The gourd family. Characteristics of the gourd family. Female and male flower. flower formulas. Specify vegetable plants from this family. Cucumber pumpkin zucchini belongs to the family
The family includes mainly herbaceous plants, less often shrubs. They are distributed mainly in the tropics of both hemispheres. pumpkin edible fruits: watermelons, cucumbers, melons, pumpkins - are cultivated by man very widely. Watermelon is the most drought-resistant of all pumpkin, and in our country the best varieties it is bred in the south: in the Volga region, steppe southern regions and in Central Asia. This is not surprising, since the closest relative of cultivated watermelons is common watermelon(Citrullus vulgaris) grows in African deserts - Kalahari and others. Another type of watermelon lives in the dry regions of Iran, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan - coloquint(Citrullus colocynthis), whose bitter fruits are of medicinal value.
We will study the structure of flowers and fruits in gourds with several examples.
Cucumber (Cucumis sativus) (Fig. 113, 1, 2, 3). For classes, herbarium specimens of a plant in flowers, flowers and young (taken immediately after flowering) fruitlets stored in alcohol are needed. In addition to the usual equipment, a razor is also needed here. Examining the herbarium sample, we note the following:
1) recumbent pentahedral stems, which often give adventitious roots at the nodes and take root;
2) simple unbranched antennae, which is very important generic sign cucumber and melon, unlike watermelon and pumpkin, which have branched antennae;
3) leaves are heart-shaped at the base, five-lobed, and, unlike melon, the lobes of cucumber leaves are sharp;
4) stems and petioles of leaves, pedicels and ovaries of flowers coarsely hairy;
5) the flowers are dioecious, the staminate ones sit in bunches, and the pistillate ones are more often solitary in the axils of the leaves.
Having laid the pistillate flower on the magnifying glass table, we will examine it and, having placed the YUHOcular, we will get acquainted with the thorns covering the surface of the ovary and cucumber fruit.
These spikes turn out to be modified hairs, at the base of which are swollen cells that look like warts. At the top of each of them there is a point - strong, even a little lignified. This is why young cucumbers are often prickly. If we look at the hairs covering the calyx, we will see that their main cells are much thinner, the hairs are multicellular and less rigid than those on the ovary.
We now turn to the analysis of the perianth. The calyx and corolla are fused together. The number of sepals and corolla lobes is five, the flowers are yellow. To consider internal structure flower, open its tube with a needle and unfold it. In the center of the female flower, we will see a short massive column with the same massive three-lobed stigma at the top. It should be noted that each lobe of the stigma is bifid, in turn, so it gives the impression of a six-blade past. Considering the blades of the stigma, we note what a huge perceiving surface it has! All six of its massive processes are covered with a thick layer of papillae. At the base of the corolla tube, we notice a white massive corrugated ring - these are nectar scales along with an underdeveloped androecium that has adhered to them.
The last stage of our work with the female flower will be the analysis of its ovary. The easiest way to understand its structure is on sections of young fruitlets. Take such a fruit and cut it across a little above the middle. Then we trim the edge of the lower half of the fruit with a razor and make a thin transverse cut as possible. The study will be carried out in a drop of water at 20 X magnifier eyepiece.
At the first glance at the cut, it will seem to us that the ovary is three-celled. However, having examined it carefully, we note that each nest is still divided in half by a very thin film(usually poorly visible on the sections of the ovary of the flower). The ovary is six-celled, although these secondary septa are often incomplete. On diagrams of cucurbit flowers, they are indicated by a dotted line. Consider seedlings. Each of them protrudes into the ovary and at outer wall it bifurcates, its ends are bent to the side, and the ovules are located on them. As a result, each placenta looks like an umbrella in section. The fruit of the cucumber is berry-like, the so-called pumpkin.
After the work just done, the analysis of the male flower of the cucumber will no longer present great difficulties. Let's open and unroll his tube. The sepals and lobes of the corolla are also among the five, and the pubescence is less rigid than the female flower. The receptacle is saucer-shaped, stamens are located on it, often fused with anthers into a common head. When the flower unfolds, the stamens separate from each other and turn out to be consisting of three groups: two large and one smaller. There are only five stamens here, four of them are fused in pairs, and one is free.
We will take a closer look at this free stamen. The staminate filament is short, wide, its anthers are long; they are w-shaped but bent and fit on a wide connection. The liaison at its top gives a large bipartite outgrowth. The anthers are two-celled and open with a longitudinal slit, and at their edges, adherent to the connective, a dense brush of hairs is visible. These hairs are sticky, their secretions, dirtying the insect, contribute to the adhesion of pollen to its body. In the center of the male flower, around the underdeveloped pistil, there are five callous thickenings, sometimes significantly merged with each other, and only three tubercles protrude on an annular swollen base - these are nectaries.
The birthplace of cucumber and melon is India.
Pumpkin(Cucurbita pepo). Huge pumpkin flowers are easy to study. It is better to harvest them in the form of buds (male and female). Pumpkin flowers are axillary, solitary. By examining them, we note the following:
1) In male flowers, the stamens are also fused into groups: 2 + 2 + 1 (free). However, this is noticeable only at the base of their massive threads, where there are small holes between them - windows leading inside the flower. The upper part of the stamen filaments and all their anthers have grown together into one large column, dotted on the surface with loop-like pollen sacs.
Then we open the stamen tube with a needle and bend the stamens to the side. At the top of the receptacle, around the immature pistil, we will see a nectar roller, the passage to which for insects is possible only through the windows remaining at the base of the staminate column. The process of accretion of the stamens in the gourd, therefore, has gone further than we have seen it in the cucumber. To make sure that three groups of stamens have grown together here, we cut the stamen tube across, slightly above its base, and we will see that the tube consists, as it were, of three bundles of stamen filaments adhering to each other.
2) The structure of the pistillate flower is the same as in the previous species.
With male pumpkin flowers, it is also good to compare watermelon flowers, in which you can find stamens that are in various stages of fusion with each other: 2 + 2 + 1; 2+1+1+1; 3 + 2. In the female flowers of watermelons, the rudiments of stamens are also frequent, and in the male flowers one can see an underdeveloped and even lobed stigma. bisexual flowers melons have. We can therefore conclude that in gourds dioeciousness is a secondary phenomenon. Flower formulas: male - K (5) C (5) A (2) + (2) + 1; female - K (5) C (5) G - (3) .
Having studied the herbaceous forms of gourds, we can conclude that their stems are climbing or recumbent - lashes clinging with the help of tendrils growing from the axils of the leaves (i.e., tendrils of stem origin). A characteristic feature of the family is also the dominance of dioecious flowers, and gourds can be both monoecious and dioecious. The ovary is always lower with lateral parietal (parietal) placenta. The pistil is most often formed by three fused carpels.
30.01.2018
Hello, Dear friends! Even people far from science are well aware of such a botanical family as Pumpkin, because representatives of this family are plants that are familiar to every person from childhood.
The history of human civilization owes a lot to vegetable pumpkin crops: both in the Old World, and in pre-Columbian America, and on various oceanic islands, they were used as one of essential elements food, in addition - as a medicine, as well as for making dishes and even musical instruments, toys.
Originally from the warm tropics and subtropics, the Cucurbitaceae family gradually moved to more northern regions as horticulture developed. With the advent of capital greenhouses, it became possible to cultivate some tropical vegetables even in the Far North.
traditional cultures
Which plants belong to the botanical family Cucurbitaceae? First of all, vegetables familiar to us, widely cultivated in vegetable gardens - pumpkins, cucumbers, zucchini (including zucchini), squash.
In addition, melons and melons that are allocated to a special group are melons and watermelons. Sometimes they also grow kruknek - a special kind of pumpkin, more like a zucchini (with curved, warty fruits). Original decorative pumpkins are in great fashion.
Exotics
The list of useful representatives of pumpkin will not be complete without mentioning more exotic members of the family. They can be successfully grown in our gardens and summer cottages: in warm regions - even by direct sowing in open ground, in more northern regions - through seedlings and in greenhouses.
These are the original herbaceous vines, which are usually planted for decorative purposes, although they are all edible to some extent.
Particularly interesting are
- lagenaria (distinguish between bottle and pole-shaped) - one of the fastest growing,
- edible cyclantera (Peruvian cucumber) and exploding cyclantera,
- squirting cucumber,
- chayote (Mexican cucumber)
- anguria (horned cucumber, aka Antillean cucumber, watermelon cucumber),
- momordica (Indian pomegranate),
- trichozant (Japanese is especially interesting),
- melotria rough,
- benincasa (wax gourd).
Enthusiasts also cultivate the Armenian cucumber (serpentine melon), various varieties cucumbers, cucumber-"lemon" Crystal apple and other bizarre vegetables of the numerous gourd family.
It is impossible not to mention another original pumpkin culture- loofah. Its immature fruits are eaten, and those that have reached biological ripeness are boiled, obtaining excellent fibrous washcloths, valued for their naturalness and excellent massage properties.
Aggressor - red cucumber
In the original natural environment various plants Cucurbitaceae families are annual and perennial. In perennial species, special tubers often form in the underground part. On our land, we grow all pumpkins as annuals. But there is one unusual exception.
The Far East is the birthplace of the northernmost member of the family, dubious tladianta (otherwise called red cucumber), whose tubers are able to overwinter in northern latitudes.
This is the real aggressor underground part which grows rapidly and captures large living spaces.
Bringing such a miracle into the garden is very simple, but getting rid of it is not easy. True, the tladianta is very decorative, looks great on trellises and near walls well lit by the sun.
Every year, powerful grassy vines grow from overwintered underground nodules, often 3 or even 6 meters long, densely covered with pubescent leaves in the shape of hearts.
It blooms almost all summer with small yellowish flowers. With manual pollination, quite a lot of original bright red cucumber fruits, quite edible, freshish in taste, can be tied.
They had a common ancestor
Modern sciences (molecular and evolutionary botany, paleobotany, genetics) prove that each family from the diverse kingdom of flora has its own special distant ancestor. It is from him that the descendants inherit specific General characteristics- such as the formula of a flower (its structure), the characteristics of fruits and seeds, the shape of the stem and foliage, etc.
If we talk briefly about the Pumpkin family, then its representatives are characterized by:
- superficial nature of the branched root system,
- stem herbaceous, often hollow, with hard fibers, liana-like, creeping or climbing, often with tendrils,
- leaf simple, with petiole, usually pubescent,
- flowers are most often unisexual (separately male and female), more often solitary (rarely inflorescence), with five petals, do not differ color variety: mostly yellow (but there are also white, light green, reddish).
- multi-seeded fruit; earlier science attributed it to berries, and modern botany introduced a special term "pumpkin",
- seeds are dicotyledonous.
The main features of agricultural technology
All pumpkins love:
- heat, heat and again heat - both in the air and in the root zone;
- abundance of sunlight;
- moderately humidified air and soil (only gourds prefer drier);
- loose, very nutritious, neutral (without excessive acidity) soil.
nutritional value
All pumpkin have a low calorie content, suitable for children and diet food(including for diabetics), rarely cause allergies (except for some orange pumpkins).
The fruits carry the most powerful charges of carotenoids - the most important vitamin compounds, as well as phytosterols, mineral elements.
Surprisingly, even sweet pumpkins are low in sugar. And in ordinary cucumbers there is a lot of a rare element of silver, which helps the human body to kill dangerous microbes.
Vegetables of the Pumpkin family are especially valued for the fact that it is convenient to harvest them for the future - or store them for a long time in fresh or dry (pumpkins, zucchini), or pickle (cucumbers, watermelons, etc.).
- It is interesting!
Not all plants of the Pumpkin family are easily cross-pollinated among themselves. If you plan to get pure-grade seeds, you should not plant pumpkins (and crooknecks), zucchini (and zucchini), squash next to each other.
But melons, cucumbers and watermelons in nature do not genetically interbreed with each other. However, it is believed that next to cucumbers, which have male flowers, melon fruits can grow unsweetened.
With the help of genetic manipulations, scientists-breeders managed to bring out outlandish monsters - for example, such a super-hybrid as a kavbuz (a mixture of pumpkin and watermelon, more healing than tasty).
Pumpkin and gourd family
Tatyana Vasilievna from Chernivtsi asks how best to place pumpkin, zucchini and cucumber on the site so that they do not pollinate?
We answer:
Indeed, cross-pollination of these crops is quite possible. But let's talk about everything in order.
What are pumpkins?
The pumpkin family has about 900 species.
The most common of them are zucchini, watermelon, melon.
All these plants love the sun and heat. And they are very respected and loved by people, and animals too. You will meet zucchini, cucumbers, pumpkins on everyone.
At the same time, even our grandfathers and grandmothers, planting these crops on the site, placed them as far as possible from each other. After all, the harvest could be unexpected - both in taste and shape, color. And from the seeds obtained from these fruits, it was not clear what could grow.
Without going into the subtleties of biological processes and terms, let's explain simply: this happens due to cross-pollination between plants of the same species.
In particular, if we talk about pumpkin, then its table species - large-fruited, hard-barked nutmeg - grow side by side perfectly, retaining all their varietal qualities.
But if the sown pumpkin is of several varieties of the same species, then from these pumpkins you will get a new “variety” for yourself. They'll overspray.
Seeds will tell you what kind of pumpkin
By appearance pumpkin seeds can determine which species they belong to.
Large-fruited pumpkin has large seeds (less often - small ones); white, yellow, cream or coffee color, with an indistinct lateral rim.
Hard-bark seeds are yellow, creamy, medium-sized and small, rarely large. The bezel is well visible.
Muscat pumpkin seeds are grayish in color, medium in size and small. The rim is twisted or fleecy, slightly darker than the seed itself.
In addition, there are varieties of hard-skinned pumpkin - zucchini, zucchini, squash and kruknek.
Pumpkin seeds It is not recommended to plant these plants near hard-barked pumpkins. It is better to plant them next to large-fruited and nutmeg varieties, then they will retain their varietal qualities.
Crooknock- warty brother of zucchini and squash. In terms of nutrition and content useful substances he is vastly superior to his relatives.
Neighborhood of other cultures
The close proximity of cucumbers to zucchini can also lead to over-pollination of plants, which will unpredictably affect the crop and seeds. In this case, often the fruits of cucumbers appear twisted, arched or whitish.
Some parthenocarpic varieties of cucumbers are especially sensitive to cross-pollination. As a result, the fruits grow twisted.
But if you love just such cucumbers, then just put up with the loss of part of the crop. Or build a greenhouse for cucumbers - a frame covered with a phytoprotective mesh.
If the garden is small (let's say 5-6 acres), then it is better to buy seeds of zucchini, squash, pumpkins and cucumbers. To receive good harvest these crops, it is better to use zoned varieties or hybrids that have proven themselves in your area. If you want exotic - also try, but do not sow the entire area with varieties unknown to you.
pumpkin seeds
And to get your seeds, plant vegetables so that there is at least 20 m between them. Although even this cannot rule out cross-pollination, since there is no guarantee that your neighbors will not plant these plants close enough to yours.
But if you already have your own proven method for growing these crops, then the scheme works well: everyone grows their own created variety.
After all, before there was no such variety of varieties and seeds, and people did it by force. And now you can do it consciously.
Wish you luck! Let the future results justify your hopes!
Stepan Voropaev
Pumpkin plants.
The gourd family.
This group of plants includes cucumber, watermelon, melon, pumpkin, zucchini and squash. cultivars pumpkins belong to three botanical species: large-fruited, hard-barked and nutmeg.
Cucurbitaceae is one of the largest families of angiosperms, including over 100 genera and about 1100 species. Widespread in tropical and subtropical regions the globe, only individual representatives of pumpkin are found in temperate latitudes. The ecological range of the family is enormous. Its representatives can also be found in humid tropical forest, and in waterless desert. The family is represented mainly by annual or perennial species, climbing or creeping herbs, shrubs or semi-shrubs are very rare.
Among the cultivated forms of cucurbits in Russia, the following are of the greatest economic importance: cucumber, melon, watermelon, pumpkin, squash, squash. Luffa, lagenaria, chayote, momordica are less known.
I myself grew almost all known crops, but now I plant only pumpkins, zucchini and cucumbers. I didn't like patissons and lagenaria because they don't have any taste of their own. There is also nothing good in pickled or canned squash and zucchini.
Watermelons and melons grow well in our climate only in greenhouses, and I consider this a luxury - to make greenhouses for melons and watermelons. True melon grows well in open field, but only on the manure ridge. Watermelon is generally a capricious culture. Now I grow pumpkins of all in open ground three types(large-fruited, hard-barked, nutmeg) and zucchini of various types. Pumpkins and squash grow well in our climate. For example, my pumpkins grew up to 35 kg!
Of the pumpkin family, pumpkin has the most useful and healing properties, so I will start with the agricultural technology of growing pumpkins.
Pumpkin.
Pumpkin is considered one of the most ancient cultures; it grew in America 3,000 years ago. After the discovery of the New World, the seeds of this plant, along with others, were brought to Europe. Now, in many southern regions of Russia, it is considered primordially Russian culture, although it was brought to Russia at the beginning of the 19th century.
Pumpkin fruits, like watermelons, are called berries by botanists. Both cultures are close "relatives" and belong to the gourd family. They are similar not only in structure and development, but also in that, in addition to medium-sized fruits, they form perhaps the largest "berries" in the world. The press reported on pumpkins weighing 284 and 287 kg, grown
farmers in Canada. And in the USA a few years ago they grew a giant fruit weighing 302 kg.
The huge size and weight of the fruits are more important for fodder pumpkins, but for the table, and they have different requirements: a small or even very small pumpkin, which can be used entirely in one or two times. The other two basic requirements for this vegetable are good taste qualities and high content of nutrients and healing substances.
Nutritional value and medicinal properties.
Pumpkin fruits are extremely useful. Their pulp is rich in sugars, carotene, vitamins B1, B2, B6, C, E, PP. Vitamin T was found in the pumpkin, which helps to speed up metabolic processes in the body - the intensive absorption of meat and other heavy foods.
The pulp of pumpkin fruits contains salts phosphoric acid, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and in terms of the amount of iron, pumpkin is the champion among vegetables. It is especially rich in potassium and pectin, which prevent inflammation of the large intestine.
Connoisseurs claim that frequent consumption of pumpkin porridge gives a wonderful effect on hypertension, obesity and metabolic disorders. For insomnia, it has long been recommended to drink at night pumpkin juice or a decoction of pumpkin with honey.
Its seeds contain up to 52% oil and up to 28% protein, a lot of zinc salts and vitamin E, so they are more nutritious and healthier than sunflower seeds. On the basis of pumpkin seed oil, the drug tykveol was created, which stimulates the liver. Pumpkin seeds are a harmless anthelmintic, and the taste of the seed nucleoli rivals that of nuts.
Pumpkin improves digestion, so it is included in diets for obesity, decreased gallbladder function, edema caused by cardiovascular diseases, tuberculosis, gout, kidney disease, intestinal inflammation.
Raw pumpkin is added to salads. Soups, cereals, fillings for pies are prepared from it, and also marinated.
large-fruited pumpkin the most cold-resistant, but later ripening than hard-bark. The stem of the plant is cylindrical. The fruits are large in size, long shelf life, high taste
qualities and multi-seeded (100-300 g). The seeds are milky white, smooth, with an indistinct rim along the edges.
hardbark gourd well adapted to sudden temperature fluctuations. Her stem is sharply faceted, furrowed. The fruits are small, with a woody bark and prickly subulate pubescence. Seeds are small and medium, yellowish, with a rim of the same color.
Butternut squash the most thermophilic and late-ripening, mostly long-branched, without bush forms. The stem is rounded. The fruits are small and medium, elongated, narrowed in the middle. The flesh is orange, with a nutmeg aroma. The seeds are elongated, with a twisted or fleecy rim, the color of which is darker than the color of the seed.
In addition to the listed species, amateur vegetable growers grow
dining, fodder, gymnosperms (Cinderella variety), decorative and utensil pumpkins . By biological features they are similar to those above.
Pumpkin is a heat and light-loving crop, its seeds begin to germinate at 13°C, and in some varieties at 10
÷ 12°C. normal growth plants proceeds at a temperature of 20÷ 30°C. Lowering the temperature to 14°C and below, especially at night, has a dramatic effect on fruit formation, since the fruits mainly grow at night. Period from germination to fruit ripening 100÷ 160 days. With thickening and shading, the plants are oppressed, the ripening of fruits is delayed, the yield and taste are reduced. Plants need the most intense light during flowering and fruit ripening.Thanks to its powerful root system, pumpkin is more drought-resistant, but responds well to watering, especially during periods of root formation and intensive fruit growth. Especially moisture-loving and thermophilic nutmeg pumpkin.
The soil. The plot for sowing pumpkins should be well warmed up, with light fertile soils, unshaded. Any predecessor except cucumber. The soil is dug up in autumn to a depth of 25
÷ 30 cm, manure or humus is added for digging at the rate of 10÷ 20kg per 1m2. Superphosphate is added in the spring - 40÷ 60g, potassium nitrate 30÷ 40g and ammonium nitrate 10÷ 15g per 1m2. potash fertilizer can be replaced wood ash in double quantity. Fertilizers can be applied before sowing in the hole: 2÷ 3 kg of humus, 6 g of superphosphate and 3 g of potassium and ammonium nitrate each.cultivation. Sowing seeds under film shelters is carried out 10
- May 15, planting seedlings - 15- May 20, in open ground - respectively 25- 30 May and 8 - 12 June. Pumpkin seeds remain viable for up to 10 years. Sowing seeds can be carried out earlier - 18-25 May, as the pumpkin is more cold-resistant than cucumbers. Sow seeds in holes 2÷ 3pcs. to a depth of 3 h 5cm The distance between the holes for the climbing pumpkin is 140*70 or 140*140, for the bush 90*90 or 100*100 cm. When the first true leaf appears, the plants are thinned out, leaving one plant in the hole. Seedlings are grown in pots. Properly prepared seedlings should be hardened and healthy, havelow stocky stem with short internodes and two to three well-developed true leaves. During the growing season, plants are fed 2 times. Particularly effective top dressing in phase 2÷ 3 leaves and before flowering. Useful top dressing solutions of slurry (1: 1) and chicken manure (1:15 - 20). During the growing season, pumpkins are pinched side shoots, and when 5- 7 fruits, then the top of the stem, leaving above the fruit 4- 5 leaves. Pumpkin watered abundantly, 1÷ 2 buckets of water under the bush, as optimal humidity soil for her 70- 80%. The frequency of watering depends on weather conditions.
Growing on a compost heap.
For growing pumpkins, you can build a special greenhouse-house. The base of the greenhouse is made of boards and is a box 1.5 m wide, 2.5 m long and 45 cm high. spring time. Along the perimeter, bars 2 m high are placed vertically, which are like a trellis (vertical culture).
Since autumn, you need to take care of a warm bedding under the pumpkin. The basis is tops, leaves, sawdust, chopped bark, kitchen waste, etc. All this mass should fill the greenhouse by about 2/3, it should be sprinkled with lime or ash on top and left in this form for the winter.
In the spring, at the first opportunity, the greenhouse is filled almost to the top with fresh manure, sprinkling it with sawdust. Then prepare holes for pumpkin plants. In the greenhouse described above, 12 holes are made with a diameter of about 50 cm. 1.5 buckets of humus are poured into each. Now it remains to cover the entire surface with an old film and very carefullypress down with stones not only along the edges, but also in the middle. Thus, we increase the temperature in the root system of pumpkins, which is extremely important for all gourds. The soil under the film and stones warms up well and is warm enough by the time the seedlings are planted. In addition, the manure under the pumpkin ripens well, as it is constantly moistened and covered with the leaves of the pumpkin itself.
vertical culture
Another option: At the time of removing the covering material, the pumpkin lashes must be tied to the vertical crossbars, carefully distributing them at the same distance from each other. In the future, all growing lashes must be removed from the thick and brought out into the sun. As a result, pumpkins produce full-fledged flowers.
When the plants are completely wrapped around the trellis, the sight of green leaves, unusual flowers and bright yellow fruits resembling melons makes a lasting impression. It will probably be the most beautiful corner your garden.
Harvest. Pumpkin is also harvested in early September, before the onset of frost. Signs of fruit ripeness are drying and corking of the stalk (it is cut off together with the fruit), a well-marked pattern of the bark and its hardening. Well-ripened, healthy fruits are dried, heated in the sun for 8
÷ 10 days and put in storage.For long-term storage, fruits of maturing varieties containing a lot of starch are suitable. During storage, the starch is hydrolyzed, resulting in an increase in the amount of soluble sugars and the fruit becomes sweeter. Mandatory conditions for long-term storage of pumpkins are good ventilation and protection from sunlight. So its better
only store in ventilated areas at a temperature of 3...8 °C and a relative humidity of 60-75%. The fruits are placed on racks in one row with the stalk up so that they do not touch each other. The pumpkin can be placed in boxes in rows, layered with straw. The fruits of some varieties do not spoil for a long time in a dark place when room temperature.
Pumpkin varieties
:Among the zoned assortment for the Non-Chernozem zone, the following varieties are recommended:
precocious - Altaiskaya 47, XXXXryuchekutskaya 27, Gribovskaya bush 189, Ufimskaya, Medical, Smile, Freckle.
mid-early - Russian, Kroshka.
medium ripe - Donskaya, Hybrid 72, Large-fruited 1, Record, Troyanda, Hutoryanka, Almond 35, Mozoleevskaya 49.
late-ripening - Vitamin, Gribovskaya winter, Winter sweet, Muscat, Winter table 5.
amateur varieties - Pineapple, Honey and others.
Do not rely on "southerners" Although pumpkin is less demanding on heat compared to its relative cucumber, its southern origin makes itself felt. During our short and not always hot summer, and most importantly, because of
cool nights that come after August 10, many foreign, and even southern varieties of pumpkins in middle lane do not have time to mature and gain enough nutrients and healing substances.Most varieties of pumpkin, which have proven themselves well somewhere in the Krasnodar Territory, in the Rostov, Belgorod or Kursk Regions, with rare exceptions, are very mediocre in taste. At the same time, the well-known Gribovskaya Kustovaya and Gribovskaya Zimnyaya and in the south ripen just as well as we have in the Urals. Gribovskaya Zimnyaya is especially successful: it is perfectly preserved for several months innormal room conditions, and over time it becomes tastier and sweeter, as the starch contained in the pulp is converted into sugar.
Medicinal properties pumpkins.
The therapeutic effect when using pumpkin pulp is provided by such essential elements as potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium, phosphorus and vitamins A, C, B1, B2, B12, PP, as well as vitamin K, which is almost absent in other vegetables and fruits. A lack of vitamin K in the body causes bleeding from the nose, gums and, most dangerously, from the internal organs, including the organs of the gastrointestinal tract. In addition, pumpkin pulp contains a lot of pectins - water-soluble dietary fibers that enhance the motor functions of the intestines, remove radionuclides from the body and contribute to the rapid scarring of ulcers. The combination of biologically active substances contained in it helps to eliminate cholesterol and improves water and salt metabolism, so it is recommended in any form for diseases of cardio-vascular system, in particular with atherosclerosis and edema caused by heart failure. And with anemia and depletion of the body, it is preferable to eat raw pumpkin pulp, which is rich in iron.
A good effect is observed in the treatment of diseases of the digestive system with this vegetable. With inflammation and cirrhosis of the liver, chronic hepatitis and hepatic edema, along with raw pulp, patients are shown pumpkin porridge with rice, millet or semolina. For colitis accompanied by constipation, as well as vomiting at night, you should drink half a glass of pumpkin juice.
Pumpkin juice and pulp are used as food for the prevention of caries.
With pyelonephritis, acute and chronic cystitis, urate stones, as well as with diabetes and gout are very useful pumpkin porridge. The pumpkin itself is a good diuretic.
In diseases of the kidneys and bladder, medicinal “milk” is prepared from pumpkin and hemp seeds: 1 cup of each seed is ground in a ceramic vessel, gradually adding 3 cups of boiling water, then filtered and squeezed out the remainder. The resulting "milk" is drunk during the day. This remedy is particularly indicated when there is blood in the urine, or when urination is delayed by spasmodic phenomena. If the “milk” gets boring, it can be taken with steep unsalted buckwheat porridge, sweetened with sugar or honey.
To strengthen the muscles of the bladder and normalize its functions, it is recommended to eat 2-3 tablespoons of peeled pumpkin seeds daily. They can also be used as an adjunct in the treatment of prostate disorders.
Due to its low calorie content, pumpkin is very useful for obesity.
Pumpkin juice or raw pulp is used for colds, coughs and tuberculosis. And pumpkin porridge helps to reduce the temperature in bronchitis.
Fresh gruel from pumpkin pulp is applied to the affected areas with eczema and burns, rashes and acne. It also accelerates the maturation of boils and abscesses. People who, due to their profession, have to stand a lot during the day, are advised to apply pumpkin gruel in the evening to relieve pain in their feet.
With insomnia at night, you can take 1/3 cup of pumpkin broth with honey.
A bowl of pumpkin seeds. Dried seeds are peeled from the hard peel, always leaving a thin green shell, ground in a mortar, adding them in small portions and slowly adding 10-15 drops of water. For 300 g of seeds - up to 50-60 ml of water. To give the porridge a pleasant taste, you can put 10-15 g of honey or jam in it. Take porridge on an empty stomach in a teaspoon for an hour. After 3 hours, you need to take a laxative ( Castor oil not recommended), and then after half an hour to put an enema. Dose for adults - 300 g of seeds, for children 10-12 years old - 150 g, for children 5-7 years old - 100 g, 3-4 years old - 75 g, 2-3 years old - 30-50 g.
Decoction of pumpkin seeds. 250 g of dry unpeeled seeds are heavily crushed. 500 ml of water is added to the crushed seeds and kept for 2 hours on a light fire in a water bath, without bringing the broth to a boil. Then it is squeezed out, cooled for 10 minutes, filtered and the resulting oily film is removed. 10-15 g of honey or jam are added to the broth. Take 1 tablespoon per hour. After 2 hours, they drink a saline laxative. Adults prepare a decoction of 500 g of seeds, children under 10 years old - 300 g, 5-7 years old - 200 g, up to 5 years old - 100-150 g.
Emulsion from pumpkin seeds. 150 g of peeled seeds are ground in a mortar with the gradual addition of 20-30 drops of water, bringing the total volume to 450 ml. To the finished emulsion, you can add 10-15 g of honey or jam. Then drink 1 tablespoon for an hour. After 2 hours, take a saline laxative. Dose for adults - 400-450 ml.
All products are non-toxic, well tolerated and have no contraindications. The course of treatment can be repeated several times with breaks of 2-3 days.
In order for the treatment to be successful, it is necessary to properly prepare for it. On the day before treatment, they eat pureed and liquid food - soups, liquid cereals, vegetable purees, minced meat, jelly, yogurt, and white stale bread. In the evening - light dinner. At night, you should take a laxative salt: adults - 25-30 g, children - depending on age. The next day, a cleansing enema is given in the morning and any drug from pumpkin seeds is taken on an empty stomach in the above doses. After 2-3 hours, a saline laxative is given - 40-50 g for an adult. Eating is allowed after 1-2 hours.
gourd family
The gourd family is climbing, creeping, climbing herbs (shrubs and trees are very rare). There are more than one hundred genera and eight hundred and fifty species. Most often they grow in the tropics and subtropics. In our country, such cultivated plants of the gourd family as cucumber, pumpkin, zucchini, squash, watermelon, and melon are grown. The fruits of this family are indehiscent juicy pumpkins. Pumpkin fruits are the largest in mass, their weight can reach 50 kg (this plant holds the record for fruit weight). The most popular vegetables of this family are cucumbers, pumpkin, table watermelon, zucchini.
Cucumber is a monoecious annual herbaceous plant from the pumpkin family. This culture began to grow in the III millennium BC. e. in India.
The plant forms a branching long stem, creeping along the ground or clinging to a support on which are located large leaves and dioecious, that is, male and female, flowers. Some varieties have bisexual flowers. In addition, varieties are divided into self-pollinating and insect-pollinating. Most often, cucumbers are pollinated by bees, after which fruits are tied.
Cucumbers are the most common crop around the world. They contain 3% sucrose, consisting of fructose and glucose, 0.4% pectin, 0.8% protein and many alkaline salts.
The fruits can be harvested already 7-10 days after the formation of the ovary. Such cucumbers are called greens.
This culture loves a lot of light, heat and moisture. Cucumbers in Russia are grown almost everywhere: in the central and southern regions in open ground, in the non-chernozem zone - under a film that is removed in good weather, in the northern regions - in protected ground.
In a crop rotation, cucumbers should be placed after legumes, early potatoes, onions, eggplants, peppers and mid-early cabbages.
Varieties and hybrids of cucumbers
By use, all varieties of cucumbers can be divided into salad, canning (for pickling and pickling) and universal.
Salad cucumbers have a thick skin that is impervious to salt penetration, so they are not suitable for preservation.
Canning cucumbers have a thin and delicate skin, they also have a high sugar content, which is important for pickling.
Universal varieties can be used both fresh and for pickling.
When choosing a variety, it is necessary to take into account the timing of ripeness and what kind of soil it is intended for.
In addition, all varieties can be divided into bee-pollinated and parthenocarpic. Bee-pollinated varieties need insects for pollination and ovary formation, or manual pollination will have to be used. Parthenocarpic varieties have a female type of flowering and produce fruits without pollination.
Altai early 186- an early ripe variety, bee-pollinated, short-leafed, strongly leafy, which begins to bear fruit 37–50 days after emergence. The yield is up to 6 kg / m 2. Fruits are 6–9 cm long, weighing 70–80 g, white-thorned, small-tuberous, do not turn yellow for a long time. The variety is quite resistant to fungal diseases and bacteriosis. Suitable for outdoor cultivation, tolerates short-term frosts, so it can be planted in northern regions. The fruits are consumed fresh.
Altai early 186
Amur F1- parthenocarpic early hybrid of the female type of flowering. Fruits abundantly, resistant to root rot, powdery mildew and downy mildew. Suitable for growing in open and protected ground. Zelenets grows up to 12–15 cm long and gains a mass of 91–118 g, white-spiked, finely tuberculate. The fruits are consumed fresh, but they are also suitable for canning and pickling.
Amur F1
Glare F1 is a parthenocarpic hybrid. It begins to bear fruit 56-57 days after germination, it is intended for growing in greenhouses. The yield is 24.5-25.6 kg/m 2 . The plant is medium climbing, dark green, glossy, cylindrical, 14–16 cm long, weighing 88–102 g. The fruit has good taste, without bitterness. The hybrid is moderately resistant to gray rot, bacteriosis, powdery mildew, ascochitosis.
Glare F1
Moscow evenings F1- parthenocarpic early-ripening hybrid of universal purpose with female type flowering. Suitable for growing in open ground, greenhouses and greenhouses, as well as on the balcony. The plant is shade tolerant and can grow in dense plantings. Zelenets cylindrical shape, weakly tuberculate, 12–14 cm long. The hybrid is resistant to powdery mildew, olive blotch, downy mildew.
Moscow evenings F1
Farmer F1- bee-pollinated mid-season hybrid of universal purpose, fruiting occurs 42-45 days after germination and continues until frost. Suitable for all growing methods. The yield in open ground is 10–12 kg / m 2, in protected ground - 20–24 kg / m 2. The plant is cold-resistant, tolerates slight frosts, and therefore seeds can be sown in quite early dates. Zelentsy are white-thorned, large-tuberous, up to 10–12 cm long. The hybrid is resistant to all types of powdery mildew.
Farmer F1
Nezhinsky 12- bee-pollinated late-ripening variety. From germination to fruiting - 47-67 days. The plant is long-branched, the main whip reaches 2 m. It is intended for open ground and film shelters. Zelentsy are elongated-ovoid, black-spined, large-tuberous, 10–12 cm long and weighing 90-100 g. The variety is resistant to bacteriosis and olive spotting. The fruits are intended for pickling.
Salting 65- bee-pollinated long-climbing late-ripening variety of universal purpose, which begins to bear fruit 58–60 days after germination. The yield is 3.5–5 kg / m 2. Zelentsy aligned in size and shape, tuberculate, green with white stripes, 11–13 cm long and weighing 114–120 g. The variety is resistant to downy mildew and powdery mildew.
Salting 65
Growing cucumbers
When choosing a place for cucumbers, one must take into account that they are very responsive to light, warmth and soil fertility. This is the most thermophilic crop among all vegetable plants. Seedlings appear at a temperature of + 18–26 ° C, but if it drops to +15 ° C, then plant growth slows down sharply. At temperatures below +10 ° C, cucumbers stop growing and die. Therefore, plant this culture should be on the beds, protected from the cold wind.
Cucumbers grow well in well-drained, highly fertile soil. In autumn, before autumn plowing, fresh manure (1 bucket per 1 m 2) or 40 g of superphosphate and 25 g of potassium salt per 1 m 2 must be applied. In the spring, harrowing and cultivation should be carried out.
The plant is planted with seeds or seedlings. They can be planted in open ground at the end of May, when the soil is already well warmed up. Seeds must be warmed up a month before planting, starting from a temperature of +18–20 ° C and increasing it in the first 2 days to +30 ° C, in the next 3 days to +52 ° C, and in the last day to + 78– 80°C. Then they should be treated with a mixture of TMTD and Apron in the ratio of 4 g and 5 g per 1 kg of seeds.
Next, it is important to calibrate the seeds in a 3% aqueous solution of common salt or ammonium nitrate. To do this, they must be lowered into the solution, mixed and left for 5-7 minutes, after which the solution and the floating seeds are drained. Wash the settled seeds in running water and dry at a temperature not exceeding +40 ° C.
For prevention viral diseases seeds should be soaked in a 1% solution of potassium permanganate for 1 hour, then washed in running water. In addition, they are often germinated before planting, pouring water at room temperature.
Seeds are planted in rows to a depth of 2 cm, the distance between them should be 10–12 cm, and between the rows - 50–70 cm. return frosts and cold matinees plants should be protected with film shelters.
When planting this crop with seedlings, one must remember that cucumbers do not tolerate transplanting because of the fragility of their root system, so it is best to grow seeds for seedlings in peat pots, which are then lowered into the ground along with the plant.
Caring for cucumbers includes loosening the soil, weeding weeds, pinching shoots, regular watering and top dressing. The first loosening is carried out after the emergence of shoots. Then they are repeated every 10 days.
Above the third or fourth leaf, the plant should be pinched, breaking off or breaking out the apical buds. This stimulates the growth of fruit-bearing side shoots. In addition, cucumber lashes can be pinned to the ground, which contributes to the formation of adventitious roots, which will enhance plant nutrition.
Cucumbers need to be watered regularly in the evening warm water, however, remembering that an excess of moisture can lead to the development of rot and death of the roots, and its lack - to a slowdown in the growth of greens and the formation of bitterness in them. Every 2 weeks under culture should be applied mineral fertilizers, alternating them with organic liquid dressings.
Mulching is a good technique for caring for cucumbers. The soil between the rows is covered with manure, straw cutting, plastic wrap(black or light), kraft paper. This layer protects the plant from frost, reduces water consumption during irrigation, weed contamination of the soil, which helps to avoid its compaction and increases yield.
Cultivation of cucumbers in protected ground has its own characteristics, although the basic agricultural practices are the same as when grown in open ground. You can sow cucumbers under the film in mid-May. Inside the greenhouse, along the rows of seedlings, it is necessary to stretch the wire (trellis) and, as the shoots grow, tie them to it with twine. In the greenhouse, it is necessary to maintain a thermal regime, avoiding sudden changes in temperature. So, during the day the temperature should be within + 23–36 ° C, at night - + 19–20 ° C. In addition, in the heat it is very important to maintain high humidity in the greenhouse.
When growing cucumbers under a film, it must be removed gradually, at first for only a few minutes, but then the time spent outdoors should be increased.
When growing cucumbers on trellises, it is necessary to tie up the growing lashes in a timely manner. Plants need to be irrigated.
During the growing season, due to unfavorable conditions, cucumbers may be affected various diseases: powdery mildew, bacteriosis, anthracnose, downy mildew and melon aphids. To combat diseases, pesticides are used: efalem, ridomil (72%), copper oxychloride (2–2.5 kg/ha), baleiton (25%), quadris-250 SC.
Against melon aphid use karate (0.1 l/ha), BI-58 (0.5–1 l/ha), against ants, wireworms, germ fly larvae - confidor, fury (10% solution), decis-doublet, against spider mite- actellik (50% solution), mitak (20% solution), talstar (10% solution).
Cucumbers begin to be harvested in mid-July, every 1-2 days, and the more often they harvest, the more fruits are formed. It is better to collect greens early in the morning, cutting them off with a knife or pressing a finger on the stalk. It is impossible to turn over or lift the whips, as they break very easily.
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