When to plant a pumpkin in open ground. How to plant a pumpkin in open ground with seeds. Germination and hardening of seeds

If you have a small plot of land, and you do not know what is best planted on it, be sure to include a pumpkin on your list. Caring for her is not so difficult, and the harvest can be so rich that you have enough for a long time. Pies, pumpkin jam, tasty porridge ... To provide yourself and all relatives and friends with this useful vegetable, you need to plant it correctly.

Growing pumpkins is a snap

Site preparation

If you want to get a rich harvest, you need to choose the right site for pumpkin. The bed should be located in a warm area, which is heated by sunlight. But it tolerates shading well. The soil can be any, but the most preferred is sandy or sandy loam. It is good because it warms up quickly.

It is good if before that winter wheat, corn or perennial grasses grew on the bed. You can choose a bed after other vegetable crops: onions, tomatoes, cabbage, potatoes, carrots. It is not worth planting it, if before that cucumbers or squash grew here, it is not advisable to do this in place of cucumbers. In the same garden, you can again grow pumpkin only after five years.

Corn is a good predecessor for pumpkin

Soil preparation

Earth must be prepared in the fall. How to do it right?

1. Clean the area, remove weeds, plant debris.
2. Shred open shallow hoe.
3. After some time, the earth needs to be dug up (2-3 weeks). When digging, collect weed roots.
4. In the spring, on the day of sowing or per day, the land again needs to be dug up. At the same time, nitrogen fertilizers are added. After that, the site is leveled using a rake.
5. Make tall beds. The heavier the ground, the higher the bed should be. The standard sizes of the beds under the pumpkin: width - 1 -1.4 m, the height should be at least 20-25 cm, and the distance between them - 50 cm.

Fertilizer application

When digging the ground, do not forget to fertilize the soil. Pumpkin begins to grow actively, the aerial part quickly grows in it, therefore, it needs a lot of nutrients. How to fertilize the earth? The best option is manure or humus, rotted compost. 5-10 kg of manure is applied per square meter. They are laid to a depth of 10-15 cm, if the soil is heavy, and 15-20, if light.

It is not always possible to make such an amount of manure. Then it is put only in holes for seedlings, 1-2 kg per plant. In addition to manure, it is worth putting a little superphosphate (20 g) and potassium sulfate (10 g) into the hole. Or use organo-mineral fertilizers that add 1 tablespoon to 1 plant.

Pumpkin loves plentiful manure fertilizer

On the heap

If you were resting in the village, then you saw heaps of compost on which the pumpkin grows. This is not only a way to get a high crop, but also to improve the compost heap. Why is it profitable to plant pumpkin on compost:

• No weed. Compost overgrows with herbs that need to be cleaned. If you plant a pumpkin on it, then its green mass will not allow weeds to grow.
• Speeds up decomposition. Coarse plant debris, such as cabbage stalks or sunflower stems, etc., is also placed in compost. They do not decompose quickly, it takes 2-3 years. A pumpkin accelerates this process. If you plant this plant on compost, then they decompose faster.
• The pile looks prettier, because the remains are covered with greenery.
• Compost does not dry out.

Pumpkin grows well on a compost heap

Planting Pumpkin Seeds

If the plot is large, the seeder comes in handy. Used gourds seeders SBN-3 and SBU-2-4. The first seeder makes planting seeds in 2-3 rows, the distance between them is 140 or 180 cm. But this method is not suitable for a conventional garden. Most often you have to plant seeds manually.

Only early ripening pumpkin varieties are planted with seeds, or nutmeg, hard-boiled. The rest - only through seedlings.

Training

How to plant a pumpkin? If you are counting on a good harvest, choose only full-weight seeds. To select the best, you need to prepare a 3-5% salt solution and lower the seeds into it. Those that have surfaced are not good. The rest must be collected, washed and dried. Pumpkin seeds can be stored for 1-4 years. In order for the seedlings to be friendly, the pumpkin has grown healthy and strong, seedbed preparation is necessary. How to do it right?

Warming up

This is necessary to obtain friendly shoots. They need to be kept at a temperature of 60 degrees for at least 2-3 hours.

Quenching

Pumpkin must be resistant to sudden changes in temperature. To make the plant better tolerate cold, seeds are hardened. They are kept for 48 hours at a temperature of + 1 ° C.

Disease resistance

Diseases can destroy plants that have not yet matured. To prevent this, the seeds must be processed:

1. • crezacin;
   • potassium kumate;
   • hellenic;
   • wood ash - per 1 liter of water 2 tbsp. ashes. It must be insisted 1 day, filtered and immersed in a bag of gauze for 1 day. Then rinse with water.
   • Potassium permanganate. It should be pink. Water must be changed after 4 hours, treated for 12 hours.

Germination

Seeds are wrapped in a damp cloth, making sure that it does not dry out. After 2-3 days, the sprouts will hatch.

Pumpkin seeds are stored for up to four years

Landing

Pumpkin is the most resistant to cold, if you take all the gourds, but she also loves warmth. Therefore, it must be planted in late spring, when there are no frosts. If you plant it too soon, the seeds will simply rot in cold soil. Therefore, planting pumpkins in open ground occurs when the soil temperature should be 13 ° C at a depth of 10 cm.

One plant has a feeding area of \u200b\u200b1 to 4 square meters. For early-ripening varieties, it can be less, for late-ripening - more.

Therefore, the distance between the plants is so important. If they are long-walled varieties, then between the holes they leave a distance of 1.5 - 2 m, and between the rows - 1.4 - 2 m. When choosing bush varieties of pumpkins, the planting scheme is different: this is a nesting method, 80 by 80 cm or 1, 2 on 1, 2 m. In light soils, the seed planting is deep - 5-8 cm, in heavy soils - 4-5 cm. You can put from 2 to 5 seeds in one hole: for large-fruited seeds, less for large-fruited ones. They are placed at a distance of 3-4 cm from each other.

Pumpkin needs to be planted at a distance from each other

Through seedlings

If you want to grow late-ripening varieties that ripen in 120-140 days, the crop will ripen only if you plant seedlings. Planting of seeds is carried out in April (end) or May (beginning). It is important to calculate the planting period so that after a month (25-30 days) it can be planted in open ground.

Growing seedlings

Buy peat pots (diameter 10-15 cm), fill them with peat soil. You can prepare the land yourself. To do this, take 4 parts of humus and mix it with one part of turf. Fertilizers must be added to the ground. For one bucket you will need ammonium nitrate (4 g) + potassium salt (4 g) + superphosphate (5 g). All this moisturize, mix. Seeds are sown to a depth of 2-3 cm, covered with a film.

Planting pumpkins for seedlings is made in peat pots or cassettes

The first time the temperature is 18-25 degrees. After 4-5 days, you will see hatching sprouts. The film must be removed, lower the temperature to 15-20 degrees. To do this, ventilate the room more often. If this is not done, then the seedlings will stretch. Seedlings are not often watered so that the plant does not grow pampered. Do not forget about feeding. The first is done 8-10 days after the sprouts hatch.

They are fed a mixture of Darin. The second time you need feed before planting, any mineral fertilizer is suitable. 3-4 g of fertilizer are put on 1 liter of water.

Landing

You can plant a pumpkin outside only when the weather is stable and warm. If you suddenly freeze, all your work will be gone. Wells for seedlings are arranged in the same manner as described above. I make large holes to fit a plant with a lump of earth. 1-2 liters of warm water are pre-poured into each well. Seedlings are planted deep, falling asleep to the cotyledon leaves. Then additional roots form. Then you need to water the seedlings. If you plant seedlings on a compost heap, the distance between plants should be 70-80 cm.

It contains a large amount of vitamins, micro-, macrocells, protein and useful plant fiber. Due to its properties, it is one of the components of a balanced diet for various diseases. In almost any garden you can see a growing pumpkin. If you plant seeds in open ground, provide proper care, you can collect a really rich harvest. Choosing the right place and meeting the planting dates are important factors for growing a thermophilic vegetable.

Soil selection and preparation

The birthplace of pumpkin is Mexico, so it loves warmth and tolerates exposure to sunlight. The leaves have a huge number of special hairs that protect the plant from burns. Seasonally warm, unshaded soil is perfect for planting. Weak lighting will lead to slow growth, thin shoots brighten, fewer flowers, therefore, fruits are formed. Most of all, the pumpkin is afraid of frost, in which the seeds simply rot, so it is better to start digging in the second half of May, when the average daily temperature is at 20 ° C.

Attention! In colder weather, germination is also possible, but proper development will not succeed.

It is useful for an experienced vegetable grower to understand the important properties of the soil, pumpkin grows best:

• in a nutrient substrate containing a large number of organic compounds, minerals;
• with neutral or weak acidity, a pH of about 6.5-7;
• in loose, well-ventilated soil without the threat of water retention, rotting of the root system.

If the land of the existing site does not meet the stated requirements, you can try to maximize bring its characteristics to the recommended. With increased acidity, chalk or lime is used, heavy clay soils require fertilizer with humus or compost. It is best to do this in the fall, but if time is lost, and sowing is not far off, in the spring you can make leafy humus. For each square meter, about 6-8 kg of humus, 3 kg of wood sawdust, 200-300 g of nitrophosphate containing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are needed.

After top dressing, the bed should be dug to a depth of about 50 cm, pour hot water. Thanks to such preparatory work, aeration of the soil is significantly increased. Good predecessors of pumpkins on the site are: pepper, garlic, onions, lettuce, cabbage, beets, radishes, and legumes. It is undesirable to plant after tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, corn, sunflower, any representatives of the Pumpkin family.

Seed preparation and planting

The emergence of sprouts can be accelerated if the seeds are soaked in liquid organic fertilizer "Potassium Humate" or "Humate of sodium" in about a day, covered with a damp cloth and left in a room with a temperature of at least 20-25 ° C. In order not to lose time and avoid planting poor-quality seeds that can produce too few sprouts or develop poorly, for a month they check their germination: they are moistened with water, laid out on a wet cloth until they hatch.

Fungal damage can be prevented by etching in a solution of 1 g of manganese in half a glass of water for 30 minutes.

The optimal planting time is the second week of May, depending on the established warm weather according to the 1 × 1.5 m scheme. The formed holes are impregnated with warm water, 3-4 seeds are placed, it can be at different depths, then in case of significant cooling and death of the upper ones, the remaining will sprout.

Attention! If the surface is too superficial, the pumpkin emerges in a “shirt”, seeds are visible from the ground, which the birds must pull out.

Under favorable conditions, germination occurs after 6-7 days. After the appearance of these 2-3 leaves, thinning is performed, weak small plants are removed. In a hole with large-fruited pumpkin, leave one, and with nutmeg and hard-bark no more than two sprouts. When the last species have 5 leaves, they re-thin out, excess shoots are carefully cut so as not to damage the main root system.

If you do not know how to plant a pumpkin from seeds, follow the advice of experienced farmers who recommend using a film to protect it from frost and keep moisture in the ground. A small incision is made above each plant that appears, and after eliminating the likelihood of cooling, it is increased to 15 cm. The shoots are arranged so that they spread on top of the film. This reduces the evaporation of water, slightly increases the temperature of the soil.

Secrets of Proper Growing

Pumpkin is a water-loving plant, so watering should be carried out in a timely manner, especially in a drought, to be quite plentiful. A well-developed root system that nourishes the shoots and fruits requires a large amount of water. Do not delay watering during the period of active growth, flowering, the formation of pumpkins. During high heat it is recommended to use water with a temperature of at least 20 ° C, preferably from clean wells, otherwise the plant may die. Weeds should not be allowed to grow, the soil must be loosened periodically, and then watered.

The grown vegetable should be not only beautiful and large, but also healthy. To do this, pumpkin is fed with various organic fertilizers, which are added before sowing, as well as during growth. Most suitable:

• compost;
• humus;
• humus;
• chicken droppings;
• rotted manure.

To supply the soil with mineral components, complex fertilizers with nitrogen, potassium, phosphate are used, in the absence of those, ash is suitable as a substitute. Spring before seeding on site for future planting beds siderates plant capable of improving the soil structure, enrich it with nitrogen, to inhibit the growth of wild plants. During the period of active vegetation, watering with organic raw materials will not be superfluous. Feeding begins after the formation of the first 3-5 leaves. In wet rainy weather, dry fertilizers are more suitable. A good option is to prepare a mixture, which is subsequently diluted in a ratio of 1:10 with water:

• 1 liter of mullein;
• 2-3 tbsp. tablespoons nitrofoski;
• a bucket of water.

It is very important for the proper formation of the plant to remove excess shoots and ovaries. Pinch the main stalk up to a length of 1.5 m, leave several lateral shoots about 70 cm with a fruit set on each of them. As a result, each pumpkin will produce three pumpkins, which can be accelerated by pressing the shoots to the ground, covering 7-8 cm with a layer of earth to form roots. When germination occurs, these places will also need to be watered.

What you can face

Like many other crops, pumpkin is prone to certain diseases. Most common:

• Powdery mildew - whitish spots on the upper and lower sides of the leaves, the plant gradually turns yellow and disappears, with inaction, the fruits deteriorate.

• Olive spotting affects the whole plant, oily traces on the leaves turn into brownish sores, affected pumpkins are deformed, lose their useful qualities. The appearance of the disease is facilitated by severe differences in day and night temperatures.
• Brown spotting - with a sharp change in weather, cooling, brown spots with a lighter center are noticeable in the affected areas, there is a loose black coating, a fungus develops.
• White rot can affect leaves, stems, and the root neck. Tissue softening occurs. High humidity, dense sowing provoke the appearance of light gray plaque with subsequent dark dense formations.
• Root rot can overtake a plant due to excessive irrigation, poor aeration of the soil, due to plant debris of a diseased crop.

Of the pests, slugs that spoil almost ripened fruits are the most annoying. It will be possible to reduce the likelihood of their occurrence if the earth near the shoots is sprinkled with tooth powder, wood ash, superphosphate. Some gardeners lay wet rags around the stems and collect them daily. In the fight against diseases and harmful insects, special preparations are often used that are commercially available. Compliance with the instructions for use makes their use quite effective.

Harvesting the long-awaited harvest is carried out in the first half of September. A drying stalk is a sign of ripening pumpkin. When cutting the fruit, leave about 7-10 cm of coarsened ponytail to extend the shelf life of the vegetable and prevent premature decay. The optimum temperature at which the pumpkin does not lose its properties is considered to be 7-10 ° C, it can lie until spring. If you adhere to the recommendations on soil preparation, observe the planting dates, ensure proper care, in the fall you will find a rich harvest with high nutritional value.

How to grow pumpkin: video

Pumpkin cultivation: photo

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

Dates for planting pumpkins in Belarus, Ukraine, the Leningrad region and other regions

A crop is planted after the soil is fully warmed up, and the average daily temperature does not fall below + 10 ° С. If during sowing in spring the temperature is below + 13 ° C, the germination process slows down, which threatens to rot the seeds. In the middle lane, the best seed planting dates 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 a significant date without taking into account weather conditions.

Pumpkin planted in open ground in late spring

In the southern regions, as well as in Belarus, Ukraine, in the 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 the top fruits.

The most popular varieties

For Moscow region

Premiere

Pumpkin Dining Premiere

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

Country

Pumpkin grade Country

Culture with early ripening (75-85 days). The vegetable is characterized by a sweet taste with hints of vanilla. Pumpkin in mature form weighs 3-4 kg.  Duration of fruit storage for more than 4 months.

For the Urals

Russian woman

Pumpkin Russian

The plant is resistant to garden diseases and frost. The pulp is juicy and sugar, which is appreciated by the chefs. The weight of the Russian pumpkin exceeds 2.7 kg.  The ripening period of the crop is 110-130 days. The color of the ripened fruit is orange.

Nutmeg Pearl

Nutmeg Pumpkin Pearl

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

The best varieties of Siberia

Freckle

Pumpkin Variety Freckle

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

Smile

Pumpkin Smile

Bush grade. The culture easily tolerates temperature changes and can withstand frosts, is resistant to humid environments. The variety is distinguished by excellent taste and a long shelf life (until the next season). The duration of the growing season is 90-110 days, fetal mass - 2.1-3 kg.

Proper planting in open ground

The key to productivity 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 Testing

Germinated Pumpkin Seeds

Seeds must first be checked for germination and sorted, leaving only healthy specimens. 3 days before the start of sowing, grains must be germinated in wet gauze or sawdust.  To accelerate the germination of seeds 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 regime is 20 ° C.

The soil

The soil must be prepared before planting. To do this, they dig it up, make 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 digging depth of the soil should be at least 35-50 cm. To disinfect the area, pour it with hot water.

Where to plant a pumpkin in the country? The landing place is selected sunny, well-ventilated. Such predecessors as potatoes, sunflowers, melons, watermelon will not work. But after legumes, tomatoes and beets, the plant will feel great. The same site should not be used for disembarkation either; a 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 actively develops and spreads over a large space. In determining the scheme, it is better to be guided by the characteristics of the variety. More often gardeners use this option of planting:

• embedment depth  sunflower seeds - 8-10 cm (on light soils), 5-6 cm (on loams) with the acute 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 following scheme is used: 1x1.5 m.  To protect the planting from spring frosts, it is recommended to cover the garden with a film.

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

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

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

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

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

Cultivation at home and further care

At home, pumpkin can be grown on virtually any soil. The culture shows endurance to adverse weather conditions, even when it began to germinate. But these facts do not mean that culture does not need to be looked after.

How many seeds germinate?

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

Preplant seed soaking in growth stimulants will help speed up the germination process. In addition to special tools, aloe juice, infusion of wood ash, potato juice, honey solution are used.

Watering Rules

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

Pumpkin needs watering, but in moderation. Excess moisture will provoke stretching 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 central highway can be negative. Therefore, experts recommend using the settled fluid from the well.

Top dressing

The plant loves top dressing. A week after germination, the first lure is introduced. The plant receives ideal nutrition from a mullein solution.  Nitrofoska is considered equally effective (15 grams per bucket of water). It is followed by subsequent feeding with an interval of 10-14 days.

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

Pumpkin Formation

As soon as 2-3 real leaves appear on the shoots, you need to thin out the bed. When growing large-fruited pumpkins, they leave only one sprout, nutmeg and durum bark - 2 seedlings each.

A developing lash should also be formed by removing excess ovaries and lateral shoots.  They do this 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, 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 at risk from pests. Reduce productivity, and sometimes destroy young shoots can:

• slugs;
• gourd aphids.

When signs of an invasion of pests are detected, special preparations are used (Actellik, Fufanon, Citkor, etc.). Safer are products made from biological components. Folk methods are sometimes not inferior in effectiveness, among which deserve attention:

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

Working solutions are used to spray 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, one should make it a rule to conduct inspection of the beds with a regularity of 1 time in 3 days. Then you can localize the problem and save the crop.

Harvesting

The maturity of a pumpkin can be determined by the following criteria:

• the stalk becomes stiffer  the surface gets stuck, its stiffness occurs simultaneously with the stem supplying power;
• leaves on the whip drychange color to yellow;
• whatever the original skin color, after maturing, reflects the texture pattern brighter;
• if you run a fingernail over the crust, no trace;
• when you press your fingers on the fetus, hardness is felt;
• ripe product is covered matte coating;
• when tapping is heard sonorous knock;
• when harvesting the stalk is easy to remove.

It is necessary to harvest pumpkins before steady frosts

To ensure a long shelf life, it is necessary to pick the fruit carefully, being careful not to damage the peel. Scratches should be sealed with a bactericidal plaster so that microbes do not penetrate into the vegetable.

Harvested fruits from the beds are placed in a dry room, where they ripen for about another month.

The main guarantee of a good harvest are proper seed selection and timely care.  Grown own pumpkin variety of menus for households, will enrich the body with nutrients.

The beloved golden fruit, whose birthplace is Mexico, has long taken root with us and is part of the 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 to do this, you need to know how to plant a pumpkin correctly, what factors should be considered if you are going to plant a pumpkin in open ground. About how to plant a pumpkin in open ground, and how to take care of the plant in the future, read below.

Landing time

The first question to understand: when to plant a pumpkin in open ground? The planting dates of pumpkins, like all melons, occur at the end of spring (at the same time, the sowing of all related crops begins). Therefore, you need to put seedlings in the ground in late May - early 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’s clear that the pumpkin will grow well in the South. But in any case, place the seedlings in a sunny place. It is better to plant a pumpkin in place of onions, cabbage, carrots, beets, and legumes. Avoid places where potatoes, sunflowers, cucumbers, zucchini, and melons used to grow. Neighborhood plays a very important role. Some plants may harm the pumpkin, and some may harm itself. Therefore, the question will not be strange: what can be planted next to pumpkins?

Leek, beans, peas or spinach can be planted nearby. It is not recommended to plant next to potatoes and radish. Near it is better not to place beets, carrots, garlic.

What is the reason for this? All gourds abundantly absorb nutrients from the earth, as a result of which they do not allow their neighbors to fully develop. Is it possible to plant a pumpkin next to corn? Necessary!

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

Interestingly, you can not plant the pumpkin itself after the pumpkin. This is due to soil diseases, the causative agents of which can survive 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 a plot and mix the earth with organic fertilizers - potash and phosphorus. Already in the spring, after the snow melts, loosen the soil and clear the area of \u200b\u200bweeds. Before sowing a pumpkin, once again dig everything well and apply nitrogen fertilizers.

Garden beds do high. Standard sizes: up to 1.5 m in width, at least 20 cm in height, and a distance of 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, bush pumpkin is usually planted 70 by 70 cm, and long-squash - 210 by 180 cm. The question "at what distance to plant a pumpkin" will not baffle you now.

How to choose a landing method

If the fruiting rate is important for you, then you will have to think about choosing a pumpkin planting method and further care. Planting usually occurs 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 pumpkin in order to get fruits faster.

Features of planting seeds

How to plant pumpkin seeds properly? 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, a nutmeg variety, to which all honey belongs, is not suitable. Planted seeds of this variety may simply not sprout. Be sure to pay attention to the freshness and germination of seeds. To do this, you can conduct a trial sowing on wet gauze.

When the seed check is done, you need to do their preparation. Warm them at 60 degrees for about 2 hours, and then dip them into a solution of potassium permanganate. After these measures, the seeds can be planted in the ground.

Features planting seedlings

If you will grow seeds for seedlings, then all of the above rules for preparing seeds are relevant in this case. Prepare a deep pallet with sawdust: pour wood with boiling water and cover with gauze. Lay out the seeds there. Then again fill with sawdust and cover with a film. Thus, you have a home greenhouse. Sprouts will begin to be seen already on the 3rd day. Grown seedlings for 25 days, then you need to move to open ground.

Further care

Planting pumpkins in open ground provides for further care of the plant. Caring for her, as well as for other melons, includes a number of measures:

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

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 business is not heavy and time-consuming. Planting a pumpkin and caring for it in the open ground 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 the 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 they make not only pumpkin cereals, but and preserves, marmalades, mashed potatoes, pies, side dishes.

Video "Planting pumpkins in the open ground"

In this video you will hear useful tips for planting pumpkins in the open ground.

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

Pumpkin planting

In the global agricultural production, three types of pumpkins are common:

• large-fruited;
• hard bark;
• nutmeg.

Numerous varieties of large-fruited pumpkins are used for livestock feed. The fruits of hard-boiled pumpkin - with a gray peel, sweet, well stored in apartment conditions. Their flesh is edible in its raw form.

In summer cottages, they often grow nutmeg pumpkin. Sweet and aromatic vegetable is suitable for eating raw. Of the varieties zoned for most regions for pumpkin planting, 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 gardens. But getting large and high-quality fruits by planting pumpkins in open ground is not easy. In our climate, pumpkins, like any southern plants, lack sunlight and the length of the growing season.

Pumpkin in a short time grows a giant vegetative mass, so the soil should contain a lot of nutrients. You can not plant a pumpkin in the shade. For rapid growth, she needs a lot of light.

Do not plant a pumpkin near raspberries - an aggressive shrub will leave the pumpkin without sunlight, and it will not set fruit.

Pumpkin can be planted with seeds on a bed. The best predecessors for pumpkin are nightshade and cabbage vegetables. Planting pumpkins in the ground near the south side of the buildings will protect against the cold northeast.

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

The soil will have to be prepared in the fall - to make holes and fill it with fallen leaves. In spring, the soil under the leaves will warm up quickly. It remains to fill a bucket of fertile soil in the pit and plant 3 seeds each. After the cotyledon leaves are opened, one seedling should be left (the strongest in appearance), and the rest should be removed. One month after sowing, each plant should have a minimum of three leaves.

Processing seeds before sowing aloe juice helps speed up the development of pumpkin. It is necessary to squeeze 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 homemade aloe, squeeze the juice into a five-liter bottle, fill it with rain water and leave it to infuse for several hours. It is enough only once at the beginning of the growing season to pour a 100-gram cup of solution under each bush, and then water the plants with water. Pumpkin will give large fruits and ripen earlier.

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

The acidic soil under the pumpkin has to be alkalinized. To do this, ordinary wood ash or lime fluff is suitable. They are added to each well in 3 glasses and dug.

When growing oil pumpkin, boron should 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 at least one winter that has lain in the heap, that is, humus - nitrogen partially eroded from this animal product.

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

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

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

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

In the south of 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, shoots will have to be covered from frost, which in the region is possible until mid-June.

In the middle lane, and especially in the south, there is no need to plant pumpkin seedlings. Seeds are sown in wells of 2-3 pieces. After the emergence of seedlings, the weak are removed, leaving one plant on each meter. Seeds of large-fruited varieties are buried by 10-12 centimeters, nutmegs are planted to a depth of 8 centimeters.

Before planting, superphosphate and half a bucket of compost are introduced into the hole, stirring with the soil. After care, it will only consist of weeding and watering. In a cold climate, gardeners will have to pinch and normalize the fruit so that the pumpkins that have begun can ripen.

Pumpkin Care

Taking a pumpkin for a secondary culture and allocating its place in the backyards, without watering or fertilizing, you will get an insignificant crop. Growing and caring for the pumpkin in the open ground, subject to the rules, makes it possible to obtain from large-fruited varieties, such as Volzhskaya Seraya, from 4 kg of fruits per square meter. In addition, each plant can occupy an area of \u200b\u200bup to 20 square meters.

For beginning gardeners, difficulties in growing pumpkins are caused by the formation. If you do not form the pumpkin correctly, you will not be able to get large fruits. Plants can be formed in one or two whips. In the first case, leave the only lash and remove all the side ones immediately as they appear. The first 3 ovaries are left on the whip. After the third leave three sheets, and everything else is removed.

Some gardeners form their pumpkins in 2 lashes - the crop manages to ripen. Forming a bush in two lianas, two fruits are left on the main lash, and one or, more rarely, two are left on the side. After the last ovary, three more leaves are left and the tops are pinched.

Productivity is increased by using falling asleep on the ground. Scourges that have reached a length of a meter or more are untangled, stacked, directing growth in the right direction, and sprinkled with soil in two or three places. Admission makes it possible to fix the whips on the soil surface, which protects the plant from the wind and helps to form additional roots.

Pumpkins are harvested when the fruits acquire a characteristic color and pattern. Unripe nutmeg pumpkin can be ripened at home.

Seeds are extracted immediately from oilseeds, poured into a glass bowl and poured with cold water for a day. If the fruits are overripe, the seeds cannot be soaked to prevent their germination. After soaking, the seeds are washed, separated from the pulp and dried in the oven until the thin transparent film covering the surface of the seed falls off.

Vertical Pumpkin Care

There is an opinion that creeping plants spread southward, but this is not so. Pumpkin grows in all four directions, capturing the surrounding area. Under favorable conditions, pushy plants can climb up a vertical surface and braid a gazebo, barn 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 are on sale. To make the lashes better climb up, for them you can pull the strings, as for cucumbers. For a "vertical garden" suitable varieties with large fruits - Spaghetti, Pearl, pumpkin Rossiyanka.

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

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

Wax pumpkin cannot be compared to nutmeg to taste, but it is a champion in storage. Fruits, not drying out and not decaying, can lie in the cellar for up to 3 years.

Another pumpkin we still have is rare - leafy. In the homeland of Peru, it is a perennial culture, we grow it as an annual. The name pumpkin received for the unusual shape of the leaves. She has an oval-shaped green fruit with a white pattern on the bark. The pulp is white or yellowish, sweet and tasty. Externally, the plant and fruits are like watermelons.

The length of the shoots of the foliage 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 culture of pumpkin cultivation.

Pumpkin cultivation

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

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

Unusual butternut pumpkin seeds have recently appeared on the shelves of seed shops. The plant was bred in Israel, but they also learned to grow it in our country. Butternut pumpkin fruits are medium-sized (weighing up to 3 kilograms) and have a pear-shaped shape. The peel is even, not soft color. If you cut the pumpkin fruit along, then the shape of the slice resembles a mandolin.

The seed chamber is located only in the expanded part of the fruit; because of this pulp, the Butternat pumpkin gives more than ordinary hollow pumpkins and squash. The flesh of this pumpkin variety is sweet, dense with a fresh fruity smell. The variety is southern and in the middle zone, when sowing seeds in open ground, it may not gain 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 lashes grow by 1 meter. It is necessary to leave no more than 3 lashes on each plant and send in different directions. Pinching will help to get ripened, large and heavy fruits.

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

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

When growing pumpkin seeds, special oilseeds are selected. The fruits of the varieties contain 1-2% of the seeds by weight of the pumpkin. Oil varieties include Bulgarian, Ladies' marigold, Kherson watermelon, Ukrainian multi-fruit, Muscat, Novelty, Polevichka, Valok. Varieties of oil direction have a lower yield than usual - no more than 800 kilograms are collected per hectare.

There are bare-grain varieties that produce seeds without husks. This is the Styrian holozero, Holozero round and Golosemyannaya. Seeds without husks are especially appreciated. In retail, they are 40% more expensive than ordinary ones, but it is more difficult to grow holoserous varieties than ordinary ones, since the seed quickly decays in the soil and has an extremely low germination. Otherwise, caring for gymnospermous pumpkin is no different from caring for ordinary varieties.

Styrian oil pumpkin is an old variety designed to produce pumpkin oil. Pumpkin oil is used in cooking and cosmetology. The variety is appreciated for the high content of linoleic acid in the seeds, which gives the nut a nutty flavor and aroma. When growing pumpkins in open ground, the yield of the variety is 500-1500 kg per hectare, the weight of the fruit is up to 6 kilograms. The pulp of the Styrian oil pumpkin is coarse fiber, it is suitable only for livestock feed.

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

What makes a pumpkin good is that it drowns out any weed that has grown in the garden. This can be used during the introduction of fallow lands into the crop rotation. It is enough to plant a pumpkin on the abandoned site 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.

Weeding the garden with pumpkins is necessary at the first stage, when the plants sprout. When cultivated in the field, it is enough to walk the field walk-and-fro twice with the walk-behind tractor until the plants form lashes. Then the pumpkins will overtake and strangle the weeds.

When growing pumpkins without manure and humus, siderates can be used, the best of which is the oatmeal mixture. It is sown as soon as the soil is slightly warmed up. After the emergence of the pumpkin seedlings, the vetch and oats are cut with Folkina pololnik or plane cutter.

As a result, the soil is enriched with nutrients, especially nitrogen, and the bed remains covered with a layer of green mulch, which helps to preserve moisture. The vikoatsovatsy mixture, in addition, prevents the rooting of annual weeds.

Pumpkins should not be sown in the same area more than once every 4 years. Subject to crop rotation, plants do not suffer from diseases and pests. Of the pests, the melon aphid annoys more of the pumpkin.

There is an interesting way to protect plants from an insect. Aphids are afraid of shiny surfaces, so strips of aluminum foil are laid out between plants to scare away plantings - this helps to avoid spraying with insecticides. Of the diseases, pumpkins are more often affected by powdery mildew.

If in doubt whether it is worth growing a pumpkin, then remember that the fruits of a healthy vegetable contain up to 6% carbohydrates (5% of them 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 bad cholesterol from the body. It also has few sodium salts and a lot of potassium, so it can be used to nourish people with diseases of blood vessels, heart and kidneys.

Outdoor pumpkin cultivation

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

Preparation and planting of pumpkins in open ground

Pumpkin cultivation is possible in two ways:

• Planting not dive seedlings;
• Sowing prepared seeds.

Presowing seed treatment

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

Pumpkin seeds after germination

For treatment from diseases, the seeds are immersed in a 30% solution of sodium chloride (2 tbsp.spoons of salt per 100 ml of water). Healthy and strong specimens will sink to the bottom, while weak ones will float and should be discarded.

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 pumpkins in open ground in the suburbs occurs after the appearance of three full leaves. On average, the age of seedlings should be about a month.

Site selection and soil preparation

The plot allocated for growing pumpkins is chosen away from the growing 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 shavings, 1 liter of wood ash and 200 g of nitrofoska. The soil is dug in depth of 50 cm and form beds up to 70 cm wide.

Preparation of beds for planting pumpkins

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

Growing pumpkins in open ground in the area where potatoes, melons, sunflowers or watermelons were previously grown is not recommended. In one place, a pumpkin is planted with an interval of five years. Sandy, light and medium loamy soils with neutral Ph 4,5-5 are most suitable for pumpkin cultivation.

Pumpkin planting technology

Wells 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 well, the temperature of which should not be lower than plus 50 g. Celsius, after which they begin to sow.

Sowing pumpkins in the open ground

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

Pumpkin seedlings after planting in open ground

Agrotechnics for growing pumpkins in open ground includes an additional shelter of planted seeds with a film, which is carefully fixed along the perimeter of the 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 on a wire frame. In mid-June, the material is removed.

A film without a frame left on the bed can be used instead of mulch, which will help facilitate pumpkin care during growth. In this covering material, cross-shaped incisions are made for sprouts in this use.

Pumpkin Growing and Care - Film Mulching

Planting and growing pumpkins in the open ground video

Pumpkin Care Rules

Caring for a pumpkin in the open field does not cause difficulties, as it consists in timely watering and top dressing.

Fertilizer application

Feeding should be done no more than once every 2 weeks. Topping up pumpkin in the open ground with minerals is done twice: when five leaves appear (10 g of nitrophoska per 1 plant in dry form); when lashes appear (15 g of nitrophoska per 10 l of water under each bush).

Feeding pumpkin with wood ash (1 glass 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).

Pumpkin top dressing in the open ground

All top dressing is applied to the ring-shaped ditch, increasing the depth from 8 to 15 cm as the pumpkin grows. At the seedling stage, the recess is dug at a distance of 15 cm, after 2 weeks it is increased to 40 cm.

Watering pumpkin

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

Especially important is timely plentiful irrigation during flowering: moisture is necessary for the formation of female inflorescences. Water consumption during this period is about 30 liters per 1 plant.

During fruit ripening, the amount of water during irrigation is reduced, since excess moisture reduces the shelf life and reduces the sugar content of the fruit.

Pumpkin cultivation video

Pumpkin lash formation

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

Pumpkin lash pattern

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

Pinching and caring for an outdoor pumpkin video

Protecting Pumpkins from Diseases and Pests

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

Powdery mildew

If the first symptoms of a fungal disease are detected on the leaves of a pumpkin, they are fought against by spraying with a solution of 3 g of potassium permanganate or 2 g of copper sulfate dissolved in 10 l of water. They will be treated with 1% Bordeaux liquid during the formation of ovaries and leaves. For prevention - carry out regular watering, observe crop rotation and destroy the remnants of diseased plants.

Powdery mildew on pumpkin leaves

Mosaic pumpkin

Mosaic of pumpkins in the initial stage

Fruit rot

The rotten areas are carefully removed with a knife and wiped with freshly squeezed aloe juice. The rubbing place dries up, and the pumpkin continues to develop.

Pumpkin Fruit Rot

Ways to protect against insects

They fight aphids by removing weeds, spraying with soapy water (200 g of grated soap per 10 liters of water) or 10% malathion in a proportion of 60 g per 10 liters of water.

From a spider mite, spraying with onion infusion from 200 g of husk per 10 l of water or 20% chloroethanol solution (20 g per 10 l of water) helps.

Harvesting and storage conditions for pumpkins

So that the pumpkin does not start to deteriorate in the garden, you need to harvest in time. The ripening moment can be recognized by the following signs:

• The peduncle becomes rough and rough;
• Foliage and lashes turn yellow and dry;
• The skin coarsens and acquires a typical sort of pattern.

It is necessary to harvest until stable frosts. Pruning of pumpkins occurs with a stalk up to 6 cm. Cut fruits are stacked in a dry, warm room. Pumpkins ripen in a week, and the stalk dries.

Pumpkin storage in a heated room

With the onset of frost, unripened not picked pumpkins are mulched with straw or agrofibre.

Total

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

Habitual in garden space and culinary use pumpkin  It lends itself well to cultivation and care in various conditions, including open ground.

Pumpkin: a description of the garden culture

The smooth, hilly, or warty pumpkin fruits obtained as a result of natural farming are very diverse in shape, color, and mass. The latter ranges from tens of grams to a centner. The cultivation of pumpkin in open ground is facilitated by the features of its root system - the depth (up to 3 m) of the main root and the active part, spread widely (up to 10 sq. M), located in arable land 20-25 cm from the surface.

This gives a solid resistance to drought. Although varieties in the form of bushes have already become known in garden practice, the classic stem of a pumpkin spreads (creeps) along the ground, stretching up to four or more meters. The enormous leaf surface consists of large, with elongated stalks of pumpkin leaves that do not have stipules. Each of the plants is a common home for male and female flowers.

The same-sex flowers with the same red-orange color differ:

• flowering sequence (the first appear male);
• place on the stem (female - higher);
• pedicels (for men - longer);
• the presence of sometimes inflorescences (only for men).

In addition, un dusted female flowers last longer. Pollination is carried out by insects (due to the natural severity of pollen that the wind is not able to tolerate) or manually by a person. The most favorable for natural pollination are the morning hours of the first days after watering or rain.

The absence of bees due to cold, heat or prolonged rainfall leads to the fall of un dusted flowers.  Ellipses of pumpkin seeds, rounded and pointed at different ends, are well-known to many lovers to feast on. Germination lasts up to four years.

In connection with the latter circumstance, one can give an answer to the question of whether it is possible to sow pumpkin with fresh seeds: there should be more than the usual amount (after all, germination is slightly worse), and if we are talking about only a few seeds, it is recommended to cut them with sharp hand, since a strong fresh shell prevents penetration of the sprout.

Did you know?  Of the eight hundred known pumpkin varieties in the world, only 200 are edible.

Features of growing pumpkins, how to choose a site for planting

In addition to the natural attention to the light and temperature conditions and the soil structure of the area where the pumpkin will grow, one must also take into account the features of its root system, which actively removes nutrients from the earth, and broad foliage that can drown out neighboring plantings.

Lighting requirements

Ideally, a pumpkin needs lighting, as gardeners say, with full sun, that is, it should have at least six hours of direct sunlight per day. The result of this effect will be increased productivity and improved fruit quality.

But she will tolerate the penumbra with dignity. This is used to maximize the exploitation of the available land, compacting plantings of long-growing varieties of corn by planting pumpkins. The shadow of the pumpkin itself makes it difficult for weeds to grow. In this sense, it can be used as a means to cleanse the soil.

Optimum temperature for seedlings or seeds

The general rule requires that the extreme limit of daily air temperature when planting pumpkins, seedlings were not lower than + 8 ° С  (for seed planting - from + 13 ° C and above) subject to its night decrease not lower than + 3 ° С.  In other cases, it’s not worth the risk.

What should be the soil for planting

Growing well on any soil, pumpkin prefers soil that is saturated with humus, moist, but not too damp, with good drainage. To get this, before planting (sowing) the soil is mixed with a lot of compost.

The soil for pumpkin can be both slightly acidic and slightly alkaline, but acidity (pH) of 6.5 is recognized as optimal. You should not plant a pumpkin in the area where its relatives (cucumbers, zucchini, squash) grew up before that.

  After other crops, pumpkin soil is suitable, and planting after potatoes, cabbage, tomatoes, onions, carrots, winter grains (corn and wheat), a variety of legumes and herbaceous perennials is very favorable.

Important!  Do not be afraid of groundwater close to the surface of the earth (0.6 - 0.7 m) - they will not affect the yield of the pumpkin.

Planting pumpkins in the garden (planting dates, sowing technology, picking seedlings, seed preparation, etc.)

What is the best way to do this, determining whether to plant a pumpkin with seeds or seedlings, the owner should be prompted by the climate of the area in which his plot is located. That is, before planting a pumpkin directly in open ground or for seedlings, you need to devote some time to studying and evaluating natural factors. Geographic latitude also determines what month of the year gardeners will plant pumpkin. In particular, for the middle band this is the end of April.

Sowing seeds in open ground

  Directly in the open ground, pumpkin seeds are planted in gardens where the July air temperature does not drop below 18 degrees. Before this, you need to make sure, having studied the forecast of meteorologists, that there is no threat of a quiet disaster, as return frosts are sometimes called. After this danger has passed, sowing is carried out. If the weather deteriorates, it is better to cover the crops with non-woven textiles.

Important!  The day before planting, the seeds are heated and soaked in water with dissolved ash.

Once you have opted for the seedling method, you need to take care to properly sprout pumpkin seeds for seedlings. In order for the roots to be undamaged when they are moved to the open ground, planting pumpkin seeds for seedlings is done immediately in peat pots or simply in paper cups.

When using seed boxes at their bottom, under a substrate of a mixture of peat and soil, a layer of wood sawdust is poured into several centimeters. Sowing is carried out three weeks before moving to the open ground. In order for the pumpkin seeds to sprout well, the germination temperature in the first three days can be brought to 25 degrees, reducing it at night to a maximum of +15.

Planting pumpkin seedlings involves a number of prerequisites.  When the prepared soil has not yet been warmed up, pumpkin seedlings should not be planted. You can determine the optimum (12 degrees) temperature of the soil by simply inserting an ordinary household thermometer into it for 10 minutes. If it is lower, then make a blanket for the soil from a polyethylene (preferably black) film. If time does not tolerate or there is no other case for planting, then in the planting holes you can pre-fill three (or more) liters of hot water.

Seedlings grown in peat pots are planted with them, buried 3 cm deeper than in greenhouse soil. Seedlings from the boxes are placed in holes filled with water, so that, being located in the soil, the roots avoid unnecessary bends.

How to care for a pumpkin

Pumpkin care begins with watering it immediately after planting. About a week after that, it is advisable to mulch the soil surface with compost containing effective microorganisms, placing chopped nettles over its layer. Peat, humus, pine needles and even dry land are also suitable as mulch.

An essential aspect of the maintenance is the supporting loosening of the soil, which must be done at least every two weeks. This procedure is almost always combined with weeding. Immediately after planting, the depth of cultivation can be up to 12 cm, and by the end of the first month it should be reduced to 5-8 cm in order to avoid damage to the root system. In the absence of natural (insects) pollination, you must use the manual method - otherwise the decay of unbound fruit occurs.

The operation, which should be carried out before noon, is quite simple: with the anthers of each torn male flower with the removed petals, you need to carefully touch the pistils of one or two female flowers. When the weather improves, then to attract insects as pollinators, you can spray a flowering pumpkin with honey water on a weekly basis (one teaspoon of sweetness per 10 liters of water).

Important!  So that the fruits do not decay, do the pollination yourself.

How to properly form a plant

Pumpkin seedlings quickly become sprawling plants with long stems and large leaves. So that a powerful plant does not violate the boundaries of its growing area, it is necessary to produce pumpkins, which is easy to do in open ground. For this, the pumpkin pinching technology is used, and it must be done while the plant is young. Pinching occurs by removing the apical kidney (it is possible with part of the shoot).

  Her goal is the accelerated development of side shoots that carry a larger number of female flowers. In addition, excess young axillary shoots that have reached 5-7 cm are removed - this procedure is called pinching. It is carried out on open ground simultaneously with the removal of excess leaves and the direction of all processed pumpkin lashes in one direction. At the same time, leaving one ovary on each lash, at the harvesting stage, excellent fruit sizes are obtained.

Watering and fertilizing pumpkins

The irrigation period for a pumpkin is the time of its flowering, the emergence and development of the ovaries. At the beginning of fruit setting, the plant is watered sparingly so that they do not grow too small. Then the volume of moisture, and warm (at least +20 degrees), increase.

Warm significant watering contributes to the formation of female flowers. Cold watering with well or artesian water is able to ruin the landing. When a real foliage appears on a growing pumpkin, they begin to feed it with dry nitrophos (10 g per plant) and 15 grams of nitrophosk diluted with water are given to each vegetable during lash formation.

• - ash at the rate of 1 glass / 1 plant;
• - a solution (1: 8) of mullein in the calculation of 10 liters per six plants when the vegetation began, and three - during fruiting;
• - humus, rotten chicken droppings or manure, humus - it is possible by eye.

How to protect pumpkin from pests and diseases

Pests and diseases	Manifestations	Protection methods
Gourd aphids	Twisting leaves, falling flowers	Spraying with infusion of celandine (or garlic, or onion peel) or with a chemical solution (kemifos, actellik, fufanon). Autumn collection and elimination of plant debris, deep digging of the soil
Slug	Damage to young leaves (round holes and silver stripes), later - ovaries	Soil loosening, thinning, weeding. Traps of cabbage leaves, watermelon peels, soaked rags, followed by the destruction of pests in concentrated saline. Superphosphate and other chemical protective bands around plants. Spraying with a solution of creocide
Powdery mildew	Drying of diseased leaves covered with copious white coating extending to stems and petioles	Timely weeding. Warm watering. Removing diseased leaves. Spraying with chemicals (gates, topaz) and cultivating the soil three weeks before harvesting
Peronosporosis (downy mildew)	Growing and drying light yellow spots and gray-purple plaque on the leaves	Warming up the seeds before sowing. Chemical spraying (strobe, carcidide, copper oxychloride, cuproxate)
Anthracnose	Drying and forming holes on the leaves, indented spots with pink coating. Appear also on cotyledons and petioles.	Removing diseased plants. Spraying (Bordeaux liquid, copper oxychloride, abigalik)

In general, pumpkin is not very susceptible to harmful influences, but the basic methods of protection are useful in case of negative manifestations.

• In folk medicine, pumpkin seeds are dried, then oil is made from them. Pumpkin seeds are rich in glycosides and steroids, vitamin E, trace elements potassium, copper, zinc, manganese, selenium, etc., plant proteins and sugars.
• The pumpkin pulp contains peptide fibers that contribute to the normalization of the stomach and the removal of toxins from the intestines.
• It is recommended to use pumpkin for overweight people: low-calorie vegetable; Vitamin T contained in pumpkin helps to speed up metabolism and the rapid absorption of food; The diuretic property of pumpkin ensures the removal of excess fluid from the body.
• For kidney diseases, pumpkin is recommended as a diuretic.
• Pumpkin is rich in beta-carotene and lutein, which have beneficial effects on human vision.

Pumpkin can be sown immediately in the soil, or can be planted through seedlings. It grows best in well-heated sunny areas. Preparation of soil for planting pumpkins begins in the fall. After harvesting the precursors of pumpkin, the soil is freed from weeds and plant debris.

After the soil is loosened with a mill or a hoe, after two to three weeks they dig up to 25-30 cm to a depth. During digging, dandelion roots, sow thistle, wheatgrass, larvae of the May beetle and wireworm should be carefully removed from the site.

Fertilizers are introduced into the soil simultaneously with its digging. Due to the high rate of growth of aboveground and underground organs, pumpkins have an increased need for nutrients.

The best fertilizer for pumpkin is manure. It is advisable to use rotted compost, as there are many weeds in fresh manure. 5-10 kg of manure is applied per 1 square meter of the plot.

Organic fertilizers (on heavy soils) or 15-20 cm (on light soils) are planted to a depth of 10-15 cm. With a limited amount of organic fertilizers, they can be applied immediately before planting the crop directly into the hole.

The day before sowing the pumpkin, the soil is dug up, nitrogen fertilizers are applied for digging, based on 1 sq meter of the plot of 15-20 grams of fertilizer. After digging, the site is leveled with a rake and begin to plant seedlings or sowing seeds.

Plant pumpkin seeds

For planting pumpkin seeds, it is best to select full-bodied seeds that need to be warmed up at a temperature of 60 degrees (2-3 hours). It is necessary for the friendly germination of seedlings. To ensure early germination, in order to acquire a culture resistance to adverse environmental conditions, the seeds are placed for one day in a solution of one of the growth stimulators before sowing:

• crezacin solution - one tablet of the stimulant is diluted in 100 ml of water;
• potassium humate solution - 4 ml of stimulant are diluted in 200 ml of water;
• epin solution - 2-7 drops of the stimulant are diluted in 100 ml of water.

If you do not have these preparations, you can use wood ash for processing pumpkin seeds: 2 tablespoons of ash are taken per 1 liter of warm water, insisted for one day, while stirring the solution periodically, then filter and lower the seeds placed in a gauze bag into it. After that, the seeds are washed with water.

You can soak the seeds in warm water or in a weak solution of potassium permanganate.

After the seeds are soaked, you can begin to sow them or to germinate. Germinating pumpkin seeds in an apartment is possible by wrapping them in a damp cloth and placing in a saucer.

On the plot, you can germinate pumpkin seeds in a box with scalded sawdust. On the sawdust spread paper napkins (wet) in 23 layers, on them - pumpkin seeds, then again napkins, then warm sawdust and cover everything with a film. The box is left in a warm place.

Pumpkin sowing time

Depending on the biological characteristics of the pumpkin variety, as well as on the climatic conditions of the region, there are different times for planting crops. Planting of hard-bark and large-fruited pumpkin begins when the soil has warmed up to 10 degrees (at a depth of 10-12 cm), and the air temperature is 15 degrees. At an earlier sowing time, the plant should be provided with heat from biofuel, as well as protection against frost from the film.

When planting hard-bark and large-fruited pumpkin seeds in open ground, they must be planted in the soil to a depth of 5-8 cm (on light soils) or 4-5 cm (on heavy).

The seeds of long-graded varieties of culture are sown in a row (the distance between the holes should be about 1.5-2 meters, and between rows - 1.4 - 2 meters).

Bush pumpkin varieties can be planted using the square-nesting method according to the scheme: 80 * 80 cm or 1.2 * 1.2 m. The distance between pumpkin seeds should be 3-4 cm. After the seeds are laid out in holes, they should be poured with a mixture humus and soil in equal amounts.

Planting pumpkin seedlings in open ground

The process of ripening pumpkin from the moment of sowing is quite lengthy, especially for late-ripening and heat-loving varieties of culture. The process lasts 120-140 days. In order to get an earlier harvest of pumpkin, you can grow its seedlings. Window sills in the apartment are suitable for this, it is desirable that the window sills are well-lit.

Seedlings are also grown in greenhouses, greenhouses or under a film frame. Seeding is best done in the last decade of April or early May. This ensures that the plant is ready for transplantation into the open ground.

As containers for seedlings, you can use packages of milk or peat hollow pots with a diameter of 10-15 cm. Ready peat soil is poured into the container. Self-preparation of nutrient soil: take humus and sod land in a ratio of 4: 1. 4 grams of potassium salt and ammonium nitrate, as well as 5 grams of superphosphate are added to the bucket of the mixture. After the mixture is moistened and thoroughly mixed (preferably 3-4 times). Such a mixture is poured into prepared containers and slightly compacted.

During sowing, the soil in the containers is poured with warm water, in the center make a depression of 2-3 cm, in which one pumpkin seed is placed. The process of preparing seeds is the same as when sowing directly into the open ground. The pots on top are covered with plastic wrap and placed on a windowsill for germination.

After sowing pumpkins, you should maintain the air temperature within 18-25 degrees. As soon as the first shoots appear, the film is removed and the temperature is reduced by 3-5 degrees (this is done for 4-5 days). In an apartment this can be achieved by airing the room. This protects seedlings from stretching.

If the seedlings are nevertheless elongated, then on the eighth to tenth day after the emergence of seedlings, a sub-cotyledon knee should be rolled up with a ring and laid out on the soil, covered with earth to the cotyledonous leaves. The field of this pumpkin seedlings is grown at daytime air temperature of 20-22 degrees, and at night 15-18 degrees. Watering a pumpkin should not be plentiful and frequent. Excess moisture can lead to “pampering” the crop.

The plant should be fed twice. The first feeding is carried out on the eighth to tenth day after the emergence of seedlings. Growing seedlings in a greenhouse will be better if you take 100 ml of slurry, chicken droppings or mullein and 5 grams of garden mixture per 1 liter of water, mix everything thoroughly and pour the area with this solution.

The second top dressing is done by any complex mineral fertilizers at the rate of 3-4 grams of fertilizer per 1 liter of water. It must be done immediately before planting the plant in open ground.

A few days before transplanting, it should be hardened. In plants ready for transplantation, the stem is low and stocky with short internodes, and there are also 2-3 well-developed dark green leaves.

Planting seedlings in the soil is carried out a little deeper than she sat in a pot, sprinkling it with cotyledon leaves. This contributes to the formation of additional roots. The roots during planting are squeezed with soil, while not allowing the formation of voids.

Seedlings planted in the ground are abundantly watered. This is necessary for better contact of the plant with the soil, to enhance the flow of water to the leaves. The soil around the plants is sprinkled with mulching material or dry soil only after the water is absorbed. Mulch protects the plant from the formation of earth crust.

So that the resulting pumpkin fruits do not decay from soil dampness, they should be protected from this as follows: 4 stones are laid on the ground, on top of them is a wide plate or board on which the pumpkin is laid. Do this only while she is still small.

As the ripening of individual fruits produce harvest. Immediately before the onset of frost, all pumpkin fruits should be removed.

Pumpkin must be present in the diet of every person. Remember this! We hope that thanks to our advice you will grow a large and sweet pumpkin, from which you will prepare the most delicious dishes.

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