Planting and caring for pumpkins: planting seedlings in open ground

Seeds or seedlings?

There are two ways to grow a beautiful pumpkin – sowing directly in open ground or planting seedlings. Everyone chooses the method that best suits their climatic conditions and personal preferences.

seed

Different types of pumpkins have different seeds, but regardless of the variety, our first priority is to select large seeds for planting from smaller ones. Sowing seeds of the same type, seedlings are quite uniform.

1. germination test. To do this, select a few seeds of each variety and put on a moistened napkin. If after a while sprouts appear, the seeds can be safely planted;
2. warming will help improve the quality of seedlings, as well as increase the number of fruitful flowers, which is especially important for this crop. It is necessary to put the seeds on a baking sheet with a layer of 2 cm and heat them in the oven for about 4 hours at a temperature of +50 – +55 ° C. In this case, you need to gradually increase the temperature, and the seeds should be stirred several times;
3. disinfection will protect the plant from the development of certain diseases, protect against pests and provide additional care. To do this, put the grains in a solution of liquid fertilizers for 24 hours;
4. hardening increases the protective properties of seeds. First, they need to be soaked in water at a temperature of about + 20 ° C. When the zucchini seeds swell, they are transferred to the refrigerator and kept there from 3 to 10 days at zero temperature. At the same time, make sure that the zucchini does not begin to germinate.

Seedling

Seedlings can be planted in late April or early May. The best option for growing zucchini seedlings are clay pots about 15 cm in diameter. They are only half filled with soil. The most suitable temperature: during the day + 25– + 30 ° С, at night + 18– + 20 ° С. In case of insufficient lighting, zucchini plantations are additionally illuminated with fluorescent lamps.

Very soon, the first sprouts appear, which at first stretch strongly upwards, forming a long stem. After 10-12 days, the growth rate will slow down. During this period, it is necessary to ring the seedlings – add earth to the container and twist the stem very carefully with a corkscrew. Only cotyledon leaves should peep out of the soil.

Seedlings require additional care – during the period of formation of high-quality sprouts, they are fed twice with fertilizers. Each plant needs about 0,3 l of a solution consisting of potassium salt (15 g), superphosphate (20 g), ammonium nitrate (15 g), mullein (0,8–1 l). Be sure to make sure that the plants do not touch each other, constantly push the containers apart. Zucchini are ready for planting on the ground after the appearance of 3-5 true leaves (25-30 days after sowing).

Video “How to grow a pumpkin”

Soil preparation

For growing pumpkins, you need to choose well-lit areas that warm up well (preferably the south side). For zucchini, medium and light loamy neutral, sandy loamy soils, well seasoned with organic matter, are ideal.

After harvesting the previous crops, the soil should be dug up to a depth of about 30 cm, and about 7 kg per 1 m should be applied.² manure or rotted compost. If the soil is poor, in addition to the indicated fertilizers, ash (two glasses) and superphosphate (50 g) should be added to each well. All fertilizers must be well mixed with the soil.

Cultivation

The process of growing this beautiful crop depends on the method of planting – seedlings or seeds in the ground. Transplanting. In early June, seedlings of zucchini are planted in the garden. The distance between plants is 1,5 m, and between rows – 2 m. Immediately before planting, each hole should be well watered. A deepening should be made around the zucchini and watered, then mulched with peat or dry humus.

Young shoots must be protected from possible frosts, so they are covered with foil, wooden boxes, caps made of paper or plastic bottles. Pumpkin seeds are planted in mid-May, when the soil is warmed up to + 13 ° C. Seeds are planted to a depth of about 6 cm in medium loamy soil; 8–10 cm in lighter soil.

Preparing the holes is no different from preparing for the seedling method. You can speed up the germination of zucchini in the open field by covering the crops with a film. After the emergence of shoots, it is removed. When two true leaves are formed on the seedlings, the plantings must be thinned out – 1–2 largest plants remain.

How to care for a pumpkin

In order for zucchini to grow well and give a decent harvest, good care is needed. In particular, weekly plant nutrition – organic and mineral fertilizers should be alternated. The irrigation regime is also extremely important – it should be watered with warm water (+ 18– + 25 ° С). Pumpkin tolerates drought quite well, so you should not flood it, especially during the flowering period. You need to water it under the root, trying not to touch the leaves.

In zucchini, the leaves grow much faster than the fruits themselves. Therefore, as it grows, special care measures should be taken – carefully remove the leaves that cover the fruit. If the summer is cool, you need to help form high-quality fruits – cut off the extra shoots (the optimal number is 3 pieces), and pinch the central stem, leaving 3 to 5 ovaries of 15-17 cm. To get larger zucchini, you should leave only 1-3 ovaries .

Also, do not forget about hilling and weeding pumpkin beds after watering or rain. It is possible to loosen the beds with plantations until the plants close into whole rows. Harvesting takes place after the first frost. Mature zucchini is considered after hardening of the skin – the bark is not pressed through with a fingernail. You need to store the resulting crop in a dry place at a low temperature – from +4 to +8 ° C. Today, there are already varieties that are well preserved at home at relatively high temperature conditions.

Video “Planting seedlings in open ground”

In the video you will learn how to properly plant pumpkin seedlings in open ground. The video contains the most useful tips and tricks.