Top 10 best self-pollinating varieties of cucumbers for the balcony

Increasingly, city residents began to grow not only flowers, but also vegetables on their balconies. Even an inexperienced gardener can cultivate cucumbers on his loggia. The main thing is to approach the task wisely, follow the rules of planting and care, and an enviable harvest of fresh cucumbers will be ensured.

After reading the article, you will learn how to get a harvest of cucumbers on your balcony, which varieties are suitable for this and what their features are, and you will also receive proven folk tips for growing a rich harvest.

Features of choosing a variety for growing on the balcony

Not every variety of cucumber is suitable for growing indoors. There must be an inscription on the package that these are seeds for balcony and indoor cultivation.

Choose cucumbers:

• self-pollinating for the balcony;
• resistant to lack of sunlight - plantings on the balcony are illuminated much less than in the garden;
• with small leaves so that the plant does not shade itself;
• bush type - they have short side shoots and internodes.

Review of the best self-pollinating varieties and hybrids of cucumbers for the balcony

Specially bred balcony varieties and some hybrids intended for greenhouses. Let's look at the most popular and well-proven ones.

Hummingbird

This is a hybrid of the gherkin type, not requiring pollinators. The leaves of the plant are small, the side shoots are short, the internodes are short, and from 3 to 10 ovaries are formed in them.The crop is high-yielding, cucumbers grow tuberculate and white-thorned, spindle-shaped, 5-8 cm long and weighing up to 80 g.

The hybrid has an interesting watermelon color. The first fruits appear already 40 days after planting the seeds. Hummingbird is completely unpretentious in cultivation and tolerates darkening well.

Another advantage is high resistance to many diseases. Defeats pests are not noted.

Hummingbird is good for canning.

City pickle

If there is very little growing space, the City Cucumber is an ideal option. A very hardy and unpretentious hybrid. Gherkins grow in clusters, with 4 to 10 ovaries in nodes. Fruit length is 10-12 cm, weight is up to 95 g.

The cucumber is early ripening - the fruits ripen already on the 40th day after planting - and very fruitful - they harvest from the bush for a long time.

The urban cucumber is highly resistant to many cucumber diseases. Very tasty, suitable for salads and canning.

Debut

Self-pollinating hybrid, early ripening and high-yielding. Lumpy, cylindrical greens grow up to 12-14 cm in length and weigh up to 100 g. The first cucumbers ripen 45 days after the bushes appear.

The plant is low, with a bunched ovary. It does not require special care and has good disease resistance. Debut is not suitable for canning, but fresh it has excellent taste.

April

Self-pollinating early-ripening hybrid - the fruits begin to ripen on the 45th day of planting the seeds. The plant is low, bushy. The vegetables have large tubercles and white spines, the weight reaches 200-250 g. With good care, up to 15 kg of crop can be harvested from 1 m².

There are also disadvantages: the hybrid is not suitable for winter canning and is not very resistant to cucumber diseases.

Attention! If the fruits are not collected in time, they will overgrow and turn yellow.

Balagan

The hybrid is ideal for growing on a windowsill or balcony. The leaves are medium-sized, do not obscure themselves, the root system is compact, the internodes are short, and have from 3 to 9 ovaries.

Balagan is early ripening - ripening begins at 41 days. The fruits are small, up to 10 cm long and weighing up to 85 g, and do not outgrow for a long time. The hybrid tolerates lack of light and moisture well and is resistant to disease.

Swallowtail

Swallowtails are planted by lovers of large cucumbers. Their length is up to 12 cm, weight - up to 110 g. This is an early-ripening self-pollinating bunch hybrid with short shoots on the sides and internodes, on which up to 11 flowers appear.

Easy to care for and resilient. The excellent taste of Machaon is preserved during canning and pickling.

Calendar

Self-pollinating high-yielding hybrid. It is highly resistant to cucumber infections and has excellent taste. Gherkins are up to 10 cm long and weigh 80-90 g, white-spiked and tuberculate. The calendar is used both fresh and for canning.

Zozulya

The most popular cucumber hybrid from those grown on balconies and plots. In greenhouses, the yield is significantly higher than in open ground plantings.

The plant is small, bushy, cylindrical cucumbers with tubercles 20-22 cm long and an average weight of 220 g. Zozulya is immune to disease.

Cucumbers are without bitterness and are suitable for fresh consumption and in salads. They are not intended for canning or pickling.

Elegant

Variety Graceful refers to early ripening. The first fruits are harvested already 40 days after germination.The plant is medium-climbing, forms from 5 to 7 lateral shoots. It is characterized by increased resistance to diseases such as powdery mildew, bacteriosis, and olive spot.

The cucumbers themselves grow up to 14 cm in length and weigh up to 15 g, smooth, with small tubercles. The taste is high. The variety is universal, suitable for salads and canning.

Balcony miracle

The hybrid gives a high yield on the window and has an excellent fruit taste. The plant is weakly climbing and medium-sized, with a compact root system. This makes it possible to grow it even in flower pots and flowerpots.

The Balcony Miracle cucumber is easy to care for, tolerates lack of light well and is resistant to diseases. The fruits are classified as gherkins, grow up to 8 cm in length, weighing about 60 g. Cucumbers have a pleasant taste and bright aroma. Balcony Miracle is consumed in fresh and canned forms.

Growing Tips

The key to getting a good harvest of cucumbers is to strictly follow the planting instructions, the recommendations of experienced gardeners and adherence to the rules of agricultural technology:

1. Choose only seeds suitable for balcony growing.
2. Create the necessary microclimate on the loggia or windowsill - cucumbers love warmth and do not tolerate drafts.
3. If there is insufficient light, install fluorescent lamps.
4. Regularly water planting with warm water.

Methods for planting seeds for home cultivation are no different from cultivation in the garden:

1. Carefully place the seeds on a napkin soaked in potassium permanganate, rinse after 15 minutes and leave on a moistened napkin for germination.
2. Soak the soil with the same solution of potassium permanganate. Cucumbers love loose, fertilized, fertile soil.
3. Once the seeds have sprouted, carefully plant them in the prepared containers.
4. Water regularly with warm water, monitor the temperature (+21...+22°C) and feed.
5. After the third leaf appears, transplant the seedlings into larger containers, which you take to the balcony and place in a permanent place.
6. Install a net or trellis - growing vines will cling to them.

After transplanting the cucumbers to a permanent place, caring for them continues: watering once a day, feeding no more than once every 10 days and ensuring the microclimate on the loggia.

As the lashes grow, they are tied up so that they do not break, and the side branches are pinched. The soil around the stems is periodically loosened and moistened.

Attention! When the fruit reaches a normal size for the variety, it is picked. Too large cucumbers weaken the plant, and having dropped the harvest, it directs all its strength to the next fruiting.

Conclusion

If you approach the process of growing cucumbers responsibly and diligently, the first fruits will appear on the balcony within two months after planting the seeds.

Nothing is impossible, and you can grow gherkins at home at any time of the year. There are no particular difficulties in this; The main thing is to choose the right variety and follow all the rules and recommendations. Have a good harvest!