Pumpkin

2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-07 15:51

© gitanna / Rusmediabank.ru

Latin name: Cucurbita pepo Family: Pumpkin Categories: Vegetable crops

Common pumpkin (Latin Cucurbita pepo) - popular melon culture; an annual herb of the Pumpkin family.

Characteristics of culture

Pumpkin is a plant with a taproot system, the main part of the roots reaches a depth of 40-50 cm, individual roots go down to 1.5-2 m. lashes). The length of the main stem can reach a length of 14-15 m.

The leaves of the plant are erect, green, located on petioles, they can have various shapes (five-lobed, heart-shaped-notched, etc.). Starting from 6-7 leaves, branched tendrils are formed in the axils, increasing the pumpkin's resistance to gusts of wind. Like the stem, the leaves are covered with spiny thorns or coarse hairs.

The flowers are single, bell-shaped, yellow, up to 6-30 cm in diameter, located on the god's shoots and the main stem. The corolla is five-lobed. Under favorable growing conditions, the flowers open early in the morning, and close by mid-day. Flowering and fruiting of a culture are inseparable.

The fruit is a multi-seeded berry (pumpkin), formed mainly on the main stem and first-order shoots. Depending on the variety, it can be round and elongated, yellow, orange, red-orange, green and other shades. Pumpkin seeds are white, oval, viable for 8-10 years, but the most productive are seeds that have been stored for no more than 3-4 years.

Growing conditions

Pumpkin is a light-loving crop. For its cultivation, spacious areas, well-lit by the sun, are suitable. The optimum temperature for plant growth is 23-25C, at temperatures below 14C, growth stops. Any soil is suitable for pumpkin, but only fertile. The culture is demanding on organic fertilizers, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and other micro and macro elements.

Acidic soils are not suitable for growing pumpkin, such areas should be preliminarily limed. In the northern regions, in the Urals and Siberia, it is practiced to plant crops on compost or manure heaps, combined with sand and sod land. It is possible to grow crops near gazebos, fences without shading and on trellises. The best predecessors of the plant are cabbage, tomato, potato, radish, lettuce and spinach.

Landing in open ground

Before sowing, the seeds of the culture are treated in warm water, the temperature of which should be about 40-43C, then placed in an ash solution for decontamination. To peck the embryo, the seeds can be wrapped in damp gauze rolled in several layers.

The soil for the pumpkin is prepared in the fall, it is carefully dug up, organic and mineral fertilizers are applied. In the spring, the site for planting the culture is loosened, shallow holes are made, seeds are buried in them and watered with a watering can. The distance between the plants should be at least 1 m, between the rows - 2 m. Often gardeners plant the plant in a checkerboard pattern. Before emergence, the crops are covered with plastic wrap.

Planting seedlings

Among Russian summer residents, the method of planting seedlings is widespread, usually this method is used to grow nutmeg pumpkin. Sowing is carried out in the third decade of April in boxes or individual pots filled with a special soil substrate. Crops are placed in a warm place and covered with foil until shoots appear. Seedlings are planted in open ground at the end of May.

Care

Pumpkin care consists of watering, weeding and loosening. Pumpkin is a moisture-loving crop, so it requires large amounts of watering, especially during flowering. Watering is stopped immediately after the ripening of the pumpkin, this is necessary so that the fruit lies down and collects sugars in the pulp.

Plants also need feeding. During the season, two dressings are carried out: the first - when 3-5 true leaves appear on the culture, nitrophoska is introduced into the soil; the second - at the beginning of the formation of lashes, infusion of mullein, potash and phosphorus fertilizers and wood ash are introduced into the soil. Do not forget about preventive treatments of plants from pests and diseases.