The best varieties of bush pumpkin and features of their cultivation

Most experienced gardeners grow several varieties of pumpkin at the same time. The vegetable does not require special care. This is a productive crop: some farmers consider the immense size of the overgrown bush during the ripening period to be more of a disadvantage than an advantage.

But this is the opinion of those who have not encountered the variety of subspecies of bush pumpkin - a plant with small length and compact vines. Let's look at what bush pumpkin varieties are and how to care for them.

Advantages of the variety and features

The bush pumpkin variety is ideal for growing in a small summer cottage, where every square meter is worth its weight in gold. It will take up little space in the garden bed. Its fruits are formed at the base, the shoots and stems are erect, which has a beneficial effect on productivity and makes it possible to better retain moisture at the roots.

The main advantages of a bush vegetable are its early ripening, which distinguishes the fruit favorably from its climbing “relatives”. The beautiful fruits of the “sunny” subspecies have excellent taste. In most varieties, the pulp is tender, sweet, juicy, rich in carotene, and bright orange in color.

Descriptions of bush pumpkin varieties

There are dozens of varieties of bush pumpkin. Plants do not require special care and are resistant to temperature changes. To get a high yield, they are planted in well-warmed soil.

Smile

Gardeners value the fruits of this variety primarily for their high taste. The Ulybka variety was developed about 15 years ago.

The thickness of the peel is small. The color of the vegetable is bright orange. There are barely noticeable white stripes on the skin of the fruit. The pulp is dense, orange, and has a sweet taste. The aroma is pronounced, similar to melon. The fruits of Smile ripen quickly - in about three months. The shrub is low and compact.

The leaves are large and light green. Each Smile bush has about six powerful shoots approximately 1 meter in size.

Medical

An early-ripening, compact plant that withstands temperature changes. The fruits are fully ripened 105 days after planting. The harvest will delight you with good transportability and a long storage period (until May). Growing and caring for them in open ground does not require much effort.

The fruits of the Medicinal variety have a flattened-round shape and a weakly segmented surface, weighing up to 5.5 kg. The thin, leathery peel is light gray in color with small intermittent stripes. The pulp is thick, juicy, crispy, tastes sweet, and light orange in color.

Pearl

Pearl pumpkin grows well in open ground conditions. Until the fruits fully ripen after planting - 100-110 days. Pleases with a solid yield: 15 kg per 1 sq. m. Experienced gardeners note that seeds The pearls are small.

Varietal fruits have a recognizable elongated cylindrical shape, yellowish-orange color, smooth surface, weight reaches 7.5 kg. The thick flesh of the vegetable has a reddish-orange color. In terms of taste, it is not inferior to its “relatives”: it is sweet, juicy and tender.

The fruits are easy to transport over long distances and are perfectly stored.

Bush orange

Mid-ripening Orange pumpkin will be stored until almost next year. Before the first fruits ripen - from 95 to 100 days after germination. The orange bush variety is excellent for growing in Siberia; it is not afraid of sudden temperature changes. One fetus gains up to 5 kg of weight.

An unpretentious plant requires standard care: moderate watering, weeding, loosening or mulching between rows. The pulp and peel are orange, the sugar content is low, so the variety is used for making stews, purees, canning and freezing.

hundred pound

Mid-late pumpkin produces a harvest 110-140 days after germination. The hundred-pound variety demonstrates resistance to powdery mildew, bacteriosis and rot. The fruits have a spherical shape and a smooth surface. The peel of the vegetable is thin, yellow-orange in color. The pulp is loose, creamy-yellow in color, moderately sweet. Productivity per 1 sq. m - up to 6.5 kg.

Amazon

The advantage of the Amazon variety is the compactness of the plant. The vegetable belongs to the mid-season group. The harvest is harvested from the bushes upon reaching 100-110 days after planting. The Amazon peel has a flat shape and a dark orange shell with white stripes. The weight of the fruit reaches 1-2 kg.

The pulp is bright orange in color, tastes sweet and crispy. The advantages of the variety include the ability to be stored for a long time, increased carotene content and transportability. The bushes are small in size, have powerful stems and dark green leaves.

Gribovskaya

Many Russian summer residents know this old variety. Most gardeners living in the Urals are interested in what varieties of vegetables are suitable for growing in their region. Farmers in the Urals should try Gribovskaya bush 189. This variety is unpretentious in relation to weather conditions.

The fruits of the Gribovsky bush variety reach 2.2-5 kg ​​in weight. The pumpkin has an oblong, obovate shape.The fruits are dark green in color. As it ripens, the peel changes color to light orange.

The flesh of this fruit is orange, sweet and dense. The ripening period for Gribovskaya pumpkin is 85-90 days after planting. Many gardeners believe that this variety has the most delicious pulp among all pumpkins.

How to grow

No special agrotechnical techniques are required to care for this crop; planting and care are standard.

Where and when is the best time to plant

The location is chosen on the site on the south side, since the plant requires warmth. It is better to plant the crop in the place where the following predecessors grew: potatoes, beet, onion, pepper.

The optimal time of year for planting is the second half of May. Some gardeners plant vegetables according to folk traditions - during the flowering of peonies and viburnum.

Preparing seeds and seedlings

In the middle zone, pumpkin seeds are sown directly on the beds, then the crops are covered with non-woven material. In regions with colder climates, seedlings are grown first. The seeds must be disinfected (a weak, pink solution of potassium permanganate is suitable), then they are germinated in damp cotton cloth. The procedure will ensure the germination of all seeds and protect the plants from infections.

The plant is poorly affected by replanting, so you will need peat pots for seedlings. For seedlings, you need to allocate a sunny place on the windowsill; the suitable temperature for growing is about 25 °C.

Important! By the time the pumpkins are planted, you will need to calculate the time so that the seedlings are at least 25-30 days old.

A week before the pumpkins are supposed to be planted outside, the plants are hardened off - they are taken out onto loggias, verandas or balconies.

Growing and caring for the garden

Planting and caring for a bush pumpkin is almost the same as for a climbing crop.Choose a place that is sufficiently lit and protected from the wind.

If necessary, deoxidize the soil by adding dolomite flour or chalk. To improve the structure of clay or loamy soil, peat and sand are added. The root system develops well when the soil is loose and permeable.

To increase fertility with digging, add:

• humus;
• compost;
• mineral fertilizers: potassium nitrate, superphosphate.

Planting pumpkins is done in two ways: by planting seeds in the ground or seedlings. The age of ready seedlings for planting in open ground is 3-4 weeks. To plant seeds in open ground, the soil must be well heated.

Landing dates:

• middle zone - mid-May;
• Siberia, Ural - end of May, beginning of June.

The weather forecast is the main guideline for planting pumpkins. The culture is thermophilic, and if there is a threat of return frosts, there is no need to rush into planting. If you planted the plant early, covering material will save you from frost. Bush crops are planted according to the standard 60x60 cm pattern.

Pumpkin loves regular watering with warm water. In case of short-term drought, the plant will not suffer, but prolonged drought can reduce the yield. Water the fruits, flowers and leaves.

Advice. Make a hole around the central shoot to allow water to flow into it.

Pumpkin loves feeding, but you shouldn’t get carried away with it. It will be enough to feed it with nitrogen fertilizer in the initial period, when the green mass is growing well, and during the formation of fruits, phosphorus-potassium preparations are suitable.

How to shape a bush pumpkin

Bush pumpkin does not require formation; you can limit yourself to removing female flowers at a time when a sufficient number of ovaries have formed.But you will need to pinch the main stem so that the fruits ripen better. How to pinch a pumpkin? This is done when the first pumpkin appears. The next time they pinch out all the growing points of the plant is in mid-August.

Important. If the leaves shade the pumpkin, carefully remove them.

Harvest and storage

Each variety of bush pumpkin has its own maturity period. It is identified by its appearance. A dry stem that looks like a cork indicates that the pumpkin is ripe. Cut the pumpkin, leaving an oblong stalk.

For your information. If the skin of the pumpkin is damaged under the stem, it will begin to rot.

The harvest is harvested in dry weather. Then the pumpkins are laid out in the sun or in a dry, warm room. This will allow the peel to strengthen, the flesh to become sweeter and denser, and the pumpkin to dry out and be ready for long-term storage.

For storage, a dry, dark, ventilated room with a temperature of 5-10 degrees is allocated. The required humidity level is medium. If the humidity is high, the pumpkin will be stored for no more than two months.

Storing crops in the cellar will require racks or pallets. Storage on the floor is not permitted. Pumpkins are laid out in one row with a short distance from each other with their tails up.

On a note. It is better to remove pumpkins that begin to rot.

Pumpkins are stored in an apartment on an insulated balcony in boxes to prevent light from entering, at a temperature similar to a cellar. Storage in the pantry will not last longer than three months due to inappropriate temperatures.

Reviews from summer residents

Before planting this or that variety, we advise you to read the opinions of experienced summer residents. Let's look at some reviews taken from online gardening forums.

Olga, Krasnoyarsk region: “It’s not that easy to grow anything in our region, especially pumpkins. I like bush pumpkins for their compactness. I have them in greenhouses, which I open during the day and cover with film at night. The bushes are about the same as zucchini - very comfortably. In my opinion, unsweetened pumpkin is better. A vegetable should be a vegetable, so I chose the Bush Orange pumpkin variety for myself, since it has little sugar. Great for blanks and is stored for a long time. If you make vegetable stew, the pumpkin pieces do not fall apart, they remain intact. Sometimes I add it to soup instead of potatoes. The only thing is, if the harvest is not collected on time, the pumpkin will grow up to 10 kg or more, become fibrous and tasteless.”

Ekaterina, Chelyabinsk region: “I have been growing Gribovskaya bush pumpkin for a long time. From childhood I remember how my grandmother grew it, and now I grow it too. She is unpretentious and takes root very well in the harsh Chelyabinsk climate. I plant when the ground warms up. I don’t use a greenhouse - I grow it in open ground. I make stew and jam from Gribovskaya pumpkin, and I also make sure to freeze it in cubes for stew. Fresh pumpkin makes wonderful cheesecakes and excellent porridge.”

Victoria, Volgograd region: “I don’t really like frozen and canned pumpkin, so I spent a long time looking for a variety that would be stored for a long time. I tried many varieties until I accidentally found reviews on the Internet about Gribovskaya winter. It is stored until the new harvest and does not spoil at all. Last year there was a very rainy summer; already at the beginning of April small spots began to be visible, indicating the beginning of rotting. My family and I started eating actively sweet pumpkin. The remaining harvest lasted until the summer.”

Conclusion

Pumpkin is an unpretentious vegetable that requires minimal care. The culture grows well in temperate and warm climates, especially in sunny, warm areas. By adhering to the minimum requirements for growing and feeding, you are sure to achieve a rich harvest.

An experienced gardener will tell us about other varieties of bush pumpkin with photos and descriptions: