Growing pumpkin It is considered a simple task, since this vegetable is quite unpretentious. However, despite this, you will still have to periodically feed the plant to increase its yield. Pumpkin crops consume a lot of minerals during cultivation and therefore, without regular application of fertilizers, it will not be possible to get a good harvest. Before you start growing this vegetable, it is recommended to figure out what you can feed the pumpkin in the open ground so that it bears fruit well.
Why fertilize your pumpkin?
Many people call pumpkin a vegetable that differs from other crops in its considerable appetite. Because of this feature, pumpkin bushes consume a lot of nutritional components when grown. To improve the supply of nutrients, the plant is planted only in fertile light soils. Conduct growing pumpkin in other soil it is impossible, as it does not grow well.
For normal growth, it is not enough just to plant the vegetable in suitable soil. In addition, you will have to fertilize the soil when preparing the planting beds and regularly feed the seedlings as they grow. Pumpkin feeding in open ground is carried out so that it can gain weight and bear fruit. Also, adding fertilizers to the soil speeds up the ripening of fruits and makes them much tastier.
How to feed the pumpkin?
Feeding pumpkin is considered an important process on which the yield of grown seedlings depends. Therefore, it is recommended to take the choice of fertilizers for this plant seriously.
As with growing other vegetable crops, when caring for pumpkin, mineral and organic fertilizers are added to the soil. Potassium and nitrogen must be added to the soil, since pumpkin crops need these substances most of all.
When first feeding seedlings, gardeners use fertilizers containing nitrogen. When the plant forms ovaries, fertilizers with phosphorus and potassium are added to the soil.
In order to properly care for and grow pumpkin bushes, organic fertilizers in the form of ash, peat or manure must be used for feeding. Experienced vegetable growers also use mullein solution, which increases productivity. When fertilizing, some use folk recipes, which create effective herbal infusions and yeast liquids to improve the growth of bushes.
Number of feedings per season
Determining the amount of nutrients to be applied is quite difficult, as it depends on various factors. In areas with fertile soil, pumpkin bushes are fed 3-4 times in one season. If the soil is not rich in nutritional components, you will have to increase the amount of fertilizing up to 7–10 times.
Also, the amount of fertilizer application depends on the pumpkin variety that is grown in the garden. Long-climbing pumpkin varieties require a large amount of nutritional components and therefore will need to be fed much more often. It is recommended to carefully monitor the condition of the bushes in order to promptly notice a lack of nutritional components. Plants that need fertilizing gradually wither and turn yellow leaves.
With a phosphorus deficiency, the bushes grow more slowly, and their lower leaves turn purple. A lack of nitrogen is accompanied by wilting and falling leaves. When the bushes lack potassium, fruit formation stops and the leaves turn completely yellow. In order not to disrupt the process of fruit formation and to prevent diseases, it is necessary to regularly add the missing nutrients to the soil.
Feeding time
Before feeding the pumpkin in July or June, you need to decide on the exact timing of fertilization. If the plant was planted by seeds and not by seedlings, the first feeding is carried out when at least five true leaves appear on the bushes. The next time the procedure is carried out after the seedlings have flowered.
When growing pumpkin bushes in seedlings, the amount of fertilizing increases.The first is carried out in the spring, a week and a half after the appearance of the first shoots. At the same time, a mixture of organic fertilizers is added to the soil, the temperature of which should not be less than 15–20 degrees. The second is carried out a week before transplanting the seedlings into open soil.
The next time the planted plants are fertilized two weeks after transplanting into the garden. The last time the pumpkin is fed is in August or late July, when the first vines appear on the bushes.
Preparing pumpkin beds
When preparing beds for pumpkin crops, the area is not only dug up, but also treated with fertilizers. When feeding a pumpkin plot, add:
- 5–6 kg of organic mixtures from compost or manure;
- 20–40 grams of potash fertilizers;
- 35 grams of superphosphate;
- complex fertilizers, the method of application of which is determined according to the instructions.
Areas with heavy soil are treated with ash, which will make the soil looser.
Adding organic matter when caring for pumpkins
Adding organic matter to the soil begins during the period of planting pumpkins in the garden. 50–100 grams of wood ash are added to each hole, which will accelerate the growth of seedlings and their adaptation to climatic conditions. To prepare a feeding mixture from ash, the substance is mixed with 5–7 liters of warm water.
During the pumpkin growing period, it is recommended to feed it with mullein or special slurry. To prepare such a feeding mixture, manure is mixed with water in a ratio of one to ten. A mixture made from chicken manure is also used. Such fertilizing liquids are carefully added under each bush so that the mixture does not accidentally fall on the leaves.At least a liter of organic fertilizer from pumpkin manure is consumed per plant.
Mineral fertilizers when caring for pumpkins
When growing pumpkin seedlings, mineral fertilizers are often used. It is recommended to alternate types of fertilizers with each other so as not to oversaturate the soil.
How to feed pumpkin during flowering and fruiting? When adding mineral components for the first time, it is recommended to use urea with ammophoska. To prepare such a solution, at least 15 grams of substances are added to a bucket of water. When re-feeding, completely different components are used - superphosphate with phosphorus. In this case, to create fertilizing, 25–30 grams of each substance are added to a bucket of water. For the third time, the area is fed with a mixture prepared from potassium sulfate.
Folk remedies
When growing pumpkin crops, some vegetable growers use folk recipes for preparing fertilizers. There are two recipes that are used most often:
- Ammonia. Sometimes after planting the soil is fed with a mixture made from ammonia. To create it, add 50-70 ml of ammonia to five liters of water. Then the prepared liquid is carefully poured under each bush.
- Yeast. Feeding pumpkin with yeast is popular among vegetable growers. Add 150 grams of yeast to 10 liters of water and stir thoroughly. Then ash and 120 grams of sugar are added to the container, which will be needed to control the level of nitrogen in the soil.
Foliar feeding
In open ground, pumpkin feeding is often carried out with foliar fertilizers. They are recommended for use in severe drought, when the bushes do not have enough nutritional components for normal growth.For foliar feeding, the following means are used:
- Kemira. 200 grams of this drug are added to 10 liters of water, after which the mixture is mixed and infused for 20 minutes.
- Urea. A urea mixture is prepared from a bucket of water and 20 grams of the substance. The liquid is used to spray the leaves of bushes.
- Mineral components. To prepare a solution from mineral components, 35 grams of superphosphate, potassium salt and sulfate are added to a bucket of water.
Caring for lashes
Caring for pumpkin is considered the most important part of growing this plant, since the yield of seedlings depends on proper care. Before leaving, you should not only figure out how to fertilize the pumpkin so that it grows well, but also decide what to do with its vines.
All shoots more than one meter high must be sprinkled with soil to improve the stability of the bush. To do this, all long lashes should be carefully untangled and laid on the ground. Over time, they will develop small roots that will also feed the bush.
Conclusion
Almost all gardeners grow pumpkins. In order for this plant to bear fruit better, you will have to understand the peculiarities of feeding the planted bushes.
