Growing pumpkin in Siberia in open ground and caring for it in stages

An orange pumpkin can decorate any garden plot. But this vegetable is not only beautiful. Pumpkin fruits are a storehouse of nutrients and vitamins. It’s not for nothing that the vegetable is often called the queen of autumn. Pumpkin soups, casseroles and pies are delicious and add variety to your diet during the cold season.

An unpretentious and healthy culture came to us from hot Latin America. Despite this, it can be grown even in Siberia. In conditions of short and cool summers, the cultivation of vitamin vegetables has its own characteristics. Today we will tell you about the secrets of growing pumpkins and caring for them in open ground in Siberia.

Suitable varieties for growing in Siberia

The secret to successfully growing pumpkin crops in Siberia is choosing the right variety. Breeders have developed a large number of tasty, sweet varieties of pumpkin, including for regions with short, cool summers.

Requirements for varieties

Pumpkin is a southern plant that loves sunlight and warmth. When choosing a variety of vegetable for cultivation in Siberia, attention is paid to resistance to cold and the ripening time of pumpkins. Night frosts in this region occur even in June, so early and mid-ripening crop varieties are chosen for planting. Also suitable are varieties that ripen after being picked from the garden.

The most suitable varieties for cultivation in Siberia include:

1. Bush pumpkin Freckle. This variety is an early ripening variety. The fruits are small, on average 3 kg.The rind of pumpkins is light green, the flesh of the fruit is orange. An interesting feature of this variety is the pear flavor of the pulp. When providing optimal conditions for growth, the variety is pleased with its yield. Pumpkins keep well for several months.
2. Mid-season pumpkin Chit. This variety was specially bred for cultivation in areas with short and cool summers. Pumpkins ripen in 115–125 days. The bushes are spreading, with long vines. Light gray fruits weigh from 2.5 to 3 kg. Pumpkins with dense, sweet flesh are distinguished by good keeping quality.
3. Pear-shaped pumpkin Pearl. This is a mid-early variety. Large pumpkins reach technical ripeness in an average of 100 days. Resistant to temperature changes, tolerates cold weather well. It is distinguished by high yield and sugary pulp with a nutmeg aroma.
4. Early ripening pumpkin Smile. Small pumpkins (1.5–2 kg) ripen in 85 days. The bushes are compact and bloom beautifully. Bright orange pumpkins are distinguished by sugary, aromatic pulp and good keeping quality.

Features of growing pumpkin in Siberia

In order for pumpkin bushes to please the eye, and the fruits to grow sweet and tasty, the crop is provided with optimal conditions for growth and ripening. The place for planting pumpkins is prepared in the fall.

When choosing a site for a garden bed, consider the following points:

1. sunlight. Pumpkin culture is very light-loving. In a shady place, pumpkins grow poorly, bloom poorly and often get sick. If there is no suitable open space, the plant can be planted in partial shade under fruit trees.
2. Protection from drafts. It is better to place a pumpkin patch like this: from the north - a fence or wall of a building, and from the south - an open sunny place.
3. Open space. Pumpkin grows strongly, especially for climbing varieties. The bushes are distinguished by a developed root system, so the plant’s feeding area is large. This should be taken into account when choosing a location for planting seedlings. Leave at least one meter between plants.

Important! Pumpkin loves warmth, so in Siberia it grows well on compost heaps, warm beds and in barrels of compost.

As when planting any garden crop, it is important to adhere to the rules of crop rotation. Pumpkins should not be planted in the same place for more than two years in a row. It takes several years to restore the soil after pumpkin.

Potatoes, onions, cabbage, and legumes are considered the preferred crop predecessors. Other crops of the pumpkin family (cucumbers, zucchini, squash) are undesirable. All cucurbits are affected by the same diseases and insect pests.

The Siberian summer is often short and cool. In these conditions, the southern beauty needs to be protected from cold winds and provided with adequate lighting. The more sun hits the pumpkin bushes, the more ovaries and fruits are formed. Insufficient lighting leads to slow growth and the development of diseases.

Ways to grow pumpkins in Siberia

The crop is sensitive to cold weather; young leaves and stems of the plant do not tolerate frost. Therefore, when cultivating pumpkin in Siberia, you should not rush to sow seeds. Pumpkin seeds are sown 3-4 weeks before transplanting seedlings into open ground, approximately in the first half of May.

Direct and seedling growing methods

In Siberia, pumpkin is sown directly in open ground (direct method) or grown through seedlings.

When choosing a direct method of cultivating crops, do not forget to protect the crops from the cold with film or special covering material until mid-June, until the threat of return frosts has passed.

Attention! In Siberia, night frosts often occur at the beginning of summer. Growing pumpkin seedlings will save plants from the cold and speed up harvesting.

If there is a lack of natural heat, pumpkin grows well in warm (or compost) beds. They are prepared in early spring or autumn, when it is time to remove plant debris and natural waste. Decaying organic matter in the lower layers of the bed releases heat and warms the plants from below, saving the roots from the vagaries of the weather.

Such organized compost heaps are built in a sunny place. Slowly rotting plant residues (branches, cabbage stalks) are placed at the very bottom. Humus, half-rotted manure is in the middle. Fertile soil is poured on top of the garden bed. Each layer is well watered with warm water or a solution of EM preparations (effective microorganisms).

Important! Plant waste used to create a warm bed should not show signs of disease or pest damage.

Planting pumpkins in Siberia

The process of growing pumpkin begins with the selection and preparation of seed material, as well as with determining the timing of the sowing campaign.

Deadlines

Pumpkin does not tolerate frost, so in Siberia seedlings are planted in open ground no earlier than the beginning of June.

With the direct growing method, the seeds are sown in the ground in the second half of May - June. Sowing in May requires additional insulation of the seedlings, otherwise the tender shoots will die from the night cold.

Seed preparation

The key to a rich pumpkin harvest in Siberia is careful seed preparation.First, the seed material is inspected and specimens with signs of disease and damage are rejected.

Next, the seeds are soaked, disinfected and germinated. Soaking allows you to detect empty seeds (they will float). Disinfection will protect crops from diseases. Germination will speed up the emergence of seedlings. Sprout pumpkin seeds in damp cloth or wet sawdust.

Experienced gardeners additionally harden the hatched seeds by placing them on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Hardening makes plants more resistant to temperature changes.

After going through all stages of preparation, pumpkin seeds are planted in open ground or in seedling containers.

Landing

With the direct method of cultivation, the prepared seeds are sown in a garden bed, planted to a depth of about 3 cm. With the seedling method, they are planted in containers with a volume of about 500 ml. Pumpkin seedlings do not like transplanting, so individual cups or peat containers are chosen for the plants.

After the sprouts appear, the seedlings are placed in a cool place with a temperature of 15–18 °C for about a week. This way the plants will not stretch out and become stronger. Then the temperature is increased.

Caring for seedlings is not complicated and consists of timely watering with settled water at room temperature. Moisten the soil regularly, but moderately. Drying or waterlogging of the soil leads to the death of plants.

A week after the emergence of seedlings, fertilizing is carried out with “Nitrophoska” in accordance with the instructions. Excess fertilizer will cause the seedlings to become deformed and grow too quickly.

Attention! Good pumpkin seedlings are distinguished by a short, strong stem and dark green leaves.

When weather permits, the plants are taken outside to harden off.Planted in open ground when the weather is consistently warm during the day and night.

For each bush, a hole is prepared in the ground the size of the container in which the seedlings grew. The recess is watered with warm water. The plant is removed from the cup along with the earthen lump and replanted. The distance between pumpkins is determined based on the climbing ability of the variety.

How to care for a pumpkin correctly to get a rich harvest

After planting, water the pumpkin patch. If the weather is not yet stable, the crops are covered with special material. This will protect tender young bushes from drafts and cold weather. Further care of pumpkin plantings consists of watering, fertilizing, and loosening the soil.

Gardeners use special agricultural techniques to increase yields. Such techniques include the formation of pumpkin bushes. In the conditions of the Siberian summer, not all fruits that have set have time to ripen, so it is advisable to pinch the vines, limiting the growth of the bush and reducing the number of fruits.

Formation begins with pinching the main shoot in order to enhance the growth of lateral shoots. As they grow, excess side shoots are also cut off. No more than 3-4 pumpkins are left on one lash. The shoots are pinched so that 3-4 leaves remain above the last pumpkin.

Diseases and pests: control and prevention measures

Pumpkin plants are not immune to the development of diseases and pest invasions. At the first sign, measures are taken, otherwise not only the pumpkin crop will suffer, but also other garden crops:

1. Bacteriosis. The disease is recognized by brown spots on the cotyledons and leaves. The affected tissues gradually darken and dry out. Prevention consists of following the rules of crop rotation.When the first signs of disease appear, the bushes are sprayed with 1% Bordeaux mixture. The treatment is repeated after 1.5–2 weeks.
2. Root rot. It affects the root system of the plant. The stems turn brown, the growth of the bush slows down or stops altogether, the lower leaves turn yellow. The disease is caused by differences in day and night temperatures, watering the plantings with cold water. At the first signs, soil is added to the stems to form lateral roots.
3. White rot. The disease is recognized by a white coating on the leaves and stems. The affected tissues become soft and slimy to the touch. Diseased parts of the bush are mercilessly removed. The cut areas are treated with a solution of copper sulfate.
4. Spider mite. Among the pests, pumpkin is often affected by spider mites, which settle on the underside of the foliage, entwining the plant with cobwebs. Affected leaves turn yellow, dry out and fall off. Spraying with a solution of onion peels repels the pest.
5. Melon aphid. Lives on weeds and migrates from them to pumpkin bushes. Settles on the underside of leaves, shoots and ovaries. It feeds on plant juices. Leaves on infected bushes curl, dry out and fall off. An effective control measure is spraying plants with karbofos.

Harvest and storage

The safety of pumpkins in winter is largely determined by timely and correct harvesting. Carefully collected pumpkins that have ripened in the garden have good shelf life.

They begin to remove pumpkins from the garden when they reach technical ripeness. The collection time is determined based on the information on the seed package. The exact dates for fruit ripening are indicated there. If there is no information from the manufacturer, the ripeness of the pumpkin is determined by the woody stalk and dense, hard rind.

When harvesting from the garden, each fruit is left with a tail 10 cm long. This way the pumpkins will be last longer. The collected pumpkins are placed in a warm, dry place for 1-2 weeks to dry.

The best option for long-term winter storage of pumpkin fruits is a cold, ventilated cellar. The harvest is stored there, laid out on shelves. The optimal air temperature in the vegetable storage is 6–8 °C.

Useful tips

The following tips for growing pumpkin crops will be useful for beginning gardeners:

• grow pumpkin in Siberia through seedlings, this will ensure an earlier harvest;
• choose early and mid-ripening varieties, then the crop will have time to ripen before the end of the season;
• use compost beds for planting pumpkin crops - pumpkin loves warmth;
• do not neglect the formation of pumpkin bushes, this will speed up the ripening of the formed fruits;
• Do not allow the pumpkins to come into contact with damp soil, otherwise they may rot.

Conclusion

Proper selection of varieties and proper care allow you to grow large sugary pumpkins even in Siberian conditions. Step-by-step preparation of seeds and the right choice of bed will ensure a stable harvest of vitamin-rich vegetables, despite the cool summer and the vagaries of Siberian weather.