Pumpkin is considered one of the most popular garden crops. It is unpretentious and has a wide growing area. Pumpkin is extremely popular in cooking, as well as folk medicine and even cosmetology. How to grow this plant when planting seeds in open ground, our article will tell you.
Growing pumpkins most often occurs using this method. Seeds (also properly processed) are added to the previously prepared soil. After this, it is necessary to provide the plant with proper care, as well as harvest on time. All this is discussed in detail below.
Before planting in open ground, it is advisable to properly prepare planting material A. For this purpose they are used various methods As a rule, each gardener prefers his own. Some people freeze the seeds for this, while others pierce them to speed up growth. Our article offers a more gentle method that is effective and time-tested.
How to prepare seeds before planting:
It is very important to make sure that the seeds are not old. To do this, the manufacturer must indicate the shelf life and suitability. At independent procurement planting material, it also makes sense to determine possible deadline use. It should be remembered that maximum germination will be achieved by seeds no older than two to three years.
Many gardeners successfully grow pumpkins without following the described algorithm, but still best result the correct method will give you. It uses the method of planting at different depths and pinching out unnecessary shoots. The main secrets of this method are described in more detail below.
Important points when planting pumpkins:
The video shows how to plant a pumpkin in open ground with seeds:
Pumpkin is often planted to shade beds from the sun's rays. This will help preserve the plantings, but it should be borne in mind that this plant requires a lot to grow. nutrients and such a neighborhood can harm cucumbers and other crops. A method that is also often used is to use pumpkin shoots to darken the compost pit in the area. It's simple and effective method, which has an indisputable advantage - the ability to provide the plant with all the necessary substances without additional fertilizing.
As a rule, on compost pit can be assembled maximum yield without any extra effort.
Further care of the pumpkin usually does not present any particular difficulties. The plant must be watered regularly, weeds must be pulled out and the soil near the roots must be loosened. Like any other culture, it has its own secrets, which will be discussed further.
Secrets of a good harvest:
In the video - growing pumpkins in open ground:
Pumpkin has a pleasant taste and contains many useful substances. The plant is not whimsical, but is extremely sensitive to fertilizing and loosening. To find out the main secrets of growing this crop, our article will give necessary information about this question.
The southern melon crop - pumpkin - loves warmth and sunlight, so she often doesn’t have time to make it to the end summer season. This is especially true in the northern regions, where the warm period does not last long. To quickly get a guaranteed harvest, pumpkin is grown using seedlings.
For growing, fairly spacious dishes are used: paper and plastic cups. It is filled with fertilized soil and watered well. About a month before the planned planting in open ground, sow the seeds, which are deepened by 3 cm and covered with film until the first shoots appear. It is worth adding sawdust to the bottom of the seed boxes in order to reduce the likelihood of damage to the root system at the time of transplanting the sprouts.
Due to the pumpkin’s rejection of various transplants, it is better to choose the following containers:
During the seedling period, plants are fed several times and watered with warm water. The dishes with sprouts must be placed in a sunny and warm place.
In order for the sprouts to be strong enough at the time of planting, it is necessary to provide them with an optimal temperature.
The appearance of one or two true leaves on each bush signals that the pumpkin is ready to be planted in open ground.
In order for the sprouts to adapt to new conditions faster, they begin about a week before planting. At this time, the temperature is slightly lowered: during the day to 15 o C, and at night to 12 o C. Hardening includes not only changing the temperature, but also periodically ventilating the room, as well as taking it out into the open air, first during the day, then completely for a day. When a pumpkin is hardened off, it becomes stronger and able to withstand slight drops in temperatures after transplanting.
When there are two to three days left before transplanting plants into open ground, it is necessary to reduce watering in order to slightly dry the soil, but to prevent the sprouts from wilting. The day before planting, water the soil generously to make it easier to remove the plant from the pot.
Seedlings ready for planting are characterized by a strong stem with small internodes and a pair of dark green leaves. Root system Such a sprout should grow to cover the entire volume of the occupied pot.
When replanting plants in open ground, you should not rush, because you can ruin all the plants. Optimal temperature For normal crop growth, it is considered approximately 15 o C, so it is better to wait for warm weather to set in and only then proceed to transplanting seedlings. When to start replanting, everyone decides for themselves. Most often, planting begins in late May - early June: when the threat of night frosts has passed, the strengthened seedlings are transferred to a permanent place.
Before planting, you need to make sure that the soil is dry enough and warmed up well. Cold soil is a factor in delaying the growth of seedlings, and excess moisture leads to rotting. When plants are planted in the evening hours or on a cloudy, rainy day, they more easily adapt to the changed conditions.
Before planting seedlings, you need to decide on the planting location. The heat-loving crop prefers well-lit beds. There is no need to be afraid of burns: the entire surface of the wide leaves is densely covered with hairs that protect from the effects of the hot sun. If you ignore the lighting factor and choose a shaded area for planting pumpkin crops, you may end up with a weak plant that produces small and faded fruits.
The soil for replanting pumpkins must meet the following criteria:
Any deficiency can be eliminated in one way or another. If you are planting a pumpkin, it is important to understand that this melon crop has a long main root and many small roots that are located about half a meter from the surface of the ground. This is why it is important that upper layer the soil was quite fertile. To do this, they add it in the fall. Soil acidity is reduced with lime or ash. You can apply humus or fertilizer immediately before planting in the hole.
Pumpkin crops have a negative attitude towards transplantation, so it is better to plant them before the age of one month with the appearance of one or two true leaves. Planting in open ground is carried out only after good feeding. When a pumpkin grows in peat pots, it is replanted along with the container: it is enough to remove the bottom and slightly destroy the walls so that the weak roots can cope with this obstacle. Otherwise, you need to carefully remove the sprout along with a lump of earth from the bowl, trying not to damage the already weak roots. To make this procedure easier, you can water the soil well beforehand.
Correct landing involves the following: important points, compliance with which is very important for better adaptation transplanted plant.
To avoid damaging the stem and true leaves when planting seedlings, you need to hold on only to the cotyledon leaves.
The holes for the pumpkin are made quite deep - up to 10 cm. Mineral and organic fertilizers must be added to each hole, and then poured generously with warm water. When the liquid is completely absorbed into the ground, begin replanting.
Considering that pumpkin culture requires space; at least 1.5 m2 is allocated for each bush. How many meters to leave between sprouts depends on the type of plant:
In general, caring for plants transplanted into open ground is quite easy. It includes timely weeding, loosening and watering. However, it is necessary to follow some recommendations for normal growth and development of the culture:
The amount of watering and the quality of the fruit are inversely related: than less water used for watering, the healthier the fruit will be.
Do not forget about periodically pinching plants after fruit set. This is done to ensure that the fruit ripens faster. To form strong lateral roots, you need to cover the bush in a circle with moist soil. During rain, planks can be placed here to prevent rotting.
The adaptation time of seedlings depends on its age: the younger the sprouts, the faster they normalize and begin to develop.
Planting pumpkin seedlings helps produce earlier fruits. Incorrect actions when planting a crop in open ground can lead to a stop in the development of the bush, unripe fruits or death of the plant. Therefore, you need to follow all the rules for caring for a pumpkin and replanting it.
Pumpkin is a traditional food product on our table, very healthy and rich in vitamins. And also this unpretentious plant, which can be successfully grown in our climate. However, it is important to know the rules and nuances of working with this plant. Let's look at how to plant pumpkin seeds in open ground.
Before talking about how to plant seeds in open ground, it is necessary to consider how to choose the right seeds. Since it is from the right choice and their preliminary processing depends on all success.
There are several ways: you can buy seeds at any gardening store, or you can collect seeds from pumpkins that you grow in your garden. Of course, the pumpkin must be completely ripe. Collecting seeds is not difficult at all - to do this, you need to remove the seeds from the fruit, wash them, dry them and store them. It is recommended to store them in a bag made of natural fabric. This will be the seed material.
It is noteworthy that the seeds are more viable the longer they are stored. Seeds that are stored for a year or two are considered optimal for planting. In general, they can be stored for four years, and all this time they will retain their germination.
Next, you need to sort out the seeds - and this step should not be skipped, since large, full-fledged seeds will give you a healthy, strong plant. If the planting material is small or damaged, then it should not be used.
There is a simple and reliable way Determining suitable seeds is enough to soak them in salted water. Seeds unsuitable for sowing will remain on the surface of the water and should be discarded.
The next stage of seed preparation is germination and hardening. Soaked seeds must be germinated or wait until the sprouts begin to hatch. Then they are hardened. Why do they do this? This kind of seed processing significantly shortens the growth period, and you can get your seedlings faster. This way, you will have a much better chance of growing your own even if summer ends early.
In addition, hardening has a positive effect on seeds in that it strengthens the plant’s immunity, makes them stronger, stronger, and allows them to withstand changing weather conditions.
How to properly heat the seeds so that it is easier for the sprout to break through the skin of the seed? To do this, pumpkin seeds must be heated at a temperature of 50-60 degrees for 8-9 hours. The most convenient way for this is the oven. Please note that the seeds must be evenly heated, so they must be turned over.
After this, they must be kept in an ash solution. The solution is easy to make - 2 tablespoons of ordinary wood ash are infused in a liter of boiling water. The roasted seeds are kept in this solution for 12 hours.
Before planting pumpkin seeds in open ground, you need to do one more process with the sprouted seeds - place them in the refrigerator for 24 hours. And only after that you can proceed to planting.
Experienced gardeners know that for a pumpkin it is necessary to choose a good place for its growth. It is advisable to choose a sunny place. Pumpkin loves fertile and loose soil, because its roots need air. As for acidity, the soil should not be acidic. Perfect option- loam and sandy loam. Remember that the soil must be fertile.
There is one more important nuance, which should definitely be taken into account - pumpkin (no matter what kind) is planted in the same place only after 5 years. It’s good if perennial herbs, cabbage or legumes grew in this place before - such soil is very good for pumpkin.
Start preparatory work for planting pumpkins in the fall. The site should be well prepared, namely, remove weeds, add compost and humus. The area should also be dug up. If you decide to plant seeds in acidic soil, then it is better to add lime to it (you can also use dolomite flour). Remember that you should enrich the soil. If you were unable to do this on time, then fertilizers can be applied before planting.
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Now let's look at how to plant pumpkin seeds in open ground. As with most other crops, the timing depends on weather conditions region. If this is the southern region, then usually planting can begin in the first days of May; northern - in the last days of May. If the weather in your region does not allow planting before summer, then it is recommended to grow pumpkin not from seeds, but through seedlings.
Before planting pumpkin seeds in open ground, make sure that the soil is warmed to a depth of at least 10 cm. If not (its temperature is less than +12 degrees), then the seeds will germinate extremely slowly. Moreover, they can rot.
And the fruits ripen 3.5-4 months after the first shoots appear. If the seeds are pre-prepared, they germinate in up to a week; if you are not prepared, from ten days to two weeks. Take all this into account to decide on planting dates.
First, holes are dug in the future pumpkin patch, and water is poured into each of them. hot water(about a liter and a half). When the water is completely absorbed, you can plant the seeds - 3-5 seeds in each. Then the holes must be covered with earth. All we have to do is wait for the plants to sprout.
You only need to keep two plants - choose those that are in the best condition. From such plants will grow good pumpkin. Plants must be regularly loosened and watered, fertilized with organic fertilizers, such as chicken manure, or mineral fertilizers (ammonium nitrate).
if you have small plot land, and you don’t know what’s best to plant on it, be sure to add pumpkin to your list. Caring for it is not that difficult, and the harvest can be so rich that it will last you a long time. Pies, pumpkin jam, delicious porridge... To provide for yourself and all relatives and friends with this healthy vegetable, you need to plant it correctly.
Growing pumpkins is an easy task
If you want to get a rich harvest, you need to choose the right site for the pumpkin. The bed should be located in a warm area that warms up sun rays. But it also tolerates shade well. The soil can be any, but the most preferable is sandy or sandy loam. The good thing about it is that it warms up quickly.
It’s good if winter wheat, corn or perennial grasses grew in the garden before. You can choose a bed after others vegetable crops: onions, tomatoes, cabbage, potatoes, carrots. You should not plant it if cucumbers or squash grew here before, and it is not advisable to do this in place of cucumbers. In the same garden bed you can grow pumpkins again only after five years.
Corn is a good precursor for pumpkin
The land needs to be prepared in the fall. How to do this correctly?
When digging the ground, do not forget to fertilize the soil. The pumpkin begins to grow actively, its above-ground part quickly grows, so it needs a lot nutrients. How to fertilize the soil? The best option– this is manure or humus, rotted compost. For one square meter add 5-10 kg of manure. They are laid to a depth of 10-15 cm if the soil is heavy, and 15-20 if it is light.
It is not always possible to apply such an amount of manure. Then it is placed only in the holes for seedlings, 1-2 kg per plant. In addition to manure, it is worth putting a little superphosphate (20 g) and potassium sulfate (10 g) in the hole. Or use organo-mineral fertilizers, which apply 1 tablespoon per plant.
Pumpkin loves ample manure fertilization
If you've been on vacation in the countryside, you've seen heaps of compost with pumpkins growing on them. This is not only a way to get a high yield, but also to improve compost heap. Why is it beneficial to plant pumpkin on compost:
Pumpkin grows well on a compost heap
If the plot big size, you will need a seeder. Melon seeders SBN-3 and SBU-2-4 are used. The first seeder plants seeds in 2-3 rows, the distance between them is 140 or 180 cm. But this method is not suitable for an ordinary garden. Most often you have to plant the seeds by hand.
Only early ripening varieties of pumpkin, or nutmeg and hard-barked ones, are planted with seeds. The rest - only through seedlings.
How to plant pumpkin? If you are counting on good harvest, choose only full-bodied seeds. To select the best, you need to prepare a 3-5% salt solution and dip the seeds into it. Those that have surfaced are not suitable. The rest need to be collected, washed and dried. Pumpkin seeds can be stored for 1-4 years. In order for the seedlings to be friendly and the pumpkin to grow healthy and strong, it is necessary pre-sowing preparation seeds How to do this correctly?
This is necessary to obtain friendly shoots. They must be kept at a temperature of 60 degrees for at least 2-3 hours.
The pumpkin must be resistant to sudden temperature changes. To make the plant better tolerate cold, the seeds are hardened. They are kept at a temperature of + 1°C for 48 hours.
Diseases can destroy plants that have not yet matured. To prevent this, the seeds must be treated:
The seeds are wrapped in a damp cloth, making sure that it does not dry out. In 2-3 days the sprouts will hatch.
Pumpkin seeds can be stored for up to four years
Pumpkin is the most resistant to cold weather, if you take everything melons, but she also loves warmth. Therefore, it should be planted in late spring, when there is no frost. If you plant it too early, the seeds will simply rot in cold soil. Therefore, planting pumpkins in open ground occurs when the soil temperature at a depth of 10 cm should be 13 °C.
One plant has a feeding area of 1 to 4 square meters. For early ripening varieties it may be less, for late ripening varieties it may be more.
This is why the distance between plants is so important. If these are long-climbing varieties, then a distance of 1.5 - 2 m is left between the holes, and 1.4 - 2 m between the rows. When choosing bush varieties of pumpkins, the planting scheme is different: this is a nesting method, 80 by 80 cm or 1, 2 by 1.2 m. In light soils, plant seeds deep - 5-8 cm, in heavy soils - 4-5 cm. In one hole you can put from 2 to 5 seeds: for large-fruited soils less, for nutmeg - more. They are placed at a distance of 3-4 cm from each other.
Pumpkins should be planted at a distance from each other
If you want to grow late-ripening varieties, which ripen in 120-140 days, the harvest will ripen only if you plant seedlings. Seeds are planted in April (end) or May (beginning). It is important to calculate the planting time so that within a month (25-30 days) it can be planted in open ground.
Buy peat pots(diameter 10-15 cm), fill them with peat soil. You can prepare the land yourself. To do this, take 4 parts of humus and mix it with one part of turf. Fertilizers must be added to the soil. For one bucket you will need ammonium nitrate (4 g) + potassium salt (4 g) + superphosphate (5 g). All this is moistened and mixed. Seeds are sown to a depth of 2-3 cm and covered with film.
Pumpkin seedlings are planted in peat pots or cassettes.
At first the temperature is 18-25 degrees. After 4-5 days you will see sprouts hatching. The film must be removed and the temperature reduced to 15-20 degrees. To do this, ventilate the room more often. If this is not done, the seedlings will stretch out. Water the seedlings not often so that the plant does not grow pampered. Don't forget about feeding. The first is done 8-10 days after the sprouts hatch.
Feed with Darin mixture. The second time feeding is needed before planting; any mineral fertilizer will do. Add 3-4 g of fertilizer per 1 liter of water.
You can plant a pumpkin outside only when it is stable. warm weather. If frost suddenly happens, all your work will be lost. The seedling holes are placed according to the same pattern as described above. I make the holes large to accommodate the plant with a lump of earth. 1-2 liters of warm water are poured into each well in advance. Plant the seedlings deep, covering them with soil up to the cotyledon leaves. Then additional roots are formed. Then the seedlings need to be watered. If you plant seedlings on a compost heap, the distance between plants should be 70-80 cm.
Pumpkin can be sown immediately into the soil, or it can be planted through seedlings. It grows best in well-warmed sunny areas. Preparing the soil for planting pumpkins begins in the fall. After harvesting the pumpkin predecessors, the soil is freed of weeds and plant debris.
Afterwards, the soil is loosened with a milling cutter or hoe, and after two to three weeks it is dug up to a depth of 25–30 cm. During digging, you should carefully remove the roots of dandelion, sow thistle, wheatgrass, May beetle and wireworm larvae from the site.
Fertilizers are applied to the soil simultaneously with its digging. Due to the high growth rate of aboveground and underground organs Pumpkin has an increased need for nutrients.
The most best fertilizer for pumpkin - manure. It is more advisable to use rotted compost, since fresh manure contains many weeds. Apply 5-10 kg of manure per 1 square meter of land.
Organic fertilizers are applied to a depth of 10-15 cm (on heavy soils) or 15-20 cm (on light soils). With limited quantities organic fertilizers, they can be applied immediately before planting the crop directly into the hole.
The day before sowing pumpkin, the soil is dug up, and nitrogen fertilizers are applied during digging at the rate of 15-20 grams of fertilizer per 1 square meter of plot. After digging, the area is leveled with a rake and they begin planting seedlings or sowing seeds.
To plant pumpkin seeds, it is best to select full-bodied seeds, which must be heated at a temperature of 60 degrees (2-3 hours). This is necessary for the friendly germination of seedlings. To ensure early germination and to acquire crop resistance to unfavorable environmental conditions, before sowing, seeds are placed for a day in a solution of one of the growth stimulants:
If you do not have these preparations, you can use wood ash to treat pumpkin seeds: take 2 tablespoons of ash per 1 liter of warm water, leave for one day, stir the solution periodically, then filter and place the seeds placed in a gauze bag into it. After this, the seeds are washed with water.
You can soak the seeds in warm water or in a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
After the seeds have been soaked, you can begin to sow or germinate them. You can germinate pumpkin seeds indoors by wrapping them in a damp cloth and placing them in a saucer.
On the site, you can germinate pumpkin seeds in a box with scalded sawdust. Spread on sawdust paper napkins(wet) in 23 layers, on them - pumpkin seeds, then again with napkins, then warm sawdust and cover everything with film. The box is left in a warm place.
Depending on the biological characteristics of the pumpkin variety, as well as on climatic conditions region, there are different terms sowing crops. Planting of hard-barked and large-fruited pumpkins begins when the soil has warmed up to 10 degrees (at a depth of 10-12 cm) and the air temperature is 15 degrees. In more early dates sowing, the plant should be provided with heat from biofuel, as well as protection from frost with film.
When planting hard-barked and large-fruited pumpkin seeds in open ground, they must be embedded in the soil to a depth of 5-8 cm (on light soils) or 4-5 cm (on heavy soils).
Seeds of long-climbing crop varieties are sown in a row (the distance between holes should be about 1.5-2 meters, and between rows - 1.4-2 meters).
Bush varieties of pumpkin can be planted using the square-cluster method according to the following scheme: 80*80 cm or 1.2*1.2 m. The distance between the pumpkin seeds should be 3-4 cm. After the seeds have been placed in the holes, they should be watered with the mixture humus and soil in equal quantities.
The process of pumpkin ripening from the moment of sowing is quite long, especially for late-ripening and heat-loving varieties of the crop. The process lasts 120-140 days. In order to get an earlier pumpkin harvest, you can grow its seedlings. Window sills in an apartment are suitable for this; it is advisable that the window sills be well lit.
Seedlings are also grown in greenhouses, greenhouses or under a film frame. It is best to sow seeds in the last ten days of April or early May. This ensures that the plant is ready for transplanting into open ground.
As containers for seedlings, you can use milk cartons or hollow peat pots with a diameter of 10-15 cm. The prepared peat soil. Self-cooking nutrient soil: take humus and turf soil in a ratio of 4:1. Add 4 grams of potassium salt to a bucket of the mixture and ammonium nitrate, as well as 5 grams of superphosphate. Afterwards, the mixture is moistened and mixed thoroughly (preferably 3-4 times). This mixture is poured into prepared containers and lightly compacted.
During sowing, the soil in the containers is watered with warm water, a 2-3 cm depression is made in the center, into which one pumpkin seed is placed. The process of preparing seeds is the same as when sowing directly into open ground. Cover the tops of the pots with plastic wrap and place them on the windowsill for germination.
After sowing pumpkin, the air temperature should be maintained within 18-25 degrees. As soon as the first shoots appear, the film is removed and the temperature is reduced by 3-5 degrees (this is done within 4-5 days). In an apartment, this can be achieved by ventilating the room. This protects the seedlings from being pulled.
If the seedlings do stretch out, then on the eighth to tenth day after emergence the subcotyledonous knee should be rolled up in a ring and placed on the soil, covering them with soil up to the cotyledonary leaves. The field of this pumpkin seedlings is grown at a daytime air temperature of 20-22 degrees, and at night 15-18 degrees. Watering the pumpkin should not be abundant or frequent. Excess moisture can lead to “pampering” of the crop.
The second feeding is done with any complex mineral fertilizers at the rate of 3-4 grams of fertilizer per 1 liter of water. It must be done immediately before planting the plant in open ground.
A few days before planting seedlings, they should be hardened off. Plants ready for transplanting have a low and stocky stem with short internodes, and also have 2-3 well-developed dark green leaves.
Planting seedlings into the soil is carried out a little deeper than it sat in the pot, sprinkling it down to the cotyledon leaves. This promotes the formation of additional roots. When planting, the roots are compressed with soil, while preventing the formation of voids.
Seedlings planted in the ground are watered abundantly. This is necessary for better contact of the plant with the soil and to increase the supply of water to the leaves. The soil around the plants is sprinkled with mulching material or dry soil only after the water has been absorbed. Mulch protects the plant from the formation of an earthen crust.
To ensure that the resulting pumpkin fruits do not rot from soil dampness, they should be protected from this as follows: 4 stones are placed on the ground, on top of them is a wide slab or board on which the pumpkin is placed. They do this only when she is still small.
As individual fruits ripen, they are harvested. Immediately before the onset of frost, all pumpkin fruits should be removed.
Pumpkin should be present in every person's diet. Remember this! We hope that thanks to our advice, you will grow a large and sweet pumpkin, from which you will prepare the healthiest dishes.
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