Pumpkin planting and care in the open field terms

The chemical composition of pumpkin is rich in vitamins and minerals that are useful for the normal functioning of human organs. This explains the popularity of growing vegetables in the garden beds. Culture enjoys success among farmers for industrial cultivation... In this review, we will talk about the features of planting pumpkin seeds and seedlings in open ground and further care.

Terms for planting pumpkin in Belarus, Ukraine, Leningrad region and other regions

A crop is planted after the soil is completely warmed up, and the average daily temperature does not fall below + 10 ° C. If, when sowing in spring, the temperature is below + 13 ° C, then the germination process slows down, which threatens seed rot. In the middle lane, the best dates for planting seeds fall in the second decade of May. According to folk traditions, the sowing day coincides with the church holiday - St. George's Day, but you should not rely on the landmark date without taking into account the weather conditions.

The pumpkin is planted in open ground in late spring

In the southern regions, as well as in Belarus, Ukraine, Donbass, where weather conditions permit, pumpkin can be planted at the end of April. According to the lunar calendar, this period coincides with the growing moon, which is favorable for the development of fruit-tops.

Most popular varieties

For Moscow region

Premiere

Table pumpkin Premiere

Cold-hardy crop with a sprawling long lash and sweet-tasting large fruits hanging over mature up to 6 kg. The culture is unpretentious to the type of soil, its fertility.

Dachnaya

Pumpkin grade Dachnaya

Culture with an early ripening period (75-85 days). The vegetable is characterized by a sweetish taste with hints of vanilla. Ripe pumpkin weighs 3-4 kg. Duration of storage of fruits is more than 4 months.

For the Urals

Russian woman

Pumpkin Russian woman

The plant is resistant to garden diseases and frost. The pulp is juicy and sugar, for which it is appreciated by culinary experts. The mass of the Russian pumpkin exceeds 2.7 kg. The ripening period of the crop is 110-130 days. The ripe fruit is orange.

Pearl nutmeg

Pumpkin nutmeg pearl

Butternut squash ripens in 100 days the weight of the pumpkins is about 5-7 kg. The taste is full-bodied with a nutmeg note. The plant is cold-resistant, tolerates drought and heavy rainfall, has a strong immunity.

The best varieties of Siberia

Freckle

Pumpkin variety Freckle

Plant with vegetation days. The pulp is very juicy and sweet, tastes like a melon.Even after heat treatment, it retains a crispy structure. Pumpkin weight does not exceed 3 kg.

Smile

Pumpkin Smile

Shrub variety. The culture easily tolerates temperature extremes and withstands frost, shows resistance to a humid environment. The variety is distinguished by its excellent taste and long shelf life (up to the next season). The duration of the growing season is 90-110 days, fruit weight - 2.1-3 kg.

Correct planting of a plant in open ground

The key to yield is correct planting, which includes the preparation of seeds and soil, as well as the process of laying planting material in the hole.

Seed preparation: check for germination and germination

Sprouted Pumpkin Seeds

Seed material must first be checked for germination and sorted, leaving only healthy specimens. 3 days before the start of sowing, the grains must be germinated in wet gauze or sawdust. To speed up the germination of seeds at home, they are placed in a solution of sodium or potassium humate for 2 days. The container should be kept in a room all this time, where the temperature regime is 20 ° C.

The soil

The soil must be prepared before planting. To do this, they dig it up, apply fertilizers: potash, phosphorus, compost or manure. It is better to use complex ones, they enrich the soil with various nutrients. For example, 2 buckets of humus, ½ buckets of sawdust, 1 kg of ash, 1 glass of nitrophoska are introduced per 1 m2.

The depth of digging the soil should be at least 35-50 cm. To disinfect the site, it is necessary to pour hot water over it.

Where to plant a pumpkin in the country? A sunny, well-ventilated place is chosen for landing. Precursors such as potatoes, sunflowers, melons, and watermelon will not work. But after legumes, tomatoes and beets, the plant will feel great. The same site should also not be used for disembarkation, the break should be 4-5 years.

Planting seeds and seedlings in the country

The distance between the holes should be at least 60 cm, because the lash of the plant is actively developing and spreading over a large space. When determining the scheme, it is better to be guided by the characteristics of the variety. More often, gardeners use this planting option:

• embedment depth seeds - 8-10 cm (on light soils), 5-6 cm (on loams) with the sharp side down;
• interval between holes in a row - 60-80 cm;
• distance between rows - 1 m.

Pumpkin is not recommended to be planted next to potatoes.

For spreading lashes, the scheme is used: 1x1.5 m. To protect the planting from spring frosts, it is recommended to cover the bed with a film.

Experienced gardeners use the lunar calendar when planning planting work in the garden. The dates indicated in it affect the speed of plant development. It is recommended to plant a pumpkin on the growing moon:

• in March begin to plant seeds for seedlings (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23);
• in April sowing is permissible in open ground (17-22, 24-29);
• in May (16 - 21, 23 - 28 numbers).

In addition to 3-4 seeds, organic fertilizers are introduced into each hole: manure, humus or peat. To moisturize, use warm water (2 liters per hole).

In the Leningrad region, the Moscow region, in the Urals, in Siberia, pumpkin is grown in seedlings. The technology of planting young plants in the ground does not differ from planting seeds.

But what to do if the pumpkin seedlings are strongly elongated?In cases of excessive activity of seedling growth, when the stem becomes thin and unnecessarily long, the first thing to do is to transplant the plants into larger pots, providing the necessary space.

Growing at home and further care

At home, pumpkin can be grown on almost any soil. The culture shows tolerance to adverse weather conditions, even when it has begun to germinate. But these facts do not mean that the culture does not need to be cared for.

How long will the seeds germinate?

The timing of seed germination depends solely on the temperature regime. If the night indicator does not fall below 12-14 °, the seeds will begin to sprout in a week. Even if the weather is cool, after a month, 2-3 leaves are already developing on the shoot.

Pre-planting soaking of seeds in growth stimulants will help speed up the germination process. In addition to special products, aloe juice, infusion of wood ash, potato juice, honey solution are used.

Watering rules

Watering the pumpkin during flowering is especially important: moisture is necessary for the formation of female inflorescences

The pumpkin needs watering, but in moderation. Excessive moisture will provoke the pulling of the seedlings. It is better to water the soil after loosening and weeding. The culture tolerates drought well, but the reaction to cold water from the main line can be negative. Therefore, experts recommend using the settled liquid from the well.

Top dressing

The plant is very fond of feeding. Already a week after germination of seedlings, the first complementary food is introduced. The plant gets ideal nutrition from the mullein solution. Nitrophoska is considered no less effective (15 grams per bucket of water). She and carry out subsequent feeding with an interval of 10-14 days.

The correct formation of the seedling is expressed in a low but strong stem, short internodes, the presence of 3 leaves after a month.

Forming pumpkins

Scheme of the formation of pumpkin lashes

As soon as 2-3 true leaves appear on the seedlings, you need to thin out the garden bed. When growing large-fruited pumpkin, only one sprout is left, nutmeg and hard bark - 2 seedlings each.

The developing lash should also be shaped by removing excess ovaries and lateral shoots. This is done in two ways: in one stem and in two. In the first case, it is recommended to leave only 2-3 ovaries, on which there are 3-4 leaves. In the second method, 2 fruits are left on the main stem, and one on the side shoot. Without such a procedure, the fruits will be small and not very tasty.

Pests and prevention

Pumpkin is considered an unpretentious plant, however, this culture is also threatened by pests. Reducing productivity, and sometimes destroying young shoots can:

• slugs;
• melon aphid.

When signs of an invasion of pests are detected, special preparations are used (Actellik, Fufanon, Tsitkor, etc.). Products made from biological components are safer. In efficiency, sometimes folk methods are not inferior, among which deserve attention:

• decoctions and infusions from pharmacy chamomile;
• infusions of potato and tomato tops;
• decoctions of wormwood and other aromatic herbs;
• wood ash;
• tobacco dust;
• slaked lime, etc.

Working solutions are used for spraying plants, and powders are used for dusting. The procedures are repeated 2-3 times at intervals of 7-10 days.

For an instant reaction to an invasion of pests, it is necessary to make it a rule to inspect the beds with a regularity of 1 every 3 days. Then you can localize the problem and save the harvest.

Harvesting

You can determine the maturity of a pumpkin by the following criteria:

• the peduncle becomes more rigid, the surface is corked, its woodiness occurs simultaneously with the stem supplying food;
• the leaves on the whip dry up, change color to yellow;
• whatever the original peel color, after ripening, reflects the texture pattern more vividly;
• if you run your fingernail over the crust, no trace is formed;
• when you press your fingers on the fetus, feel hard;
• ripe product is covered matte bloom;
• when tapped, audible ringing knock;
• when harvesting the peduncle is easy to remove.

It is necessary to harvest the pumpkin before stable frosts.

To ensure the crop has a long shelf life, it is necessary to pluck the fruits carefully, taking care not to damage the rind. Scratches should be sealed with a bactericidal plaster so that microbes do not penetrate into the vegetable.

The fruits removed from the garden are placed in a dry room, where they ripen for about a month.

The main guarantee of a good harvest is correct selection of seeds and timely care. Self-grown pumpkin diversifies the menu for households, enriches the body with nutrients.

The beloved golden fruit, whose homeland is Mexico, has long taken root in our country and is part of our culinary traditions. By the way, pumpkin sowing is also popular in China and India. What vegetable grower will miss the opportunity to grow such a beauty in his garden? But in order to do this, you need to know how to plant a pumpkin correctly, what factors should be taken into account if you are going to plant a pumpkin in open ground. How to plant a pumpkin in open ground, and how to take care of the plant in the future, read below.

Landing dates

The first question you need to figure out is when to plant a pumpkin in open ground? The planting dates for pumpkins, like all melons and gourds, fall at the end of spring (at the same time sowing of all related crops begins). Therefore, it is necessary to place seedlings in the ground at the end of May - beginning of June. At a temperature of 25 degrees, the plant will actively develop, and at 14 it will stop growing and sowing will be in vain. Do not forget that if you want to get an early harvest, plant seeds for seedlings for a period of 25 days.

Seat selection

It is clear that the pumpkin will grow well in the South. But in any case, place the seedlings in a sunny place. Better to plant pumpkin instead of onions, cabbage, carrots, beets, legumes. Avoid places where potatoes, sunflowers, cucumbers, zucchini, melons used to grow. The neighborhood plays a very important role. Some plants can harm the pumpkin, and some can be harmed by the pumpkin itself. Therefore, the question will not be strange: what can be planted next to pumpkins?

You can plant leeks, beans, peas, or spinach nearby. Not recommended to be planted next to potatoes and radishes. It is better not to place beets, carrots, garlic nearby.

What is the reason for this? All melons and gourds abundantly absorb nutrients from the ground, as a result of which they do not allow their neighbors to fully develop. Can pumpkin be planted next to corn? Necessary!

It is better to place pumpkins not in windy places, but if you do not have such, then you can plant corn nearby - create a kind of fence from the wind.

Interestingly, the pumpkin itself cannot be planted after the pumpkin. This is due to soil diseases, the pathogens of which can persist and harm new related plants.

Soil preparation

In relation to the earth, this plant is not picky. But even good soil still needs to be cultivated in the fall. Dig up the site and mix the soil with organic fertilizers - potash and phosphorus. Already in the spring, after the snow melts, loosen the soil and clear the area of ​​weeds. Before sowing the pumpkin, dig everything up well again and apply nitrogen fertilizers.

Make the beds high. Standard sizes: in width - up to 1.5 m, in height - not less than 20 cm, and a distance - half a meter. Sowing can be carried out in different ways, but the most popular is wide row. The scheme for planting pumpkins in the open field differs depending on the variety. For example, a bush pumpkin is usually planted 70 by 70 cm, and a long-leaved pumpkin - 210 by 180 cm. The question "at what distance to plant a pumpkin" now will not baffle you.

How to choose a planting method

If the rate of fruiting is important to you, then you will have to think about choosing a method of planting a pumpkin and further care. Planting usually takes place either by seeds in open ground, or by seeds for seedlings. The second method is relevant for those who are concerned about how to grow a pumpkin in order to get fruits faster.

Features of planting seeds

How to properly plant pumpkin seeds? First of all, you need to get good seeds. But it is worth considering that not all varieties are sown in open ground. For this, for example, the nutmeg variety, which includes all honey varieties, is not suitable. Planted seeds of this type may simply not sprout.Be sure to pay attention to the freshness and germination of seeds. To do this, you can carry out a test seeding on wet gauze.

When the seeds are checked, you need to start preparing them. Warm them up at 60 degrees for about 2 hours, and then dip them in a solution of potassium permanganate. After these events, the seeds can be planted in the ground.

Features of planting seedlings

If you will grow seeds for seedlings, then all the above rules for preparing seeds are relevant in this case. Prepare a deep tray with sawdust: fill the wood with boiling water and cover with gauze. Place the seeds there. Then fill it with sawdust again and cover with foil. Thus, you have a home greenhouse. The sprouts will begin to be seen already on the 3rd day. Seedlings grown in 25 days must then be moved to open ground.

Further care

Planting a pumpkin in open ground provides for further plant care. Caring for her, like other melons and gourds, includes a number of activities:

• weed cleaning;
• step-by-step feeding: the first - with the appearance of the first leaves, the second - after the formation of ovaries;
• regular watering (especially at the flowering stage);
• pinching of long-growing varieties (there should be no more than 3 fruits on the shoot).

Now the question of how to properly plant a pumpkin in open ground will not bother young vegetable growers. After all, as it turned out, this is not a difficult and time-consuming business. Planting a pumpkin and caring for it in the open field can become not only a common household business, but also a favorite hobby.

Pumpkin is famous not only for its exquisite taste, but also for the content of a rare, but necessary for the human body, vitamin T. Any housewife who planted this vegetable knows that you can feed a huge family with a couple of such fruits, because not only pumpkin porridge is prepared from them, but and preserves, marmalades, mashed potatoes, pies, side dishes.

Video "Planting pumpkins in open ground"

In this video, you will hear helpful tips for planting pumpkins outdoors.

Pumpkin is used fresh, stewed, in the form of mashed potatoes, porridge, soup. It goes well with cereals and vegetables. You can make pancakes from it, stuff and bake in the oven, steam.

In addition to pumpkin pulp, seeds are also used - they contain a lot of protein and vegetable oil. In folk medicine, pumpkin seeds are used as a medicine against intestinal parasites.

Planting a pumpkin

Three types of pumpkins are common in global agricultural production:

• large-fruited;
• firm-mouthed;
• nutmeg.

Numerous varieties of large-fruited pumpkin are used for livestock feed. The fruits of hard-bore pumpkin are gray-skinned, sweet, well stored in apartment conditions. Their flesh is edible raw.

In summer cottages, nutmeg pumpkin is often grown. The sweet and flavorful vegetable is eaten raw. Of the varieties zoned for most regions for planting pumpkins, Almond 35 and Volzhskaya gray should be noted.

Pumpkins grow in any climate, because of this, they give the impression of unpretentious plants growing in any vegetable garden. But it is not easy to get large and high-quality fruits by planting pumpkins in open ground. In our climate, pumpkins, like any southern plants, lack sunlight and the length of the growing season.

Pumpkin in a short time builds up a gigantic vegetative mass, so the soil must contain many nutrients. Do not plant pumpkin in shade. She needs a lot of light to grow quickly.

Do not plant the pumpkin next to raspberries - an aggressive bush will leave the pumpkin without sunlight and it will not set fruit.

The pumpkin can be planted with seeds in the garden bed. The best precursors for pumpkin are nightshade and cabbage vegetables. Planting the pumpkin in the ground near the south side of the buildings will protect you from the cold northeast.

Large pumpkin leaves are easily damaged by the wind. When the leaves are turned over, the plants slow down growth and development.To avoid this, summer residents plant tall crops around the perimeter of the pumpkin plot, for example, beans, bell peppers or standard tomatoes. If the size of the plot allows, crops can be sown between the rows of the pumpkin.

The soil will have to be prepared in the fall - to make holes and cover with fallen leaves. In the spring, the soil under the leaves will quickly warm up. It remains to pour a bucket of fertile soil into the hole and plant 3 seeds each. After the cotyledon leaves open, you need to leave one seedling (the strongest in appearance), and remove the rest. One month after sowing, each plant should have at least three leaves.

Processing the seeds before sowing with aloe juice helps to speed up the development of pumpkin. You need to squeeze out a few drops of juice, dilute with water 1: 5 and soak the seeds in the solution for one hour.

Aloe juice will help young plants grow faster. To do this, cut 3 large leaves from home aloe, squeeze the juice into a five-liter bottle, fill it with rainwater and leave to infuse for several hours. It is enough just once at the beginning of the growing season to pour a 100-gram glass of solution under each bush, and then water the plants with water. The pumpkin will bear large fruits and will ripen earlier.

The pumpkin will only thrive in fertile soil with a pH of 6.0-7.5. An indicator of a suitable land for a pumpkin will be ordinary nettle - if a weed grows well on the site, then the pumpkin will feel great.

The acidic soils for pumpkin have to be alkalized. For this, ordinary wood ash or fluff lime is suitable. They are brought into each well in 3 glasses and dug up.

When growing oil pumpkin, boron must be added to the soil - it increases the density of seeds and forms large kernels.

Pumpkin responds well to humic acids contained in manure. However, nitrogen is present in excess in manure, which leads to excessive growth of lashes to the detriment of fruit formation. Therefore, not fresh manure is brought under the pumpkin, but lying in the heap for at least one winter, that is, humus - nitrogen has partially disappeared from this animal product.

To increase the yield, add phosphorus to the hole, which is not in the humus.

Strictly observe the pumpkin planting dates. Plant the seeds when the soil warms up above 15 degrees. There are studies showing that planting pumpkin seedlings allows you to get a high yield, but the seedlings should be grown in separate cups, since the roots of the pumpkin do not like damage during transplantation.

Culture loves warmth. At a temperature of 0 degrees, it dies, even if it is a short-term morning frost. Among melons, pumpkin is the most moisture-loving. It tolerates well the close location of soil waters. In dry years, you can get an excellent harvest in such areas.

Cultivating the land in autumn and spring for pumpkin is similar to cultivating the beds before planting other vegetables in the family. Anyone who has ever grown cucumbers, zucchini, watermelons or melons will be able to prepare the soil for pumpkins. Like cucumbers, pumpkin can be grown not only on the ground, but also on a pile of old humus.

In southern Russia, seeds are sown in April, in the middle lane - at the end of May. In Siberia, pumpkin is sown at the end of May, but it is taken into account that, if necessary, the seedlings will have to be sheltered from frost, which is possible in the region until mid-June.

In the middle lane, and even more so in the south, there is no need to plant pumpkin seedlings. Seeds are sown in holes of 2-3 pieces. After emergence, the weak are removed, leaving one plant per meter. Seeds of large-fruited varieties are buried 10-12 centimeters, nutmeg seeds are planted to a depth of 8 centimeters.

Before planting, superphosphate and half a bucket of compost are added to the hole, stirring with the soil. After leaving, it will only consist of weeding and watering. In cold climates, gardeners will have to pinch and normalize the fruit so that the set pumpkins have time to ripen.

Pumpkin care

Mistaking the pumpkin as a minor crop and allocating its place in the backyard without watering or fertilizing, you will get a marginal harvest. Growing and caring for pumpkin in the open field, subject to the rules, makes it possible to get from large-fruited varieties, such as Volzhskaya gray, from 4 kg of fruits per square meter. Moreover, each plant can occupy an area of ​​up to 20 square meters.

For novice gardeners, shaping causes difficulties in growing pumpkin. If you do not form the pumpkin correctly, you will not be able to get large fruits. Plants can be formed into one or two lashes. In the first case, a single whip is left and all the side ones are removed at once as they appear. The first 3 ovaries are left on the lash. After the third, three sheets are left, and the rest is removed.

Some gardeners form their pumpkins in 2 lashes - the harvest has time to ripen. Forming a bush into two vines, two fruits are left on the main whip, and one or, less often, two on the side. Three more leaves are left behind the last ovary and the tops are pinched.

Productivity increases with the use of filling the lashes with earth. Scourges that have reached a length of a meter or more are untangled, laid, directing growth in the right direction, and sprinkled with soil in two or three places. The technique makes it possible to fix the lashes on the surface of the soil, which protects the plant from the wind and helps to form additional roots.

The pumpkins are harvested when the fruit acquires its characteristic color and pattern. Unripe butternut squash can be ripened at home.

Seeds are removed from oilseed varieties immediately, poured into a glass container and poured with cold water for a day. If the fruits are overripe, the seeds should not be soaked to avoid germination. After soaking, the seeds are washed, separated from the pulp and dried in the oven until a thin transparent film covering the surface of the seed falls off.

Vertical Pumpkin Care

It is believed that creepers spread to the south, but this is not the case. The pumpkin grows in all four directions, capturing the adjacent territories. Under favorable conditions, stubborn plants can climb vertical surfaces and braid a gazebo, shed or bush.

This can be used by summer residents who do not have enough space for pumpkins on the site. They need to plant not ordinary varieties, but curly ones, since the seeds have appeared on sale. To make the whips climb better, you can pull the twines for them, as for cucumbers. For a "vertical garden" varieties with large fruits are suitable - Spaghetti, Pearl, Russian pumpkin.

The new wax pumpkin is well suited for vertical culture. It has elongated fruits with a dark green, dense crust that feels like wax to the touch. Initially, pumpkins were grown in China and southeastern countries, but now they are gaining popularity in our country. The first variety of wax pumpkin that has become famous in our country is called Chardzhou.

The fruits of the wax gourd are ready for harvesting 125-130 days after sowing, so in the northern regions it is necessary to grow through seedlings. Plants form powerful long stems, fruits are elongated, up to 50 centimeters in length, the weight of each fruit is from six kilograms.

Wax gourd cannot match the taste of butternut squash, but it is a storage champion. The fruits, without drying out or decaying, can lie in the cellar for up to 3 years.

Another still rare pumpkin in our country is figurative. At home in Peru, it is a perennial crop, in our country it is grown as an annual. The pumpkin got its name for the unusual shape of the leaves. She has oval-shaped fruits of green color with a white pattern on the bark. The pulp is white or yellowish, sweet and tasty. Outwardly, the plant and fruits are similar to watermelons.

The length of the shoots of the fig-leaved pumpkin reaches 10 meters, and it is suitable for vertical gardening. Although the plant comes from the tropics, it grows in any region of the country where there is a pumpkin cultivation culture.

Growing pumpkin

Pumpkin loves feeding with ash.This natural fertilizer supplies the plant with potassium, which will be abundant in a properly grown pumpkin (see below for the chemical composition of pumpkin and its value for those who want to lose weight).

According to the technology of growing pumpkin, a month before the harvest, you need to stop watering, then the fruits will acquire firmness and will be well stored. If the fall is rainy, it is better to cover the plants with foil or put an awning over them. The fruits ripen three and a half months after planting the seedlings in the ground. If they did not manage to acquire the characteristic golden or gray color of the variety, they will acquire it later, after lying in the room for several weeks.

Seeds of the unusual Butternut pumpkin have recently appeared on the shelves of seed shops. The plant was bred in Israel, but they learned to grow it in our country too. The fruits of Butternut pumpkin are medium-sized (weighing up to 3 kilograms) and are pear-shaped. The peel is of an even dull color. If you cut the pumpkin fruit lengthwise, then the shape of the cut resembles a mandolin.

The seed chamber is located only in the expanded part of the fruit, because of this, the pulp of the Butternut pumpkin gives more than ordinary hollow pumpkins and zucchini. The flesh of this pumpkin variety is sweet, firm with a fresh fruity aroma. The variety is southern and in the middle lane, when sown with seeds in open ground, it may not pick up the sweetness that is characteristic of it. It is better to grow pumpkin seedlings, and the seeds can be taken from a purchased vegetable.

Pinch the Butternut pumpkin when the whips grow 1 meter. You need to leave no more than 3 lashes on each plant and direct in different directions. Pinching will help you get ripe, large and heavy fruits.

Pumpkins of all varieties are harvested when the stalks are corky and dry. By this time, a characteristic pattern for the variety should have time to form on the peel. Before the first freezing, fruits are harvested, even immature ones, and transferred to ripening in a warmer place, for example, in a greenhouse. Frozen pumpkins will not be stored and will quickly rot.

Pumpkins can be stored permanently in the cellar, hanging by the stalk, or in an apartment on the floor in a dark corner, but you need to keep in mind that mice love the pumpkin. Rodents gnaw through the flesh to get to the delicious pumpkin seeds.

When growing pumpkin seeds, special oilseed varieties are chosen. The fruits of the varieties contain 1-2% of seeds by weight of the pumpkin. Oilseed varieties include Bulgarian, Ladies' marigold, Kherson watermelon, Ukrainian polycarpous, Muscat, Novinka, Polevichka, Valok. Oil varieties have a lower yield than ordinary varieties - no more than 800 kilograms are harvested per hectare.

There are bare-grain varieties that produce husk-free seeds. These are Styrian holozernaya, Holozernaya round and Golosemyannaya. Hull-free seeds are especially appreciated. In retail, they are 40% more expensive than ordinary ones, but it is more difficult to grow naked varieties than ordinary ones, since the seed quickly decays in the soil and has an extremely low germination capacity. Otherwise, caring for gymnosperms is no different from caring for conventional varieties.

Styrian Butter Gourd is an old variety used for pumpkin seed oil production. Pumpkin oil is used in cooking and cosmetology. The variety is prized for its high content of linoleic acid in the seeds, which gives the oil a nutty flavor and aroma. When growing pumpkin in the open field, the yield of the variety is 500-1500 kg per hectare, the weight of the fruit is up to 6 kilograms. The flesh of Styrian Butter Gourd is coarse-fiber and is only suitable for livestock feed.

The planting scheme depends on the variety. When growing oil pumpkins, no more than one plant is left per square meter. A denser planting results in lower yields.

What is great about pumpkin is that it drowns out any weed that grows in the garden. This can be used during the introduction of fallow lands into the crop rotation. It is enough to plant a pumpkin in an abandoned area in the first year and it will clear the soil of weeds, blocking the light with powerful leaves.Without access to sunlight, many weeds will wither and die.

It is necessary to weed the garden with pumpkins at the first stage, when the plants sprout. When growing in the field, it is enough to pass the field along and across the field twice with a walk-behind tractor, while the plants form whips. The pumpkins will then overtake and smother the weeds.

When growing pumpkin without manure and humus, you can use green manure, the best of which is the vetch-oat mixture. It is sown as soon as the soil warms up slightly. After the emergence of pumpkin shoots, vetch and oats are trimmed with a weeder or Fokin's flat cutter.

As a result, the soil is enriched with nutrients, especially nitrogen, and the garden bed remains covered with a layer of green mulch, which helps to retain moisture. The mixture of oat and oats also prevents the establishment of annual weeds.

Pumpkins should not be sown in the same area more than once every 4 years. If the crop rotation is observed, the plants do not suffer from diseases and pests. Of the pests, the gourd aphid annoys the pumpkin more.

There is an interesting way to protect plants from insects. Aphids are afraid of shiny surfaces, so strips of aluminum foil are laid out between the plants to scare off plantings - this avoids spraying with insecticides. Of the diseases, pumpkin is most often affected by powdery mildew.

If you doubt whether it is worth growing pumpkin, then remember that the fruits of a healthy vegetable contain up to 6% carbohydrates (of which 5% are in the form of sugar), there are no organic acids and little fiber (less than 1%). The chemical composition allows the use of pumpkin fruits in dietary and therapeutic nutrition for diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, including pancreatitis (inflammation of the gallbladder) and hepatitis.

Pumpkin contains more pectin than apples and beets, so it removes a lot of toxic substances and harmful cholesterol from the body. It is also low in sodium salts and high in potassium, so it can be used to feed people with vascular, heart and kidney diseases.

Growing pumpkin outdoors

Pumpkin (Latin Cucurbita) is a vitamin-rich vegetable with a pleasant mild flavor and is used in many dietary dishes. Cultivation of a culture requires compliance with certain conditions and rules, which we will consider in more detail.

Preparing and planting pumpkin in open ground

Growing pumpkin is possible in two ways:

• Planting non-dived seedlings;
• Sowing prepared seeds.

Presowing seed treatment

Growing pumpkin in the open field begins with the preparation of seeds, which are soaked in water, preferably in sodium humate or potassium humate, for a day. Taking the seeds out of the water, they are covered with a damp cloth or gauze for two days, leaving in a shaded place at temperatures up to plus 23 grams. Celsius. The fabric is constantly moisturized. It is not recommended to take seeds from the harvest of the year before last - there may be poor germination.

Pumpkin seeds after germination

For the treatment of diseases, the seeds are immersed in a 30% sodium chloride solution (2 tablespoons of salt per 100 ml of water). Healthy and strong specimens will sink to the bottom, and weak ones will float up and are subject to rejection.

After germination, the sprouts are placed in plastic cups or pots up to 10 cm in diameter, with prepared soil: a peat mixture mixed with sand and garden soil (1: 1: 1).

Growing and caring for pumpkin seedlings

Transplanting and growing pumpkin in the open field in the Moscow region occurs after the appearance of three full-fledged leaves. On average, the seedlings should be about a month old.

Site selection and soil preparation

The plot allocated for the cultivation of pumpkin is chosen far from upright crops, with a flat surface and good access to sunlight. The land is pre-fertilized: per 1 sq.m. take 2 buckets of humus, 0.5 buckets of wood chips, 1 liter of wood ash and 200 g of nitrophoska. The soil is dug 50 cm deep and beds are formed up to 70 cm wide.

Preparing the beds for planting pumpkin

Pumpkin seeds or seedlings are planted in warm soil from mid-May, while the air temperature should exceed the average daily plus 10 grams. Celsius. If the seeds are planted earlier, then they will not be able to develop properly and will rot.

Growing pumpkin outdoors in an area where potatoes, melon, sunflower or watermelon were previously grown is not recommended. In one place, the pumpkin is planted with a break of five years. Sandy loamy, light and medium loamy soils with a neutral Ph 4.5-5 are most suitable for growing pumpkin.

Pumpkin planting technology

Holes for seeds or seedlings are made along the entire bed at a distance of 0.9-1 m from each other and to a depth of 5-7 cm.At least 2 liters of water are poured into each hole, the temperature of which should not be lower than plus 50 grams. Celsius, after which they start sowing.

Sowing pumpkin in open ground

Top mulch with sawdust, straw or peat. Growing pumpkin outdoors in Siberia is slightly different: it is recommended to sow 2 seeds per hole. After their germination, a weaker plant is selected and removed.

Seedling pumpkin after planting in open ground

Agricultural technology for growing pumpkins in the open field includes additional cover for the planted seeds with a film, which is carefully fixed along the perimeter of the garden bed. The covering material creates greenhouse conditions and helps protect seedlings from possible frost.

After the sprouts have reached 50 cm in height, the film is lifted by pulling it over a wire frame. In mid-June, the material is filmed.

A film without a frame left in the garden can be used in place of mulch, which will help facilitate caring for the pumpkin as it grows. In the covering material, with this use, cross-shaped incisions are made for the sprouts.

Pumpkin cultivation and care - film mulching

Planting and growing pumpkins in the open field video

Pumpkin care rules

Caring for pumpkin in the open field is not difficult, as it consists in timely watering and feeding.

Fertilization

Top dressing should be applied no more than once every 2 weeks. Fertilizing pumpkin in the open field with minerals is performed twice: when five leaves appear (10 g of nitrophoska per plant in dry form); when lashes appear (15 g of nitrophoska per 10 liters of water for each bush).

Feeding the pumpkin with wood ash (1 cup per 1 plant) and mullein (1 liter of mullein per 10 liters of water) is also effective. Mullein is introduced at the beginning of the growing season (1 bucket for 6 plants) and during fruiting (1 bucket for 3 bushes).

Top dressing of pumpkin in the open field

All dressings are introduced into a ring-shaped ditch, increasing the depth from 8 to 15 cm as the pumpkin grows.At the seedling stage, a deepening is dug at a distance of 15 cm, after 2 weeks it is increased to 40 cm.

Watering the pumpkin

Before watering, the soil is loosened 10 cm deep, trying not to catch the root, and cleaned of weeds. Watering pumpkins in the open field is carried out only with warm water, 50 gr. Celsius, do not use cold artesian or well water.

Timely abundant irrigation during flowering is especially important: moisture is necessary for the formation of female inflorescences. Water consumption during this period is about 30 liters per plant.

During the ripening of the fruits, the amount of water when watering is reduced, since excess moisture reduces the shelf life and reduces the sugar content of the fruits.

Growing pumpkin video

Forming pumpkin lashes

The formation of a pumpkin during cultivation allows you not to waste energy on extra ovaries and shoots, due to which larger fruits grow with better taste characteristics. While the main stem has reached a length of 1.5 m, it is pinched. Leave only 2 lateral shoots up to 70 cm long. On each of them, a fruit ripens.

Scheme of the formation of pumpkin lashes

To speed up the filling of fruits, the shoots are pressed to the ground, sprinkled with a small layer of soil at a distance of up to half a meter from the main shoot for rooting.A piece of plywood or glass is placed under each forming pumpkin to protect against fungal diseases that begin to develop on the fruits from damp soil.

Pinching and caring for a pumpkin in the open field video

Protecting pumpkin from diseases and pests

The most common pumpkin diseases are fruit rot, powdery mildew and mosaic. Most often they appear due to increased dampness - a favorable environment for the development of bacteria and fungi. Of the pests, the spider mite most often affects the pumpkin, as well as the melon aphid.

Powdery mildew

When the first symptoms of a fungal disease are detected on the leaves of the pumpkin, they are fought by spraying with a solution of 3 g of potassium permanganate or 2 g of copper sulfate, dissolved in 10 liters of water. They are treated with 1% Bordeaux liquid during the formation of ovaries and leaves. For prevention, regular watering is carried out, crop rotation is observed and the remains of diseased plants are destroyed.

Powdery mildew on pumpkin leaves

Pumpkin mosaic

A dangerous viral disease, infected plants are removed and burned away from the site. Preventive measures: destruction of weeds, disinfection of garden tools, destruction of parasites, timely removal of affected areas.

Pumpkin mosaic in the initial stage

Fruit rot

The decayed areas are carefully removed with a knife and the wound is wiped with fresh aloe juice. The rubbed area dries up, and the pumpkin continues to develop.

Pumpkin Fruit Rot

Insect protection methods

Aphids are fought by removing weeds, spraying with soapy water (200 g of grated soap per 10 liters of water) or 10% karbofos in a proportion of 60 g per 10 liters of water.

Spraying a spider mite is helped by spraying with onion infusion of 200 g of husk per 10 liters of water or 20% chloroethanol solution (20 g per 10 liters of water).

Harvesting and storage conditions for pumpkin

To prevent the pumpkin from starting to deteriorate in the garden, you need to harvest on time. The moment of ripening can be recognized by the following signs:

• The peduncle becomes rough and rough;
• Foliage and whips turn yellow and dry;
• The skin coarsens and takes on the typical pattern of the variety.

It is necessary to harvest before stable frosts. Pumpkin pruning occurs with a stalk up to 6 cm. The cut fruits are placed in a dry, warm room. For a week, the pumpkins ripen, and the stalk dries up.

Storing pumpkin in a heated room

With the onset of frost, unripe, unpicked pumpkins are mulched with straw or agrofibre.

Outcome

Compliance with all the conditions and rules for caring for a pumpkin will allow you to grow a rich harvest. Delicious and healthy vegetables can be stored well until the New Year without any processing. Pumpkin can be used for main dishes, desserts, soups, canned, or used as a Halloween lantern.