How to grow pumpkins out of season? These techniques are key
The traditional cultivation method for pumpkins is open-field cultivation with trailing growth,3seedlings raised in month4planted out in month7-9harvested in month. To improve economic returns, pumpkins can also be produced out of season.
I. Early pumpkin cultivation
11. Variety selection. It is best to choose early-maturing, tolerant-to-cloudy-rain-and-low-temperature varieties such as Yichuanling, Qingpi Yichuanling and Tianli.
22. Timely sowing. For protected cultivation in large or small tunnels,2sow and raise seedlings in mid-month; for open-field cultivation,3raise seedlings in early month. Put the seeds into55°C warm water, stirring while soaking, and when the water temperature drops to30°C, soak for4-6hours. After soaking, rub off the mucus on the seed coat, wrap the seeds in a wet cloth and place them under25-35°C for germination.36-48hours later, when the sprouts are0.5cm long, they can be sown. Before sowing, prepare the seedbed well, water it thoroughly, and make small squares of7-10cm each; then place the seeds flat in the squares and cover with nutrient soil1-2cm thick. After sowing, maintain a high temperature of25-30°C. When about20%of the sprouts begin to push through the soil, scatter another0.6cm of fine moist soil to preserve moisture. After emergence, ventilate to lower the temperature, keeping it at20-25°C during the day and around10°C at night.
33. Land preparation and fertilization. Apply3000kg of decomposed organic fertilizer and30kg of compound fertilizer per mu, then plow deeply and harrow finely so the fertilizer and soil are mixed evenly. The bed width including the ditch is1.3-1.4m, the ditch width is0.35m, and for open-field cultivation the ditch depth is0.3m. The bed surface is shaped like a turtle's back.
44. Timely planting out.3In mid-month, select strong seedlings and plant them with their soil blocks into large or medium tunnels, or arch small tunnels over them after planting and cover with plastic film for15-20days. For open-field cultivation, plant out in early month. Plant one row per bed, and in every two beds plant the seedlings on the bed edges farther from the ditch between the two beds, planting them opposite each other to make trellising easy. The planting depth should be such that the cotyledons are about4cm above the ground. Spacing is3cm ×60cm, with70plants per mu.600-8005. Field management. After fruit set and during the harvest period of tender pumpkins, apply
5about every10days1time of decomposed human and livestock manure water, or apply1-2times of compound fertilizer, each time15-20kg per mu. To increase the fruit-setting rate, you can collect male flowers of zucchini blooming at the same time and hand-pollinate them with newly opened female pumpkin flowers, or on the morning of the day the female pumpkin flower just opens, spray the female flower with40mg/kg of fruit-setting hormone. For tunnel cultivation, remove side vines promptly, keeping only1-2vigorous side vines above the first fruit. Once vines begin to run, set up trellises and train the vines, building one trellis more than1m high for every two beds. If powdery mildew is found, spray sulfur suspension500times dilution or50%thiophanate-methyl wettable powder800times dilution at the early stage of the disease for control.
II. Autumn pumpkin cultivation
11. Renewing old plants for autumn. For pumpkins sown in summer,8in mid-month pick off all old and tender pumpkins, prune away withered old leaves and some side branches, apply25-30kg of compound fertilizer per mu, and deeply cultivate between the rows to15-20cm, turning the fertilizer into the soil while also injuring some old roots to stimulate new root growth. Then irrigate thoroughly and keep the soil moist regularly.10Around early month, a large number of autumn pumpkins can set.
22. Autumn-sown pumpkins. Choose heat-tolerant, disease-resistant varieties such as Jinli, Yipin and Huanglang pumpkin.7In late month-8after germination in early month, sow directly, or preferably raise seedlings in nutrient pots and protect the seedlings with shade netting; plant out after20or more days of seedling age. For small pumpkins such as Jinli, row spacing is1.2m; for medium and large pumpkins such as Huanglang pumpkin,1.5-2m, with plant spacing of0.6-0.7m. Apply30-40kg of compound fertilizer per mu as base fertilizer. Cover the bed surface with grass to cool it and retain moisture, keep shade netting on until early9month, and combine this with spraying1-2times of50mg/kg of naphthaleneacetic acid to prevent viral disease. After vines begin to run, set up fence trellises, train to a single vine and remove all side branches, water promptly to resist drought, and after fruit set apply topdressing1-2times, each time15-20kg of compound fertilizer per mu. Watering should be done in the early morning or evening, using furrow irrigation with running water, irrigating little but often. While continuing hand pollination, use2，4-Dto dip flowers to increase the fruit-setting rate.
Autumn-sown pumpkins are prone to aphids and viral disease. Every7days spray1time of0.3%potassium dihydrogen phosphate, and use10%imidacloprid wettable powder plus20%virusAwettable powder to control pests and diseases.9From mid to late month, harvesting of tender pumpkins can begin,10in month harvest old pumpkins, continuing until early11month. Old pumpkins are generally harvested before frost, when the fruit hardens, powdery bloom appears, and the fruit stalk turns yellow and hard; when harvesting, leave a section of vine on the fruit stalk to aid storage. Yield per mu is1500-2000kg, and they can be stored until New Year's Day and Spring Festival for market.