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Pumpkin Spaghetti or pasta is famous for its unusual softness and taste. You can grow a crop in the open field or under a film shelter throughout Russia.
Description of pumpkin Spaghetti
Pumpkin Spaghetti is a new culture that has already gained popularity. This is an early ripe hybrid of squash and pumpkin. It needs a lot of space for normal growth and development. Scourges grow up to 4.5 m. Inside they are hollow, outside they are covered with hard hairs.
The leaves are large, clawed, green, outwardly indistinguishable from ordinary pumpkin tops. The flowering culture continues from early summer until autumn. In the Central Region, it lasts from June to October. The fruit sets well. From emergence to full ripeness, they need no more than 60 days.
Description of fruits
Spaghetti pumpkin fruits can be oval, elongated or round in shape. Skin color - from light yellow to darker. It depends on the type of plant.
After flowering, one bush sets up to 10 fruits. Their average weight reaches 4 kg. Pumpkin pulp Spaghetti - bright orange, medium density, has a pleasant vanilla smell, fibrous. After cooking, it breaks into stripes and resembles vermicelli. Spaghetti pumpkin tastes sweet, much sweeter than regular varieties.
A ripe vegetable is stored for no more than 1-2 months in a cool room, where it does not lose its qualities. For longer storage, choose Spaghetti pumpkin, which has dried well in the sun, without cracks and signs of spoilage on the skin. The room should be well ventilated, the optimum temperature is from + 3 ... + 10 ° С.
In cooking, Spaghetti pumpkin is used to cook caviar and other delicious dishes. It is baked, fried, boiled, canned. The fresh pulp remaining after cooking is stored in the refrigerator for about a week.
Variety characteristics
Pumpkin Spaghetti does not tolerate temperature changes and cold snaps, therefore, in the middle lane, it is grown under a film. In the southern part of Russia, it is successfully cultivated in the open field. However, it should be borne in mind that pumpkin does not grow well on arid and heavy soils. For normal fruiting, she needs good nutrition.
Pest and disease resistance
Pumpkin Spaghetti is susceptible to diseases characteristic of this family:
- anthracnose;
- fusarium;
- brown spotting;
- powdery mildew;
- yellow mosaic virus.
Of the pests, mites and aphids annoy the culture. To prevent this from happening, pumpkin pasta should not be planted in the same place every year. Favorable precursor crops for pumpkin are onions, potatoes, most root crops, legumes, greens. You can not plant the plant after squash, zucchini or cucumbers. You can return the plant to its original place after 5 years.
Advantages and disadvantages
From the description of the Spaghetti pumpkin, we can conclude that the culture has many positive characteristics:
- early return of the crop;
- excellent pulp taste and its unusual structure;
- good preservation of fruits;
- high productivity from a bush.
But in addition to these advantages, the plant has a number of disadvantages that cannot be kept silent. Pumpkin Spaghetti is susceptible to disease, which negatively affects yields. It grows poorly in arid regions and practically does not tolerate a cold snap.In addition, the plant is demanding on the composition of the soil and top dressing.
Growing Pumpkin Spaghetti
Pumpkin Spaghetti does not tolerate a drop in temperature to 0 ° C, therefore, in regions with an unstable climate, it is better to grow it in seedlings.
Seedlings are sown for seedlings from mid-April to May. Growing seedlings requires special knowledge. The seeds are planted in separate containers; it is better to use peat pots. The culture of the Spaghetti variety does not tolerate transplanting and picking well, so you need to do without it. The soil for seedlings is used from a general store or prepared with your own hands. For this, peat, humus and sawdust are mixed in a ratio of 2: 1: 1. Add 1 tsp to the mixture. mineral fertilizers (per 1 kg of soil).
Friendly shoots of pumpkin can be obtained in good light and warm conditions. The temperature required for seed germination ranges from + 15 ... + 25 ° С.
Spaghetti pumpkin seedlings need to be well looked after. Watering should be moderate, otherwise the seedlings will get sick. Moisten the soil as needed, do not allow it to dry out. A week later, the sprouts are fed for the first time. Use complex mineral fertilizers or mullein infusion. 14 days before transplanting to a permanent place, the seedlings are accustomed to the environment. The age of seedlings ready for transplantation is 1.5 months.
Planting Spaghetti pumpkins directly into the ground is carried out no earlier than May 15, by that time the soil will warm up enough. A place for planting is chosen warm and sunny, well protected from cold winds and drafts. It grows well on moisture-consuming and fertile soils. Heavy, swampy or clayey soil is not suitable for growing a Spaghetti crop. Before planting, the bed is dug up and manure, humus or peat are added.
Experienced gardeners practice planting pumpkins on black mulching material, which reduces the amount weeds, prevents vegetable contact with the soil, protects it from diseases and pests.
Caring for pumpkin in the ground
The further care of the Spaghetti pumpkin depends on the yield and health of the bush. With excessive watering, the roots of the plant are exposed, a fungal disease begins. For normal development, it is enough to water the garden bed 2 times a week. If the heat is intense, the soil is moistened every two days.
Experienced gardeners advise pinching the spaghetti pumpkin whips so that it gives a good harvest. If this is not done, then the shoots will grow up to 7 m, but there will be few fruits. To form a bush correctly, you need to leave 4 side shoots, remove the rest. Pinch each shoot after the 6th leaf.
Pumpkin Spaghetti responds well to feeding, so 10-14 days after transplanting it needs to be fertilized. For these purposes, it is better to use chicken manure, which is diluted in proportions 1: 4 with water. They are fed at intervals of 2 weeks. You can alternate chicken droppings with an infusion of ash, superphosphate or urea.
It is very important for the pumpkin to loosen the soil so that oxygen flows to the roots. Weeds should be removed as soon as they are small. Loosen the soil shallowly so as not to damage the roots.
How to Cook Spaghetti Pumpkin
Spaghetti pumpkin is loved by housewives and has found its use in the kitchen. There are many recipes for its preparation, you can boil or bake the fruit deliciously. It is well suited for feeding young children, for normalizing the digestive and cardiovascular systems.
One of my favorite recipes is Baked Spaghetti Pumpkin stuffed with chicken. The dish turns out to be tasty, satisfying, there is a lot of cheese in it.
Ingredients:
- pumpkin - 1 pc.;
- chicken fillet - 1 pc .;
- cheese - 250 g;
- bell pepper - 2 pcs.;
- sour cream - 50 g;
- tomato sauce - 2 tbsp l .;
- greens - 1 bunch;
- salt and spices to taste.
Cooking process:
- Before cooking, grate the cheese on a coarse grater, boil the chicken and disassemble it into fibers.
- Cut the vegetable, remove the seeds, grease the inside and outside with oil. Bake the vegetable in the oven until tender at 200 ° C (about 35 minutes).
- Cool the finished pumpkin, carefully separate the spaghetti fibers so as not to damage the peel.
- To prepare the filling, mix the pumpkin pulp with boiled chicken, chopped bell peppers and spices. Add sour cream and tomato sauce.
- Fill the pumpkin halves with the filling, sprinkle with grated cheese and herbs. Bake the dish in the oven for about 20 minutes. at a temperature of 220 ° C.
Cut the finished pumpkin into portions and serve.
No less interesting is the recipe for making Spaghetti pumpkin with bacon. It will require:
- pumpkin - 1 pc.;
- bacon - 4 plates;
- onions - 1 pc.;
- garlic - 1 clove;
- hard cheese - 250 g;
- greens to taste;
- salt and spices to taste;
- vegetable oil - 1 tbsp. l.
How to cook properly:
- Cut the vegetable in half, remove the seeds, salt and pepper to taste. Grease with vegetable oil on both sides.
- Bake the pumpkin halves in the oven at 200 ° C (about 40 minutes).
- Chop the onion, mix with the crushed garlic. Cut the bacon into small slices.
- Put the bacon in a hot pan, fry until golden brown, then add the onion and garlic, sauté for another 5 minutes.
- Cool the finished pumpkin halves, remove the pulp with a fork, mix it with the bacon. Fry for 2 minutes.
- Sprinkle the dish with grated cheese, mix well. Fry until the cheese is melted. Decorate the dish with herbs.
Such a dish turns out to be hearty and healthy. His taste is extraordinary.
You can also make delicious lasagne from Spaghetti pumpkin. The dish turns out to be not as high-calorie as usual, and very tasty.
Ingredients:
- pumpkin - 1 pc.;
- onions - 1 pc.;
- garlic - 4 cloves;
- chicken fillet - 2 pcs.;
- cheese - 450 g;
- egg - 1 pc.;
- favorite sauce - 2.5 tbsp.;
- greens to taste.
Step-by-step cooking recipe:
- Cut the fruit, remove the seeds, grease with oil. Bake the vegetable in the oven until tender - about 40 minutes.
- Finely chop the onion, sauté for 5 minutes, add finely chopped garlic, fry for another 2 minutes.
- Cut the chicken into cubes, fry with the onion until half cooked. Sprinkle the filling with salt and spices to taste.
- Beat the egg with grated cheese, mix well. Combine with the filling.
- Grease a baking dish with butter and sauce. Lay out some of the pumpkin pulp, then a layer of filling. Alternate layers, add the last sauce and sprinkle with the remaining grated cheese.
- Bake the lasagne in the oven until a cheese crust is formed. This will take about 35 minutes, then turn off the oven and leave the dish for 10 minutes. for cooling.
Garnish the finished lasagna with fresh herbs and chopped basil.
Conclusion
Spaghetti Pumpkin is very healthy and easy to grow. In order for the culture to bear fruit well, it is enough to correctly form the bush, water the plant on time and feed it. A ripe vegetable has a fibrous pulp that can be prepared very tasty using recipes from a piggy bank.
