2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Kruknek (lat. Curcurbita pepo L. var.giraumonas) - vegetable culture; an annual plant of the Pumpkin family. Kruknek is a type of hard gourd. Another name is crank. In terms of the content of nutrients and vitamins and in terms of nutritional value, kruknek surpasses pumpkin, zucchini and squash. The culture is widespread in Europe, Southeast Asia, North and South America. Crooknek was brought to Russia at the beginning of the 19th century, and today it is grown only on personal household plots. Kruknek can be safely called a promising culture, since it easily and quickly adapts to the conditions of the middle and southern zone.
Characteristics of culture
A characteristic feature of a crooked neck is the unusual shape of its fruits. They can be club-shaped, elongated or pear-shaped, often elongated with an intercepted neck and thickened at the other end. Outwardly, the fruits are similar to pears, curved at the top. The average fruit weight is 0.3-0.4 kg. The surface of the fruit can be smooth or warty, light yellow to bright orange in color. The flesh of the kruknek fruit is juicy, tender, white, yellow or bright orange. Seeds are oval or ovoid, viable for 5-7 years.
Growing conditions
Kruknek thrives on light, well-aerated, moderately moist, fertile soils. Sandy loam and loamy soils with a neutral pH reaction are optimal. Crockneck should not be grown on heavy clayey, acidic and highly waterlogged soils. It can be grown after all vegetables except those from the pumpkin family. The location is sunny, culture is negative about the shade. The best predecessors are carrots, potatoes, cabbage, beets, onions, legumes and herbs. It is not recommended to grow a crank after members of the Pumpkin family.
Plants are demanding for the presence of organic matter and mineral fertilizers. For autumn digging, compost or humus (4-8 kg per 1 sq. M.), Phosphorus-potassium fertilizers (30 g each) and wood ash (100-150 g) are made without fail, nitrogen fertilizers are applied in spring during loosening (15 -20 g). Crooknek is demanding for warmth, seeds germinate at a temperature of 13-14C, the optimum temperature for development and growth is 25-28C. Frosts have a detrimental effect on plants, even adult specimens do not tolerate low temperatures. The crank does not accept sharp fluctuations, often this leads to blanching of the leaves and the cessation of the formation of ovaries.
Growing
In the conditions of central Russia, kruknek must be grown in seedlings. Seeds for seedlings are sown at the end of April in seedling boxes filled with a well-moistened and fertile substrate. Ridges for culture are insulated, for this, a groove 40 cm deep is dug in the middle of the ridge and filled with manure and leaves, and its surface is covered with fertile soil about 20 cm thick, where the seedlings are planted. In the presence of a small amount of organic matter, you can limit yourself to holes measuring 40 * 40 * 40 cm, which should be filled with manure and compost and covered with a soil layer, forming mounds on which seedlings are planted.
For the first time, the ridges are covered with a black film stretched over wire arcs. Before planting seedlings in the ground, they are hardened. Seedlings are planted at the age of 30-35 days, to be more precise, when the seedlings have 2-3 true leaves with a shortened squat stem. It is impossible to overexpose the seedlings at home, otherwise the seedlings will not take root. The main thing when planting is not to change the position of the plant in relation to the sunlight, in which it grew on the windowsill. Sowing seeds in open ground is not prohibited, in this case the procedure is carried out in the third decade of May, after the threat of frost has passed. To reduce the likelihood of frost damage to young plants, you need to sow crockneck in three periods with an interval of 3-4 days.
Care
Three weeks after planting, a small layer of humus or peat is poured under the plants. Some gardeners instead huddle the plants, thereby exposing the root system, which is strictly prohibited. Crookneks do not need to be formed, however, if during the flowering period the vegetative mass becomes too voluminous to the detriment of the fruits, 2-3 central leaves are cut off. It is important to systematically remove rotten fruits and yellowed leaves.
Watering is carried out regularly, I use warm and settled water for these purposes. Water should not get on the flowers and ovaries, otherwise they will start to rot. In the evening, the flowers of the culture are artificially pollinated, for this they use a cotton swab, with which they collect pollen from one flower and transfer it to another. You can spray the plants with sweet water to attract insects. Top dressing has a positive effect on the development of the crooknek; two dressings are enough per season. The first feeding is carried out before flowering (with ammonium nitrate, superphosphate and potassium sulfate), the second - during fruiting (with a solution of mullein or bird droppings).
