evenly illuminated. You can grow each species and variety separately in small pots and containers, take them out onto the balcony in good weather, and bring them indoors when there is a threat of frost. For proper hydration, there must be drainage holes in the bottom. It’s easy to fit a tray under a compact container, and excess liquid will not create puddles on the windowsill.

When you have little space or containers, you have to grow different types of greens in one container. Group plants according to their heat-loving qualities: dill, watercress, celery and parsley in one container; in the other - thyme, marjoram, basil.
Don't forget to allocate at least one container for children. Let them decide for themselves what herbs will grow there, sow the seeds with you, and take care of their own plantings. Even a first grader can do this kind of work. Explain that plants are alive and can die of thirst, and the child will become responsible for their pets.


You need to start work by preparing the necessary equipment and materials. Containers should have drainage holes. To prevent excess moisture from accumulating on the windowsill, place containers on pallets. In winter, the air in apartments is often too dry. Add hydrogel to the soil; it will supply the roots with moisture if you forget to water the plantings on time. Place small pebbles on a tray and regularly moisten the stones, then the plants will not suffer from dryness at home.

Each crop requires a special approach when planting and growing.

  • Green onions can be grown either in water or in soil. Take sets or small onions and plant them in the ground 2 cm from one another, burying them halfway into the ground.
  • For feathers, you can plant perennial onions in boxes. Dig it up from your garden, cut off the green feathers and plant it in a container.
  • Parsley seeds germinate slowly due to the abundance of essential oils. Soak the grains for a day in a saucer of water, and then sow. You can plant rhizomes with a good apical bud in the ground, placing long roots obliquely.
  • Sow watercress in rows at 10 cm intervals.
  • Leaf lettuce seeds should be sown in separate holes, so that the distance between plants is about 5 cm. You can sprinkle several grains into each hole, and then leave the strongest specimens.

At home, vegetables are usually grown whose aerial parts are eaten. To ensure that shoots and leaves develop well, sow herbs during the waxing moon. If you need good rhizomes, sow when the night star is in its waning phase.

Place expanded clay on the bottom of the container, then the nutrient mixture. You can purchase it in a store or prepare a composition from the same amount of peat, sawdust and sand. After sowing, sprinkle the seeds with a 0.5 cm thick layer of soil, cover the container with film and keep in a warm, dark place until shoots emerge. To ensure that the green conveyor constantly supplies you with fresh seasonings, make new plantings every 2 weeks.


How to properly grow greens on the balcony

For those who do not have a summer house, you can grow greens on an open balcony in the summer. If you build deep boxes, you can sow other crops: carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes. In summer, caring for plantings in boxes is not much different from cultivating herbs in open ground, the only difference is that the soil dries out quickly and watering should be more frequent. Frost-resistant species can be sown as soon as warm days arrive, while basil, rosemary and other southern crops are kept at home on the windowsill and taken outside only when the spring frosts end.

In winter, greens can be grown on glazed and well-insulated loggias. Try to plant unpretentious species that can withstand a short cold snap. Don’t forget about lighting; equip your balcony with comfortable fluorescent lamps. If stationary boxes are used for planting, which cannot be brought indoors during severe frosts, keep heaters at the ready.

Residents of the southern regions can also grow heat-loving crops on glass loggias: basil,. You need to plant greens only in small containers, which can be easily brought into a warm room if the weather forecast is unfavorable. It is desirable that all bindings have sashes. Winter in the South is unpredictable; even in January the temperature can rise to +20⁰. On warm, clear days, open the windows to let your plants enjoy the sun and fresh air.


Caring for greens at home

In the northern regions, in winter, plantings do not have enough light, so often the greens on the windowsill grow tasteless and without aroma. The plants themselves will tell you that it is too dark for them: they will begin to stretch upward. Install energy-saving lamps and provide your pets with at least 12 hours of daylight. To take full advantage of the light's brightness, surround the containers with mirrors or foil.

The next problem is crowding. Each bush should have enough space to develop. If you sprinkled the seeds too thickly when sowing, destroy the excess specimens. When plants have more space, they will produce more tasty, juicy shoots and leaves. If you notice that buds are appearing on the plantings, trim the flower stalks and the greenery will be more luxuriant and tender.

For good development, plants need sufficient watering. In very dry apartments, be sure to add hydrogel to the soil, and cover the surface of the soil between the plants with small pebbles. Water at least every other day and spray the greens with a spray bottle. If the soil begins to crust, loosen it. Every 2 weeks, feed your garden on the windowsill with a solution of complex fertilizer.


Greens for sale

If the area of ​​your apartment allows, growing herbs at home on the windowsill can be a good addition to the family budget. There are many methods that allow you to organize your business selling herbs. If you wish, you can build racks in several tiers or purchase a hydroponic installation. There are entrepreneurs who earned start-up capital from parsley and dill. To be able to promote your business, you need commercial skills, and an ordinary housewife can simply sell excess greens.

You don’t have to stand at the market; you can meet a seller of herbs and give the herbs for sale. Another option: offer your products to a small cafe or snack bar. Owners of small establishments are already tired of imported herbs, which are expensive, look good, but cannot boast of any taste. They will be happy to purchase from you spicy bunches that, just half an hour ago, grew in fertile soil on your windowsill and absorbed the aromas familiar to them from childhood.

The easiest way: hang a notice on the door of your entrance. In an apartment building, your neighbors will instantly buy up all your surplus and will sign up for the next harvest. If you are on maternity leave, freelance, or for some other reason do not have a regular income, containers on the windowsill will help replenish your budget.


Conclusion

Fresh herbs can be grown at home all year round. In the summer, your dacha or balcony will provide you with vitamins, and in winter you can grow herbs in a heated greenhouse, on a glassed-in loggia, or right in the room on the windowsill. You will receive double benefits: a harvest of succulent leaves and a natural humidifier for dry air in the apartment.

It is advisable to grow each species in a separate container. If there are only a few containers, group plants so that the same container contains herbs that require the same growing conditions and ripen at the same time. Prepare a pot of new seeds in advance, then fresh herbs will be present on the table uninterruptedly. Remember that rhizomes planted for forcing are quickly depleted; after about 2 harvests they will have to be replaced with new ones.

For greens to gain flavor and aroma at home, they need a lot of light. Install energy-saving lights and reflective screens and keep stems from stretching. Water and loosen the soil in a timely manner, do not forget to feed your pets, and you will never have to stop at stalls with wilted parsley and dill that look more like camel thorn.