Pumpkin Early Spring Seedling Raising Techniques and Methods Tutorial

Pumpkin is a very popular vegetable in China, and its planting area is also very large. Pumpkin has strong cold and low-temperature tolerance, so in early spring we can grow it in greenhouses to advance the pumpkin's market time and increase planting returns through off-season sales. So how should early spring pumpkins be raised as seedlings? Today, the editor brings you the seedling raising techniques for early spring pumpkin. Let's take a look together below!

1. Variety selection

When raising seedlings in early spring, the first thing we need to do is choose a good planting variety. Because growing pumpkins in early spring is mainly to advance the pumpkin's market time, the first requirement for the pumpkin planting variety is early maturity. It is necessary to ensure that its root system is well developed, its growth is vigorous, and its low-temperature tolerance is good. An excellent variety is very critical to the success of early spring pumpkin seedling raising, so everyone must pay close attention when choosing to ensure the success of pumpkin seedling raising and improve planting returns.

2. Seed soaking and germination

Before sowing, we also need to soak the seeds to promote germination. First, place the seeds in 80-100 degree hot water for about 5 minutes, then immediately put them into cold water to cool down to about 30 degrees, and stir for 30 minutes. Then place them in clean water to soak for about 10 hours, then remove the seeds and dry them for about two hours. After the seed surface is dry, carry out germination, and the temperature during germination should be maintained at about 30 degrees. When most of the seeds have sprouted, they can be sown, and usually the seed amount per mu should be maintained at about 200g.

3. Timely sowing

The seedling raising site for early spring pumpkin is generally in a greenhouse or a sunny seedbed. The sowing time is generally in February-March, when the germination rate of pumpkin seeds is the highest. During seedling raising, seedling trays are generally the main method, but before sowing, the seedling trays and medium must also be disinfected properly. The main method is mixing carbendazim powder for disinfection, then spraying water on the seedling trays so that the water content is maintained at about 70%. When filling with medium, be careful to leave a certain amount of space at the cup opening, and sow one seed per seedling tray cell. After sowing, cover with an appropriate amount of vermiculite, and cover the seedling trays tightly with plastic film.

4. Seedling stage management

Management after sowing is also very important. After sowing, the temperature should be controlled at about 26-28 degrees, and the nighttime temperature at about 18 degrees, maintaining a day-night temperature difference of 10 degrees. When about 60% of the seeds begin to push through the soil, remove the plastic film promptly. Then lower the daytime temperature to 22-24 degrees and the nighttime temperature to about 13-14 degrees. Avoid excessively high temperatures causing leggy seedlings and affecting pumpkin growth. When the young leaves of the seedlings grow to about 2cm, do a good job of thinning and transplanting seedlings, and appropriately raise the temperature by about 3 degrees.

The above is a brief introduction to early spring pumpkin seedling raising techniques. That is all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only, and I hope it can help everyone!