Nutmeg pumpkin is quite difficult to care for. Both beginners and experienced farmers face challenges. However, turning to their experience, you can easily get a wonderful harvest.
Characteristic Muscat Gem Pearl
Pumpkin bush forms several lashes. The leaves on them are large, dark green in color with slight spots.
The external characteristic of the fetus itself varies, it can have a pear-shaped, oval or cylindrical shape with a small seed nest. Reaches about half a meter in length, and weighs up to 8 kg. It has a thin, plastic skin.
Ripening occurs within about 130 days, sometimes 110 is enough. The characteristic color is bright orange due to the high content of carotene. The flesh of the pumpkin is juicy and has a fibrous structure.
Features Affecting Future Pumpkin Harvest
It is worthwhile to carefully choose a place. It should be protected from the wind, well lit and warmed up by the sun, since the pumpkin is very thermophilic. The soil should contain clay and sand (sandy loam or loamy). It retains moisture well and quickly warms up by the sun. In warmer regions, nutmeg varieties produce the richest crop.
Growing Nutmeg Pumpkins
For southern areas, seed planting is suitable. Do not plant a pumpkin after crops such as zucchini and cucumbers. The best option would be to do this after legumes or potatoes. First, the ground must be cleaned of weeds, dig and loosen. Then you need to properly prepare the seeds.
Seed treatment
Step by step:
- Soak for 18-20 hours in a concentrated solution of manganese. Recommended ratio: 500 mg of potassium permanganate per liter of water.
- Then rinse, dry and treat with fungicide. This will help prevent picky pearl diseases.
This operation is carried out immediately before planting.
Bed preparation
Landing is made in the pits at a distance of about a meter from each other, and the distance between the beds is about 1.5 m.
Planting seeds directly in the ground
It is necessary to plant in the already warmed up earth (+ 18 ... +25 ° С). For warmer regions, this is the end of May, the beginning of June. For colder regions, landing is done under film. 2 seeds are placed in a hole to a depth of 5-6 cm. Then they are covered with a thin layer of earth for independent germination in the future.
Planting seedlings
For the middle strip, planting with seedlings is preferable, since the seedlings are more resistant to small frosts.
- After pre-treatment, the seeds undergo a three-hour soaking procedure in warm water.
- Then they should be placed in moist gauze and left in a warm place. Such germination reduces the risk of disease in the future crop.
- The next step is hardening. To do this, the seeds must be placed in the freezer for three days.
- Then they are planted in open ground, which the day before is treated with phosphorus or mineral fertilizers.
Seedlings are planted in pits to a depth of about 10 cm. In this case, the recommended distance between the beds is from 1.5 to 2 m.
The top layer of the earth is covered with a thin layer of humus. Otherwise, it will be difficult for the sprouts to break through the fertilizer, and this will adversely affect future productivity. To maintain the temperature regime - the beds can be covered with a film.
Nutmeg Pumpkin Care
Cultural care includes a number of activities:
- Watering twice a week with settled warm water at the rate of 5 liters per bush. The most important stage of watering is flowering. After all the fruits are tied, you can reduce the frequency of irrigation.
- In cold weather in the summer, the stems must be cut and their number brought to three. Thus, an incentive is given to the growth of new lateral shoots. They are sprinkled with a small layer of earth to form a new additional root system that will protect the plant from the wind. The procedure can be repeated up to 3 times a season.
- Mineral and organic fertilizers (peat or humus) are ideal for feeding. The first is done not earlier than when five leaves are formed on the bush. The second - with the beginning of weaving the bush.
- Butternut squash is self-pollinated, but the necessary conditions are artificially created. To pollinate most (at least 2/3), it is important that there is a high moisture content in the air (at least 65%), as well as its temperature not lower than +20 ° С.
Diseases and Pests
| Disease | Symptoms | Remedial measures |
| Bacteriosis | Sores on seeds preceded by dark spots | The bush is completely destroyed with the subsequent disinfection of the place itself, and neighboring bushes are also disinfected. Copper sulfate is suitable for these purposes. |
| Root rot | The spread of the fungus on the root and stem, this stops the further growth of the pumpkin. | Water the roots with Previkur's solution. |
| Powdery mildew | Fungal formation occurs as a result of excess moisture and lack of heat. | Apply sodium hydrogen phosphate, Cumulus. |
| Spider mite | The insect lives in foliage on dry days. | Bring out a solution of isophene, ground sulfur. |
| Gourd aphids | Insect pests in the foliage. | Spraying with malathion. |
| Medvedka | Almost any insect repellent in granules will do. It is laid out in holes. |
Pumpkin picking and storage
Two weeks before harvesting, the timing of which varies from mid-August to mid-September, watering should be stopped. It should be cleaned in dry weather with a secateurs, while leaving 3 cm of the stalk. It is worth taking care of the fetus, as its skin is easily damaged, and this will lead to decay. It is stored for six months in a warm and dry place.
Mr. Summer resident advises: the beneficial qualities of nutmeg pumpkin pearl
The description of the advantages of pumpkin does not end on the palatability, the following advantages also stand out:
- Diet product.
- Diuretic effect.
- Benefits for the heart and eyes.
- Increased immunity.
- Contains Vitamin K, which inhibits aging.
- Many vitamins are stored even after heat treatment.
Due to the versatility of the product, it can be used in food both raw and after cooking.
