Content
Pumpkin Healing is a variety bred by breeders of the All-Russian Research Institute of Plant Growing in the Kuban. In 1994, he was included in the State Register of the Russian Federation and allowed for cultivation. This variety got its name because of the high content of minerals and vitamins in the pulp.
Description of pumpkin Healing
Pumpkin of the Healing variety is an annual plant of the pumpkin family. It has short but wide creeping lashes forming a medium-sized bush. Stems are strong, dense, rounded, rough, without grooves. The plant releases stepchildren. The leaves are green, large, not dissected, have a pentagonal shape.
It is a cross-pollinated, dioecious crop. The flowers are yellow, with five petals; the ovaries are formed on pollinated female flowers. The peduncle is cylindrical.
Description of fruits
The fruits of the Medicinal pumpkin are round, slightly flattened, have weak segmentation. The bark is thin, smooth, easy to clean. In the photo of the Healing pumpkin, you can see several options for the color of ripe fruits - from uniform grayish-green with longitudinal white stripes to gray, with a pronounced pattern in the form of a dark gray grid. On the cut it has a greenish-yellow tint. The pulp is light orange, crispy, juicy. The fruits are large, with an average weight of 3 to 6 kg. Gardeners manage to get pumpkins over 8 kg, as evidenced by photos and reviews on thematic forums dedicated to Healing pumpkin. On one plant 3-5 pumpkins are tied. The fruit has three cavities filled with medium-sized white oval seeds.
Pumpkin Healing is a universal table variety. Its sweetish pulp is used for making baked goods, cereals, desserts, juices. Oven baked pumpkin is especially tasty.
It is also successfully used in children's nutrition: babies like the rich sweet taste of the pulp, and parents appreciate the high content of vitamins and nutrients.
This vegetable plays a special role in dietary nutrition. Low calorie content, pleasant taste and exceptional nutritional value are the qualities for which the supporters of a healthy diet love pumpkin.
According to the description of the variety, Healing pumpkin is rich in vitamins B1, B2 and E, and also contains carotene and fiber. It is believed that it has medicinal properties and helps with vitamin deficiencies and diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
Useful pumpkin pulp of this variety is included in masks and face creams, it is also used in hair care.
Variety characteristics
Pumpkin Healing is a large-fruited early-ripening variety. The fruits reach technical maturity on average 95 - 105 days after sowing, although this largely depends on the growing region. The relatively short growing season allows the pumpkin of this variety to ripen in a short summer.
Despite the fact that pumpkin crops are thermophilic, the Healing pumpkin variety is frost-resistant, and the grown seedlings can withstand short-term frosts up to -2 ° C and sudden temperature changes.
The variety is resistant to short-term drought, but very responsive to watering.
Productivity depends on growing conditions and climatic zone. On average, from 1 sq. m remove from 4 to 6 kg of fruit. About 15 - 20 kg are obtained from one bush, which corresponds to the indicators of a high-yielding variety.
Medicinal pumpkin has a long shelf life - even at room temperature, the fruits retain all their qualities for up to 10 months.
Pest and disease resistance
Healing pumpkin is a disease-resistant culture, but it is also susceptible to white and gray rot, powdery mildew, anthracnose. The best prevention is crop rotation: you should not grow pumpkin on soils where other pumpkin crops have grown before. Another way to increase immunity is to soak the planting material in a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
The most common pests are aphids and spider mites. Plants should be inspected regularly for signs of disease or pests. The affected parts are immediately destroyed, and the plantings are treated with appropriate drugs. To combat pests, it is enough to use a solution of laundry soap with ash or an infusion of onion peels.
Advantages and disadvantages
Both amateur vegetable growers and farmers highly value this variety for the following qualities:
- cold resistance, resistance to temperature extremes;
- unpretentiousness;
- high productivity;
- excellent sweet taste and exceptional nutritional value;
- compactness of the plant;
- keeping quality.
However, like other varieties, Healing pumpkin has disadvantages:
- poor resistance to some diseases;
- exactingness to the soil.
Growing Pumpkin Healing
Growing pumpkin Therapeutic does not require much effort: even a beginner can handle planting and care. Depending on the climatic conditions, the seedling or non-seedling method is chosen.
Sowing Healing pumpkin for seedlings begins in April, grown seedlings are also planted in the ground, and the seeds are planted in late May - early June, when the soil at a depth of 10–12 cm warms up to at least +12 ° C. For seedlings, this corresponds to an age of 1 month. By this time, the young plant already has 2-3 true leaves. It is recommended to preheat the planting material. 2 months before the expected sowing date, the paper bag with seeds is placed in a warm place, for example, next to a battery. It is believed that this contributes to the formation of female flowers on the plants, on which the fruits are tied. Immediately before sowing, the seeds must be soaked in a weak solution of potassium permanganate, then germinate in a damp tissue for a day and sow in individual cups to a depth of 5 - 6 cm. Freshly sown seeds must be watered and covered with foil, since they need a moist environment for germination.
Young plants, planted in a permanent place, are mulched. This will help conserve water and protect plantings from weeds... You should also shade seedlings within 3-5 days.
Healing pumpkin can grow on almost any soil, but light loamy and sandy loam soils are best suited for it. Often it is planted on compost heaps, but it must be borne in mind that the plant greatly impoverishes the substrate.
The best precursors for this vegetable are potatoes, onions, tomatoes, cabbage, since these crops do not have diseases and pests in common with it. It is not recommended to plant a pumpkin after zucchini, squash, cucumbers.
Since a pumpkin bush of this variety does not form long lashes, when planting in a square-nesting method, it is sufficient to maintain a 60x80 cm scheme.When sowing a culture directly into open ground, at least 3 seeds are placed in the planting hole, of which the strongest sprout is left. The rest of the plants are cut off.
Water the plantings as the topsoil dries out. In this case, waterlogging should be avoided so that rot does not appear on the plants. During flowering and fruit set, the amount of water for each plant is increased. During ripening, watering is reduced - so the pulp will be more sugar.
Compulsory work also includes weeding and loosening.In addition, several times a season pumpkin is fed with organic fertilizers and mineral complexes.
To increase the yield, pinching of the side lashes is carried out, and after several fruits are tied, the main stem.
Harvested from July to October. The pumpkins are cut, leaving a small stalk. In a cool, dark place, the fruits are well preserved until May.
Conclusion
Healing pumpkin is a popular variety among vegetable growers. Its early maturity, cold resistance and unpretentiousness are especially in demand in the short cold summer of the northern regions of Russia, and excellent taste, nutritional value and exceptional benefits are finding more and more connoisseurs among people who follow proper nutrition.
