When to remove pumpkin from the garden in different regions of Russia
Harvesting time is always associated with autumn, when plants complete their growing season and ripe fruits are ready to be sent for storage. Pumpkins are no exception. This hardy and very useful vegetable finds a place on plots in various parts of the country, and with the onset of cool days, it is time for the summer resident to think about the moment when the pumpkin will be removed from the garden.
Since in a country spread out in several climatic zones at once, gardeners are far from being in equal conditions, and the weather does not remain constant from year to year, even a summer resident with experience may find it difficult to name a specific harvest date in advance. The pumpkin itself can tell the right time. If you closely follow the development of the plant, knowing the timing when the pumpkin of a particular variety ripens, you can quite accurately choose the time for harvesting the fruit. And here it is important, listening to the data of meteorologists, not to miss the onset of cold weather.
So, how to calculate the pumpkin harvest time, and what criteria should the gardener adhere to when determining the ripeness of the grown fruits?
When does the pumpkin ripen in the beds?
Therefore, for the winter, fruits are left in which:
- dried up and became wood-like stalk;
- the bark is coarse and does not lend itself to mechanical stress.
A sign that the pumpkin is ripe on the bush can be considered:
- a change in the surface color from green to orange or, like in butternut squash, cream;
- yellowing and dying off of the green part of the plant, which means the end of the growing season.
When pumpkins are harvested ripe from the garden, it is important not to overexpose the fruits, because on the ground they are threatened with attacks by pests, rodents, and extra days in the sun do not have the best effect on the quality of the pulp.
However, most gardeners in our country have to remove pumpkins from the garden that have not yet reached full ripeness. After all, the further north this or that region is, the shorter the summer. And even the earliest ripening varieties, for example, in the Urals and Siberia, sometimes only begin to form a hard bark towards the cold.
If a plucked pumpkin is suspicious, its skin is soft and easily damaged by a fingernail, the stalk is green and juicy, it is better not to waste energy on ripening, but to make delicious homemade preparations for the winter from fresh fruit.
Pumpkin readiness for harvesting and its timing, depending on the type and variety
Is there really no way to hedge and accelerate the ripening of fruits? Today, summer residents have at their disposal several dozen fruitful, tasty and very different in shape, color and weight. pumpkin varieties... All of them are conventionally divided into early, mid-season and late.
Choosing early-ripening varieties for planting, gardeners can bring closer the moment when pumpkins in Siberia, the Urals or the North-West region will have to be harvested not because of the arrival of frosts, but due to the ripening of the crop.
Early ripening pumpkin varieties are harvested from 90 to 120 days after the beginning of the growing season of the plant. And although such pumpkins do not always accumulate enough sugar, and their pulp is not as rich in carotene as in later varieties, with proper care and selection of the variety, the gardener gets a high-quality harvest for winter consumption.
Most mid-season varieties please summer residents with large fruits ripening 110-130 days after germination. But the sweetest pumpkins of late varieties make you wait even longer - up to 150–160 days. Obviously, not in all regions of Russia the pumpkin is removed from the garden five months after planting.
Only in the Stavropol Territory, the North Caucasus, the Crimea and other regions with warm long summers do late-ripening varieties ripen on the vine.
And the rest of the gardeners, to accelerate growth, have to plant pumpkin seedlings and ripen the fruits for a long period. Otherwise, a situation cannot be avoided when pumpkins that have not been removed from the garden fall under the first frosts, even in the Moscow region already in mid-September.
When is pumpkin harvested from vegetable gardens in different parts of Russia?
Summer residents who grow pumpkin in different climatic conditions, in order to obtain a plentiful and high-quality harvest, must take full responsibility for the choice of varieties for their garden, and also not neglect the weather forecasts. After all, the gardener may face not only disappointment from the pumpkin that was tied only by the fall, but also the fact that large fruits fell under frost and were hopelessly spoiled.
The farther north the summer resident lives, the more reasonable:
- choose early and mid-season varieties;
- for planting, use the method with a closed root system;
- protect young plants until the spring frost is over.
These measures allow you to improve the quality of the pumpkins at a time when the weather forces pumpkins to be removed from the garden.
When is pumpkin harvested near Moscow?
In the capital region, as in most areas of the middle lane, early ripening pumpkin varieties ripen in the beds and are cut in the second half of August or early September. Next, by the middle of the month, the time comes when pumpkins of mid-season, the most valuable varieties for winter storage, ripen.
Only late-ripening, sweet butternut pumpkins in the Moscow region are harvested before the arrival of the autumn cold, which threatens to damage the delicious fruits.
Such pumpkins are either planted with seedlings, or left for ripening, during which the fruit becomes fragrant and gains the proper sweetness. If the weather irrevocably deteriorates, pumpkins reach home, but on sunny warm days, it is better to spread the fruits in the air.
When are pumpkins harvested in the Urals?
The Ural region is suitable for growing a wide variety of vegetable crops, including all pumpkin varieties. The beginning of fruit ripening falls on September, when the weather still allows you not to be afraid of frost damage to the fruit. Therefore, you can harvest pumpkin in the Urals, focusing on the degree of maturity. But you should not neglect the advice of the meteorological service.
The main danger of autumn in this region is night temperature drops and warm days. Under such conditions, condensation forms on pumpkins, threatening fruit rotting and the development of fungal infections.
When are pumpkins harvested in Siberia?
Siberia is a whole huge country, in different parts of which the timing of pumpkin harvesting and the risks associated with its cultivation vary greatly. It is still better for Siberian gardeners to be guided by weather conditions, and to insure themselves by selecting early varieties. Most often, pumpkin varieties that ripen in 90-100 days are recommended for local conditions. In this case, without fear of being left without a crop, pumpkins in Siberia are harvested 2–4 weeks before the time when the fruits ripen.
It is possible to doze the harvest until it is fully ready, depending on the variety, from 10 to 60 days. The process takes place at room temperature in fairly dry air.
Only for residents of southern Russia, when harvesting pumpkins, the ripening timing of fruits is of decisive importance for all varieties of culture, from early ripening to nutmeg, the very last ripening.
For storage, they choose exclusively healthy, formed pumpkins, without traces of damage by pests and diseases, mechanical damage and traces of blows.
When is the pumpkin harvest time:
- they are cut from the lash, leaving a stalk from 4 to 10 cm long, and having lost the cutting, the fruit is quickly attacked by bacteria and deteriorates;
- the fruits removed from the garden are dried under a canopy in the air, and then, if necessary, sent to ripen.
A ripe crop ready for long-term storage will be a good help in winter, because a tasty and healthy pumpkin is both an excellent side dish, and a component of homemade baking, and aromatic delicacies loved by all households.