Harvesting pumpkin is one of the most enjoyable activities in the garden in the fall. It will be doubly entertaining if the harvest has grown to glory. We will tell you how to collect it correctly in order to preserve as much benefit as possible in the fruit.
When to harvest pumpkin
This vegetable is called the pantry of vitamins. The pumpkin will retain a lot of benefits if it has time to ripen and does not freeze in the garden. Its taste and keeping quality depend on when it is picked.
On average, a pumpkin is considered ready four months after planting. The fruits are removed in early autumn and in no case leave the pumpkin in the garden if the first frosts are expected. Frozen fruits will begin to deteriorate quickly and will be poorly stored.
For harvesting, it is advisable to choose a dry and sunny day. Sometimes it is necessary to disassemble the beds with this culture during the rainy period, in which case the pumpkin is allowed to dry in a dark and cool place.
Is the pumpkin ripe?
The fruit is considered ready if the pumpkin, like a watermelon, emits a ringing sound when tapped, and the bark on the fruit is not the same as that of a young plant. It is dense, and the pattern has changed. They differ in different varieties:
- Shrub - yellow stripes are clearly visible.
- Large-fruited - a dark "cobweb" appeared on the surface.
- Nutmeg - spots are visible on the brown bark.
Pay attention to the following signs of pumpkin ripeness:
- The green color of the fruit has changed to a brighter one.
- The place for which the fruit is attached to the whip (stalk) becomes like the bark of a tree. If it is green, it is advisable for the pumpkin to lie still in the garden.
- Leaves and whips withered and turned yellow
- The pulp has become firm.
- The seeds are covered with a dense skin.
Experienced vegetable growers recommend picking only ripe specimens, and leaving greenish ones in the garden until ripening. If this is not possible, the plucked fruits are laid out and left to ripen in a dry place.
So that there is no surprise that the pumpkin will be ready not in 4, but only in 5 months, before buying seeds, ask the seller or read information about the timing of harvesting pumpkins of this variety on sachet. The description often indicates the color of the ripe fruit.
How to store pumpkin properly
When the crop is harvested, the fruits should be divided into 3 piles: small, medium and large. It is recommended to store only large and medium-sized specimens without visible damage in winter. Small ones are better for processing immediately: juice and jam.
The pumpkin will be stored until spring, if the following conditions are observed when laying for the winter:
- After being removed from the garden, pumpkins are stored at temperatures up to +28 ° C and not lower than +25 ° C, the air humidity must be maintained at around 85%. In this "climate" the pumpkin will ripen, the skin will harden and the scratches will heal.
- Fruit damage can be treated with 3% potassium permanganate.
- Pumpkins are removed to a permanent place after 7 days. Best of all, they will lie at a temperature of + 4... + 9 ° C and a humidity of 70%. Such conditions can be created in the cellar of a private house, on a balcony or loggia in a city high-rise building.
- In the storage, the fruits are placed at a distance from each other, a straw bedding is placed under them.
- Rotting pumpkins are harvested immediately.
Follow our helpful guidelines and get good yields every year!
Read also: Rules for planting strawberries in August
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