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Pumpkin Muscat de Provence is a mid-season French variety bred by Clause Tezier. The variety has a high yield and relatively unpretentious care. Pumpkin can be grown in warm and temperate climates; its fruits have excellent taste, good keeping quality and transportability.
Description of the pumpkin variety Muscat Provencal
According to the description of the pumpkin variety Muscat of Provence, the plant is a grass with thick, rough lashes creeping along the ground. The number of lashes reaches 4-7. Their length can reach several meters.
On the lashes are antennae, with which the pumpkin clings to obstacles, climbing up them. Also on the stems are large five-lobed leaves, with a diameter of 5 to 8 cm. Large flowers (up to 10 cm in diameter) have a yellow-white color. They are bell-shaped and have 5 petals. Flowering time is at the end of May.
Flowering lasts for several days. Pollination is carried out by insects, mainly bees. In their absence, pollination is carried out artificially. Pumpkin fruits are called gourds. As a rule, 1-2 pumpkins are tied on one stem.
Description of fruits
The fruits are about 40 cm in diameter and weigh 7 to 10 kg. They are orange-brown in color and rounded flattened. The ribbing of the fruit is pronounced. At the stage of technical ripeness, the color of the fruit is grayish-green. The skin is firm and smooth.
The flesh of the Muscat fruit of Provence has a bright orange color, it is dense and very sweet. The pumpkin pulp contains more than 15% sugar and more than 20% starch. Pumpkin contains vitamins C, E, B1 and B2, phosphoric and silicic acid, a large amount of iron, calcium, magnesium and other trace elements.
Mostly the pulp is used for making juices and mashed potatoes, but it can also be consumed fresh. Muscat of Provence is a dietary product. Its pulp is recommended for people suffering from diseases of the cardiovascular, digestive and excretory systems.
Separately, it should be said about the beneficial properties of Muscat de Provence seed oil. The pumpkin oil contained in them is used to prevent diseases of the nervous and endocrine systems.
The storage time of ripe pumpkins is about six months.
Characteristics of pumpkin Muscat de Provence
The Muscat de Provence pumpkin variety is not frost-resistant and requires about 4 months from the moment of germination to full ripening, so in the northern regions it may simply not have time to ripen.
The drought resistance of the plant is average, it requires regular watering every 7-10 days.
The yield is from 3 to 5 fruits per plant, which, depending on the degree of planting, corresponds to 20-30 kg per 1 sq. m.
Pest and disease resistance
This variety has moderate disease resistance. Like all pumpkins, it can be subject to attacks by fungal diseases (bacteriosis, powdery mildew, etc.), as well as pest invasions, in particular, spider mites.
Fungal diseases can be stopped by spraying the foliage with a 1% solution of copper sulfate. In the case of powdery mildew, a 70% solution of colloidal sulfur is additionally used.
When traces of spider mite activity appear on the stems (entanglement of the green part of the plant with sticky cobwebs), a tincture of onion and garlic husks is used. Spraying is done daily for 10 days.
Advantages and disadvantages
According to reviews, Muscat Provence pumpkin has the following advantages:
- unpretentiousness in cultivation;
- large fruits with excellent taste;
- high yield;
- good preservation of fruits.
The disadvantages include:
- the impossibility of growing in the northern regions;
- vulnerability to fungal diseases in humid climates.
Pumpkin cultivation technology Muscat de Provence
Muscat de Provence pumpkin can be grown both in seedlings and in seedlings. Naturally, in colder climates, the first method of planting is used, in warmer climates, the second. Theoretically, it is possible to speed up the maturation of pumpkins if you use the seedling method of growing pumpkins and growing pumpkins in a greenhouse, but in practice this is rarely done, since pumpkin requires fairly large areas, and its greenhouse cultivation is not justified.
Since Muscat pumpkin of Provence prefers soils with a large amount of humic compounds and soluble mineral salts, it should be grown on medium-density loam with neutral acidity.
It is advisable to fertilize the soil with humus or rotted manure six months before planting the pumpkin.
The predecessors of pumpkins can be cruciferous, legumes, onions, beets or radishes. It is recommended to plant green manure from legumes or cereals before planting on the site.
Landing in open ground
For sowing pumpkins in a seedless way, only large and high-quality seeds that have undergone troubleshooting are used. At the same time, dried seeds or those that have damage to the shell are immediately selected.
Seeds are pre-treated to speed up germination. To do this, they are heated for 2-3 hours at a temperature of + 50-60 ° C, and then germinated wrapped in gauze moistened with water for several days. After that, they are sown 2-3 pieces in one hole in the garden.
In this case, a square-nested method of cultivation and a sowing scheme from 0,7×0.7 m to 1,5×1,5 m are used. At the same time, the seeds are buried by 5-10 cm. a depth of 10-12 cm will heat up to a temperature of at least + 12-14 °C.
Under favorable circumstances, Muscat Provence pumpkin seedlings will appear within 1-1,5 weeks. Of several germinated plants in one hole, one, the strongest, is left a week after germination.
seedling cultivation
If an earlier harvest is needed, the pumpkin can be planted through seedlings. The procedure for planting a plant through seedlings is quite simple.
The change is planted in early or mid-April in pots. The composition of the soil is standard for seedlings of any other garden crop. It can be a two- or three-component mixture (peat and sand; earth, humus and sand; earth, peat and sand, etc. in the required proportions), or it can simply be ordinary earth brought from the garden in which cultivation will be carried out .
After about a week, the first shoots appear. In two weeks they will take root, get stronger and will be ready for planting in open ground. Then they are treated similarly to seeds when grown in open ground (square-nested planting in increments of 0,7 to 1,5 m).
weeding
Caring for Muscat Provence pumpkin consists in regular weeding, watering, fertilizing and other ongoing work on the site. A large area of the site, free in the first months of cultivation, makes it possible to germinate a large number of weeds. In addition, as the plant grows, the complexity of these works increases, since the overgrown pumpkin does not allow you to move freely around the site.
Therefore, the period of the beginning of cultivation of the crop, until the pumpkin lashes have reached a length of about 1 m, should mainly be devoted to weed control. They should be weeded regularly, at intervals of 3-4 days, while trying not to touch the young lashes.
Watering
Watering is the most critical part of caring for the plant, because in fertile soil, the pumpkin does not need any other care besides it. The recommended frequency of watering is 1 time per week. Water consumption rate – 20 liters per 1 sq. m. During fruit ripening, this rate is reduced to 10 liters per 1 square. m to avoid cracks in the fruit.
Feeding
With sufficiently fertile soil, the plant does not need top dressing. In the case of poor soils, it is necessary to feed it 2 times a month with nitrogen and potash fertilizers. It is recommended to combine organic and complex mineral fertilizers.
Support for stems
Separately, it should be said about the additional props to which the pumpkin stems will be attached. Since the plant can form from 4 to 7 lashes, and their length reaches 8 m, the area of uXNUMXbuXNUMXbthe site may not be enough to accommodate such a large amount of green mass. In order for everything to fit compactly enough, special supports are used in the form of large-mesh nets stretched between the columns, for which the whiskers of the stems will cling.
Their height should not be too large, since the mass of pumpkin fruits is very large. Usually, nets with a height of about 0,5 m are used.
Conclusion
Pumpkin Muscat de Provence is a mid-season variety with large fruits with excellent taste. The variety is quite unpretentious and requires minimal care when growing. Fruits can be stored for six months without loss of taste.
Reviews of pumpkin Muscat de Provence
