How to select and prepare pumpkin seeds for planting, and then grow an excellent harvest from them

The largest pumpkin in Russia is Dusya, weighing 645.5 kg, registered on September 15, 2018 in the Moscow region. Do you want to grow one?

Everyone remembers the big, round, plump, sunny-colored girl from childhood. Many people grow this tasty and healthy vegetable, but not everyone knows when and how to plant it correctly.

Pumpkin cultivation has its own characteristics and secrets. Knowing them, you can grow a record harvest.

How to prepare and plant pumpkin seeds

Caring for plants begins with a responsible attitude to the choice of planting material. To get vigorous shoots and strong seedlings, seeds require proper preparation.

Seed selection and preparation

Pumpkin seeds for planting are obtained by saving seeds from last year's harvest, or by purchasing them in a store.

When preparing seeds yourself, proper storage is of great importance - the seeds should be kept in a dark, dry place, using a paper bag. Such seeds do not lose their properties for up to 8 years.

Sorting takes place before planting. The priority is large, smooth and thick seeds. Small, flat, with traces of deformation, it is better not to use.

You can do a little test - place the seeds in a glass of water for 3-4 hours. Drowned specimens are suitable for sowing, those remaining on the surface are not.

Germination is also checked. A certain number of seeds are germinated, and the percentage of germination is determined by the number of germinated ones.

Selected seeds can be immediately planted in special peat pots or cups with soil, but even with abundant watering and favorable temperature conditions, the emergence of seedlings may take several weeks. This is due to the presence of a hard seed shell.

To make shoots appear faster, use soaking. Planting material is placed in warm (up to 40 degrees) water for 1-2 hours.

To disinfect and prevent bacteria and fungus, the seeds are placed for 15-20 minutes in a solution of potassium permanganate (1 g per 100 ml of water), after which they are washed with clean water.

After soaking, the seeds are less attractive to insects because their taste and smell become weaker.

The next stage is germination. The seeds are wrapped in a damp cloth or dipped in a container with wet sawdust and left until sprouts appear from them. The water should be at room temperature. The fabric is periodically moistened.

To increase the cold resistance of plants, germinated seeds are hardened. The seeds are left in a piece of damp cloth on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator for 3-5 days. The temperature should not fall below +2 degrees.

Planting seeds and caring for seedlings

Pumpkin seedlings are planted approximately 18-22 days before the intended transfer to open ground. The prepared seeds are planted in special soil. You can buy it in the store. Any mixture for vegetable seedlings or cucumbers will do. At home, make a mixture of peat, rotted sawdust and humus in a ratio of 2:1:1 or peat and humus 1:1.

The soil for seedlings is placed in special peat pots or any suitable plastic containers with a volume of 0.2-0.5 liters.Even paper containers are suitable for this, the main thing is that when planting, you can easily remove the plants from it along with the soil.

Important! Each seedling should have its own pot, since any replanting for a pumpkin will be stressful.

When using large boxes, before filling them with soil, the bottom is covered with a layer of sawdust about 4 cm thick or expanded clay 1-2 cm thick.

Landing occurs as follows:

• cups are filled 2/3 with soil;
• well watered;
• lay the seeds to a depth of 2-4 cm;
• cover the container with plastic film or glass;
• The seedlings are transferred to a warm, dark place, where the temperature is maintained at +20-25 degrees during the daytime and +15-20 at night.

The covering material is removed 1-2 times a day for 10-15 minutes for ventilation, and immediately removed when shoots appear.

To prevent the sprouts from stretching, a week after emergence, the seedlings are transferred to a room with a temperature 4-5 degrees lower for 5-7 days, after which they are returned to their original place.

South windows are most favorable for young plants. Others will do, the main thing is the presence of bright daylight.

If the sprouts become too long, add soil to the planting container.

Pumpkin needs regular watering, but in small portions. It is important to leave the leaves dry when watering.

Feed the seedlings 1-2 weeks after germination with mullein solution: 100 g are diluted in 1 liter of water, left for at least 3-4 hours, after which another 5 liters of water are added. It is enough to add 1 tablespoon for each plant.

It is possible to use “Nitrophoska”: 7-8 g are diluted in 10 liters of water and poured a teaspoon under each bush.

Choosing the optimal time to plant pumpkins

Planting pumpkin seeds in open ground is done at an air temperature of at least +18 degrees.

To transfer seedlings to the site, the average daily temperature should not fall below +10 degrees. The immediate procedure for planting pumpkin seedlings is carried out at a temperature of +13-15 degrees.

The weather should not be sunny, evening time is optimal.

The lunar calendar is used to determine specific pumpkin planting dates. It indicates the most favorable days in accordance with the lunar phases.

Planting pumpkin seeds for seedlings usually occurs in late March-early April. Planting of grown seedlings in the ground - between the second half of May and the first days of June.

During the new moon and full moon, planting work is not carried out. It is better to sow on the waxing moon.

Growing pumpkins in open ground

Transferring grown seedlings from their usual conditions to the site will be less painful for them with proper preparation of the soil and the seedlings themselves, which should be done in advance.

You should also not forget about careful care of plants. Timely watering and fertilizing will help increase pumpkin productivity, and the harvest obtained as a result of hard work is important not only to harvest correctly, but also to preserve.

Preparing the site and planting ready seedlings in the ground

Seedlings that have reached a length of about 20 cm and have at least two true leaves are considered ready for planting.

Land preparation begins in the fall. The area is cleared of crop residues, weeded, and dug up.

Organic fertilizers are applied - manure or peat manure compost (about 50 kg per 10 m²), humus. They also enrich the soil with phosphorus in the autumn. Superphosphate on soils of average fertility is used in a dosage of 200 g per 10 m².

Note! To obtain a good pumpkin harvest, the amount of fertilizer applied is calculated individually for each specific type of soil.

In the spring, as soon as the soil has thawed and warmed up sufficiently, the area is dug up again.

Acidic soils are fertilized with lime, ash or chalk. Dense, clayey - compost or humus, adding river sand and peat. You can use green manure - plants that are planted before planting the main crop to improve the soil structure and enrich it with nitrogen. They prevent the growth of weeds.

If the soil is dense and moist, the beds should rise above the ground by at least 25 cm; if it’s loose, you don’t have to make beds at all.

It is also important crop rotation. It is not advisable to plant a pumpkin in an area where related crops previously grew. It is better to use soil after legumes, nightshades, onions, cabbage, carrots or beets.

Choose a place for the pumpkin on the site that is well lit by the sun and protected from cold winds.

Holes for seedlings are located at a distance of at least 1 m from each other. Leave 1-1.5 m between the beds. The width of the hole is 40-50 cm.

Humus or compost and wood ash are placed at the bottom of the holes. Potassium and phosphorus fertilizers and ammonium nitrate are added if they were not added when digging the site. Water generously with warm water (at least 2 liters).

A week before planting, they begin to prepare the seedlings - they take them outside, gradually increasing the time spent outdoors from 2-3 hours to the whole day.

The seedlings are transferred to the prepared holes by transshipment - they are removed from the planting container along with a lump of earth to avoid injury to the roots. The seedling is placed in the hole at a slight angle, soil is gradually added and compacted.

It is advisable to sprinkle the top of the hole with peat or humus to prevent moisture evaporation.

Until the seedlings take root in the new place, they are covered at night with cut-off plastic bottles, cardboard cones or greenhouse structures with arcs and polyethylene.

A similar system is used for planting pumpkins in open ground with seeds. The area and holes are prepared in the same way; seeds - the same as for seedlings. Place several seeds in each hole at different depths (5-8 cm).

Cover the plantings with glass, polyethylene or covering material.

When the seedlings sprout, the strongest one is selected, and the above-ground part of the rest is torn off without pulling out the roots.

Aftercare

After transplanting a pumpkin, proper care in the open ground is important.

Water the plants almost every day until they begin to produce new leaves. Before the fruits appear, watering is slightly reduced, and then resumed. When the pumpkin is ripe, stop watering.

Important! Water for irrigation is settled; it should not be cold.

The soil is regularly loosened. This provides oxygen access to the root system and prevents the appearance of weeds. Loosen the soil near the plants with care so as not to damage the roots.

7-10 days after planting the seedlings or three weeks after sowing the seeds, organic and mineral fertilizers are added to the soil, alternating them with each other.

You can start by fertilizing with manure. It is diluted with water in a ratio of 1:10. Bird droppings diluted 1:20 are also used.

If these fertilizers are used in dry form, they are first immersed in hot water for several hours to swell, after which water is added in the amount necessary to maintain the proportions.

Next time, mineral fertilizers are applied: potassium sulfate in a dosage of 2 teaspoons per bucket of water or superphosphate - 2 tablespoons per bucket of water.

Potassium fertilizers can be replaced with ash, taking 1-2 cups per bucket of water.

Fertilizing with nitrogen also has a positive effect. Fertilizer "Azofoska" is applied to plants that have 2-3 true leaves, at a dosage of 2 tablespoons per bucket of water. Then before flowering and again when fruits appear, each time increasing the dosage by 1 tablespoon.

The solution is poured under the plants, retreating 15-20 cm from the stem, into previously prepared furrows 6-8 cm deep so that the roots do not get burned. At the next feeding, an indentation of 30-40 cm is made, the grooves are deepened to 10-12 cm.

Foliar feeding is also useful. Pumpkin leaves are sprayed with solutions of complex fertilizers for vegetable crops. You can use urea - 1 tablespoon per bucket of water.

The pumpkin stems, which have reached a length of one meter, are carefully unraveled, laid out and covered with soil so that they can take root and receive more nutrients.

After the first fruits have formed on the thickest lash, it is torn off, leaving 5 leaves from the small pumpkin. The remaining stems of the bush are pinched and sprinkled with soil.

The fruits must receive sufficient sunlight. If leaves interfere with this, they are carefully removed.

When the pumpkins have formed, place a piece of plywood or wooden board under each fruit to prevent rotting.

Harvest and storage

Harvest time depends on the pumpkin variety. Approximate dates are indicated on the factory packaging of seeds. Climatic conditions also play an important role.

Particular attention should be paid to the biological maturity of the fruit. It is determined by several criteria:

• stems and leaves begin to turn yellow and dry out;
• the fruits change color, acquiring a characteristic of their variety (become yellow, orange), but it is worth noting that some varieties of pumpkins remain green or gray when fully ripe;
• the bark hardens;
• the stalk becomes woody and dries out.

A pumpkin can be considered ready for harvest if all of the above signs are present.

The harvest is harvested in dry, sunny weather. If autumn is rainy and the soil does not have time to dry, it is better to dry the harvested fruits further in the sun.

It is recommended to have time to collect pumpkins before frost, even if the fruits are not ripe, otherwise they may become completely unsuitable for food after freezing.

Pumpkins are cut from the bush with pruning shears or a sharp knife, leaving a stalk 4-7 cm long.

The harvested fruits are sorted. Patients who have signs of injury try to use them first, since they will not be stored.

Store the pumpkin for the first 2-3 weeks in a bright, well-ventilated area, protected from direct sunlight. Recommended air temperature is from +20 degrees.

For permanent storage of the crop, choose a dark, dry, well-ventilated place. The optimal air temperature is from +5 to +10 degrees, humidity - no more than 80%.

Storage in the basement, cellar, pantry, shed or on the balcony would be ideal. It is allowed to keep the pumpkin in the refrigerator or the coldest place in the apartment in drawers and boxes.

There should be a small distance between the fruits so that they do not touch the bark and free air circulation occurs.

Place plywood, cardboard or fabric under the pumpkins so that they do not lie on the cold floor.

Covering with rags and old blankets will help to avoid freezing on a balcony or loggia when the air temperature drops.

If there is very little space in your apartment or house, you can freeze the cut pumpkin and store it in this form for up to 70 weeks. Various varieties are also prepared from pumpkin jam and marinades.

Tips and tricks

To increase the germination of seeds, they are soaked for a day in growth stimulants. Such preparations are sold in specialized gardening departments.

Regular inspection of the leaves and stems of the plant, timely removal of rotten, darkened shoots and weeds will help to avoid damage to the crop by pests and diseases.

To combat melon aphids, use a soap solution that is sprayed on the leaves. To get rid of slugs, sprinkle the ground around the pumpkin and leaves with ash.

If there are no fruits in due time, artificial pollination may be required. This is done by collecting pollen from a male flower with a brush or a piece of cotton wool and sprinkling it on the pistil of a female one, or simply pressing the male flower with its stamens to the female one.

Planting decorative flowers or any flowering plants with a fragrant scent next to the pumpkin will help attract pollinating insects to the pumpkin.

Read also:

What happens if you eat garlic every day, and how much to eat so as not to harm your health.

The benefits and harms of boiled pumpkin: what is good about a boiled vegetable.

Unpretentious in care, but at the same time generous in yield, the Tea Rose tomato.

Conclusion

Getting an excellent pumpkin harvest is not that difficult. It is important from the very beginning to competently approach the selection and preparation of seeds, devote a little time to caring for seedlings, and carry out high-quality processing of the site.

Careful watering, timely fertilizing, protection from pests and weeds - and the pumpkin will definitely reward you with a good harvest.