Feeding pumpkins in open ground: how to fertilize to grow well

Growing pumpkins is considered an easy activity, as this vegetable is quite unpretentious. However, despite this, you still have to periodically feed the plant to increase its yield. Pumpkin crops consume a lot of minerals during cultivation and therefore, without regular fertilization, you will not be able to get a good harvest. Before you start growing this vegetable, it is recommended to figure out how you can feed the pumpkin in the open field so that it bears fruit well.

Why fertilize a pumpkin?

Many people call pumpkin a vegetable that differs from other crops in its considerable appetite. Because of this feature, pumpkin bushes consume a lot of nutrients during cultivation.To improve the supply of nutrients, the plant is planted only in fertile light soils. It is impossible to grow pumpkin in other soil, as it does not grow well.

For normal growth, it is not enough just to plant a vegetable in suitable soil. In addition, you will have to fertilize the soil in the preparation of planting beds and regularly feed the seedlings in the process of growing them. Top dressing of pumpkins in the open field is carried out so that it can gain weight and impose fruits. Also, fertilizing the soil accelerates the ripening of fruits and makes them much tastier.

How to feed a pumpkin?

Feeding pumpkin is considered an important process on which the yield of grown seedlings depends. Therefore, it is recommended to take seriously the choice of dressings for this plant.

As with the cultivation of other vegetable crops, when caring for a pumpkin, mineral and organic top dressings are added to the soil. Potassium and nitrogen must be added to the soil, since pumpkin crops need these substances most of all.

At the first feeding of seedlings, gardeners use fertilizing with nitrogen. When the plant forms ovaries, fertilizers with phosphorus and potassium are added to the soil.

In order to properly care for and grow pumpkin bushes, organic fertilizers in the form of ash, peat or litter must be used for top dressing. Also, experienced vegetable growers use a solution of mullein, which increases productivity. When fertilizing, some use folk recipes that create effective herbal infusions and yeast liquids to improve the growth of bushes.

Number of dressings per season

Determining the amount of nutrient application is quite difficult, as it depends on various factors. In areas with fertile soil, pumpkin bushes are fed 3-4 times in one season. If the soil is not rich in nutrients, you will have to increase the amount of top dressing up to 7-10 times.

Also, the amount of fertilizer application depends on the pumpkin variety that is grown in the garden. Long climbing varieties of pumpkin need a lot of nutrients and therefore they will have to be fed much more often. It is recommended to carefully monitor the condition of the bushes in order to notice the lack of nutrients in a timely manner. In plants that need to be fertilized, the leaves gradually wither and turn yellow.

With a deficiency of phosphorus, the bushes grow more slowly, and their lower leaves turn purple. Lack of nitrogen is accompanied by wilting and falling leaves. When the bushes lack potassium, the formation of fruits stops and the leaves turn completely yellow. In order not to disrupt the process of fruit formation and to prevent diseases, it is necessary to regularly add missing nutrients to the soil.

Feeding times

Before you feed pumpkin in July or June, you need to decide on the exact timing of fertilization. If the plant was planted by seeds, and not by seedlings, the first feeding is carried out when at least five true leaves appear on the bushes. The next time the procedure is carried out after the flowering of the seedlings.

When growing pumpkin bushes in seedlings, the number of top dressings increases. The first is carried out in the spring, one and a half weeks after the appearance of the first shoots. At the same time, a mixture of organic fertilizers is added to the soil, the temperature of which should not be less than 15-20 degrees. The second is carried out a week before transplanting seedlings into open soil.

The next planted plants are fertilized two weeks after transplanting into the garden. The last time a pumpkin is fed is in August or late July, when the first lashes appeared on the bushes.

Preparing pumpkin beds

When preparing beds for pumpkin crops, the site is not only dug up, but also treated with fertilizers. When fertilizing the pumpkin plot, add:

• 5-6kg organic mixes from compost or manure;
• 20-40 grams of potash;
• 35 grams of superphosphate;
• complex fertilizers, the method of application of which is determined by the instructions.

Heavy soil areas are treated with ash, which will loosen the soil.

Introduction of organics when caring for pumpkin

Adding organic matter to the ground begins even during the period of planting pumpkins in the garden. 50-100 grams of wood ash is added to each hole, which will accelerate the growth of seedlings and their adaptation to climatic conditions.To prepare a feed mixture from ash, the substance is mixed with 5-7 liters of warm water.

During the pumpkin growing period, it is recommended to feed it with mullein or special slurry. To prepare such a feed mixture, manure is mixed with water in a ratio of one to ten. Also use a mixture prepared from chicken manure. Such fertilizer liquids are carefully added under each bush so that the mixture does not accidentally fall on the leaves. At least a liter of organic fertilizer from pumpkin manure is spent per plant.

Mineral fertilizers for pumpkin care

When growing pumpkin seedlings, mineral supplements are often used. It is recommended to alternate varieties of fertilizers with each other so as not to oversaturate the soil.

How to feed a pumpkin during flowering and fruiting? At the first application of mineral components, it is recommended to use urea with ammophos.To prepare such a solution, at least 15 grams of substances are added to a bucket of water. When re-feeding, completely different components are used - superphosphate with phosphorus. In this case, to create top dressing, 25-30 grams of each substance is added to a bucket of water. The third time the plot is fed with a mixture prepared from potassium sulfate.

Folk remedies

Some vegetable growers when growing pumpkin crops use folk recipes for making dressings. There are two recipes that are used most often:

• Ammonia. Sometimes, after planting, the soil is fed with a mixture made from ammonia. To create it, add 50-70 ml of ammonia to five liters of water. Then the prepared liquid is carefully poured under each bush.
• Yeast. Feeding pumpkin with yeast is popular among vegetable growers. 150 grams of yeast is added to 10 liters of water and mixed thoroughly. Then ash and 120 grams of sugar are added to the container, which will be needed to control the level of nitrogen in the soil.

Foliar applications

In the open field, top dressing of pumpkin is often carried out with foliar fertilizer. They are recommended for use during severe drought, when the bushes do not have enough nutrients for normal growth. For foliar top dressing, the following means are used:

• Kemira. 200 grams of this drug is added to 10 liters of water, after which the mixture is stirred and infused for 20 minutes.
• Urea. A mixture of urea is prepared from a bucket of water and 20 grams of the substance. The liquid is used to spray the leaves of bushes.
• Mineral components. To prepare a solution of mineral components, 35 grams of superphosphate, potassium s alt and sulfate are added to a bucket of water.

Wash care

Caring for a pumpkin is considered the most important part of growing this plant, since the yield of seedlings depends on proper care. Before leaving, you should not only figure out how to fertilize the pumpkin so that it grows well, but also decide what to do with its lashes.

All shoots with a height of more than one meter must be sprinkled with soil to improve the stability of the bush. To do this, all long lashes should be carefully untangled and laid on the ground. Over time, they will develop small roots that will also feed the bush.

Conclusion

Practically all gardeners are engaged in growing pumpkins. In order for this plant to bear fruit better, you will have to figure out the features of feeding the planted bushes.

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