How to properly grow pumpkin seedlings at home?

Pumpkin is one of the most unpretentious crops, it can be harvested richly even in the northern regions. However, for all its pickiness, this vegetable is afraid of the cold, so planting it in open ground with seeds is permissible only in the southern regions. To the north, spring is uneven, the temperature jumps, so seeds planted too early may die - nothing will be able to grow. If they are planted late, then the harvest will have to wait too long. There is a way out - to plant already matured seedlings in a permanent place of residence, which can be grown at home. It is not difficult to do this if you know how to properly prepare the seeds, when to plant them, how and what to feed, how to plant them for permanent residence.

Selection and preparation of seed material

Most often, gardeners, in order to carry out sowing, use pumpkin seeds that were grown by them last season. This is a perfectly acceptable option that allows you to get a predictable result. If the gardener sows this crop for the first time, he will have to use purchased seed material. Pay attention to the early maturity and resistance of the variety, its yield, as well as such characteristics as the consistency of the pulp, the degree of its sweetness, the size of the seed nest.

Whatever pumpkin variety nor has been chosen, preparation is necessary: ​​the seeds must be germinated before sowing.

1. Soak the seeds in warm water for two hours. Its optimum temperature is 40 degrees. This will protect the seed from future pests and improve germination.
2. After soaking, wrap the pumpkin seeds in damp gauze folded in several layers, make sure that it does not dry out.
3. 2-3 days after you soak the seeds, they will hatch. At this time, they need to be hardened. To do this, place them in the refrigerator for three days, in the compartment as far as possible from the freezer. The seed preparation is now complete.

After carrying out all these manipulations, the seed is ready to be sown for seedlings.

Sowing dates

Sowing seeds for seedlings should be about 3 weeks before the weather should be suitable for them in the area, in other words, when the average daily temperature does not drop below 13 degrees and there is no longer a risk of frost. In the middle lane, this weather usually sets in mid-May, in more northern regions - in the first decade of June.

Accordingly, pumpkin seedlings should be planted at home in late April - mid-May. In 20-25 days she will be completely ready for transplantation to a permanent place of residence. It should be borne in mind that shoots older than 30 days take root worse than their younger "brothers".

How to plant?

The seeds that have hatched at home should be planted in the soil specially prepared for them. To do this, at the bottom of the box or pots in which it is planned to grow seedlings, sawdust is poured with a layer of two to four centimeters. Lay out suitable soil on top. For example, you can buy land in a store intended for growing pumpkins, zucchini, and cucumbers. Better yet, do it at home. For this you need to take:

• 2 kg of peat;
• 1 kg of humus;
• 1 kg of sawdust;
• 20 g nitroammophos.

If it is necessary to make less or more soil, the amount of ingredients included in its composition should be reduced or increased, while maintaining the proportions.

Advice

The pumpkin does not survive the transplant too well, so it is better to plant it immediately in peat pots or peat tablets... As a last resort, it can be grown in paper cups, which are easy to make at home. Their diameter should be from 10 to 16 centimeters. It is easier to grow the plant in larger ones.

The box or pots are not completely filled with earth, but not more than three quarters, it is even better to fill them only half at first. This is due to the fact that during growth the plant is often strongly stretched, and it may have to be buried, filling up the ground. It remains to sow seeds in pots (to a depth of 2-3 cm) and sprinkle them with soil. If they are to grow in the same box, they should be planted at a decent distance from each other so that the sprouts do not come into contact with the leaves later: too close placement provokes stretching of the stems.

How to care?

The culture needs proper care, which involves the creation of an optimal temperature regime, lighting, adherence to the irrigation regime, and timely feeding. Otherwise, it is impossible to grow a rich harvest.

• Temperature.

In the first three days after sowing, the temperature during the day needs to be provided quite high - from 20 to 25 degrees. The night temperature on these days should be at home within 15-18 degrees. After three days, it must be reduced to 15-18 degrees during the day, 12-13 degrees at night. Otherwise, the plant will stretch out, it will be difficult to grow strong. After a week, the temperature can be slightly increased again: up to 18-22 degrees in the daytime, up to 13-15 degrees - at night.

• Lighting.

It is best to place the pots on a south-facing window. In this case, additional lighting is not necessary. Otherwise, it does not hurt to turn on fluorescent lamps for several hours a day. With a lack of light, the sprout can stretch out strongly. As the plants grow, the pots with them should be moved apart so that they do not block the sun from each other with their leaves.

• Watering.

Water the pumpkins correctly: regularly, but in moderation. Stagnant water will affect the development of the plant extremely badly, it may even die. Excessive watering is dangerous: even if the seeds do not rot, the sprouts will stretch out strongly, which can adversely affect their stability, and therefore, on the yield. It is better to water in the morning, always with warm and settled water. This will prevent the roots of the heat-loving plant from overcooling. Watering is stopped a week before the planned planting in open ground, and one or two days before the planned planting in open ground, water and feed abundantly.

• Top dressing.

During the cultivation of seedlings, it is fed twice: the first time a week later, when shoots appeared, the second time - a few days before planting in open ground. First time fed nitrogen fertilizers... A mullein solution is perfect for this purpose. It is diluted with water in a ratio of one to ten and the plants are watered at the rate of 0.1-0.2 liters per sprout. The second time they feed nitrophobic or any complex mineral fertilizer. This time, each plant will need one and a half times more fertilizer.

Advice

When the plant, in spite of all the precautions, nevertheless stretched out, its stalk must be rolled up into a ring and covered with damp earth. It will soon give lateral roots.

Plants are ready for transplantation to a permanent residence when they have 2-3 well-developed leaves, and the stalk is strong, with several short internodes.

So, planting pumpkin in open ground can be carried out both by seeds and seedlings... The latter option allows you to get a harvest with a greater degree of probability, especially if the crop is grown in the central or northern regions of Russia.

Sowing seeds should be done three weeks before the planned transplantation of the plant to a permanent place. Only if you take care of the seedlings correctly, by this time they will have time to get strong enough.Proper care involves regular but moderate watering, timely fertilization, and the creation of optimal temperature and light conditions. Subject to all conditions, a good pumpkin harvest is guaranteed.