They began to grow decorative pumpkins in Europe a long time ago. And what is fashionable with them will be interesting and popular with us. Now it is very fashionable to decorate and decorate your home, apartment, office. You can make interesting compositions from decorative pumpkins that will fit well into any interior. They, so smart, will add a unique flavor and mood for many months.
Growing a decorative pumpkin is not difficult. There are two ways: sow seeds outdoors or grow seedlings.
Seeds are sown in open ground in well-warmed soil so that they are not damaged by spring frosts. Pumpkins are delicate plants and even light frosts can destroy seedlings. Sowing is usually carried out at the end of May. Seeds begin to germinate at a temperature of 13-15 ° C, but friendly shoots will appear if the temperature is at least 18 … 25 ° C. The seeding depth is 4-6 cm, depending on the soil structure. On sandy soils, planting seeds is done deeper. The distance between plants is 1-1.5 m.
Pumpkins are long-leaved plants. The stem can grow up to 5 meters or more. In the absence of sufficient space, they can be attached near the fence, directing the whips to the fence, to make a "hedge" of them. It must be borne in mind that the lashes of plants have a good weight, so you need to take care and strengthen the fence. Pumpkin seeds every day intensively add in growth and you need to look after the lashes, constantly distribute and lay them in the right direction.
The pumpkin loves fertile soil, humus. The place is open, well warmed up by the sun.
Care consists in infrequent watering in dry, hot weather. You can feed pumpkins with mineral fertilizer if they do not have enough nutrition and they will lag behind in growth.
The first time you can feed when there are 2-3 true leaves. The second is during the formation of lashes. The third is at the time of flowering. In order for the fruits to be well preserved, one should not get carried away with nitrogen fertilizing at the end of summer.
If aphids, a spider mite attack the pumpkin plants, you can safely treat them with "chemistry", since they are not edible. To keep the pumpkin fruit clean and healthy and not lie on the ground, you should put something under the fruit, such as cuts from boards.
It is very important to harvest such pumpkins on time. If they do not ripen, they will be poorly stored. Overexposure - may be damaged by frost. The most optimal time is mid-September. For harvesting, it is better to choose a sunny and dry day.
Cut off carefully, without damaging the skin, so that there are no scratches and dents. You also need to carefully bring the crop home.
Everyone loves these funny decorative "toys". They can be donated or even sold. The most interesting and varied varieties of decorative pumpkin: "Turkish turban", multi-colored "Stars", series "Kaleidoscope", "Warty mix", "Crowned person".
