Pumpkin seeds or «Have you planted a pumpkin?»
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Every autumn my grandmother spread a sheet on the stove, poured a mountain of pumpkin seeds on it and dried them.
By the spring, these seeds could not be found in the bins — they ate everything during the winter. I didn’t understand such fun, because it was much more convenient to eat sunflower seeds, and while you pick pumpkin seeds …
Then there was a fashion for cereals from pumpkin pulp and many, many table varieties. Choosing one of them, I came across the fact that the pumpkin is useful not so much for the pulp as for the seeds. It turned out that eating them is not a folk pastime, but an obligatory process for most people, which makes up for the lack of many vitamins and useful trace elements in the winter.
Here’s what biochemists say about the composition of pumpkin seeds.
So, and I thought — empty entertainment … But eating 50 g of pumpkin seeds a day, I could refuse to take vitamins in tablets.
For those who are afraid to gain weight, it is enough to eat up to 15 seeds per day.
IMPORTANT: all of the above advantages are preserved only in seeds that have not undergone heat treatment.
However, the task of inconvenient extraction of seeds from the shell still remains … But no, it turns out that this problem was also solved a long time ago (well, what would I do without the Internet!).
All problems are solved by gymnosperms of pumpkin varieties, like this … Their only drawback is their lower germination rate than ordinary seeds, but all this can be solved by a simple folk method — germinating seeds in cups 🙂
So, if you decide to grow a pumpkin in the garden in order to obtain seeds, the following gymnosperm pumpkin varieties are at your service on the market.
Styrian, Austria — one of the most famous varieties, awarded all famous awards. From the seeds of this variety, an oil with a nutty flavor is obtained, which is highly valued in cooking. It is demanding on the temperature regime (thermophilous), however, it is successfully grown in the conditions of the Middle Strip.
It ripens in 100-120 days, the pulp is sweetish, suitable for food, fruits weighing 4-8 kg.
apricot gourd got its name for the specific flavor of the pulp. The variety is considered dessert, but at the same time it produces a sufficient number of seeds without a shell.
Ripens in 100-105 days, fruits up to 4 kg.
Belarusian gymnosperm — a variety with fragrant, juicy, but thin pulp. However, she is quite sweet.
Ripens in 100-110 days.
Olga gymnosperm (not to be confused with the table variety Olga!) — the pulp is slightly sweet, but it gives a lot of seeds.
Ripens in 105-115 days, fruit weight 4-6 kg.
Danaya — a variety of Russian selection, was bred for the technical purposes of obtaining oil.
It ripens in 120 days, the fruit is 5-7 kg, the pulp is thin, unsweetened.
Golosemyanka — perhaps the most common variety, resistant to low temperatures.
It ripens in 105-115 days, the weight of the fruit is 3-4 kg, the pulp is slightly sweet.
Miranda — a variety of Polish breeders, bushy, with orange juicy flesh and seeds without peel.
Juno — this variety is exclusively for obtaining seeds, by the way, they are almost black.
Ripens in 100-110 days, fruits weighing 4-6 kg.
eso — Czech variety, which is successfully sold in Europe. However, it is not zoned for the Middle Band.
Ripens in 100-110 days, unsweetened pulp,
NUANCE: the larger the fruit, the more seeds it contains. For this reason, the development of the plant should be monitored. As soon as two ovaries form on it, pinch the top. One or two fruits is the most optimal amount for one root. With sufficient soil nutrition, they will grow large and be prolific.
IMPORTANT: if you planted gymnosperm varieties, and your neighbors are ordinary, then cross-pollination will occur, which will not affect the quality of the seeds, but will affect the varietal properties of the offspring. Therefore, such seeds will not be suitable for sowing, for spring you should buy seeds from the nursery.
PUMPKIN: WHERE TO PLANT?
Let’s start with an important indicator — the quality of the soil. This plant loves. Oddly enough, not light loose soils, such as after plowing a garden, but fallow ones. These remain after the cultivation of winter cereals and corn. They harvested — and the land rests from plowing and digging until spring.
Slightly moist loam is considered ideal for pumpkin. Soil pH in the range of 6.5-7.
You can not plant a pumpkin where herbicides were used last season.
Weeds must be removed from the pumpkin area, the best way to do this is to pre-sow after harvesting green manure. They are loosened into the ground by a cultivator at the stage of green mass (no later than flowering). By spring, an ideal plot for growing pumpkins will be ready: it is enough to make a hole for a germinated seed.
The fact that the pumpkin loves a sunny and calm place, I think everyone knows.
FERTILIZER FOR PUMPKINS
Pumpkin loves organic matter and phosphorus-potassium fertilizers. The whole complex is brought into the ground in the fall.
The amount of fertilizer per m2:
- manure — 6 kg,
- urea — 15g,
- superphosphate — 40g,
- potassium chloride — 20g.
In principle, pumpkin is one of the most unpretentious plants in the garden, but in the dry season it needs watering. During the growing season, it is recommended to carry out 3-5 waterings with a frequency of 10-15 days.
HOW TO PREPARE PUMPKIN SEEDS
The first step is to make sure that the pumpkin is ripe. The main features of this are:
- complete drying of foliage and stem,
- drying and corking of the stalk,
- the color and pattern on the surface of the pumpkin become brighter,
- there are no scratches on the surface of the fetus when the nail is held.
If you live in a cold region and did not find these signs, and autumn rains are on the threshold, then simply cut the fruit and bring it to a dry, cool, dark place for ripening.
When the pumpkin is fully ripe, it is carefully cut, the seeds are removed from the pulp. They are slightly sticky and can be eliminated by washing in a colander. If the volume is large, then large containers are used for these purposes.
Necessarily (!) immediately after washing, spread the seeds on a grid (previously lined with cloth), level with a thin layer and dry in the sun and wind. In case of bad weather, this can be done in a dry and very warm room (a sauna is suitable) or on a Russian stove bench.
Seeds dried at high temperatures (in the oven, in a frying pan) lose their value.
It is better to store seeds in small cloth bags. (paper bags) in a dry room at a temperature of +16 to 200FROM.
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