Growing and caring for pumpkins outdoors

Which variety to choose

Pumpkins are fodder, table, decorative. All table varieties are:

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

Muscat is considered the most delicious because of the highest sugar content. They are thermophilic (therefore, they are grown in seedlings in our country), thin-skinned, they are round and elongated. Hard-bark varieties are frost-resistant, perfectly stored until the new harvest. Large-fruited ones can grow to huge sizes, they are usually round, slightly flattened, divided into segments.

There are many varieties that can be grown in the Moscow region, the middle lane, even the northern regions without any special tricks. “Smile” is one of the early large-fruited varieties. Rounded orange fruits with light stripes grow up to 3 kg, their flesh is bright orange, high in carotene, ripen in 85 days, do not suffer from temperature changes.

The hard-barred variety “Gribovskaya Bush 189” ripens on 80-85 days, grows compactly, does not give long lashes, easily tolerates small frosts, the flesh is juicy yellowish-orange, and outwardly looks more like a zucchini. “Altair” and “Rossiyanka” are mid-season large-fruited varieties, ripening occurs in 100-115 days (“Rossiyanka” can ripen even 90 days after planting), juicy, well stored.

In 90-100 days, the Bush Orange pumpkin ripens, has medium sweet crispy yellow flesh, is resistant to temperature extremes, the fruit can grow up to 4,5 kg.

Pumpkins “Almond”, “Farmer” are unpretentious, ripen in 120 days. “Premiere”, “Kherson”, “Universal” ripen perfectly in the open field of our gardens. The best variety for seeds is “Southern”. And from Muscat summer residents prefer “Muscat”, “Pearl”, “Vitamin”, “Spanish guitar”. The fruits of these varieties ripen in 120 days or more, they are considered the best.

Seed and seedling preparation

Seeds should be taken only fresh, you can check them for germination before sowing. Usually, each summer resident has his own preferences in seed preparation: some soak the seeds with diluted fertilizers, others consider it chemical poisoning. Everyone has their own agrotechnical experience, everyone makes decisions on his own – he harvests the crop himself. But there are certain points that are common to the preparation of all seeds, which should be followed. So, it is better to warm the seeds in hot water (60o) for several hours, soak for 1 hour in a solution of potassium permanganate for disinfection. Then you can put it in sawdust or gauze, periodically wetting it, wait until the seeds “peck”, and only after that place them in the ground (beak down).

For seedlings, plastic cups are taken, their diameter should be 10-15 cm, you can take other containers, for example, bottles, cut off the bottom, cut into the pieces you need along the length and put on a pallet. When transplanting, the roots cannot be damaged, it is better to cut the glass and plant the plant with an earthy clod. But, if you grow seedlings in a dish without a bottom, you can plant it directly with this dish, it will protect the seedling from the bear.

Air soil is poured into cups up to half, soddy soil (1 part), peat (1 part), humus (2 parts) are taken for it. The seeds are buried by 5 cm, and the cups are exposed to the sun. The seeds will germinate in a few days. On the 10-12th day, the sprouts should be carefully coiled, placed in cups and covered with earth to the cotyledon leaves.

Video “All about growing pumpkins”

Preparing the soil

At the end of May, it is already possible to plant seedlings with three leaves. The site by this time should be ready for sowing or planting plants. The place for the pumpkin should be well lit by the sun. It is not grown after sunflowers or gourds. It is best if beans, corn, and carrots grew on the site last year. Pumpkin should not return here for 4-5 years.

Since autumn, fertilizers have been applied to the soil and plowed up. It is good to grow a pumpkin on a compost heap, rotted garbage, from above it will only be necessary to add earth with ash. Holes are prepared in the ground, each 10 cm deep, at a distance of 70 cm from each other, and 1,5 m between rows. Each well is enriched with compost or humus, adding at least 2 kg before planting, well spilled with warm water. A plant is planted in such a liquid porridge, and the ground around is mulched.

Cultivation and care

Regular pumpkin care involves proper watering, fertilizing the soil and timely pinching. Usually, a plant (not bushy) gives the main whip and several side ones. Only 2 lateral ones are left, on each – no more than 2-3 fruits, after 5 leaves after the last fruit, pinch the twig. If you need a huge fruit, you can leave only one ovary.

Water the pumpkin with warm water in the groove around the stem. It is believed that the moisture-loving pumpkin does not tolerate drought well, but it should not be flooded too much. It is recommended to feed the pumpkin often – every 2 weeks, and the depleted soil – every week.

They start with organic fertilizers, and then alternate them with mineral ones. Organic ones are prepared as follows: in a bucket of water, stir with 2 liters of slurry, 40 g of superphosphate and 50 g of wood ash. For mineral top dressing, 10 g of ammonium nitrate, 20 g of superphosphate and 40 g of potassium salt are dissolved in 20 liters of water. Each plant should receive an ever-increasing dose: from 1 liter in spring to 5 liters at the end of summer. When grown outdoors, the pumpkin does not require any special care, regardless of whether it was sown or planted with seedlings.

Tips

1. the first week after planting in open ground is the most difficult to grow, the pumpkin must be covered with caps made of paper or plastic bottles from the cold;
2. after rain or before watering, it is advisable to carefully loosen the soil around the stem, deepening into the soil by 10-12 cm;
3. whips can be sprinkled with damp earth to prevent the wind from turning them over;
4. in a ripe fruit, the stalk looks like a cork, and the bark becomes very hard;
5. pumpkins can be grown near fences and outbuildings, letting them curl on the wall, and tie the fruits themselves with nets;
6. waterproof material can be placed under ripening fruits so that they do not rot on damp ground.

Video “Growing and pinching a pumpkin”

To get the maximum yield of this crop, you should know how to properly grow it and take care of it. All this is briefly but succinctly described in the video.