Proper planting and care for pumpkin in the open field

Pumpkin is planted in open ground in late spring

In the southern regions, as well as in Belarus, Ukraine, in the Donbas, where weather conditions allow, you can plant a pumpkin in late April. According to the lunar calendar, this period coincides with the growing moon, which is favorable for the development of fruit-tops.

The most popular varieties

For the suburbs

Premiere

pumpkin dining Premiere

Cold-resistant culture with a spreading long whip and sweet-tasting large fruits, hanging in a mature form to 6 kg. Culture is unpretentious to the type of soil, its fertility.

Country

Pumpkin grade Country

Early ripening culture( 75-85 days).Vegetable is characterized by a sweet taste with hints of vanilla. Pumpkin maturely halts on 3-4 kg. Fruit storage time is more than 4 months.

For the Urals

Russian Woman

Pumpkin Russian Woman

The plant is resistant to garden diseases and frosts. The flesh is juicy and sugar, for which it is valued by the chefs. Pumpkin Rossiya mass exceeds 2.7 kg. Aging period is 110-130 days. The color of ripe fruit is orange.

Pearl nutmeg

Pumpkin nutmeg Pearl

The yield of nutmeg pumpkin matures in 100 days, weight pumpkin about 5-7 kg. Taste - saturated with nutmeg. The plant is cold-resistant, tolerates drought and heavy rainfall, has strong immunity.

The best varieties of Siberia

Freckle

Pumpkin variety Freckle

Plant with vegetation days. The flesh is very juicy and sweet, taste like melon. Even after heat treatment retains a crunchy texture. Pumpkin mass does not exceed 3 kg.

Smile

Pumpkin Smile

Shrub variety. Culture easily tolerates temperature extremes and withstands freezing, shows resistance to humid environments. The variety has excellent taste and long shelf life( until the next season).Vegetation duration - 90-110 days, fruit weight - 2,1-3 kg.

Proper planting of plants in open ground

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

Seed preparation: germination and germination test

Germinated pumpkin seeds

Seeds should first be tested for germination and sorted, leaving only healthy specimens. For 3 , the day before the sowing work begins, the grains must be germinated in wet gauze or sawdust. In order to speed up seed germination at home, they are placed for 2 days in a solution of sodium or potassium humate. The tank should be in the room all this time, where the temperature is 20 ° C.

Soil

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

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

Planting seeds and seedlings at the cottage

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

• the depth of seeding 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 sprawling lashes, use the following pattern: 1x1.5 m. To protect the landing from spring frost, you will need a drawing, to get a plant, to protect planting from spring frosts.

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

• in March start planting seeds on seedlings( 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 numbers);
• in April; ; seeding is permissible in open ground( 17–22, 24–29 numbers);
• in May, ( 16-21, 23-28).

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

What should I do if the pumpkin seedlings are very long? In cases of excessive seedling growth, when the stem becomes thin and unnecessarily long, the first thing to do is transplant the plants into more spacious pots, providing the right space.

Cultivation at home and further care

At home you can grow pumpkin on almost any soil. Culture shows endurance to adverse weather conditions, even when it began to germinate. But these facts do not mean that the culture does not need to care for.

How much seed germinates?

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

Pre-planting seed soaking in growth promoters will help speed up the germination process. In addition to special tools, use aloe juice, wood ash infusion, potato juice, honey solution.

Watering rules

Watering pumpkins during flowering is especially important: moisture is necessary to form female inflorescences.

Pumpkin needs watering, but in moderation. Excessive moisture will provoke the pulling of seedlings. Watering the soil better after loosening and weeding. The culture tolerates drought well, but the reaction to cold water from the central main can be negative. Therefore, experts recommend the use of settled fluid from the well.

Top dressing

The plant really likes top dressing. Within a week after germination of seedlings, the first complementary feed is introduced. The plant receives perfect nutrition from a mullein solution. Nitrophoska( 15 gr. Per bucket of water) is considered to be no less effective. She and conduct subsequent feeding with an interval of 10-14 days.

Formation of pumpkins

Scheme of formation of lashes of pumpkin

As soon as 2-3 true leaves appear on the seedlings, it is necessary to thin the bed. When growing large pumpkin, only one sprout is left; nutmeg and a douche, 2 seedlings each.

A developing whip should also be formed by removing excess ovary and lateral shoots. Do it 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. With the second method, 2 fruits are left on the main stem, on the side shoot - one. Without such a procedure, the fruits will be small and not very tasty.

Pests and Prevention

Pumpkin is considered an unpretentious plant, however, this crop is threatened by pests. To reduce the yield, and sometimes destroy young shoots can:

• slugs;
• melon aphid.

A large slug on the pumpkinSafer are products made from biological components. Sometimes national methods are not inferior in efficiency, among which attention deserves attention:

• decoctions and infusions of pharmacy chamomile;
• infusions on potato and tomato tops;
• decoctions of wormwood and other aromatic herbs;
• wood ash;
• tobacco dust;
• hydrated lime and others.

Spray the plants with working solutions, and the powders are used for dusting. The procedures are repeated 2-3 times with intervals of 7-10 days.

For an instantaneous response to an invasion of pests, it is necessary to make it a rule to inspect the beds with regularity 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 features:

• peduncle becomes more rigid, surface is bogged down, its stiffness occurs simultaneously with the stem feeding;
• leaves on the floss dry up , change color to yellow;
• , whatever the original color of the peel , after aging reflects texture pattern more brightly;
• if you hold your fingernail on the peel, trace does not form ;
• when you press your fingers on the fruit, feel the hardness ;
• ripe product covered matte coating ;
• when tapping heard ringing knock ;
• when harvesting stalk is easily removed .

Harvest the pumpkin is necessary until frost is stableScratches should be sealed with a bactericidal plaster to prevent microbes from penetrating the vegetable.

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

The main key to a good harvest is the , the right choice of seeds and timely care. A pumpkin grown by his own hands diversifies the menu for households, enriches the body with nutrients.