How to grow kiwi at home

It has long been in the past, when only a classic set of fruits and vegetables was grown on the site. Today, anyone, even the most lazy gardener, wants something to grow on his windowsill or in the garden. Exotic! Let’s plant a kiwi? Tasty, healthy, interesting, no hassle - what else is needed?

Of course, residents of the southern regions can do their fi. They have kiwi growing on almost every corner. But few people know that this vine can withstand frosts down to -30 ° C. Or grow perfectly on the windowsill, in the greenhouse, conservatory. That is, residents of middle regions can successfully grow a plant at home.

How to grow kiwi at home? You don’t have to run around flower shops looking for a suitable sprout. This empty and useless activity costs a lot of money. We make it easier. We go to the market or to the store, and buy the fruits of kiwi. Pieces 7. 6 of them are eaten. And we leave one, the most ripe and beautiful fruit on the seeds. And it absolutely does not matter if the kiwi has a fluff. You can grow at home from the seeds of "bald" berries. Yes, from a botanical point of view, this is a berry.

But we are not interested in this now. The classic way to grow kiwi from seeds at home includes such important points:

• seed preparation
• germination
• seedling cultivation
• permanent landing
• care questions

Well, as you can see from the list, everything is simple. There are no unimaginable moments or complex points. We will analyze each separately.

Seed preparation

You can’t just pick out the seeds and push them into the ground. All this will safely rot and you will get liquid compost instead of a beautiful vine. First, the seeds must be freed from the pulp. This is not easy to do with bare hands. There is an exit. Anyone who has ever gathered their tomatoes for planting knows a very simple method of fermentation.

To do this, mashed the pulp with a small amount of clean water and put in heat. After a day, a maximum of two mixture will begin to ferment. In this case, all the flesh will remain below, and the seeds will emerge. Here they also need to be collected. A spoon, a strainer, a piece of paper. In any convenient way.

Then they need to be dried for about 2 hours. All seeds are ready for further action.

Germination

In order to be sure of the seedlings, kiwi seeds must be sprouted. There are two ways to do this: on a cloth or in a “snail”. Both options are equally good. The only difference is the convenience of the subsequent transplant.

1. On a cloth. A cotton rag is put on a plate, a little hot water is poured. Spread the seeds, then cover with a transparent bag or plastic container. They are placed in a warm place, aired once a day. After 5 days, tiny sprouts will appear. If the seeds are tight, it will be inconvenient to separate them for transplanting. And if it’s wide, then a large area will be needed.
2. In the "snail". A strip of polyethylene 10 cm wide is placed on the table. A strip of toilet paper is placed on top and lightly moistened with water. At a distance of 0.5 cm from the top, lay kiwi seeds along the length of the entire workpiece. This is convenient to do with a wet toothpick. Then, starting from the edge, gently twist the resulting structure into a loose roll. This is called the "snail."

Such a wrapper is placed in a glass so that the kiwi seeds are on top. At the bottom of the glass, 1.5-2 cm of pure water is poured, then the reconciliation is closed with a transparent bag. The entire structure is placed in a warm place. When the sprouts appear, it will be very convenient to plant them, simply by deploying the "snail".

Growing seedlings

After our kiwi seeds gave tiny sprouts, we need to plant them. No, not outside. And not even in the pot. For this, the shoots are still too weak. We will still plant them in a wide low capacity.

Ordinary land for planting is not good. It is too thick and fat. We need a loose, light and at the same time slightly nutritious mixture. To do this, we take the soil, fine peat and clean sand. Mix everything in equal proportions. Next, we disinfect the resulting substrate, because the black leg does not sleep. She doesn’t care what you planted - ordinary tomatoes or exotic kiwis. She will ruin everything. Therefore, we spill it well with a solution of potassium permanganate of medium strength and pierce it in the oven at 110 ° C.

Now we take the prepared container with a height of 10 cm (washed with potassium permanganate and dried), we make drainage holes. Kiwi sprouts love to drink, but will not grow in the swamp. Pour a layer of prepared earth about 3 cm. According to the scheme of 1.5 by 1.5 cm, we make small holes. Depth no more than 5 mm. And carefully lay out the hatched kiwi seeds. Pour on top no more than 2 mm of the soil mixture. We can say - we nibble slightly.

Gently and without fanaticism, spray clean warm water from a spray bottle, cover with glass. We put in a dark warm place. We remove the glass at night so that cold condensation does not form, which can lead to diseases. In the morning, cover the container again. Instead of glass, you can use a plastic bag or a piece of clear plastic.

After the kiwi seeds have sprouted, they need to be transplanted into more suitable containers. But not immediately, but only after the formation of a pair of real leaves. You should not delay this, since a kiwi very quickly develops a powerful root system. Wait a bit and then you will have to tear the tangled roots. And this will not benefit plants. In addition, the Kiwi leaves themselves are wide and lush. They will have little space and light, so the sprouts will stretch out strongly.

To avoid this, we plant a plant in a container with a diameter of at least 10-12 cm. Two pieces, no more. We put on the lightest window sill. This southern liana loves light very much. If you can’t provide good lighting from 7 am to 9 pm, then give up - you are not a gardener at all! Plant rutabaga, it does not require special care. And kiwi give a fluorescent lamp or additional illumination with daylight. A real gardener always has such lamps.

All this time, strictly monitor the humidity of the earthen mixture. Drying the soil is strictly prohibited! Otherwise, why all these dances with germination and measuring the distances between plants, if you are going to kill them with drought? It is better to spray the plantings from the spray gun a little with clean, tepid little water every day. Moreover, kiwi love to drink leaflets. Of course, the shelter is removed. It is no longer needed.

Landing at a permanent place

After the kiwi grows 3 pairs of real leaves, they need to be planted in a permanent place. Outside or in a pot. In this case, the soil should consist of fertile land and peat, 1 to 1. It is advisable to transplant kiwi by transshipment so as not to affect the root system. That is, we take out the sprout from the container along with the ground, put it in a hole or a pot. Then we pour soil on all sides so that the plant is firmly fixed and does not swing.

Kiwi should be placed in a well-lit place without drafts.

How to care for kiwi

Despite the exotic, caring for a kiwi is quite uncomplicated. Weed weeding, regular cultivation. Be sure to monitor the soil moisture. In extreme heat, kiwi is well sprayed with clean water.

Top dressing. From October to March, kiwis are fed with any improvised complex mineral fertilizer. About once every 12-14 days. Still, it is a liana, and for good growth it needs a lot of nutrients.A fertilizer solution is applied directly under the root on moist soil.

Organics are fed from April to September, once a month. Carefully dig a groove around the perimeter, lay a good compost or rotted manure there. Just not fresh! Otherwise, burn the roots. After several waterings, all the nutrients will reach the plant.

As for pests or diseases, in the middle band for kiwi they have not yet been found, except for ... cats. Yes, feline kiwi plants are very fond of chewing. Therefore, for the first three years it is better to put a fence. In the future, cats lose interest in kiwi.

Some tips

1. Kiwi is a dioecious plant. Therefore, one on the site or window sill will not bear fruit. It is possible to find out male or female, only after flowering. By the way, it occurs in open ground for 3-4 years of growth, on the windowsill - only for 6 years. Male flowers are large, yellowish in color, there are usually a lot of them. Female - snow-white, large with a large protruding pestle. There are fewer on the plant.
2. In order to get a consistently high yield of kiwi, planting is planned for one male plant 4-5 female. You can not wait for favors from bees or bumblebees and independently pollinate the flowers.
3. Pinch the tops of the shoots. So kiwi will grow in breadth, not length.
4. For the winter, the kiwi is removed from the trellis (same vine) and covered. Moreover, it is better not to lay vines on the ground. Place boards or lapnik. Arcs are placed on top, then covered with three layers of a greenhouse film. Between them you can lay one layer of dense non-woven material. In winter, it is desirable to throw shelter from above with snow.
5. With the onset of March, the film is periodically briefly opened. This is done so that the liana cools slightly and does not go to growth ahead of time. After all, the March leprosy is very insidious: during the day the sun warms up, and at night frosts occur. Therefore, they slightly suspend the biological cycle of kiwi with short-term ventilation.
6. By the way, it happens that return frosts, even short ones, can completely destroy the whole aerial part of an adult plant. Do not rush to uproot the roots. Over the summer season, a completely independent plant will grow from them.
7. Varieties that can winter without shelter are already on sale and can withstand frosts down to -28 ° С. Try to get a fruit or seedling of this variety, and then you do not have to bother with a film or other shelter. By the way, the taste qualities of these varieties are on top.
8. Kiwi berries are harvested in late October or early November, before the real frost sets in. The creeper has a very long growth cycle and fruit filling. But they ripen perfectly in a warm room.
9. In an unripe state, kiwis are perfectly stored until February in the simplest plastic bag.
10. Those who grow vines on the windowsill, in the conservatory or insulated balcony, you can absolutely not worry about the arrival of cold weather. And their kiwi ripen completely on the plant. The only thing you need to think about is good nutrition for your pet and pollination of flowers. After all, there are no insects in the house that perform this function.

How to grow kiwi at home? It turns out very simple. Follow the above recommendations and each year you will enjoy hand-grown berries. Now, when the guests will gasp when they see your plant, you can dismissively dismiss the words - yes this is kiwi, they found something to be surprised at, it grows with me.

Video: how to grow kiwi in the country