Beautiful and useful: how to grow greens at home all year round. Growing fresh herbs on the windowsill in winter in an apartment for beginners all year round: tips, technologies

Fresh herbs are a juicy addition to your regular diet. It is full of vitamins and minerals needed to strengthen the immune system. Many dishes with the addition of herbs become tastier. In winter, the cost of a bunch of dill or lettuce rises up to 10 times compared to summer prices.

But, does this mean that you need to give up greens before the onset of late spring? Some housewives successfully grow the necessary greens on the windowsill in their apartment and they always have something to pamper their family with. How to grow greens at home in winter or is it available only to the elite? This question was asked by more than one person and not in vain.

Almost every type of food greens can be grown independently. And if the cultivation technology is observed, then a small will feed you all the cold season.

What greens can be grown at home in winter

Grows well at home , leaf salad, , , basil, borage, mustard leaf, rhubarb. For each plant, optimal living conditions are selected, in the process it is not difficult to take care of a room greenhouse.

Greens grow in wooden, plastic containers of various sizes. For this purpose, you can use , container from under mayonnaise and sour cream. Wooden crates and plastic containers work well. In principle, any hollow object can be adapted to a growing container. .

At home, the most important thing for greenery is warmth and enough light. Plants will grow well on verandas, loggias, balconies, open window sills on the east side of the apartment. If you have a loggia outside the window in the kitchen, then it is better not to arrange a greenhouse here, there will be little light for plants.

When the apartment is completely dark, and you want greenery for dinner, you can shine the plants with artificial light. For this, special lamps are used, most often fluorescent. Be aware that table greens have different indoor heat requirements. Make sure that the plants do not overheat from the lamp. It is desirable that the windows where the containers with plants are located are always clean.

When choosing which greens to grow on the windowsill, consider its requirements for maintenance and care, and not just taste. Thus, you can get a greenhouse and avoid disappointment if the plant does not grow.

So, how to grow greens at home in winter? Some types of table greens grow easily, with other varieties you will have to try a little, but absolutely everything grows. Another question is how it grows and what crop you will get.

Growing green onions in winter

The simplest greenery that grows everywhere is onion feather. Every housewife sometimes sprouts onions in storage. It will not lie in this state for a long time, it is not always possible to eat such an amount, but it is a pity to throw it away. Sprouted onions can be used to fork feathers, they are a great pleasure to add to salads and soups.

To grow onions, you need to take a container of medium depth, pour any earth there, soil for indoor flowers is also suitable. Water the soil thoroughly and plant the bulbs in it. Next, you need to water moderately so that the bulbs do not start to rot and cut the greens for your table in time.

In this way, it is quite possible to grow greens for the diet of a small family, but you will not get a significant harvest. A slightly different technology is needed and the harvest will be rich. Take a deep container and fill it with well-prepared soil. Next, the top is cut off from each bulb along the “shoulders”. Soak the finished onion for exactly 24 hours in a solution of potassium permanganate, but make sure that it is not too steep.

After a specified period of time, the bulbs are planted in the ground, sprinkled on top with a small layer of soil and watered with water, slightly above room temperature, the container is placed in a dark place for the first sprouts of greenery. Next, you can put the container on the windowsill and water moderately. Ready greens can be both cut and pinched off. When the entire crop is eaten, the soil along with the onions is thrown into the trash, and the containers are thoroughly washed.

In a similar way, you can grow greens all the time and there will always be a fresh and juicy addition to dishes on your table.

Growing dill at home in winter

They say that growing dill at home is not easy. Far from every hostess, it sprouts. Perhaps the problem is that the wrong varieties of greens are selected and the conditions for its cultivation are not created. What types of dill can grow on a window?

The variety "Kibray" has large, dark green leaves and is highly juicy. It will grow well even in a flower pot. Variety "Richelieu" has good taste and openwork leaves. The shade of the plant is ambiguous and varies from blue-green to dark green.

Dill "Gribovsky" takes the place of the leader in apartment gardens. The plant is unpretentious to the regime and care, at the same time quite resistant to various diseases. The variety "Grenadier" has light green leaves, grows in bushes and is delicate in taste. You can plant a certain type of dill, or you can arrange a greenhouse on the windowsill.

If you love dill, winter is no reason to deny yourself your favorite treat. The soil for planting a plant must be prepared in advance and taken seriously. During the cultivation of the earth, up to 98% of the bacteria that are in it die. As a result, the plant will grow healthy and suffer less from common diseases.

Take a spacious container for greens; there is never a lot of dill in winter. In parallel with the ground, you need to cook dill seeds. Soak them overnight in warm water. But, remember that the water in the container should be changed every 6 hours. Then blot the seeds with a cloth and dry.

At the bottom of your container, a drainage layer must be laid and only then the earth is poured. You can plant dill in a box, as in the garden. Seeds are not buried in the ground, but sown from above and sprinkled with earth with a layer of no more than 2 centimeters.

The box is covered with plastic wrap and placed in a warm place for about two weeks. Periodically see what's happening with your greenhouse, when the first shoots appear, the plants will need to be regularly watered and fertilized with a mineral mixture.

Dill loves abundant and bright light, only in such conditions the plant develops well. Naturally, there is not much sunlight in winter, so the greenhouse needs to be lit with artificial lamps for about 6 hours every day.

The air temperature in the room can be at least 18 degrees Celsius, and preferably 20 degrees. You can cut greens for the table as soon as it grows a little more than 10 centimeters in length. Don't forget that dill doesn't grow back after being cut, so don't forget to plant new beds every 21 days. Regular planting of dill will provide you with greenery for the whole winter.

Growing parsley at home in winter

Parsley is considered the most vitamin greens in the human diet. At the same time, it grows poorly in winter, and is sold at a fabulous price in the store. And it's not just about the cost. Growing greens on an industrial scale is pushing farmers to use nitrates and chemicals. They stimulate the growth of plants and at the same time kill all the useful substances in them.

Eating such greens is not only expensive, but also harmful. How to grow greens at home in winter and always have parsley on the table? Under certain conditions, you can grow any kind of greenery, the main thing is to follow the cultivation technology.

Parsley seeds contain essential oil, which is why it does not germinate well and grows poorly. Before planting, the seeds are washed well with warm water and placed on damp gauze for germination. Land for planting parsley is prepared in a different way than for sprouting dill.

Mix garden soil with peat until smooth. First you need to take a weak solution of potassium permanganate and treat every centimeter of the earth well in order to destroy pest eggs and pathogenic bacteria.

The container for growing parsley should be more than 20 centimeters deep. Drainage is laid at the bottom of the tank, and only then the soil mixture is poured. Seeds are planted at a distance of about 10 centimeters from each other. The depth of each seed in the soil should be no more than 1 centimeter. Water the soil only before planting.

Before the appearance of sprouts, the container is watered from the sprayer at intervals of a day. As soon as the plants appear, watering is done from a watering can and less often for one day. The air temperature in the room should be at least 20 degrees Celsius, provide good daylight for parsley. If there is little natural light, the difference is compensated by lamps.

Did you follow the technology when growing plants? Parsley can be eaten after 20 days from the date of planting. It's nice that the parsley grows again, because the root system grows and envelops the entire earthen clod. If you cut the greens not at the root, then after a while, it will grow back.

Growing watercress at home in winter

Watercress is considered unpretentious table greens and can grow even in sawdust, scraps of fabric. But, if you want to get a good harvest, it is recommended to plant the plant in the ground. The leaves of this salad contain a shock dose of potassium, sulfur, magnesium, vitamin C. In winter, when everything is bad with natural vitamins, a fresh salad from your windowsill will come in handy.

You can plant lettuce in any soil, do not forget about drainage and fertilizers. The distance between the seeds should be at least 10 centimeters, do not immerse the seeds in depth. A container with plants is placed in a dark place.

As soon as the lettuce sprouts sprout, it can be moved to the window. Water the seedlings moderately, spray, protect the greens from drafts. At the same time, the room where the salad stands should be regularly ventilated and humidified. If everything is done properly, the salad will sprout on the 5th day after planting, and it will be possible to eat it in 2-3 weeks. Despite its unpretentiousness, lettuce can turn yellow, squirm, bloom, if you do not adhere to the technology of caring for it. In this case, the nutritional value of greens drops, so keep a close eye on the greenhouse.

Growing borage at home in winter

Such an exotic name is table greens with the aroma and taste of cucumber. In winter, it can be added to salads, cold soups and served with side dishes. Borage contains a lot of carotene, vitamin C, minerals, so it is often grown on windowsills.

Greens are not demanding on care, temperature and maintenance regime. The plant needs to be regularly watered, provided with lighting and top dressing. Soon you will receive a delicious addition to your table.

Growing spinach on a windowsill in winter

Many have heard about the benefits of spinach, although not everyone loves to eat this type of green. And yet, for good immunity, a little spinach in the winter does not hurt. Spinach is quite whimsical and capricious; when growing it, you must follow the technology.

It is best to sow greens in the middle or at the end of winter, but no later than February. Spinach is grown on the south side of the apartment, because it loves sunlight. Humus, turf or sandy soil is perfect for a plant. Containers with young greens are best kept at a temperature of at least 20 degrees Celsius.

Spinach does not like drafts and dry air. Carefully monitor watering, moist soil is a necessary condition for growing this greenery. If there is not enough water, the spinach becomes bitter, its leaves become coarse and there is nothing left but to throw the plant away. In general, spinach is easy to grow, and two weeks after planting, it will delight you with juicy leaves.

Mustard leaf growing on the windowsill

Another type of table greens that can be grown on the windowsill. It has an interesting and delicate taste with a slight bitterness. It’s great that serious green care is not required. It can grow in the shade, does not need strong lighting, compliance with care technologies or exotic top dressing.

To get a crop of this plant, it is enough to keep it in a room with room temperature and water it regularly. Harvest will appear as early as 12 days after planting. Mustard leaf does not need cultivation and can grow in a dense bush. Growing this type of greens will be quite simple and a variety of seasonings for food is provided to you.

Growing basil on a windowsill in winter

The greens of this species are most often used in Mediterranean cuisine, although in Russia they are not averse to feasting on this fragrant herb. gives a piquant taste to hot dishes, meat, salads and contains a lot of useful substances.

In an apartment, you can grow basil in an ordinary flower pot. It is advisable to choose a sunny place for greenery, in the case when there is little daylight, you need to use special lamps. It is advisable to water the basil in the morning and every day. The plant is quite sensitive to lighting and watering.

It is better to add phytomixtures to the water for irrigation, they soften it and the metals that are in the water do not interfere with the development of the plant. As the plants grow, they are separated from each other so that each bush grows normally. There are times when the bushes are going to bloom. If you want to have delicious greens for longer, this should not be allowed. Peduncles should be immediately removed from the bush as soon as you see them.

Growing basil does not take much time, and its exotic taste will be a nice addition to the diet you are used to.

How to grow greens at home in winter: useful tips

When buying plant seeds, look at the expiration date, inspect the package to see if it is whole. When planting greens, read what is written on the package with seeds. In winter, plants need light, natural light is likely to be scarce, so buy fluorescent lamps. It is desirable that they be white spectrum.

In a container where you grow greens, make small holes for air circulation in the root system of plants. Drainage is always laid at the bottom of the tank. Water the home greenhouse only with settled water, this avoids excess salts that will accumulate in the ground.

Water the greens regularly, but in moderation. Do not let the earth dry out, but the water should not stand in the container, otherwise the seeds will rot. With the advent of the crop, do not cut the plants at the root, they will grow thick and constantly delight the harvest.

It's great if you cut a little from each bush, keeping their base. The temperature in the room should be optimal, consider the requirements of each type of greenery that you grow on the windowsill. Overcooling will negatively affect the development of plants. At the same time, make sure that the plants are not hot. The first sign of overheating is yellow and drooping leaves, poor development of bushes. There are dozens of ways to grow greens at home in winter, choose a convenient option and enjoy fragrant spices.

In principle, greens on the windowsill are grown in the same way as in the garden, but at the same time, they take into account the characteristics and needs of the plant. Novice gardeners can start by growing parsley, green onions and watercress, but this is not the whole list. We will talk about how and what kind of greens can be grown on the windowsill in this article.

What you need

To grow greens on the windowsill, we need:

• land of good quality;
• seeds;
• lighting lamps;
• various containers for planting.

Important

To grow greenery on the windowsill, you need high-quality soil - black soil or special mixtures that are sold in abundance in stores. Such mixtures are enriched with fertilizers and do not contain debris, various pests and their larvae, which can nullify your work. After everything you need is prepared, we will start growing.

green onion

The easiest thing to grow on a windowsill is green onions. Even first graders know how to grow onions on a windowsill in winter. They show it in class. This plant does not need any special care, it grows actively, it is an indispensable component of many dishes, and everyone loves it.

planting material

To grow onions on a feather, you can take a large onion set or the most common onion, used even for food purposes in an ordinary grocery store. Small onions are not suitable, since a small onion will be depleted very quickly, but the feathers turn out to be tender. But a large bulb for a longer time will give a lot of greenery.

distillation in water

The most primitive way of forcing an onion onto a feather is to place it in water. To do this, take a small container of a suitable size and fill it with water or a nutrient solution. We set the onion so that only its bottom reaches the liquid. Water should be changed daily. Such a planting can provoke rotting of the bulb.

Distillation in the ground

But if you plant an onion in the ground, then this will not happen. The earth is poured into a shallow container. If the container is without holes for drainage, then in order to protect the roots from decay, it is necessary to arrange a drainage layer at its bottom, using pebbles, expanded clay, and broken bricks for this. Bulbs should be planted not deep, but tightly. They are not afraid of tightness. But you need to water the bulbs often so that the earth does not dry out.

Landing frequency

Do not use all planting material at once. It is much more reasonable to divide it into several parts and land at an interval of 20 days. Thus, you can provide yourself with green onions throughout the winter.

vertical distillation

For growing onions, you can use not only pots and boxes. You can arrange a vertical distillation. To do this, special flowerpots are sold in specialized stores for summer residents, or you can adapt a plastic bottle for this. Side holes are cut in it and filled with earth. The onion grows very well in such a vertical container, and besides, it looks original.

Watercress

It is as easy as green onions to grow on a windowsill. It is characterized by unpretentiousness and this makes it popular for home cultivation. Plus, it grows fast. Already two, maximum, three weeks after planting, it can be eaten.

Seeding tank

To grow watercress, you do not need a large and deep container. An ordinary tray will suffice. It is filled with a thin layer (no more than 3 cm) of peat soil, cotton wool or paper napkins folded in several layers, thus obtaining a substrate for planting.

Sowing

Watercress is planted thickly, then young shoots support each other. The seeds are lightly pressed into the resulting substrate and the tray is placed on the windowsill. There the crops will be well and light. You don't even need additional lighting.

Watering and temperature

When growing watercress, you need to follow the watering regimen. It is very important to ensure that the earth in the tray does not dry out, but it is not advisable to fill it. In addition, this plant is not enthusiastic about the heat, so the temperature in which it grows should not rise above 18 degrees C. In order for the plantings to feel good in winter, you need to keep them closer to the window glass. You need to sow watercress every 10 days, then this greenery will always be on your table.

Leaf salad

Growing lettuce is a bit more difficult. Here you need to take into account varietal characteristics and choose those varieties that feel best in apartment conditions. In addition, in winter, he will need additional lighting.

Temperature and watering

It is necessary to observe the temperature regime. Leaf lettuce loves watering and coolness. In a dry and hot room, and even with insufficient watering, lettuce leaves will become bitter, rough, and peduncles will quickly form. Therefore, the best place for him is a glazed balcony.

Sowing

Lettuce seeds are sown very densely (no more than 1 cm) and covered with cellophane to create a greenhouse effect. In the future, seedlings should be thinned to 5 cm. In addition to abundant watering, the plant needs good lighting.

Appearance of arrows

The arrows that appear on the plant signal that it is unsuitable for food. The obsolete plants are removed and other seeds are sown.

Parsley

The dream of many housewives is to grow a mini-garden on the windowsill in the apartment. And there must be parsley.

Sowing

Sow seeds in ordinary containers filled with high-quality soil, peat cups or in decorative flowerpots. Starting sowing, the seeds must be soaked in a manganese solution. Parsley seeds will take a long time to germinate.

Care

The plant loves light very much, so in winter it will need additional lighting. But parsley does not need a high temperature, she likes coolness. For that, the plant is very fond of abundant watering, but in winter watering should be reduced.

After 40-50 days after germination, you can start cutting greenery, and for a long time it will delight you with its freshness.

root parsley

In general, it takes a long time to grow parsley from seeds and you need to start it in advance. To speed up this process, you can use the rhizome to grow parsley. This is much easier to do in winter.

Parsley root can be dug up in your garden or even bought at a greengrocer's. It should have a healthy appearance, not have damage and signs of wilting, and the apical bud should be intact.

Landing

It should be placed in a container filled with moist soil. Excessively long roots are planted obliquely. The first greens will hatch within a few days after planting, and after another two weeks the leaves can be used for food. The root will give you greenery for six months.

Basil

In addition to the usual parsley, onion and lettuce, you can grow basil on the windowsill. He will add a little exotic to your mini-garden. You can grow any variety and color: both purple and green. Grow it from seeds and cuttings. The fastest growing method is cuttings.

Planting cuttings

Basil sprigs can be bought at a grocery store, placed in water and after 10 days, when the roots appear, planted in a container with soil. After 2-3 weeks, after the plant has taken root and starts to grow, young side shoots can be cut. Basil grown from a cutting develops quickly, but it will also bloom faster, which means it will become unfit for food.

In order to always have fresh basil on the table, plantings need to be rejuvenated every 3 months.

Sowing seeds

Growing basil from seeds requires more attention, but such a plant will live productively for about a year. Basil seeds should be soaked in a manganese solution, the container with the sown seeds should be covered with cellophane to create a microclimate, and the grown seedlings should be transplanted into other pots. In general, it is better to grow basil from seeds in the spring, as in winter the plants will need additional lighting.

Rosemary

This plant will not only add spice to your dishes, but also become a decoration of the kitchen. It is grown in the summer on a personal plot, and in the winter it lives perfectly in an apartment. It needs a wide container, in which a sufficiently thick drainage is arranged.

Growing conditions

Rosemary makes high demands on lighting and fresh air. In winter, he needs a south side, and in summer he must be transferred to open ground, taken out to a loggia or balcony, or at least put out of the window so that the leaves can accumulate the required amount of essential oils.

Rosemary is propagated by cuttings and seeds.

seeds

They have poor germination. They are kept wet for two days, then placed on the surface of the soil, covered with cellophane and sprayed daily with water from a spray bottle. If after a month shoots did not appear, then you need to sow other seeds. When the seedlings have at least 3 leaves, they are placed in larger containers.

cuttings

But rosemary grown from cuttings is much better. For cultivation, a lignified shoot is used, which is in a vessel with water or wet sand until roots appear, and then transplanted into a pot with soil.

Care

Rosemary should be watered frequently, but in moderation. It is better not to water it than to pour it. But you do not need to get carried away with overdrying the earth, since with a lack of moisture, the lower leaves of the plant will turn yellow. Excess water contributes to root rot, and the plant dies. If in winter the plant is kept in the cold (up to +5 degrees C), then in the spring it will bloom. An adult plant must be trimmed, forming a neat bush.

Here is a mini-garden you can arrange on the window of your apartment. As you can see, greenery is unpretentious and it is not difficult to grow it even for an inexperienced person. Using the knowledge gained, you can at least slightly extend the summer and in the winter time please yourself and your loved ones with a green harvest.

In winter, the body more than ever needs a large amount of vitamins so that it can resist colds, which are usually rampant at this time. Leafy vegetables and fresh fragrant greens can come to the rescue, which can be easily grown on the windowsill in winter.

Although supermarkets do not suffer from a lack of assortment of fresh vegetables and herbs at this time, it should be remembered that they can harm the body due to the high amount of nitrates they contain. In addition, store-bought cucumbers or tomatoes have neither the taste nor the smell of vegetables grown in natural conditions.

If you want to prepare vitamin salads from fresh vegetables and herbs in the winter without the risk of nitrate poisoning, you can grow them at home by organizing a small bed on a windowsill or a closed heated loggia. In the apartment you can grow cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplants, sweet and bitter peppers. And growing leafy vegetables and herbs is not difficult at all.


A bed in an apartment can be arranged using plastic or wooden boxes, pallets, flower pots, or plastic or clay bowls. An important condition is the presence in all these containers of holes for water drainage.

You can also make boxes with your own hands from spruce or pine boards, guided by the dimensions that are optimal for this. The boxes should be 40-50 cm long, 20-30 cm wide, 12-15 cm high. The thickness of the boards should not exceed 1-1.5 cm.

If you are going to make boxes from unnecessary furniture, it is better to stop this activity, because at high humidity the coating will peel off and harmful substances can get into the ground, which then get into the plants.

Basic methods of agricultural technology


To get a good harvest of leafy vegetables and herbs on the windowsill, you must follow the following rules:

At the bottom of any container in which you are going to grow vegetables, it is imperative to put a layer of drainage, which is needed to avoid stagnant water and rotting of the roots. Drainage can be broken brick, fine gravel or expanded clay.
To successfully grow greens on the windowsill, you should not use garden soil that is infested with pests and can nullify all your efforts, destroying the entire crop. It is best to use a special substrate that can be bought at the store. It does not contain pests and has all the necessary nutrients for plant growth and development.
Containers with plants should be placed on windows located on the southwest, southeast or south side of the house, because the plants need a lot of light. In the middle of winter, additional artificial lighting can be arranged. For this, fluorescent lamps are used, which are placed above the beds at a height of 50-60 cm.
Plants need regular watering as the soil dries out. For irrigation, use only settled tap water. You should be aware that in earthenware, the soil dries out more slowly than in plastic. On southern windows, plants need to be watered more often than on windows of a different orientation.
Plants require regular feeding, which should be done once every 1.5 - 2 weeks. You can feed with an ordinary universal fertilizer for indoor flowers.
During severe frosts, it is better to take containers in plantings from the windowsill, since the temperature on them is much lower than in the room. The optimal temperature for growing vegetables on the windowsill is 18-20 degrees Celsius.
Growing greens on the windowsill
The most picky to grow on the windowsill are dill, celery, parsley and green onions. I eat these plants as an additional source of vitamins and microelements necessary in the winter-spring period, as well as a flavoring additive to various dishes.


Dill is an unpretentious plant that does not require special care. It is sown in boxes in a scatter, lightly sprinkled with earth on top. Seedlings will appear in a couple of weeks, and in a month you will be able to taste the first greens.

Parsley can be dug up from the garden before frosts along with a clod of earth and planted in a suitable dish. It can also be sown from seeds. Before sowing, the seeds must be placed in several layers of gauze and soaked for a day in water to wash off the essential oils that slow down germination.


Parsley needs a lot of light and moisture. You need to water it often, but try not to overmoisten the soil. After the shoots appear, they need to be thinned out, leaving the strongest shoots at a distance of 3-4 cm between them.

Parsley can also be grown by forcing root crops. To do this, you need to take several small but thick roots with well-developed petioles, and plant them in the ground, keeping a distance of 2-3 cm from each other and 4-5 cm row by row, after moistening the soil well. Planting should be kept in a cool place, watering moderately until the petioles germinate. When greenery appears on the tops, the containers are transferred to the windowsill. With this method of cultivation, the crop can be harvested as early as 25-30 days.

The most suitable varieties of parsley for growing on the windowsill are Sugar, Harvest, Bordovinskaya.


Green onions grow best on a windowsill. To do this, it is enough just to place the bulb in a glass of clean water, so that only its bottom touches the water, otherwise the bulb may rot. To speed up germination, before planting, the bulbs can be poured with hot water and kept for 12 hours, then peeled off, cut off the upper tail and placed in a germination dish. To avoid an unpleasant odor, the water must be changed every 2-3 days.

Even green onions can be easily grown in a box with soil. Bulbs are placed in the ground, while not deepening much. Dishes with plantings are kept warm until the first greenery appears, and then put on the windowsill. Since onions and dill are not very demanding on light, they can be placed in a slight shading. The first onion feathers that appear cannot be broken off, because the growth of greenery will stop.

Celery can also be grown by forcing roots or by sowing seeds. Celery root is widely used as a spice for various dishes and garnishes, and the leaves can be used to decorate dishes. For distillation, strong roots are selected, which must have a diameter of at least 5 cm and have well-developed petioles. If the root crop does not fit in the container, it can be cut off, or planted with a slope. To ensure good growth and development of celery, it needs a lot of light and abundant watering.

Growing spices on a windowsill
Of the herbs, basil, watercress, lemon balm and mint feel great on the windowsill.

Watercress is the fastest growing herb, the seedlings of which appear after 4-5 days after sowing. In addition to excellent taste, this herb has a complete set of vitamins and minerals necessary for the human body, and is used in cooking and traditional medicine. This plant does not require strong lighting, so it can be grown even in northern or northwestern windows. Sowing is done to a depth of 1 cm and moisten the soil. The first harvest will appear in 2-3 weeks. For growing on the windowsill, the following varieties are best suited: "Pepper", "Curly", "Broad-leaved".

Basil not only has a special taste, but also has an antimicrobial effect on the body. Therefore, it is simply necessary in winter on the windowsill. To grow basil on the windowsill, it is best to dig up a ready-made bush in the garden and plant it in a suitable dish, because the seeds of this plant have a very low germination rate.

Basil is very picky about light, reacts poorly to temperature drops and drops, so the plant must be grown on the southern windows. Water the plant as the soil dries up, avoiding waterlogging, which adversely affects the development of the plant.


Mint and lemon balm have excellent taste qualities. Of these, you can brew tea, which, in addition to a wonderful aroma, also has a sedative effect. Melissa and mint on the windowsill can be grown in two ways. Plants can be transplanted with bushes from the garden or grown from seeds. Seeds are placed in the soil not too deep and watered well. Soon shoots appear, after which the containers with crops are transferred to the windowsill. Mint and lemon balm are very demanding on watering and lighting, so they need to be placed on the south or southeast windows and watered well.

Growing leafy vegetables on a windowsill
Lettuce and Beijing cabbage grow best on the windowsill.

For the successful cultivation of Beijing cabbage, its seeds must be sown to a depth of 0.5-1 cm, keeping a distance between seeds of at least 3-4 cm. The crops are watered abundantly and placed in a warm place. When the first shoots of the container appear, you can rearrange it on the windowsill. Beijing cabbage is a short-day plant, so it does not suffer from light shading at all and does not require additional lighting. Watering plants should be moderate, after the soil has completely dried. For growing on windowsills, early-ripening varieties of Chinese cabbage are suitable, which ripen 25-30 days after germination.


Leaf lettuce is a cold-resistant crop, so it can be successfully grown on insulated loggias or balconies. The best varieties for winter cultivation are Odessa, Lollo Bionda, Red Credo.

Leaf lettuce is sown in prepared moist soil to a depth of 0.5 cm. Seedlings will appear in 3-5 days. Depending on the variety, the first harvest will appear in 4-5 weeks. Lettuce is very picky about lighting and watering, so in the winter months, crops must be illuminated with fluorescent lamps.

As you can see, growing on a green windowsill in winter or early spring is not particularly difficult and even a novice amateur gardener can do it. Of course, you won’t get a big harvest in an apartment, for lack of sufficient space and suitable conditions. But, by making every effort, and adhering to the recommendations outlined in this article, you can provide yourself and your family with vitamins in the winter, when they are so necessary for the body.

Children love to decorate the garden on the windowsill

All year round, what is home hydroponics and what devices exist to make it beautiful.

Many people like to plant flowers in the apartment. Sometimes you pass by a house, and in the window you can see a whole meadow of flowers, the entire window sill is full. Or even a balcony. In the house opposite, a woman grows cacti, she has more than a hundred of them. And my neighbor breeds geraniums, in her apartment there is always a heady smell of these flowers.

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

But the flowers on the windowsill are so “feminine”, cute and cozy. After thinking, I found a way out of their situation and began to grow greens at home. It turns out that this is no less interesting!

WHAT TO GROW?

Now there are so many seeds on sale that your eyes run wide. You can grow cucumbers in your home garden, at least.

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

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

FACTOR FIRST. 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 easiest solution is to put a table lamp—not the most correct. An ordinary light bulb gives a lot of heat, so you can not put it close to the 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 to heat the air in small greenhouses.

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

You can also put fluorescent lamps, but they are not easy to figure out, there are so many modes and nuances of use in it.

For those who like ready-made solutions, there are special lamp pots from Aerogarden, Click & Grow and Lightpot for growing greens, they are convenient and practical to use. On Amazon.com, these mini home gardens start at $58.

Note. Green onions do not need additional lighting, they live perfectly in the usual mode of day and night.

FACTOR TWO. THE SOIL

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

FACTOR THREE. AIR HUMIDITY

In winter, heating is turned on in the apartments and the air dries up. Particularly affected by dry air, because they are located on the windowsill above the battery.

The way out is to buy a spray gun and spray the greens. Or move closer to the plants.

Note.For additional hydration, you 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 grandmother. Such greenhouses cost approximately from 300 to 920 UAH.

FOURTH FACTOR. REGULAR WATERING

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

A find for a good gardener is a hydrogel. Colorless balls are dipped in enriched water, then laid out in boxes with seedlings. The balls gradually, dosed give moisture to the roots of 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.

FIFTH FACTOR. TEMPERATURE CONDITION

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

If the window sill is cold, raise the seedling box to a small height using a stand. When airing the room, remove the seedlings from the windowsill.

Note. If the selected plant is whimsical and capricious, you can plant it in a glass greenhouse. They can be purchased at IKEA or Butlers.

FACTOR SIX. FEEDING

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

In simple soil, it is desirable to add fertilizer. Mineral complexes for a particular plant will help you choose a seller of a flower shop. 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 the water in the aquarium. There is such a toy in the official representative office of the manufacturer in Kyiv, neither more nor less - 3499 UAH. On Amazon.com - a little cheaper, about $50.

Note. On sale there are many ready-made germinated herbs in a pot, or seeds with soil in special vacuum bags (you can ask both in ordinary supermarkets and in those where there are garden-garden departments, for example, in Epicenter). They have already selected 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.

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

The guys from New York have developed the Windowsfarm hydroponic system, which combines two of the most important eco-trends of the last decade: a vertical garden and a home garden. Such a system is expensive.—one section $129. But it looks absolutely amazing.

To imagine the full aesthetic potential, check out The Last Witch Hunter, which recently hit theaters. One scene features an entire green wall made from Windowsfarm, lit up with fluorescent lights.

IN CONCLUSION

A home garden is not only interesting, but also useful, because we don’t know what quality 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 do not be afraid to involve children - it will be incredibly interesting for them to mess around with seeds, pots, monitor the illumination and the degree of soil moisture.

I think you will agree with me that it is very pleasant to come to the kitchen on a cold winter morning to drink aromatic coffee and make yourself a sandwich with herbs.

Yes, not store-bought, expensive and grown no one knows where, but from your own small home garden.

How sweet it is to look at the frosty window and see the gentle one - a little hello to the sunny summer.

So let's create it!

What you need for a mini-garden

◊ Containers. Best of all are plastic (wooden ones can leak) or clay wide pots. Each type of greenery needs its own home (many plants do not combine with each other).

◊ Ground. Suitable soil is a mixture of garden soil, sawdust, peat and clean sand in equal proportions. You can buy ready-made soil for seedlings. Before pouring it into containers, put a thin layer of small pebbles, pieces of broken brick or crumbled foam on their bottom. This is drainage (it is necessary to drain excess water during irrigation, otherwise the greens on the windowsill may rot).

◊ Lamps(luminescent, white spectrum). It is necessary to highlight a small garden in the winter months so that the daylight hours are 13-15 hours.

• You can purchase special timers and set the backlight time in advance, which is very convenient.

◊ Polyethylene film. It is necessary to create a greenhouse effect so that seeds germinate better.

But the most important thing that is needed is your desire to always have a fresh greenery on the windowsill in winter, good mood in autumn, a constant supply of vitamins in spring and the beauty of tender seedlings in summer.

Growing dill

This odorous herb is quite unpretentious for home life. Knowing some tricks, you can provide yourself with a constant supply of fragrant and very healthy herbs.

Choose a variety

Not every variety of dill will give you a lush with excellent taste. For a mini-garden, the following varieties are best suited:

♦ Early maturing. It will be possible to harvest the crop 35 days after the first shoots.

• Grenadier. Delicate dill, beautiful, with a light shade of leaves. It is unpretentious, with juicy greenery.
• Gribovsky. Resistant to diseases, undemanding in care, to the temperature regime. The dark green leaves are fragrant and tasty.

♦ Mid-season. They form more greenery and leaves. Dill of these varieties will be ready to decorate your table 40-45 days after germination. Also, these species form umbrellas and seeds, ideal for pickling, canning and seasoning.

• Richelieu. Fragrant blue-green lacy leaves. One of the most beautiful varieties that will become a highlight in our home mini-garden.
• Aelita(abundantly leafy). Large, dense dark green crown has an excellent aroma and excellent taste.

♦ Late maturing. Form a lush, fragrant greenery. Such varieties are distinguished by a high content of nutrients.

• Kibray. Broad, green, with a pale yellow tinge, the leaves have a large supply of vitamins, have a sweetish taste.
• Firework. The dark crown of a bluish hue is spicy and fragrant. Greens on the windowsill with this variety of dill are very productive. It quickly grows back after cutting.

seeds

Soak the seeds overnight in warm water. Change water every 6 hours. Then dry them a little and immediately sow in richly moistened soil.

Sow in rows 15 cm apart in the grooves made beforehand. Or directly on the soil, sprinkling a 2 cm layer of soil on top.

• Advice. Sow seeds at intervals of 3 weeks. Then you will provide yourself with fragrant greens for the entire winter period.

From above, cover the dill kindergarten with polyethylene and hide in a dark place for a week, where the temperature will be at least + 20 ° C.

As soon as the first shoots appear, lower the air temperature at night.

dill care

You can sow greens constantly (every three weeks), on the vacated area after cutting.

Growing parsley

Fragrant parsley will be a useful decoration for any dish and a constant supplier of vitamins all year round.

Like dill, this greenery on the windowsill is quite unpretentious in home gardening.

Choose a variety

Parsley is of two types. Root (use its roots in cooking, for the preparation of medicinal decoctions) and leaf (to obtain lush, thick and fragrant greens for the table).

♦ Root parsley. It forms thickened light roots. Early-ripening varieties are best for drying, and late-ripening varieties for long-term storage.

• Sugar(early variety). 3 months after the appearance of the first sprouts, this parsley is ready for use. Such root greens on the windowsill have the best taste.
• Harvest(mid-season). Parsley fully ripens in 4-5 months. The white pulp of the root crop has a mild aroma.
• Berlin(late maturing). Harvest can be harvested after 5-6 months. This variety has a delicate spicy taste, very juicy.

♦ Sheet. These varieties are grown for lush, fragrant greenery. Leaf parsley has two types of leaves: regular and curly (they are very effective when decorating dishes). Cut leaves retain their aroma for a long time and do not turn yellow within a week. Leafy greens on the windowsill grow back very quickly after cutting.

• Curly Sue(early ripe, curly). You can cut it off after 1-2 months after germination. Differs in dark green, curly leaves. It is fragrant, rich in vitamins and exquisitely beautiful.
• Esmeralda(mid-season, curly). The dense curly crown is very fragrant, has a sweetish taste. Harvest can be removed after 2 months.
• Bogatyr(late-ripening, smooth). One of the best varieties of leaf parsley. Differs in especially fragrant leaves and high productivity. Parsley of this variety can be cut to the table in 2-3 months.

seeds

Wet a cotton cloth (or gauze) in boiled water, put the seeds in it. Wrap gauze with parchment and place in the cold. Let the seeds stay there for a week.

Air them every day, re-moisten the gauze. After a week, the seeds are ready to take root in the ground.

Sow them 0.5 cm deep, cover with a layer of soil on top. Then cover the pot with plastic and place in a dark place.

Cover the ground with a damp cloth. Water once every two days. Look after the seeds - air and moisten every day with a spray bottle. Three days later, the first timid sprouts will appear.

Remove the cloth from the ground, and transfer the pot to a well-lit window sill. As soon as there are more shoots, build a dome-shaped support from thick wire and use it to lift the film a little higher.

It can be removed completely when the shoots are spiked. Spray the young shoots often with water.

Young shoots need to be thinned out so that the distance between them is at least 4 cm.

parsley care

If the grass leaves turn yellow, remove them immediately. Perhaps this is a sign of a disease. If yellowness recurs, make an aqueous solution of organic soap and spray the entire plant with it.

Growing cilantro

Cilantro (or coriander) is a very unpretentious, cold-resistant plant. It is of the same class as parsley (it is even called "Chinese parsley").

But this greenery on the windowsill will fill the entire garden with a stronger deep aroma of cilantro brighter, richer in taste, and its leaves are more tender.

Choose a variety

To get a rich harvest, it is best to plant coriander essential oil seed varieties: Ray, Amber, Change.

By the way, coriander greens must be eaten before it blooms. During the appearance of flowers, cilantro has a specific, not very pleasant aroma.

seeds

In order for cilantro to sprout faster, its seeds must first be germinated in wet sawdust at an air temperature of + 17 ° C to + 20 ° C.

As soon as the first sprouts appear, we replenish our greenery on the windowsill with a new plant. Sprouted cilantro seeds are planted in moist soil to a depth of 2 cm. Sow in rows with a distance of 5-10 cm, cover the seeds with a layer of earth on top.

Cover the pots with foil for the first time. But be sure to check them every day, water and ventilate.

After two or three weeks, the coriander will make itself felt with the first shoots. And we solemnly transfer them to our home garden.

At first, greens need good air humidity (spray it more often with a spray bottle).

Cilantro Care

The first harvest after the appearance of sprouts can be removed after a month. Cilantro on the windowsill can only take one cut. But if you remove 1-2 leaves from coriander, then extend this period of a week by two.

After you cut all the plants, dig up the soil, renew it by one third and add ash (50 g of ash per 6 kg of earth). Then moisten the soil with a warm manganese solution (1%) and re-sow the coriander.

The greenery on the windowsill will bring you a lot of pleasure, the joy of self-created beauty, which in gloomy autumn and frosty winter will remind you of a warm summer.

Have a rich home harvest!

Now, my dear readers, you know how to grow vitamin greens (dill, parsley, cilantro) at home, and in the next article in this cycle ("Garden on the windowsill") I will talk about growing at home. What plants would you like to grow at home? Write about it in the comments and I will try to describe in detail the process of growing these plants.

See you soon!