Contents
Many dislike pumpkin for its insipid taste and aroma, and most of all, for its sometimes gigantic size. After all, having grown or bought such a colossus, you must immediately determine what dishes to cook from it, because it is stored in the opened state for a short time. Already, marinades, jams, and candied fruits are ready, but the pulp of the pumpkin is still not over. Pumpkin Baby will not cause such problems. It fully justifies its name. In addition, it has a very attractive flesh color and an alluring aroma.
Description of pumpkin Kroshka
The pumpkin variety Kroshka was obtained by specialists from the All- Research Institute of Irrigated Vegetable Growing and Melon Growing, located in the Astrakhan Region, back in the 80s of the last century. The variety was entered in the State Register of Our Country only in 1996 with recommendations for cultivation in the Nizhnevolzhsky and Far Eastern regions. Despite this, the Kroshka pumpkin has successfully taken root in many regions and pleases summer residents with its unpretentiousness both in the south and in central Our Country, and its photos and reviews about it attract the attention of an increasing number of gardeners.
Plants of the Kroshka variety are classified as climbing varieties of pumpkin. Although, according to their external habitus, they cannot be classified as particularly powerful. The main whip is the longest, it can reach three or more meters.
Lateral shoots are not so long. In general, the plants of this pumpkin are rather compactly located, which allows them to be placed in a very small area. The leaves are large, deep green, kidney-shaped, almost not dissected. They cover the ground with a continuous carpet in the form of huge bowls. Therefore, when the fruits ripen, they need a little thinning so that the pumpkin fruits get more solar heat and light.
Description of fruits
The fruits of the Kroshka variety, surprisingly, belong to the group of large-fruited pumpkins. Still, they are quite large compared to other vegetables, from 20 to 40 cm in diameter. Although in the pumpkin family they, of course, can be considered babies. The fruits have a flat-round neat shape, with rather pronounced slices and a smooth peel. Usually they grow even in size, the mass of one pumpkin can vary slightly, from 2,5 to 3,5 kg.
The color is predominantly light gray, sometimes almost white, with barely noticeable dark stripes of a greenish tint along the lobes. Sometimes there are vague pinkish spots on the fruits.
At the same time, the pulp of the Kroshka pumpkin variety is very bright, intense orange in color, as in the photo, although according to some descriptions it has a yellowish tint.
The pulp occupies most of the volume of the fruit.
It is distinguished by its special sweetness, density, but at the same time it breaks quite easily. There are no fibers. Taste quality different tasters evaluate as good and excellent. The aroma is incomparable, reminiscent of melon. Pumpkin Kroshka fruits contain about 16% solids, 9,2% sugars and 12 mg of carotene per 100 g of raw matter.
The bark of the fruit is of medium thickness, woody type. It may not be very convenient when cutting, but pumpkins are excellently preserved in normal room conditions. Judging by the description of the variety, baby pumpkins also perfectly tolerate transportation over any distance.
The seed nest has a small size and a dense texture. Placentas, in the amount of three, are located closer to the walls. The seeds are quite large, have an elongated oval shape and a smooth shelled skin. Characterized by yellow color. 1000 seeds weigh 368 g. Of the total volume of one pumpkin, seeds make up only 1,2%.
Fruits are suitable for any culinary processing. Their firm flesh makes them ideal for making candied fruits and cold jams. But both cereals and mashed soups are also very good. Pickled pumpkin slices will keep crunchiness for a long time. And for baking fritters, pancakes, almost any variety of pumpkin is suitable.
Interestingly, the pumpkin variety Kroshka has much in common with another variety of this vegetable, which has a similar name – Honey crumb. All characteristics of the fruits of these two varieties are very similar to each other. Pumpkins of the Honey crumb variety only have a more pronounced honey taste and aroma, as well as a greenish tint of the peel.
Well, the main difference between them is that the Kroshka variety belongs to climbing pumpkin varieties, and the Honey crumb variety belongs to bush varieties. Otherwise, the varieties are so similar that even manufacturers of planting material confuse them with each other and sometimes call them the same variety. But the honey crumb pumpkin is not listed in the State Register and is sold only by the Siberian Garden company, on the packages of seeds of which you can see its description. This suggests that it was bred by local Siberian breeders for cultivation in the vast Trans-Ural territories.
Characteristic of the variety
The pumpkin variety Kroshka is usually referred to as mid-ripening, although in some descriptions it is called medium-late. In any case, pumpkins have time to ripen even in the weather conditions of the middle lane, though only on condition that the seedling method of growing is used. The term of full ripening is from 120 to 130 days from the moment of emergence of full seedlings.
The yield of the Kroshka variety is stable regardless of weather conditions. About 5-8 kg of vegetables are harvested per square meter. According to reviews and descriptions of gardeners, on average, from 3 to 4 pumpkin fruits, Kroshka, weighing about 3 kg, are harvested from one bush. The Kroshka variety is famous for its cold resistance, the fruits ripen well even in the open ground of the Leningrad Region.
Pest and disease resistance
Variety Kroshka shows resistance to such an unpleasant fungal disease as anthracnose, which manifests itself in brown-yellow spots covering the leaves and fruits of plants.
But there is susceptibility to powdery mildew, so preventive and protective measures against this disease are required.
Advantages and disadvantages
The Kroshka variety has many worthy qualities, for which many gardeners fell in love with it:
- excellent taste and aroma;
- stable yields;
- convenient size that allows you to use it at a time;
- cold resistance and resistance to other adverse weather conditions;
- good keeping quality and transportability;
- fruits are easily separated from the stalk;
- pumpkins are suitable for mechanized harvesting.
Among the disadvantages are its susceptibility to powdery mildew and the fact that it is difficult to use it for decoration during the holidays due to its small size.
Growing and caring for pumpkin Baby
Pumpkin Kroshka can be sown with soaked seeds directly into the ground, or it can be grown in seedlings. Considering the rather late terms of its ripening, it is preferable to grow seedlings first under the conditions of the middle lane.
- To do this, at the end of April, the seeds are soaked for a day in warm water with the addition of growth stimulants.Comment! You can wait from 2 to 4 days until the sprouts hatch and only then plant the seeds in the ground.
- Then the seeds are planted one by one in pots filled with a light planting mixture. They are covered with a film and put in a warm place until the first shoots appear.
- When shoots appear, the film is removed, and the pots are moved to a bright place, trying to get sunlight at least a few hours a day.
- Seedlings are planted in the beds, usually in late May or early June, when the threat of return frosts is gone. At this point, the plants usually have 2-3 true leaves.
Pumpkins are planted in a garden bed abundantly fertilized with organic matter, since these vegetables are very fond of nutrient-rich soils. If there was no organic matter at hand, then in a garden for 1 sq. m. you need to add:
- 30 g of ammonium nitrate;
- 60 g superphosphate;
- 30 g of potash fertilizers;
- 3 glasses of wood ash.
All applied fertilizers are thoroughly mixed with the ground.
The optimal scheme for planting seedlings is 60×60 cm.
Perhaps, in the first weeks after planting, pumpkin seedlings will need additional shelter from the bright sun or possible cold snaps. Usually, a film or non-woven material on arcs is used for this.
When growing pumpkin variety Kroshka, an important step is the formation of plants. The goal that the gardener wants to achieve is important here.
- If there is a desire to grow several fruits that are as large as possible, then in this case it is necessary to remove all sprouts and stepchildren from the main shoot. And pinch him himself, leaving 4-6 leaves after the very last pumpkin.
- If you want to grow more fruits without chasing their size, then leave the two strongest side shoots, and cut the main one, leaving 4 leaves after 3 pumpkins. One pumpkin is left on each side shoot. More fruits are unlikely to have time to ripen.
They try to water the Kroshka variety pumpkin abundantly until the first buds appear, and the ground is completely covered with leaves. From the moment the ovaries are formed, watering is reduced, and as the fruits ripen, they stop altogether. If the land was thoroughly fertilized during planting, then Baby Pumpkin does not need additional feeding.
Conclusion
Pumpkin Kroshka is a variety that is very convenient in all respects, both for growing and for use in all possible dishes. Not only will it not cause unnecessary trouble, but it will also delight you with honey taste and aroma.
Reviews about pumpkin Kroshka
