Growing pumpkin in Siberia in the open field and caring for it in stages

The orange pumpkin can beautify 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 the 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 the conditions of a short and cool summer, the cultivation of a vitamin vegetable has its own characteristics. Today we'll tell you about the secrets of growing pumpkin and caring for it outdoors in Siberia.

Suitable varieties for growing in Siberia

The secret of successful cultivation of pumpkin crops in Siberia is the correct choice of the variety. Breeders have developed a large number of delicious, sweet pumpkin varieties, 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 vegetables for cultivation in Siberia, attention is paid to the resistance to cold and the ripening time of pumpkins. Night frosts in this region occur even in June, so early and mid-season crop varieties are chosen for planting. Varieties that ripen after being removed from the garden are also suitable.

The most suitable varieties for cultivation in Siberia include:

1. Bush pumpkin freckle... This variety belongs to the early maturing. Fruits are medium-sized, on average 3 kg. The peel of pumpkin is light green, the flesh is orange. An interesting feature of this variety is the pear flavor of the pulp. Providing optimal conditions for growth, the variety pleases with yield. Pumpkins keep well for several months.
2. Mid-season pumpkin Chit... This variety was specially developed for cultivation in areas with short and cool summers. Pumpkins ripen in 115–125 days. Sprawling bushes, with long whips. Light gray fruits weigh from 2.5 to 3 kg. Pumpkins with dense, sweet pulp 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 extremes, tolerates cold weather well. Differs in high yield and sugary pulp with nutmeg aroma.
4. Early ripening pumpkin Smile... Small pumpkins (1.5–2 kg) ripen in 85 days. The bushes are compact and bloom beautifully. The bright orange pumpkins are distinguished by their sweet, 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 culture is provided with optimal conditions for growth and ripening. The place for planting pumpkin is prepared in the fall.

When choosing a site for a garden, the following points are taken into account:

1. sunlight... Pumpkin culture is very light-requiring. In a shady place, pumpkins grow poorly, bloom poorly and often get sick. In the absence of a suitable open space, it is permissible to plant the plant in partial shade under the fruit trees.
2. Draft protection. It is better to place a pumpkin patch like this: from the north - a fence or a building wall, and from the south - an open sunny place.
3. Open space. The pumpkin grows strongly, especially for climbing varieties. The bushes are distinguished by a developed root system, so the plant nutrition area is large. This should be taken into account when choosing a location for planting seedlings... Leave at least one meter between the plants.

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

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

Potatoes, onions, cabbage, and legumes are considered the preferred precursors of the crop. Undesirable - other crops of the pumpkin family (cucumbers, zucchini, squash). All pumpkin seeds are affected by the same diseases and insect pests.

Siberian summers are often short and not hot. In these conditions, the southern beauty must be protected from cold winds and provided with full-fledged lighting. The more sun hits the pumpkin bushes, the more ovaries and fruits are formed. Insufficient lighting leads to slower growth and the development of diseases.

Methods of growing pumpkin in Siberia

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

Direct and seedling methods of growing

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

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

Attention! In Siberia, night frosts often occur in early summer. Growing pumpkin seedlings will save plants from cold weather and speed up harvesting.

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

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

Important! The 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 the seed, as well as the timing of the sowing campaign.

Timing

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

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

Seed preparation

The key to a rich pumpkin harvest in Siberia is a thorough seed preparation. First, the seed is examined and specimens with signs of disease and damage are discarded.

Then the seeds are soaked, disinfected and germinated. Soaking will reveal empty seeds (they will float). Disinfection will protect crops from disease. Germination will speed up the emergence of seedlings. Germinate pumpkin seeds in a damp cloth or wet sawdust.

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

After going through all the 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 on the garden bed, embedded to a depth of about 3 cm. With the seedling method, they are planted in a container with a volume of about 500 ml. Pumpkin seedlings do not like transplanting, so individual cups or peat containers are chosen for plants.

After sprouting, the seedlings are placed in a cool place with a temperature of 15-18 ° C for about a week. So the plants will not stretch out and get stronger. Then the temperature is increased.

Seedling care is not complicated and consists in timely watering with settled water at room temperature. Moisten the soil regularly, but in moderation. Drying out or waterlogging of the soil leads to the death of plants.

A week after the emergence of seedlings, fertilizing with "Nitrofoskaya" is carried out in accordance with the instructions. Excess fertilization will lead to deformation of the seedlings and too rapid growth.

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

When the weather permits, the plants are taken outside for hardening. They are planted in open ground when the weather is stable during the day and at night.

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

How to care for pumpkin correctly to get a rich harvest

After planting, the pumpkin patch is watered. 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 for pumpkin plantings consists in watering, feeding, loosening the soil.

Gardeners use special agricultural practices 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, therefore it is advisable to pinch the lashes, limiting the growth of the bush and reducing the number of fruits.

Formation begins with the pinching of the main shoot in order to enhance the growth of lateral lashes. As they grow, excess lateral 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 pests. At the first sign, measures are taken, otherwise not only the pumpkin harvest 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 in observing the rules of crop rotation. When the first signs of the disease appear, the bushes are sprayed with 1% Bordeaux liquid. 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 changes in day and night temperatures, watering plantings with cold water. At the first signs, soil is poured onto the stems to form lateral roots.
3. White rot. Disease is recognized by white bloom on leaves and stems. The affected tissue becomes soft and slimy to the touch. The diseased parts of the bush are ruthlessly removed. Places of cuts are treated with a solution of copper sulfate.
4. Spider mite.Of the pests, the pumpkin is often affected by the spider mite, which settles on the underside of the foliage, braiding the plant with cobwebs. Affected leaves turn yellow, dry up and fall off. Spraying with a solution of onion husks repels the pest.
5. Melon aphid. Lives on weeds and from them moves to pumpkin bushes. It settles on the underside of leaves, on shoots and ovaries. It feeds on plant juices. Leaves on infected bushes curl, dry out and fall off. An effective control measure is spraying the plants with karbofos.

Harvesting and storage

The safety of pumpkins in the winter is largely determined by timely and correct harvesting. Carefully harvested pumpkins ripened in the garden are distinguished by good keeping quality.

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. There the exact dates of fruit ripening are indicated. If there is no information from the manufacturer, the ripeness of the pumpkin is determined by the stiff stalk and dense hard crust.

During harvesting from the garden, each fruit is left with a tail 10 cm long.Thus, the pumpkins will keep 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. There, the harvest is stored on shelves. The optimum air temperature in the vegetable store is 6–8 ° C.

Useful Tips

For novice gardeners, the following tips for growing a pumpkin crop will be useful:

• grow pumpkin in Siberia through seedlings, this will provide an earlier harvest;
• choose early and mid-season varieties, then the harvest 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 accelerate the ripening of the formed fruits;
• do not allow pumpkins to come into contact with damp soil, otherwise they may rot.

Conclusion

A competent choice of varieties and proper care allow you to grow large sugary pumpkins even in Siberia. Step-by-step preparation of seeds and the right choice of beds will provide a stable harvest of vitamin vegetables, despite the cool summer and the whims of the Siberian weather.