We set yield records by growing a giant pumpkin variety "Hundred Pounds" on our site

Pumpkin is one of the most popular fruit crops. It contains many vitamins, minerals and other useful substances. The fruits are recommended to be included in the diet of children, as well as those who are losing weight and suffering from vitamin deficiency. Pumpkin is stored for a long time and does not lose its beneficial properties throughout the winter.

When growing, novice gardeners are advised to give preference to proven varieties that are unpretentious in care. These include the Hundred Pound Pumpkin. It has been present in the horticultural markets for decades. This representative of melons has gained popularity due to not only excellent taste and ease of growing, but also impressive size.

Description of pumpkin variety

The 100-pound pumpkin variety was bred by domestic breeders. The exact name of its originator is unknown. This culture has been present in the markets for a very long time. The hundred-pound was entered in the State Register more than 50 years ago (in 1947). Recommended for growing in the central regions of our country.

Note! The one hundred pound pumpkin is a varietal pumpkin, so the seeds from its fruit are used for planting. Planting material is collected only from pumpkins ripe on the bush.

Distinctive features

The main distinguishing feature of Hundred Pound is the large size of the fruit. Each of them weighs at least 10 kg. There are specimens weighing up to 60 kg.

The fruit has a classic pumpkin flavor. Not very sweet, tender and juicy, they are more suitable for preparing second courses than for desserts.

One of the positive properties of the Hundred Pound Pumpkin is the large number of tasty and large seeds. They contain healthy fatty acids and are anthelmintic.

The product contains a lot of beta-carotene. Thanks to this, it has a positive effect on visual acuity, metabolism and immunity. Pumpkin helps to remove harmful substances from the body and normalize liver function.

Main characteristics

The description will delight both beginners and experienced gardeners. This proven variety will not let you down, even in harsh weather conditions.

Features of the Hundred Pound Pumpkin:

How to grow

Pumpkin is an unpretentious plant. It is grown outdoors in all regions of our country.

The most illuminated part of the garden is chosen for culture. Better to plant it on a hill. It is important that the selected location does not flood during precipitation.

When choosing a place, preference is given to areas where melons, cabbage and cucumbers did not grow a year before. This plant is planted in the beds after nightshade and root crops.

The pumpkin needs loose and fertile soil. To prepare the soil for planting, in the fall it is cleared of weeds and dug to the depth of a shovel bayonet. To enrich the land, rotted manure or humus is scattered over the selected area. For 1 sq. m apply 6-8 kg of fertilizers.

If the acidity of the soil is increased, add dry lime or ash. To make the soil lighter, it is mixed with sand.

Seed preparation

Pumpkin is grown by seedling and seed methods. The seedless option is only suitable for regions with warm and long summers, since in this case the fruits ripen later.

Before sowing, the seeds are processed. This is done to accelerate germination and increase resistance to adverse environmental factors:

1. For planting use only dense, smooth seeds, no damage or dark spots.
2. The seeds are heated: wrapped in several layers of gauze and placed on a battery or in the sun. Another option is to keep it in the oven according to the following scheme: the first hour - + 20 ° C, the second - + 30 ° C, the third - + 40 ° C, the fourth - + 50 ° C, the fifth - + 60 ° C.
3. The planting material is disinfected, soaking for half an hour in a light pink solution of potassium permanganate. Then the seeds are washed.
4. Stimulates seed germination: placed for 12 hours in an ash solution of 1 tbsp. water and 1 tbsp. l. ash. The liquid temperature must not drop below 40 ° C. For this, a container with planting material is placed on a battery.
5. Hardening: Soaked seeds are wrapped in a cloth and placed in the refrigerator for 48 hours.

Seed method

In the southern regions, it is possible to grow by seed. It involves sowing planting material directly into the ground.

The seeds are sown when the soil warms up to 15 ° C. The temperature is measured at a depth of 15 cm. In the southern regions, the pumpkin is planted in early May.

Holes of different depths (6–10 cm) are dug on prepared beds. This will allow the seeds to grow even with recurrent frosts. A distance of 1.4 m is maintained between the recesses. The width of the hole itself should be 20-30 cm.

Fertilizers are poured into the pits. For pumpkin, rotted manure, humus or long-acting complex additives are used.

Two pumpkin seeds are planted in each hole along different edges of the groove. After that, the pits are sprinkled with soil, without tamping.

Advice... To protect the seeds from frost, the beds with crops are sprinkled with peat or humus.

Plantings are watered with warm water. For 1 sq. m use 1-2 buckets of liquid.

The bed is covered with foil. It is opened daily for several hours during warm hours. In July, the greenhouse is dismantled.

Seedling method

For growing pumpkin seedlings, choose a nutritious and light soil. The store sells universal soil substrates. Prepare such compositions and independently. One of the options is to mix black soil, humus and sand in equal proportions.

The soil must be disinfected by pouring a dark pink solution of potassium permanganate.

The pumpkin does not like picking, so the seeds are sown immediately into individual containers. It is more convenient to use peat pots.

Growing pumpkin seedlings begins in the second half of April. They are planted in a permanent place in the second decade of May.

Growing pumpkin seedlings:

1. Drainage is poured into the bottom of the pot: broken ceramics, brick or expanded clay.Then the containers are filled with soil, which is moistened with a spray bottle.
2. 2 seeds are sown in each pot, deepening by 3 cm.
3. Containers with seeds are placed in a well-lit place, covered with foil. As it dries, the soil is moistened.
4. Pumpkin seedlings need 16 hours of daylight. Lack of natural light is compensated by fluorescent lamps.
5. When the seeds germinate and two real leaves appear on the plants, one pumpkin is left in each pot. Weaker stem pinch.
6. Water the pumpkin with warm, settled water. It is important to ensure that no liquid gets onto the ground part of the plant.
7. For the entire growing period, seedlings are fed once - a week before planting in the ground. Dilute chicken manure and water (1:10), use complex mineral fertilizers or vermicompost.
8. Two weeks before planting in open ground, the pumpkin begins to harden, taking it out into the fresh air.

When planting, the holes are placed at a distance of 1.4 m from each other. Mullein is poured into them. Plants are watered and covered with foil for a week.

Basic rules of care

Growing a Hundred Pound Pumpkin is not particularly difficult. This plant is easy to care for.

The beds on which the pumpkin grows are mulched - they are covered with humus, peat or straw.

Water the pumpkin 2-3 times a week. Use at least 2 liters of water for each plant. Use only room temperature liquid. It is important that during flowering moisture does not get on the ground part of the plant. Otherwise, the water will glue the pollen together and the flowers will not pollinate.

After each watering, the beds are loosened and cleaned of weeds.

Scourges must be pinched. Their growth is limited after the sixth leaf.

After the pumpkin is one month old, it is fed. Fertilizers are applied every two weeks. The following scheme is applied:

1. When 5 leaves are formed on the plant, use dry nitrophosphate: for 1 pumpkin 10 g of the product.
2. Two weeks later, the plant is fed with mullein solution: 1 liter. manure is dissolved in 10 liters. water. For each root use 1 liter. mixtures.
3. After another two weeks, phosphorus-potassium fertilizers are applied.
4. When the first inflorescences appear on the pumpkins, the soil is fertilized with an ash solution: 1 tbsp. spoon of ash, dissolved in 1 liter. water per plant.
5. When the pumpkins ripen, a mullein solution is poured under the bushes.

Features of cultivation and possible difficulties

Often in the process of growing pumpkin, gardeners face a number of difficulties. The list contains the most common:

1. Yellowing of the leaves. This problem occurs if the pumpkin grows in poor soil or too many fruits are formed on it. The ground part also turns yellow if the pumpkin grows in a shaded area of ​​the garden.
2. The seeds do not germinate. This problem occurs if the soil or water used to water the crops is too cold.
3. Pumpkin stalks are thin and sluggish. The reason lies in poor soil. To remedy the situation, a mullein solution is introduced into the soil.
4. Rotting pumpkin roots after removing one of the plants from the hole. Pumpkin roots are damaged if the adjacent sprout is not pinched, but pulled out.
5. Few ovaries. To cope with this problem, the pumpkin is artificially pollinated. The male flowers are carefully cut and applied with stamens to the stigmas of the female flowers.

Growing tips from experienced gardeners

To get the maximum yield, Experienced gardeners resort to some tricks when growing pumpkin:

1. No more than three lashes are left on one plant. In one place, each is pressed to the ground to form additional roots.
2. A piece of plywood is placed under the pumpkins on the ground to protect the fruit from rotting.
3. When the fruits ripen, watering is stopped. Then they will be sweeter.

Diseases and pests

The Hundred Pound Pumpkin has an average immunity to melon diseases. With proper care, it does not suffer from root rot. But the risks of infection still exist:

1. Bacteriosis. Leaves and fruits are first covered with dark green and then dry brown spots. At the beginning of the development of the disease, the bushes are treated with a Bordeaux mixture. Severely affected plants are pulled up and buried.
2. Powdery mildew. The leaves are covered with white spots, which lead to the drying of the ground part of the plant. At the first signs of the disease, the pumpkin is sprayed with a solution prepared from 50 g of sodium phosphate disubstituted and 10 liters of water.
3. Spider mite. The plant is covered with cobwebs, yellow spots form on the leaves. To drive away the pest, pumpkin is regularly sprayed with infusion of onion peel (1 kg per 10 liters of water).
4. Aphid. Insects affect the underside of the leaves. This leads to curling of greens, dropping of ovaries and inflorescences. To cope with the pest, the bushes are sprayed with karbofos.

Harvesting and application of the crop

The fruits of the Hundred Pound Pumpkin are large and beautiful, as in the photo. They ripen at the end of August, but it is better to harvest them in the second half of September. The longer the pumpkins hang from the bush, the sweeter their pulp will be.

The fruits are suitable for making pies, salads, casseroles, desserts and first courses. A lot comes out of them juice.

Pumpkin seeds are edible too. It is recommended to fry them before use.

Pumpkins are stored for more than six months. The seeds will lie in a dry place for several years.

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

The variety has undeniable advantages:

• resistance to top and root rot;
• unpretentious care;
• large-fruited;
• juiciness and good taste of pumpkins;
• the possibility of using seeds from fruits for planting.

Some consider the lack of sweetness of the pumpkin to be negative qualities.

Farmers reviews

Reviews of gardeners about the hundred-pound pumpkin have been positive for several decades. This is a proven variety that is not inferior to the latest achievements in breeding.

Irina, Tula: “The one hundred pounder was still grown by my mother. And I have been planting her for several years. This is a really large-fruited variety. Of course, it is not very sweet, but for the preparation of the second courses it is just that.

Victor, Ryazan: “I have been growing Hundred Pound for 8 years. This variety is used for making soups, meat dishes and cereals. For pies and desserts, I prefer sweeter varieties. The pumpkin doesn't get sick at all. I leave only two fruits on one plant. This makes them very large. "

Read also:

What is good about the "Shrub Orange" pumpkin and why it is worth trying to grow it.

Dutch early ripe hybrid of pumpkin "Matilda".

Instructions for growing pumpkin outdoors in the Urals.

Conclusion

One hundred pounds is a variety that has been proven for more than one decade. Despite the fact that there are a large number of new varieties on the market, it has not lost its popularity.

The possibility of long-term storage of crops allows you to use the Hundred-Pound throughout the winter. Vitamins and nutrients of pumpkin have a positive effect on vision, metabolism and immunity.

Growing a Hundred Pound Pumpkin is very easy. You just need to remember about timely watering and disease prevention.