How to properly pinch a pumpkin in open ground to get a good harvest

Pumpkin is notable for containing five times more carotene than carrots. For its rich content of minerals and vitamins, it is rightly called the queen of autumn. Many tasty and nutritious dishes are prepared from this “sunny” vegetable: cream soups, porridges, pies, casseroles. It is not surprising that pumpkin is a frequent visitor to garden plots.

In order to reap a good pumpkin harvest in the fall, gardeners, in addition to traditional care (watering, fertilizing, removing weeds), add special agricultural techniques that allow them to regulate the number and weight of fruits on the bush. Such techniques include pinching, pinching and shaping a pumpkin bush.

Why do you need to pinch pumpkins in open ground?

Pinching and caring for pumpkin in open ground is the key to getting a rich harvest of a healthy vegetable.

Pumpkin is one of those crops that require formation throughout the entire period of bush growth. Pinching and pinching allow the gardener to regulate the number of pumpkins on the plant and to grow larger or smaller fruits.

How many ovaries should I leave on the pumpkin? If left on the bush many ovaries, the pumpkins will grow small and will not have time to fully ripen before the end of the gardening season. If you leave one ovary, one large pumpkin will grow.

Reference. Pumpkin comes from hot Mexico. After the discovery of America, culture spread to all continents.In temperate climates, summers are short and often cool. In such climatic conditions, leaving more than three or four fruits on the plant is impractical; they simply will not have time to ripen before the end of the season.

In addition, too many ovaries slow down the ripening of formed pumpkins. Fruits that are not fully ripened are not as tasty and do not store well.

The formation of a pumpkin bush begins with pinching. This is an agricultural technique with which the upper part of a growing shoot is removed. Its goal is to enhance the growth and development of the lateral lashes.

The richer the soil, the more vines one plant develops. Peduncles appear on each branch and small pumpkins are tied. The greenery of the bush takes away a lot of nutrients, and as a result, the pumpkins begin to “starve.”

Limiting the growth of green mass forces the plant to direct all its energy to filling and ripening the existing pumpkins. In addition, the formation of a bush improves access of air and light to the plant, increases productivity, promotes faster ripening, and improves the taste of the fruit.

Important! If the bush is allowed to grow freely, the root system will not be able to provide the fruits with all the necessary nutrients.

When to pinch a pumpkin? While the whip will reach a length of 1.5-2 meters.

Proper pinching of a pumpkin: rules and tips

Let's look at how to properly shape a pumpkin to get a harvest in the fall.

Proper pinching is carried out in accordance with the following rules:

1. If your goal is to grow more small pumpkins, then pinch the main vine, preventing it from growing. As a result, many side shoots will grow, on which fruits will form.
2. To increase yield, excess shoots are removed. Thinning the green mass of the bush improves light access and air circulation.
3. If a gardener sets out to grow large fruits, then leave two or three vines, choosing the largest and most powerful ones. All other shoots are pruned.
4. 3-4 ovaries are left on each lash. The lash is cut so that 4-5 leaves remain above the last ovary.

After pinching and pinching, the leaves, stems and fruits are periodically inspected to make sure that no infections have entered the plants through the wounds.

When the pumpkins are formed, a board or other dense material is placed under them. This will protect the vegetable from spoilage.

When growing several bushes, it is convenient to form them in different ways. For example, lead one bush with one stem, another with two, etc. This is how the most profitable and convenient way to form a pumpkin bush is selected.

Attention! All pumpkin shaping work is carried out in the morning, preferably in cool weather. Then the plant quickly recovers.

Small-fruited varieties bear fruit well without the formation of bushes. To get a good harvest, properly prepared soil and favorable weather are enough.

Breeders have bred many pumpkin varieties and hybrids. They are all divided into two types: bushy and multi-climbing.

In multi-climbing varieties, all shoots lead in a certain direction. The lashes are pinched, the plant is pinched, and excess leaves are removed.

Bush varieties of the crop are distinguished by upward growing stems and many vines. The fruits are formed at the very base of the bush. Such pumpkins need to form bushes, remove shoots without ovaries and excess foliage. The first fruit formed on the main vine is pinched.

Bush varieties are planted at a distance of 50 cm from each other. A gap of 80 cm is maintained between medium-climbing varieties. The planting pattern for strongly climbing varieties is 120x110 cm.

Climbing varieties

Climbing pumpkin varieties are characterized by rapid growth of stems and leaves. The more nutrients there are in the soil, the more intensively the bush grows.

For small-fruited varieties, plant formation is not required. It is enough to arrange the lashes so that they do not interfere with each other. Should I trim the leaves? Only those leaves that shade the ovaries and formed fruits are cut off.

The scourges are sprinkled with damp soil. This will give the branches roots, which will provide the plant with additional nutrition. At this point, the formation of the bush is considered complete.

It is recommended to pinch out medium-fruited and large-fruited varieties. In this case, the pumpkins will ripen before the onset of cold weather.

The main purpose of pinching is to stop the growth of the shoot. 3-4 fruits are left on the main vine. After the last pumpkin, count 4-5 leaves and pinch off the vine. The growth of side shoots is limited in the same way.

From the side shoots, 2 or 3 of the strongest are isolated, and the rest are removed. This allows the plant to direct all its energy to ripening the fruits.

Depending on the variety and region of cultivation, the most convenient method of forming a bush is selected. The plant grows in one, two (main and lateral) or three stems (main and two lateral).

Forming a pumpkin bush into one lash

With this shaping method, only the main shoot is left on the pumpkin bush. Pinching is done when two or three pumpkins are formed on the main lash. From the last pumpkin on the vine, count 4-5 leaves and cut off the stem.

In two lashes

When forming into two stems, in addition to the main lash, one more lateral shoot is left, the most powerful and strong. 1-2 fruits are left on the main lash, and 1 fruit on the side lash. The lashes are pinched after 4-5 leaves from the last pumpkin on the shoot.

Three lashes

With this method of shaping, three stems are left on the bush: the main one and two lateral ones. 1-2 pumpkins are left on all three lashes. The lashes are also pinched after 4-5 leaves from the last pumpkin on the lash.

Bush varieties

Bush varieties of pumpkin are distinguished by compact bushes with short vines. This type of pumpkin is convenient to grow in small garden plots when it is not possible to allocate a large area for pumpkin beds.

In bush varieties, pumpkin crops are formed at the very base of the bush. The lashes grow upward, and do not spread out on the ground, like those of the climbing “relative”.

The main advantage of bush varieties of the crop is their early maturity. The fruits fully ripen on average 85-100 days after emergence and are characterized by excellent taste.

Attention! The pumpkin size of bush varieties is smaller than that of climbing varieties. The fruits weigh on average from 0.5 to 3 kg. Such pumpkins are often called portioned. It is convenient to use them all at once for preparing dishes.

Bush pumpkins do not spread long vines, so there is no need to shorten them. But even such a pumpkin needs shaping. The bush should not be too dense, so as the plant grows, remove side shoots without ovaries and cut off leaves that shade the ovaries and formed pumpkins.

Thinning bush pumpkin warns illnesses, improves air flow to the bush and access to sunlight.

Is it worth trimming the leaves of bush varieties?

Gardeners growing bush pumpkin often wonder whether it is necessary to pick off the leaves to speed up the ripening of the fruits? After all, the greenery of such bushes is lush and takes a lot of nutrients from the soil. But the experts answer - No no need.

The leaves “work” for fruit ripening no less than the root system. During the process of photosynthesis, leaves use food from the soil to form organic substances needed by pumpkins. Roots and leaves are tireless “workhorses”, without which fruit formation is impossible.

Growing pumpkin without pinching

Pumpkin comes from tropical latitudes, so it loves warmth, sunlight and moisture.

Pinching and shaping pumpkin bushes is a necessary measure due to our climatic conditions. Without the formation of a bush, the pumpkin will continue to grow vines, bloom and form new ovaries until the onset of frost.

The formed fruits will not have time to ripen. Pinching the top inhibits the growth of the bush, and the remaining leaves switch to feeding existing pumpkins.

Whether to plant a pumpkin or not, each gardener decides for himself. The answer to this question depends on the crop variety, weather conditions, and the purpose of growing the vegetable.

Of course, a decent harvest of vegetables will grow without pinching. The main thing is warmth and well-fertilized soil. But not all fruits will have time to ripen before the onset of cold weather.

If you are wondering whether to form a culture or not, keep in mind that the most delicious pumpkin is a ripe pumpkin. And unripe fruits are not only inferior in taste, but are also stored worse. Only those vegetables that have ripened on the ground will survive until the next harvest.

Read also:

The best varieties of pumpkin for open ground with photos and descriptions.

What to plant after pumpkin next year.

Features of growing large-fruited pumpkin varieties.

Conclusion

Pinching a pumpkin is a technique determined by the climatic conditions of our latitudes. A properly carried out procedure allows you to grow larger fruits that fully ripen in the garden until the end of the season.

The choice of pinching and pinching scheme depends on the pumpkin variety, weather conditions and the purposes for which the vegetable is grown.