Various varieties of pumpkin and their cultivation in the country

Landing methods and conditions

This plant is native to Mexico, and grows well in the dachas of the middle lane. Pumpkins can be grown in a greenhouse method, but they require too much space, it is better to find a sunny meadow for them on the site, you can plant a couple of plants near the fence or shed so that they twist up. It grows well on a compost heap: the plant has enough fertilizers, and the heap does not dry out under large leaves.

You can sow seeds directly into open ground, or you can plant seedlings on the garden bed, summer residents most often choose the second method for growing pumpkins. It takes a little more than a month from sowing in the soil to landing on the site, and you can plant it when frosts are no longer threatening, and the soil has warmed up to 12 degrees to a depth of at least 10 cm.That turns out that this can be done no earlier than the second half of May. If sowed, then early and mid-season varieties will have time to ripen before frost, and if seedlings with 3-4 leaves are planted, then later and later will ripen until frost.

Seedlings are grown in peat or plastic cups, which are not a pity to cut, so as not to damage the roots during transplantation. On the garden bed, at a distance of at least 1 m from each other, holes are prepared with a width of 30-40 cm. Several kilograms of humus are poured into them with a couple of tablespoons of complex mineral-organic fertilizer and thoroughly spilled with warm water. Landing should be done in such a liquid gruel, but mulch the ground around. In the first month, the pumpkin seedling is still very delicate and vulnerable, it can be covered with something (plastic eggplant, paper cap, non-woven cloth) from the cold.

Choosing a variety

Timid gardeners for growing in their summer cottage choose the most common varieties from the huge variety of pumpkin family. "Gribovskaya bush" and "Mozolevskaya 49" just have time to mature over the summer, the convenience of their cultivation lies in the small space they occupy in comparison with long-leafed varieties.

"Canteen winter A-5" ripens already in a torn state, but is well stored. "Volzhskaya gray 92", "Lechebnaya" - these varieties belong to the early maturing, different Gribovskie varieties, bred for our conditions, are becoming more and more popular.

The most daring gardeners are trying to grow new pumpkin varieties bred in different countries. I must say that this is successfully obtained in the open field in the country. So a gardener in Kaluga perfectly grows such beautiful and delicious pumpkins as the sweet pear-shaped "Orange Hokkaido" or blue-green with a bumpy surface "Marina from Kyoji". You can grow large exhibition specimens weighing more than 10 kg at your own dacha, if you set such a goal. But pumpkins, small by 2-3 kg, will be more functional, they are easier to transport, and in cooking they are portioned - you do not need to store pieces of cut pumpkin.

At our dachas in the open field, such a variety of butternut pumpkins as "Intercept shortened" with a high sugar content fully matures.The "Spanish Guitar" grows well, but it is removed slightly unripe, which means that it is eaten before the new year.

Grow and pinch video

Care and cultivation

Pumpkins do not require special care, they just need to be watered, fed periodically, formed whips in order to regulate the number of fruits, make sure that they do not fall into the shade and do not freeze.

Pumpkins are watered only with warm water, and watering is increased over time and growing plants. If immediately after planting in open ground, each plant is watered with 1 liter of water, then at the end of summer it already needs 10 liters. Before watering, the soil is well loosened, weeds are removed, but this must be done carefully so as not to damage the roots. Some growers advise you to stop watering after the fruits reach the desired size. And put something waterproof under the pumpkins themselves so that they do not rot while lying on the ground.

Fertilize pumpkins two to three times a month. Usually organic and complex mineral fertilizers are used simultaneously or in strict order. And at the end of summer, they switch only to potash, which are necessary for the ripening of fruits.

After planting in open ground, pumpkin, in addition to one main whip, forms several lateral ones, usually, in order to avoid weakening of the plants, only two lateral ones are left. The lashes are laid out on the ground or put on trellises so that they do not shade each other, they are even rolled over with damp earth to fix them, otherwise the wind can turn them over. Several ovaries are left on each lash, depending on the desired fruit size - if you want to grow a giant pumpkin, leave one at a time. Usually, 3-4 fruits are left and after 5 leaves after the last, the branch is pinched to limit growth.

Sometimes a spider mite, aphid, and a growth fly attack the pumpkin, then you have to fight them by sprinkling the leaves with a decoction of onion peels, soapy water or lye. Pumpkin also has diseases such as bacteriosis, white and root rot, powdery mildew. To avoid them, you need to avoid plant residues near the pumpkin, and special means will help to cure - colloidal sulfur, vitriol, Bordeaux liquid, ash.

Harvesting the harvest

The pumpkins at our dachas are harvested in late September or early October, depending on ripeness and when frosts are expected. They need to be removed before frost. During the ripening period, the whip and leaves of the pumpkins dry out, the pattern characteristic of the variety appears on the fruits, and the stalk of a ripe pumpkin becomes like a cork. The bark on a ripe fruit becomes hard.

Ripe pumpkins are carefully cut off along with the stalk; without it, the fruit will not be stored. They say that it is best stored at a temperature of 4-10 degrees, but the majority of the population miraculously preserves the pumpkin harvest in indoor conditions, the main thing is that the bark is not injured. Most of the nutmeg gourds are harvested from the summer cottage unripe, they mature later in the maturation. Many varieties are successfully grown at their dachas by gardeners, forgetting that this is a tropical culture.

Video "All about growing pumpkins in your garden"

If you decide to grow a huge pumpkin crop, then this video tutorial is what you need. Here you will learn about all the features of the process.