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Pumpkin Sweetie was bred by breeders for cultivation specifically in non-chernozem regions. She not only quickly gained popularity among gardeners, but was also awarded the highest rating by the Institute of the Canning Industry for excellent taste. The sweet pulp of a vegetable of this variety fully justifies its name.
Description of the pumpkin variety Candy
Pumpkin variety Sweetie is an annual plant with a creeping stem, the length of which can reach 1,5 m. The stem is rough, prickly. On each, as a rule, 6-8 fruits are tied. The leaves are heart-shaped, large (up to 25 cm), green, located on elongated petioles. The flowers are large, yellow, with long stalks.
Description of fruits
In accordance with the description of the variety, the sweetie pumpkin is large-fruited, and you can often find photos of its giant fruits weighing up to 100 kg. However, her usual average weight in the garden is between 1,5 and 3 kg. The fruits are well segmented, have a thick, rough skin, and become bright orange when ripe. There are specimens with longitudinal greenish stripes denoting segments.
The pulp is very juicy, rich orange color. The seed nest is small, filled with large seeds suitable for food.
Description of pumpkin Candy characterizes it as a universal table variety, the main distinguishing feature of which is an exceptionally sweet taste. The pulp of the fruit contains about 8% sugar, making Candy suitable for baking, making salads, cereals, mashed potatoes. It is good in first courses, and in side dishes, and in snacks. It, unlike many others, can be eaten raw.
Variety Candy is characterized by a high content of vitamins and minerals. Especially a lot of ascorbic acid and carotene in it, there are also sodium, phosphorus and magnesium. This vegetable is a dietary product with a calorie content of 22 kcal per 100 g.
The fruits of this variety have found application in the food industry, in the production of baby food, as they are rich in vitamins and microelements, and products using them do not require additional sweetening.
This variety is also grown in livestock farms. Due to its unpretentiousness, high yield, excellent nutritional value and keeping quality, many farmers use it as animal feed. Description of pumpkin Candy as a fodder crop receives excellent reviews from livestock owners.
This vegetable can be stored for up to 10 months at temperatures from +7°C to +15°C and tolerates transportation well.
Characteristics of a variety
This variety is cold-resistant, therefore it is widely distributed throughout Our Country. When grown in the Middle lane in the conditions of a long warm summer, up to 7-8 fruits can ripen on one plant. In the colder and rainier Northwest region, up to 3 pumpkins are removed from the plant.
The culture easily tolerates drought, but is demanding on soil fertility and photophilous.
Harvest of pumpkin variety Konfetka is obtained on average 110–130 days after germination. Depending on climatic conditions and the quality of care from 1 square. m. collect 3,6–8,4 kg of fruits, and from one bush – up to 25 kg. The variety is high yielding.
On sale you can find the seeds of Candy F1. This is a hybrid of the same variety. According to the description and main characteristics, the pumpkin Candy F1 is similar to the main variety, and in order not to make a mistake in choosing planting material, when buying seeds, you should pay attention to the photo. The bark of Candy F1 is gray in color and has a denser structure. It practically does not differ in taste, although some connoisseurs of this vegetable notice nutty notes in its sweet pulp.
Pest and disease resistance
This variety suffers from the same diseases and pests as other cucurbits. These are white rot, bacteriosis, root rot, powdery mildew, spider mites, etc.
Crop rotation significantly reduces the risk of disease. Pumpkins should not be planted after pumpkin crops (cucumbers, squash, zucchini), as the pathogens of their common diseases remain in the soil for several years. Preferred pumpkin precursors are onions, potatoes, legumes, root vegetables.
The general rule when a pumpkin is affected by a disease or pest is the urgent collection and destruction (burning) of all affected parts of the plant.
For the prevention and treatment of each disease, there are special drugs.
Advantages and disadvantages
The varietal advantages of pumpkin Sweetie include:
- sweet taste of pulp;
- ample opportunities for the use of fruits;
- high content of vitamins, microelements;
- early maturity, unpretentiousness, frost resistance, resistance to drought;
- long shelf life.
The disadvantages of pumpkin Sweetie, according to some vegetable growers, are:
- exactingness to soil fertility;
- light-loving;
- susceptibility to disease.
Growing Pumpkin Sweetie
Pumpkin Candy does not require much effort to grow and care for. Harvesting a rich harvest is not at all difficult. Even novice vegetable growers will be able to get beautiful sweet fruits if they follow the recommendations for planting and cultivating this variety.
Planting a Pumpkin Candy
When growing pumpkin Sweetie, it should be remembered that, like other large-fruited varieties, it needs a lot of space. A distance of 90 to 150 cm is left between plants. It is better to choose a sunny, windy site for planting.
The culture grows well on light and medium loamy soils. The bed is pre-fertilized with manure or compost, and if the soil is severely depleted, ash and superphosphate are added to the wells.
Pumpkin Sweetie is grown both by seedling and seedless method.
Sow pumpkin Sweetie for seedlings should be from the second half of April to the second decade of May.
As with forcing seedlings of other pumpkin crops, the seeds of this variety are first soaked in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for disinfection. The optimal substrate for germination is a mixture of soddy soil, peat and humus. Individual cups or peat pots are used as containers – pumpkin seedlings quickly form a branched root system and it is almost impossible to dive grown seedlings without damaging them.
Seedlings are planted in a permanent place after 3 weeks.
Seeds are sown directly into the ground, usually in the second half of May – early June, and in the southern regions they start already from the beginning of May. Planting material is preliminarily placed in a damp cloth and left for a day at room temperature. The strongest seeds sprout, which should be hardened in the refrigerator for 2 days.
3-4 seeds are placed in each well. Of the 3 shoots that appear, the strongest and strongest are left.
If there is a danger of night frosts, cover with a film for the night of planting.
Pumpkin Care Sweetie
To increase the yield, the bushes are formed: after the appearance of 5-6 leaves, the stem is pinched, as a result of which the plant gives lateral shoots, on which more fruits are formed. In August, when all the ovaries are formed, pinch all the shoots to stop their growth.
Further care of the crop comes down to watering, loosening, weeding and top dressing. Water the pumpkin with warm water as the topsoil dries. During the flowering period, plants need more moisture.
Loosening, weeding and top dressing begin to be done no earlier than one and a half weeks after planting and continue until the leaves close.
Fertilize pumpkin Sweetie, like other pumpkins, with organic matter. Many experienced gardeners prefer to feed with chicken manure, but regular mullein will do. Ammonium nitrate can be used as a source of minerals. The first time the plants are fed at the 5th leaf stage, then during the intensive growth of the plant, and then every 3 weeks.
Harvest on a sunny day. On pumpkins, a stalk up to 10 cm long is left. If the fruits are not ripe before the first frost and remain in the garden, they are mulched with straw or covered with a film.
Conclusion
Pumpkin Konfetka is an extremely attractive variety for vegetable growers in Our Country. Its unpretentiousness guarantees a harvest even in areas with risky farming. The sweet pulp of this healthy vegetable can be used not only in confectionery, but is also indispensable in preparing dishes for children.