Pumpkin in home gardens and summer cottages is planted not only with seeds, but also with seedlings. Although this is not such a common method, it allows you to reduce the time the plants stay in the garden and thus get the harvest earlier, which is especially important when growing crops in the northern regions, where pumpkins of many varieties simply do not ripen. Learn about when and how to properly plant pumpkin seedlings in open ground and how to care for plants after planting.

This is a garden crop that loves heat and light, so you need to plant pumpkin seedlings in open ground only when the air and soil warm up enough for the plants to vegetate properly.

There are no exact dates for transplanting pumpkin seedlings to open beds, but it is noted that it can be transplanted along with tomatoes, that is, when frosts no longer threaten the plants in the beds. Every year, warm weather sets in at different times, but usually pumpkin seedlings can be planted in the Middle Lane in the last days of May or the first of June.

At this time, pumpkin seedlings should be at the age of 1 month, therefore, it is necessary to determine the timing of sowing seeds based on this indicator. Accordingly, in the Middle Lane, work should be carried out at the end of April, in Siberia and the Urals - in mid-May, in the southern regions - in mid-April.

Planting seeds for seedlings at home

To plant a pumpkin for seedlings, it is necessary to prepare containers with soil and seeds, as well as to sow them correctly in pots.

Soil preparation

For planting seeds for seedlings, universal soil is best suited, specially designed for growing vegetable seedlings (universal or for cucumbers). You can buy it at any gardening store. It is distinguished by a properly selected composition; microelements necessary for the growth and development of vegetable crops can be added to it. If desired, before use, the soil mixture can be spilled with a solution of potassium permanganate or phytosporin.

In the absence of a ready-made version of the substrate, it can also be prepared independently from peat, humus and almost rotted sawdust. The ratio of components should be 2:1:1. All these components must be mixed well, add 1 cup of ash to them (per bucket of the mixture), also disinfect, dry and fill the cups or pots with this mixture into which the seeds will be sown.

As a container, you can use plastic and peat pots with a volume of about 1 liter. Such a large size is due to the fact that the pumpkin will grow into a fairly decent-sized plant by the time of transplantation, so it must be grown in pots that contain a lot of soil. In extreme cases, you can use spacious boxes and sow seeds in them according to the scheme 15 by 15 cm.

Planting material preparation

Pumpkin seeds can be purchased at specialized stores by choosing the variety you like. Usually, seeds in packages are already prepared for sowing, that is, they are treated with special substances, so they do not need to be processed at home.

The seeds collected from their vegetables (it is better to take those that have lain 3-4 years after their selection), before planting the pumpkin for seedlings, must be sorted out and sorted: too small, underweight or with damaged skin should be selected from the total mass. Such seeds must be removed, the rest should be treated in fungicide solutions or dipped in potassium permanganate (dark pink solution) for 0.5 hours. You can also soak them in very warm water (50°C) for 2 hours. It is not necessary to germinate the seeds to speed up germination, but you can do this if you wish.

Sowing seeds

Work begins with the preparation of pots for growing seedlings of pumpkins. If they are reusable, then they are washed, treated with a solution of potassium permanganate and dried. Then, a little sawdust is poured on the bottom of each of them, and the soil mixture is laid on top of them, a little short of the top, and watered with warm water. 1-2 seeds are planted in each container, lowering them into the soil to a depth of 3 cm. Sprinkle with earth on top, spray with a spray bottle, cover with foil and put the pots in a warm place.

Conditions of maintenance and care of seedlings

After the emergence of seedlings (about a week later), the film is removed and the pots are placed in a lighted place. Seedlings will grow well at a temperature of at least 22-25 ° C. Lighting must be at least 10 hours, so it is necessary to use fluorescent lighting. Water the seedlings when the soil in the growing containers begins to dry out. Use only warm and settled water.

Plants are fertilized with solutions of liquid complex fertilizers for gourds 2 times: a week after the shoots appear and another 10 days later. If there are no special mixtures, then you can use azofoska (1.5 g per 1 liter) or a weak infusion of mullein (first dilute 1 to 10, then insist 1 day and dilute another 5 times).

A week before transplanting to a permanent place, the pumpkin is hardened: first, the temperature is lowered to 12 ° C at night and 15 ° C during the day. Then they take out the containers with seedlings to fresh air, first for a couple of hours, then for several hours and at the end of the procedure for the whole day.

Planting pumpkin seedlings in open ground

You can start planting pumpkin seedlings in the ground only after the threat of frost has passed. For pumpkins, it is desirable to choose open and sunny areas. The soil is preferably sandy and loamy, light, fertile, with good absorption of air and moisture. The acidity of the soil is neutral or slightly acidic. A few days before planting seedlings, the soil must be dug up and fertilized with phosphorus-potassium fertilizers or a mixture of humus and ash, covered with a film for heating. Organics can be poured into the wells directly during transplantation.

Before transplanting (1 day before) the plants in open ground are watered abundantly so that they can be easily removed with a clod of earth. Transplantation is carried out in the evening hours. Remove the plants from the pots carefully so as not to damage the fragile roots. If peat pots were used for cultivation, then they are buried in the ground along with seedlings.

Plants are placed in pre-prepared wells. Their depth should be sufficient - at least 8-10 cm. Landing pattern:

1. For bush pumpkins - 0.6 m in a row and 1-1.5 m in row spacing.
2. For weakly climbing - 0.8 m and 1.5-2m.
3. For strongly climbing - 1-1.2 m and 1.5-2 m.

The recommended planting distance must be maintained, as large plants, such as pumpkin, need a sufficient feeding area. You need to deepen pumpkins by cotyledon leaves. After placing the seedlings in the holes, it must be watered, sprinkled with soil, mulched with straw, hay dust, and small sawdust. Around each hole, you can build low sides from the ground so that the water does not spread when watering. For the same purpose, you can use old car tires - put them on the ground, dig a little into it and plant it in the middle of a pumpkin.

Post disembarkation care

In the first days of being on the beds, pumpkin seedlings need to be shaded for 4-5 days so that they do not dry out in the bright sun. If the weather is cold, cover the plants with spunbond. When the plants take root, shading can be removed.

Water pumpkins in the process of rooting often, but in moderation. After the plants take root in a new place and grow, watering should be reduced, and the amount of water poured under each plant should be increased. Watering the pumpkin during the growing season should be moderate - excess moisture can lead to root rot, and a lack of it can cause plants to grow poorly. When the ovaries become the size of a fist, they switch to drip irrigation. Stop watering after the growth of the plants has stopped and the pumpkin fruits have almost reached their final size.

It is possible to fertilize the pumpkin with nitrogen only at the initial stage of growth; after the formation of the ovary, fertilizers containing only phosphorus and potassium can be used. The number of dressings should be at least 2-3. To fertilize pumpkins, you can use slurry infusion and ash infusion or ready-made complex fertilizers.

Orange pumpkin is able to decorate any garden plot. But this vegetable is not only beautiful. Pumpkin fruits are a storehouse of nutrients and vitamins. No wonder the vegetable is often called the queen of autumn. Pumpkin soups, casseroles and pies are tasty and add variety to the diet during the cold season.

Unpretentious and useful culture came to us from hot Latin America. Despite this, it can be grown even in Siberia. In the conditions of a short and cool summer, the cultivation of a vitamin vegetable has its own characteristics. Today we will tell you about the secrets of growing pumpkins and caring for them in the open field in Siberia.

The secret to successful cultivation of pumpkin culture in Siberia is the right choice of variety. Breeders have bred a large number of delicious, sweet pumpkin varieties, including those for regions with short, cool summers.

Variety requirements

Pumpkin is a southern plant that loves sunlight and warmth. When choosing a variety of vegetable for cultivation in Siberia, attention is paid to resistance to cold and the ripening time of pumpkins. Night frosts in this region occur even in June, so early-ripening and mid-ripening crop varieties are chosen for planting. Varieties that ripen after removal from the garden are also suitable.

The most suitable varieties for cultivation in Siberia include:

1. Bush Gourd Freckle. This variety is early maturing. The fruits are medium-sized, on average 3 kg. The peel of the pumpkin is light green, the flesh of the fruit is orange. An interesting feature of this variety is the pear flavor of the pulp. When providing optimal conditions for growth, the variety pleases with productivity. Pumpkins keep well for several months.
2. mid-season pumpkin. This variety was specially bred for cultivation in areas with short and cool summers. Pumpkins ripen in 115–125 days. The bushes are spreading, with long lashes. Light gray fruits weigh from 2.5 to 3 kg. Pumpkins with dense, sweet pulp are distinguished by good keeping quality.
3. pear gourd. This is a medium variety. Large pumpkins reach technical ripeness in an average of 100 days. Resistant to temperature extremes, tolerates cold snap well. Differs in high productivity and sugary pulp with nutmeg aroma.
4. early maturing pumpkin. Small pumpkins (1.5-2 kg) ripen in 85 days. The bushes are compact and bloom beautifully. Bright orange pumpkins are distinguished by sugary, fragrant pulp and good keeping quality.

Features of growing pumpkins in Siberia

In order for pumpkin bushes to please the eye, and the fruits to grow sweet and tasty, the culture creates optimal conditions for growth and ripening. A place for planting pumpkins has been prepared since autumn.

When choosing a plot for the beds, the following points are taken into account:

1. sunlight. Pumpkin culture is very photophilous. In a shady place, pumpkins do not grow well, bloom poorly and often get sick. In the absence of a suitable open space, it is permissible to plant a plant in partial shade under fruit trees.
2. Draft protection. It is better to place a pumpkin patch like this: from the north - a fence or wall of a building, and from the south - an open sunny place.
3. Open space. Pumpkin grows strongly, especially for climbing varieties. Bushes are distinguished by a developed root system, so the area of ​​plant nutrition is large. This should be taken into account when choosing a place for. Leave at least one meter between plants.

Important! Pumpkin loves warmth, so in Siberia it grows well on compost heaps, warm beds and in compost barrels.

As when planting any garden crop, it is important to adhere to the rules of crop rotation. Pumpkins are not planted in the same place for more than two years in a row. It takes several years to restore the soil after gourds.

Preferred crop precursors are potatoes, onions, cabbage, legumes. Undesirable - other cultures of the pumpkin family (cucumbers, zucchini, squash). All cucurbits are affected by the same diseases and pests.

The Siberian summer is often short and cool. Under these conditions, the southern beauty needs to be protected from cold winds and provide her with full coverage. The more sun hits the pumpkin bushes, the more ovaries and fruits are formed. Insufficient lighting leads to slow growth and the development of diseases.

Ways to grow pumpkins in Siberia

The culture is sensitive to cold weather, the young leaves and stems of the plant do not tolerate frost. Therefore, when cultivating pumpkins in Siberia, it is not worth rushing to sow seeds. Pumpkin seeds are sown 3-4 weeks before transplanting seedlings into open ground, approximately in the first half of May.

Direct and seedling methods of cultivation

In Siberia, pumpkin is sown immediately in open ground (direct method) or grown through seedlings.

When choosing a direct method of cultivating a crop, do not forget to protect the crops from the cold with a film or special covering material until mid-June, until the threat of return frosts has passed.

Attention! In Siberia, night frosts often occur in early summer. Growing pumpkin seedlings will save the plants from the cold and speed up the harvest.

With a lack of natural heat, pumpkin grows well in warm (or compost) beds. They are prepared in early spring or autumn, when it is time to remove plant remains and natural waste. Decaying organic matter in the lower layers of the bed releases heat and warms the plants from below, saving the roots from the vagaries of the weather.

Such organized compost heaps are built in a sunny place. Slowly rotting plant residues (branches, cabbage stalks) are placed at the very bottom. Humus, semi-rotted manure - in the middle. Fertile soil is poured on top of the bed. Each layer is well watered with warm water or a solution of EM preparations (effective microorganisms).

Important! On plant waste used to create a warm bed, there should be no signs of damage by diseases or pests.

Planting a pumpkin in Siberia

The process of growing pumpkins begins with the selection and preparation of seed, as well as determining the timing of the sowing campaign.

Timing

Pumpkin does not tolerate frost, so in Siberia, seedlings are planted in open ground no earlier than the beginning of June.

With the direct method of cultivation, seeds are sown in the ground in the second half of May - June. Sowing in May requires additional warming of the seedlings, otherwise the tender shoots will die from the night cold.

Seed preparation

The key to a rich pumpkin harvest in Siberia is the careful preparation of seeds. First, the seed material is inspected and specimens with signs of disease and damage are rejected.

Next, the seeds are soaked, disinfected and germinated. Soaking allows you to detect empty seeds (they will float). Disinfection will protect crops from diseases. Sprouting will speed up the emergence of seedlings. Germinate pumpkin seeds in a damp cloth or wet sawdust.

Experienced gardeners additionally harden the hatched seeds by placing them on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Hardening makes plants more resistant to temperature changes.

After passing through all stages of preparation, pumpkin seeds are planted in open ground or in containers for seedlings.

Landing

With the direct method of cultivation, the prepared seeds are sown on the garden bed, planting to a depth of about 3 cm. With the seedling method, they are planted in containers with a volume of about 500 ml. Pumpkin seedlings do not like transplants, so individual cups or peat containers are chosen for plants.

After the emergence of sprouts, the seedlings are placed in a cool place with a temperature of 15–18 ° C for about a week. So the plants will not stretch and get stronger. Then the temperature is raised.

Seedling care is not complicated and consists in timely watering with settled water at room temperature. Moisten the soil regularly, but moderately. Drying out or waterlogging of the soil leads to the death of plants.

A week after the emergence of seedlings, Nitrofoska is fertilized in accordance with the instructions. Too much fertilizer will cause seedlings to warp and grow too fast.

Attention! Good pumpkin seedlings are distinguished by a short strong stem and dark green leaves.

When weather permits, the plants are taken outside to harden off. They are planted in open ground when stable warm weather is established during the day and at night.

For each bush in the ground, a hole is prepared the size of a container in which seedlings grew. The recess is watered with warm water. The plant is taken out of the cup along with an earthy clod and transplanted. The distance between the pumpkins is determined based on the climbing variety.

How to care for a pumpkin correctly to get a rich harvest

After planting, the pumpkin patch is watered. If the weather is not yet stable, the crops are covered with a special material. This will protect tender young bushes from drafts and cold weather. Further care for pumpkin plantings consists in watering, fertilizing, loosening the soil.

Gardeners use special agricultural practices to increase yields. These techniques include the formation of pumpkin bushes. In the conditions of the Siberian summer, not all the fruits that have set have time to ripen, so it is advisable to pinch the lashes, limiting the growth of the bush and reducing the number of fruits.

Formation begins with pinching the main shoot in order to enhance the growth of lateral lashes. As they grow, the extra side shoots are also cut off. No more than 3-4 pumpkins are left on one lash. The shoots are pinched so that 3-4 leaves remain above the last pumpkin.

Diseases and pests: control and prevention measures

Pumpkin plants are not immune from the development of diseases and pests. At the first sign, measures are taken, otherwise not only the pumpkin crop, but also other garden crops will suffer:

1. Bacteriosis. The disease is recognized by brown spots on the cotyledons and leaves. Affected tissues gradually darken and dry out. Prevention consists in observing the rules of crop rotation. When the first signs of the disease appear, the bushes are sprayed with 1% Bordeaux liquid. The treatment is repeated after 1.5-2 weeks.
2. Root rot. It affects the root system of the plant. The stems turn brown, the growth of the bush slows down or stops altogether, the lower leaves turn yellow. The disease is caused by differences in day and night temperatures, watering plantings with cold water. At the first sign, soil is added to the stems to form lateral roots.
3. White rot. Recognize the disease by a white coating on the leaves and stems. Affected tissues become soft and slimy to the touch. The diseased parts of the bush are mercilessly removed. Places of cuts are treated with a solution of copper sulphate.
4. Spider mite. Of the pests, a pumpkin is often affected by a spider mite, which settles on the underside of the foliage, braiding the plant with cobwebs. Affected leaves turn yellow, dry out and fall off. Spraying with a solution of onion peel repels the pest.
5. Melon aphid. Lives on weeds and moves from them to pumpkin bushes. It settles on the underside of leaves, on shoots and ovaries. It feeds on plant juices. Leaves on infected bushes curl, dry out and fall off. An effective control measure is spraying plants with karbofos.

Harvest and storage

The safety of pumpkins in the winter is largely determined by the timely and proper harvesting. Carefully collected pumpkins ripened in the garden are distinguished by good keeping quality.

They begin to remove pumpkins from the garden when they reach technical ripeness. The timing of the collection is determined based on the information on the package with seeds. There are exact dates for fruit ripening. If there is no information from the manufacturer, the ripeness of the pumpkin is determined by the stiff stem and dense hard crust.

During harvesting from the garden, a tail 10 cm long is left for each fruit. This is how the pumpkins will be. The collected pumpkins are placed in a warm, dry place for 1-2 weeks to dry.

The best option for long-term winter storage of pumpkin fruits is a cold ventilated cellar. There, the harvest is stored, laid out on the shelves. The optimum air temperature in the vegetable store is 6–8 °C.

For beginner gardeners, the following tips for growing pumpkin crops will be useful:

• grow pumpkin in Siberia through seedlings, this will ensure an earlier harvest;
• choose early and mid-ripening varieties, then the crop will have time to ripen before the end of the season;
• use compost beds for planting pumpkin culture - pumpkin loves heat;
• do not neglect the formation of pumpkin bushes, this will accelerate the ripening of the formed fruits;
• do not allow pumpkins to come into contact with damp earth, otherwise they may rot.

Conclusion

A competent choice of variety and proper care make it possible to grow large sugary pumpkins even in Siberian conditions. Step-by-step seed preparation and the right choice of beds will provide a stable crop of vitamin vegetables, despite the cool summer and the vagaries of the Siberian weather.

How to plant a pumpkin, but almost the same as cucumbers. In Ukraine, there are many folk signs about this. For example, they plant a pumpkin on a special day, some kind of church holiday (I don’t remember which one, there are a lot of them), it’s necessary to plant at night, it’s necessary for a woman, and the woman must be plump, then the pumpkin will be born big.

Well, it was a lyrical digression, I am, so to speak, a woman far from full, but my pumpkin always grows good. I know how valuable a pumpkin is for a person, how many dishes can be prepared from it. For young children, this is a very valuable vegetable; pumpkin porridge is often present on our menu. In addition, as I plant a table pumpkin, I also grow fodder pumpkin, all pets love it.

How to grow a pumpkin.

This vegetable is quite thermophilic, therefore, in the harsh Siberian climate, it is better to grow it in seedlings. For this I use peat pots. Seedlings are ready for planting in open ground in 15-20 days. I plant at the end of May, at the beginning of June. The place should be sunny and well fertilized soil. I make holes 70 by 70 cm apart, before planting, carefully destroy the walls of the cups.

In the fall, I add compost to the future bed for digging, then a couple of times during the summer I fertilize the culture with a garden mineral mixture, 10-15 grams per hole. Growing conditions for pumpkins, as well as for cucumbers in the open field. I only water it once, it’s very good before flowering, the root system of this vegetable is very powerful, it goes to a depth of 3 meters.

It looks beautiful when the lashes grow and begin to curl along the fences, but I always pinch the tops, leaving 2-3 fruits, then they ripen faster. I also remove side shoots and extra flowers. The pumpkin ripens unevenly, so I pick the fruits gradually and leave them in the garden for ripening. Then they can be transferred to a cool storage room; at room conditions, the fruits are also perfectly stored if they are ripe.

Often the culture is exposed to diseases such as fusarium, root rot, powdery mildew. Pests are mainly spider mites, melon flies, melon aphids and mice.

Benefits of pumpkin.

Undoubted benefits for children and dietary nutrition. Useful for patients with cholecystitis and hepatitis, with urolithiasis, with colitis. Pumpkin juice improves sleep, purulent wounds are treated with a decoction of pumpkin flowers. It has a good diuretic effect, useful in cardiovascular diseases and kidney disease. Seeds have anthelmintic action.

To get good fruits, first of all you need to know how to plant a pumpkin, if you have any questions about this, ask, I will answer with pleasure.

Do you grow tomatoes in your yard? Do you know that you can significantly increase the yield?

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

Three types of pumpkins are common in world agricultural production:

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

Numerous varieties of large-fruited pumpkin are used for livestock feed. The fruits of a hard-boiled pumpkin are gray-skinned, sweet, well stored indoors. Their flesh is edible raw.

In summer cottages, nutmeg pumpkin is often grown. Sweet and fragrant vegetable suitable for eating raw. Of the varieties zoned for most areas for planting pumpkins, Almond 35 and Volga 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 a long growing season.

Pumpkin grows a giant vegetative mass in a short time, so the soil must contain a lot of nutrients. You can not plant a pumpkin in the shade. It needs a lot of light to grow quickly.

Don't plant the squash next to it - an aggressive shrub will leave the squash out of sunlight and it won't set fruit.

Pumpkin can be planted with seeds in the garden. Nightshade and cabbage vegetables are considered the best predecessors for pumpkin. 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 wind. When the leaves are turned over, plants slow down growth and development. To avoid this, summer residents plant tall crops around the perimeter of the pumpkin plot, for example, beans, sweet peppers or standard tomatoes. If the size of the plot allows, crops can be sown between the rows of pumpkins.

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

The processing of seeds before sowing with aloe juice helps to speed up the development of pumpkins. 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.

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

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

In the south of Russia, seeds are sown in April, in the middle lane - at the end of May. In Siberia, pumpkins are sown at the end of May, but take into account that, if necessary, seedlings will have to be sheltered from frosts, which are possible in the region until mid-June.

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

From oil-bearing varieties, seeds are removed immediately, poured into a glass container and poured with cold water for a day. If the fruits are overripe, the seeds should not be soaked to 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.

Caring for your vertical pumpkin

There is an opinion that creepers spread to the south, but this is not so. The pumpkin grows in all four directions, capturing the adjacent territories. In favorable conditions, stubborn plants can climb 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 have appeared on sale. To make the whips climb up better, you can pull the twine for them, as for cucumbers. For a "vertical garden" varieties with large fruits are suitable - Spaghetti, Zhemchuzhina, Rossiyanka pumpkin.

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

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

Wax gourd can't compare to nutmeg in taste, but it's a storage champion. Fruits, without drying out and without rotting, can lie in the cellar for up to 3 years.

Another so far rare pumpkin in our country is the fig-leaved pumpkin. At home in Peru, it is a perennial crop; we grow it as an annual. The name pumpkin received for the unusual shape of the leaves. She has oval-shaped fruits of green color with a white pattern on the bark. The flesh is white or yellowish, sweet and tasty. Outwardly, the plant and fruits look like watermelons.

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

Growing pumpkin

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

According to the technology of growing pumpkins, watering should be stopped a month before the harvest, then the fruits will become hard and will be well stored. If the autumn is rainy, it is better to cover the plants with a film or place an awning over them. The fruits ripen three and a half months after planting seedlings in the ground. If they did not have time to acquire a golden or gray color characteristic of the variety, they will acquire it later, having lain down in a room for several weeks.

In central Russia and in other territories with a similar climate, pumpkin varieties grow: large-fruited and hard-skinned. Muscat pumpkin grows in the southern regions. Sometimes there is a gourd. Growing pumpkins outdoors is not as difficult as inexperienced gardeners make it out to be.

Pumpkin is a well-known annual plant with a powerful root system, wide leaves, long strong stems. The tap root can penetrate up to three meters deep into the soil, and the lateral roots spread over an area up to four meters in search of moisture and nutrition.

The stem of the plant "creeps away" from the base by more than seven meters. Pumpkin has large yellow or yellow-orange flowers, which are arranged singly (the plant is dioecious). On the main stem, from the tenth leaf onwards, fruits are formed.

Varieties of pumpkin and their features

Variety	Peculiarities
	This pumpkin is fast-growing and has a high yield. It has coarser fibers than the pulp of the large-fruited variety, and it does not keep very long (up to four months) without changing taste and nutritional characteristics.
	This pumpkin is a real giantess, record-breaking fruits reach 60 kg. The yield is also high. And the shelf life of the fetus is up to nine months.
	This pumpkin can lie absolutely unchanged in a cellar or other cool and dry room for up to two years. Late ripe variety.

What does pumpkin love?

Pumpkin loves warmth, does not tolerate cold combined with dampness.

Important! The temperature that pumpkin seeds need for germination is up to + 30 ° C. At lower temperatures, they will germinate very slowly and for a long time. And at less than + 10 ° C they will not sprout at all.

The entire growing season for a pumpkin passes at an optimum temperature of +25 ° C. In this case, it grows orange saturated flesh, fragrant, dense but juicy, and a wide leaf apparatus (up to 40 m² per plant).

Pumpkin loves moisture, without a sufficient amount of which the largest fruits are not formed. If at the beginning of flowering the pumpkin suffered a drought, the flowers may fall off, and the ovary does not form.

Pumpkin is a light-loving culture. It must be grown in sunny and calm areas (ideally - melon).

How to grow a pumpkin from seeds

For growing pumpkins, the easiest way is to use the traditional seed method of sowing. Only the seeds for sowing must be prepared.

It all starts with the selection of seeds. It is necessary to take for sowing only the largest seeds of perfect quality. Thin, feeble, dryish, not full must be discarded. Calibrated seeds begin to prepare for sowing.

Seed preparation

The best way to prepare pumpkin seeds for sowing is to germinate them. This process is continued until the seeds hatch. For germination, pumpkin seeds are dipped in water with a stable temperature of + 40 ° C (permissible up to + 50 ° C, below forty is impossible). In this state, the seeds should spend at least three hours.

Advice! How to achieve such a temperature? put a bowl with germinating seeds on a battery or other heating device, place in a yogurt maker or a slow cooker in the “Yogurt” mode.

Then the swollen seeds are wrapped in a well-moistened cotton cloth and left at the temperature of the living room until pecking. The fabric needs to be checked all the time and moistened again so that the seeds do not dry out.

Since pumpkin is a heat-loving plant, it is recommended, especially in the middle climatic zone, to increase the cold resistance of seeds before sowing. To do this, after pecking, they must continue to be kept in a damp cloth, but already in the lower drawer of the refrigerator, from three to five days.

Due to the thermophilicity, it is not worth sowing seeds in open ground; first, it is better to grow pumpkin seedlings.

Growing pumpkin seedlings

Seedlings are needed in order to get a plentiful and early harvest. And also, so that the hatched seeds do not die from the cold, if the sowing is carried out at a time when cooling is still possible. Seedlings do not have to be grown at home - you can do this in a special nursery or mini-greenhouse. But it is best, "under supervision", to grow pumpkin seedlings on the southern windowsill of the apartment. At room temperature, which is still closer to +30 ° C expected by a pumpkin than the temperature in a spring greenhouse, the process will go faster and better.

Important! Despite their powerful and strong appearance, pumpkin seedlings do not tolerate transplanting well. Therefore, seedlings are best grown in peat pots.

To grow seedlings, you will need peat or ordinary pots no less than 10x10 cm in size in an amount half as much as the number of seeds. No need to try to grow a "pumpkin forest", remember the 40 m² feeding area that a pumpkin can cover. Two plants, with a sufficiently spacious placement, a large amount of heat of light and moisture, with regular top dressing, will yield a larger yield of fruits in number and size than ten located in the same space.

Important! Pumpkin seedlings should spend at least three weeks at home or in a greenhouse before planting in the ground. Therefore, seeds are sown based on this calendar indicator.

Soil for seedlings

Pumpkin seeds are sown in the usual fertile seedling soil, consisting of peat and sand. No special additives are required. There is also no need to add fertilizer to the soil. If you are growing seeds in peat pots, simply fill them with soil. When growing in a plastic container, sprinkle 3 cm of sawdust on the bottom.

Sowing seeds

Germinated in the above way and hardened seeds are sown in pots in pairs. Later, a weak seedling can be removed by simply pinching off the stem. Sowing depth - 2 cm. Seeds are covered with peat. Irrigate before and after sowing.

During the first three days after sowing, the temperature should be + 25 ° С ... + 30 ° С.

Seedling Care

Shoots should appear on the fourth day. After that, the temperature must be reduced and maintained within + 18 ° C ... + 25 ° C for a week, then again reduced to + 15 ° C ... + 18 ° C. This is necessary so that the pumpkin seedlings do not stretch out, grow strong and squat .

Watering seedlings is carried out regularly, but it should not be excessive. Water stagnation is prohibited. Ideal soil moisture and air humidity will contribute to the formation of hardy and abundantly fruiting pumpkin plants in the future.

Feeding is carried out two weeks after germination. To do this, the mullein must be diluted in a ratio of 1:10 with water and poured into each pot, or under each plant in the greenhouse, 100 ml of nutrient solution after watering. If there is no mullein, top dressing is carried out with nitrophoska according to the instructions.

Video - Growth of pumpkin seedlings

Readiness and disembarkation

Properly grown seedlings look like this:

• low stem, thick and strong;
• short internodes;
• three well-developed true leaves with a rich green color.

In this state, pumpkin seedlings can be planted on the 22nd day after sowing with germinated seeds in pots in open ground under a temporary film cover.

Before planting, the wells are watered with hot water. If the seedlings are in a peat container, it does not need to be removed, just slightly destroy the walls and bottom of the pot.

After planting, the plants are watered with warm water and protected with a film shelter until consistently warm weather sets in.

Soils suitable for growing pumpkins

This plant is most suitable fertile soil, which has a fairly loose structure, well warmed up. It is on such land that pumpkin fruits will reach record sizes.

Important! Worst of all, the pumpkin will grow on damp and clay soil. Acidic soils are not categorically suitable for the plant - they must be treated with lime (liming under the predecessor) or wood ash should be added.

When growing pumpkins in a summer cottage, try to comply with the following requirements.

1. Landing from the south side of the house along the wall or fence. The building and the fence will protect from the wind during the day and give the plants the heat accumulated during the day at night.
2. Pumpkin whips may well be directed to the wall of the house, the fence, the roof of the barn. Closer to the sun, the fruits ripen better.
3. If there is a compost heap on the site on the south side, it is ideal to plant a pumpkin near it, directing the whips there.

Soil preparation

In order to successfully grow a pumpkin, in the fall, after removing the predecessors, it is necessary to start preparing the soil.

1. Apply organic matter and mineral supplements (5 kg of humus, 15 g of potassium chloride and twice as much superphosphate per m²) to a clean area freed from plants and weeds. If there is no humus, manure can be applied from autumn - 7 kg per m².
2. Dig the area 20 cm deep.
3. To lighten the structure of the soil, if necessary, add river sand (coarse grain) and peat.
4. Deacidify the soil with wood ash.
5. Loosen, if possible, mix, pour hot water.

In the spring, it is not necessary to dig up the upper soil layer, it is enough to remove the weeds that have appeared and level the area with a rake. In this state, the soil should be from March to May - the time of planting pumpkin seedlings.

Two days before planting the grown seedlings, the soil in the garden bed must be dug up by 12 cm (half a shovel bayonet), ammonium nitrate - 20 g per m² should be added and holes should be made.

On light-textured soil, the holes can be shallow - up to 25 cm. If the soil is heavy, the depth of the hole should reach 40 cm. A little compost and a layer of dry leaves are placed on the bottom.

The distance between plants in a regular garden is about a meter. If possible, it can be doubled.

Pumpkin predecessors

This issue is relevant, since culture is demanding of predecessors.

pumpkin care

Pumpkin does not need reverent and specialized care, but there are some activities that should not be neglected if you want to get a big crop of large fruits.

Watering

The main care measure is the adjustment of watering. Pumpkin, like a pump, pumps out all the moisture from the ground, and then evaporates it through the leaves. Thus, the roots and stems get a little. Therefore, the level of moisture in the soil must be constantly replenished.

Advice! It is especially plentiful to water the pumpkin when it has mass flowering and fruit formation. The water temperature should not be lower than +20°C (warmed up in the sun). In no case should you water the pumpkin with cold water in the heat - the plants may die.

After watering, every other time you need to loosen the soil near the base of the stem. Weed the weeds as they grow.

top dressing

You need to feed the pumpkin often, otherwise you will not be able to get large fruits. The first dressing in open ground - after the formation of the fifth leaf. The second is when lashes begin to form. Then every two weeks.

You can feed with nitrophoska, starting with 10 g per plant and increasing the dose by 5 g with each top dressing. You can apply dry granules or prepare a solution.

During the fruiting period, a glass of ash is added to each top dressing.

You can feed the pumpkin throughout the growing season with a solution of mullein.

The plant is formed in one stem, in extreme cases, in two - this contributes to high yields. To do this, after the appearance of extra shoots from the sides, they are all removed, and extra ovaries are also plucked, leaving no more than three on each lash.

By the way! On shoots of the second order, a pumpkin can bear fruit after the second leaf, but they will grow small and tasteless, so it’s worth doing pinching the shoots of the plant.

Video - Pumpkin: growing and pinching

Powder

Another agricultural technique that contributes to productivity is the powdering of lashes. As soon as the lashes have reached a meter length, they must be carefully untangled, laid in a given direction and sprinkled with earth in two to three places. This is done so that the wind does not break the lashes and leaves, breaking off the ovary. But the main thing is that in the internodes pressed to the ground, additional roots are formed that will nourish the plants and help increase the fruit.

A few more tricks

1. Scourge climbing a fence or roof must be controlled. When pumpkins begin to ripen on them, secure them by placing them in ordinary string bags and securing them with additional fasteners. Otherwise, heavy fruits will roll down, breaking off the stems.
2. It is undesirable, especially in wet weather, for the fruits to lie on bare ground. When they reach medium size, place planks or other breathable material under them.

Video - How to grow and care for pumpkin