Good afternoon, my reader. Pumpkin is not at all a capricious melon crop found in every vegetable garden. She is actively used in cooking and feed her pets. But even when growing the best varieties, various problems can arise. It will be possible to cope with them if you follow the rules of agricultural cultivation. To do this, it is worth studying each problem and ways to solve it.
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Poor germination
Difficulties in seed germination are due to two reasons: rotting and "drowsiness" of the seed. In turn, these processes arise due to changes in air temperature and too cold soil.
But these problems are easy to solve:
- you need to plant seeds only in warm soil;
- for pumpkin beds, you should choose a sunny place;
- holes can be watered with warm water and sown 3-5 seeds.
Weak sprouts
This problem is associated with a lack of nutrients in the soil. Strong and healthy seedlings can be obtained by feeding them with a solution of chicken manure.
But if this trouble has been worrying for more than a year, you should use this advice: you can try to grow pumpkin seedlings on mounds from a mixture of potato tops and compost 5-10 centimeters high.
Decay of roots after transplanting seedlings
There are several reasons for this problem:
- The pumpkin does not tolerate the transplanting process well. It is advisable to plant it directly in the ground or in peat pots.
- Most likely, it was too early to apply fertilizers containing nitrogen. The shoots froze and did not receive the necessary nutrition, the roots began to rot because of this. The optimum soil temperature for feeding is at least 12 degrees.
- Pulling out weak shoots harms their "neighbors". It is recommended that you just carefully cut them off near the ground.
No ovaries
It so happens that pumpkin plantings delight the eye with bright flowering, but the fruits are not tied. And the absence of an ovary is equal to the absence of a bountiful harvest.
This crop loves humus-rich soils, but it does not need to be fed too much. Excess fertilizer is the main reason for the lack of ovaries. In this case, only the aerial part grows, and the roots lag behind in development and cannot provide the necessary nutrition for the formation of fruits.
Advice. The place for planting the pumpkin must be chosen in advance. It is desirable that this area be fertilized 1-2 years ago.
Few or rotting ovaries
The reason for this is poor pollination. This process is aggravated by the following factors (they affect both separately and together):
- cool weather;
- prolonged rains;
- daily temperature fluctuations;
- drought;
- improper watering;
- absence of pollinating insects.
Artificial pollination allows you to cope with this problem. Choose a warm, dry day for this procedure. Find fully expanded male flowers. Next, bend the petals or remove them with tweezers. Then press the tops of the stamens against the stigma of the pistil of the female flower.
Advice. Insects can be attracted by sprinkling the plants with sweet water.
Many ugly ovaries
Ugly fruits interfere with the development of normal ones: the former take away nutrients from the latter, but still gradually dry up. The competent formation of bushes will help to cope with this misfortune. It can be done after the end of pollination according to the following schemes.
- For large-fruited varieties:
- leave three lashes on each plant;
- each lash should have no more than one ovary;
- in June, you need to pinch the tops and leave at least 5 leaves above the fruit.
- For small and medium-sized varieties:
- remove only whips with barren flowers;
- pinch the tops in early August, leaving at least 3 leaves after the last fruits.
The fruits break off and rot
When pumpkins are on the ground, they come into direct contact with the soil. This can cause them to rot, especially during the rainy season. In this case, it is allowed to put wooden boards under the vegetables.
Dangling pumpkins can be placed in a large net and then tied to a support so they don't touch the ground.
Slow fruit development
Dense foliage is the reason for slowing down or stopping the development of fruits. First, it shades the vegetables themselves. Secondly, all the nutrients go to the greens, and the fruits remain deprived.
A pruner or special garden shears can help deal with this problem. Excess leaves are cut off, and the plant is fed with complex potassium-phosphorus fertilizer. Then the lashes are sprinkled with earth. After that, additional roots appear on them, which improves plant nutrition.
After studying this information, you must definitely apply all the tips in practice - this will help you get a good pumpkin harvest.
Do you know what problems there are and how to solve them when growing pumpkin?
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