It is useful to know how and when pumpkins of different maturity periods are harvested. When and how to store a pumpkin for storage Ripening a pumpkin at home

Pumpkin is an unpretentious gourd, rich in vitamins and minerals. It contains much more carotene than carrots. It is grown almost everywhere. Among gardeners, pumpkin is valued for its ability to maintain its taste throughout the entire shelf life. In order for her not to lose her nutrients, the pumpkin needs to be removed from the garden in time. A frozen vegetable is poorly stored, and when good conditions lasts all winter and does not deteriorate.

Harvesting different types of pumpkin

Pumpkin is a rather cold-resistant crop, so it is removed from the garden at the very last. When and how to do it right? Today, gardeners grow many varieties of this vegetable, which differ in ripening time. The ripeness of the crop also depends on weather conditions. When to remove early pumpkin varieties from the garden, and when late-ripening - this question is asked not only by beginners.

Early ripe pumpkins are ready for harvesting after 120 days from germination. Such a vegetable is not very rich in carotene, its pulp is fibrous, but the seeds are very useful. Harvesting starts from the second half of August. In September, the entire crop should be harvested. The vegetable is stored for a relatively short time.

Mid-season varieties can be harvested after 130 days from germination. These varieties are mostly large-fruited, rich in vitamins and store well. However, you don't have to worry about cleaning up. In the conditions of the Moscow region, the pumpkin is harvested already in September, leaving it in a dry room for 30 days to ripen.

Muscat late-ripening varieties are harvested the very last, after about 150 days from germination. In the south of the country, they ripen well on lashes, but in other regions they start harvesting 2 months before frost. Fruits are stored for 5 months.

Important! If the harvesting of the vegetable was late, and it fell under frost, then it should be put into processing. You can not store frozen pumpkin.

The timing of the harvest depends on the weather forecast and the geographic region of the country. If in the Crimea it is possible to postpone the harvesting of fruits until October, then in the conditions of the Moscow region and Siberia, the pumpkin is harvested already in early autumn. When choosing dates important point the weather remains. If frosts are approaching, then you need to hurry with cleaning. Filmed later decorative varieties pumpkins that are not used for food.

How to determine the ripeness of a pumpkin

Any vegetable, regardless of variety and precocity, has external signs by which you can determine the moment of maturity. Knowing these subtleties, any summer resident will start harvesting in time, which will save most of it.

1. Having carefully looked at the petiole, you can find that it has become hard, has lost its juiciness.

2. Ripe pumpkin turns orange or yellowish. Its edges are clearly visible.

3. The degree of maturity can be checked with a fingernail. If the peel of the fruit is difficult to damage, then it is ripe enough.

4. At the end of the growing season, the lashes and foliage of the plant die off.

5. A ripe pumpkin is covered with a matte coating and rings with a light cotton.

If the yield is as described above characteristics, then the pumpkin is removed from the garden, so it will be better preserved, will not lose its useful properties.

Fruits that are not yet fully ripe should be sent to ripen in a dry room. It is impossible to store fruits with an unformed peel. It is better to cook delicious homemade preserves from them.

Proper pumpkin care before harvesting

Regardless of which variety is grown in the garden, it is necessary to protect the fruit from spoilage and rot before harvest.

In wet weather, when the fruits lie in contact with the ground, the peel rots. Inexperienced summer residents are trying to put the vegetable into processing. But this cannot be done. The fact is that changes occur in the pulp, and the use of such a fruit leads to poisoning.

To preserve the harvest, pumpkins are placed on a mound, boards are pushed under them. In rainy weather, you need to cover the fruits with a film. In the last month before harvesting, watering the beds is stopped.

How to properly remove a pumpkin from the garden

Undoubtedly, the most nutritious and useful is the vegetable that has ripened right on the whip. But if the weather conditions get worse, then the cleaning is carried out immediately. The pumpkins will ripen indoors.

For harvesting, you need to choose a dry, fine day. V rainy autumn after harvesting, the fruits are dried in a ventilated area. Cut pumpkins very carefully so that they do not fall and the bark is not damaged. Those fruits that will be stored for storage are cut with a stalk, the height of which is up to 5 cm.

After harvesting, the crop is sorted. Fruits with cracks and spoiled peel are eaten first or allowed for processing. The fact is that microbes penetrate through the cracks, which lead to damage to the pulp: it becomes moldy and rots.

The sorted crop is dried, the remnants of the earth and dry foliage are removed. After that, it is placed for ripening in a dry covered storage, where the temperature is maintained up to 30 degrees. Under such conditions, the peel of the fruit gradually hardens. The ripening of the crop is carried out up to 10 days to a month.

How and where to store pumpkin

After ripening, the crop is sorted again, rejecting fruits with a soft peel. Next, the pumpkins are stored.

Important! Fruits with a diameter of at least 15 cm are stored the longest.

For long-term storage of pumpkins, a dry room is chosen, where the air temperature is maintained within 10-13 degrees and equipped good ventilation. Directly in the storage, vegetables are laid out in one layer, preventing their contact with moisture. It is better if racks with shelves are used to store the pumpkin, as in the photo. The distance from the floor to the first shelf should be at least 15 cm. With such storage, the crop will be well ventilated from all sides, which will ensure its safety.

Good storage should be well protected from rodents and fungal infections. It is important that during storage of the crop, condensation does not form on the fruits.

In the winter months, the pumpkin is periodically checked, fruits with a softened peel are rejected. This indicates that the pumpkin has begun to deteriorate.

Shelf life of pumpkin crop

Growing various varieties pumpkin, you can constantly eat it and replenish the body with essential vitamins. To preserve the crop, it is important to know not only the storage conditions, but also the timing.

The least stored crop early varieties pumpkins: Almond 35, Freckle, Gribovskaya bush. These fruits should be eaten first. The keeping quality of such varieties is not more than a month. Further, the pulp loses its taste, and the seeds begin to germinate inside the fruit.

Medium and late nutmeg pumpkin varieties are well stored all winter, without loss of taste: Pearl, Muscat, Vitamin, Smile, Crumb. The average keeping quality of fruits reaches 5-6 months, after which the pulp loses its properties and becomes fibrous, tasteless.

Summing up

It is necessary to properly clean the pumpkin from the garden, taking into account not only the growing time, specifications fruit, but also weather conditions. In each specific region, the time for cleaning is adjusted according to these indicators.

The very first pumpkin of hard-skinned varieties ripens; fruits can be harvested from the garden in late August - early September. Their maturity is indicated by such signs as stiffness of the stalk and a change in the color of the peel of pumpkins: it becomes more rich color, for example, dark orange. The fruits of these varieties are not intended for long-term storage and should be used within the next two months.

Nutmeg and large-fruited varieties of pumpkins can be stored before the start of frost (mid- to late September), but after harvesting, the fruits must be allowed to ripen at room temperature for two to three weeks, then they can be cleaned in a cool place. The shelf life of pumpkins of these varieties is up to six months, and after this time their taste qualities are noticeably reduced, the pulp becomes tasteless.

In general, the first signs that the pumpkin can be harvested are the drying of the foliage of the plants, the change in the color of the stalk from green to gray and its subsequent stiffening, thickening of the shell. When cutting a pumpkin, you must remember that you need to leave a stalk at least five centimeters long, since if you try to get rid of it at all, then there is a chance that the integrity of the fruit will be violated and it will no longer be possible to store them.

When can I harvest a pumpkin in the suburbs

Moscow region - middle lane In Russia, in this area, when harvesting such a garden crop as a pumpkin, the main criterion must be taken into account - frost. In no case should the fruits be overexposed in the garden during frosts, which can be observed already in mid-September. In order to prevent the fruits from freezing, it is best to cut them back in early September and let them ripen at home, and in the daytime they can be taken out into the street, especially in sunny weather.

When can I harvest a pumpkin in Siberia

Siberia is quite vast, so the timing of the harvest in different regions different. In this case, the collection of fruits must be calculated according to the timing of planting. In general, pumpkin varieties are most often grown in Siberia, the ripening period of which is up to 100 days, the collection of such fruits can be carried out already after 75-80 days from the date of planting the seeds. The fruits will ripen at home at room temperature for two to three weeks.

Autumn time is for many vegetable crops time for harvest. Experienced vegetable growers already know, and beginners are interested in when to remove the pumpkin from the garden. If you overexpose the vegetable in the garden or, conversely, hurry up with the collection, you may not recognize the ripe taste of the fruit.

Homemade preserves or culinary dishes are much tastier and more aromatic when made from well-ripened pumpkins.

Pumpkin ripening time: it all depends on the variety

Each variety of vegetable has its own growing season. Therefore, before planting a crop, you need to carefully study the characteristics and description of its variety. Information is often located on the package with seeds. In the same place, the manufacturer gives recommendations regarding the technique of growing and caring for the plant.

There are several factors that affect the timing of pumpkin ripening.

The variety of seeds can be divided into 3 types: early, mid-season and late-ripening. Depending on this, the timing of the harvest is determined.

In the first group, the fruits ripen in late July or early August. They have a specific delicate taste and aroma. The peel is thinner, so the crop is not stored for a long time. The vegetative period of the group of early maturing varieties lasts from 92 to 104 days.

The second group includes mid-season types of pumpkin. The fruits are larger, dense, with a hard skin. They are stored for a long time, provided that they do not fall into frost. Harvesting is carried out until the first sub-zero temperature. The growing season of this group ranges from 110 to 120 days.

Late-ripening varieties are larger and stored for a long time, up to 6 months. The growing season of this group of varieties is about 200 days. This type of pumpkin can be harvested at the ripening stage. It perfectly gains taste and juiciness in a plucked state. The characteristic color will tell you when to harvest the fruits of late-ripening varieties. A light orange color is the first sign that the vegetable has gained the right strength.

In large-fruited pumpkins, which require time to set in taste and juiciness, harvesting times may be extended. From September to mid-October, the fruits are still in the beds.

It is necessary to remove the pumpkin from the garden on time. Retention of fruits on stems, as well as frosts, also leads to rapid damage to the crop.

Signs of pumpkin ripeness: when to remove the pumpkin from the garden

Most varieties of pumpkin have common signs of ripeness. These include the following indicators:

1. You can pick a pumpkin if its stalk has dried up and acquired a wood structure. The size and thickness of the stem depends on the variety and how large the vegetables themselves are. It is located at the junction of the fruit with the stem. As soon as the pumpkin has gained all the necessary substances and its growing season is over, the stalk begins to dry out and die, turning into a hard, almost wooden tail.
2. A characteristic sign of ripeness is the color of the peel. It acquires, depending on the variety, light yellow or orange tint. Mid-season varieties, which include Butternut or Wax, do not change their color. They remain green or white even when fully ripe.
3. In most varieties, the signs of maturation are primarily reflected in the density of the peel. It becomes so hard and strong that it is sometimes difficult to cut it.
4. As soon as the pumpkin matures, it will begin to draw all the moisture and juices from the plant. The stems and leaves will gradually wither and dry out. This is a clear sign that the fruit can be plucked.

It is undesirable to store crops with other vegetables and fruits in the same box. Some types of fruit release ethylene. This gas causes the gourd to spoil quickly.

Pumpkin ripening and proper storage

Gardeners often face a problem when a pumpkin is not stored for a long time. It is possible that the reason for this situation was non-compliance with the conditions and requirements for storing the crop. To prevent this from happening, you should follow a number of rules:

1. Once the fetus has been removed for storage, it is taken to a dark room where there is no sunlight. Good ventilation in the basement or cellar is important. Vegetables do not tolerate high humidity air, so the room should be dry and fresh.
2. You can count on long-term storage only by cutting the fruits from the plant in time. Overexposed and underripe pumpkins are stored for no more than 1-2 months.
3. An important condition is compliance temperature regime in storage. It is necessary to provide a constant temperature in the room within the range of +7…18 °С.
4. Arrange fruits on wooden surface. The main thing is that they do not touch each other. During storage, it is necessary to periodically inspect vegetables for spoilage. A damaged copy is immediately removed from storage.
5. If the pumpkin is spoiled by freezing, you will have to immediately put it into cooking. It cannot be stored for a long time. Frozen vegetables quickly become unusable.
6. Fruits lose their taste due to long-term storage, but this does not apply to nutmeg species. In these varieties, the pulp does not lose, but, on the contrary, it gains taste and aroma over time, while maintaining juiciness and sweetness.

Cleaning according to the lunar calendar or according to the exact calculation

Experienced gardeners perform all work on the site according to the lunar calendar. Planting seeds for seedlings, moving seedlings into the ground, and even harvesting have their favorable days.

The moon has a great, invisible influence on all life on the planet. Plants are also sensitive to its phases.

Almost all gardening is built according to the schedule of the lunar calendar. But every year it changes, and the calculations are carried out in a new way.

Under favorable conditions, pumpkins actively grow and gain their taste. A positive environment includes not only well-executed agricultural technology, but also correctly selected days for planting seeds in the ground, in accordance with lunar calendar, and a favorable period for harvesting.

It is not worth relying solely on the phases of the moon, it is important to take into account the climate, season and weather during the pumpkin harvest. Depending on the climatic features of the region, all dates for the collection of fruits can be shifted.

Vegetable growers conduct an accurate calculation based on the growing season declared by the seed manufacturer.

Experienced gardeners willingly share secrets about when a vegetable should be harvested, you need to harvest before the first frost. It is better to choose a dry and sunny day for this, as it is important that the pumpkins are kept dry.

It is necessary to collect the fruits correctly. The peduncle seems to be scrolled around its axis, thereby sealing its edges. The pumpkin will retain its juiciness longer if the tail is twisted off rather than cut off.

The variety of fruits is great, and each variety has its own growing season.

Pumpkin is a vegetable that grows on any land plot. This fruit was grown in ancient times, and now modern gardeners do not forget about it. useful properties. Pumpkins contain a lot of vitamins that any person needs. "How to eat pumpkin?" - you ask. Porridges, juices and even pies are made from it. It has a sweet but specific taste, so not everyone loves it so much.

Pumpkin can lie on the field until frost

The entire crop must be harvested in the fall, before the onset of the first frost. This vegetable is no exception, but there are also deadlines for harvesting it. Pumpkin harvesting very often depends on its variety. Therefore, it is advisable to consider the types of this product separately.

When ripe

Early varieties. The name squash "early" indicates that they ripen quickly. The period of their full maturation: from 92 to 104 days. Therefore, remove such vegetable plants advised around the end of August. Getting a ready-made vegetable already in August is chic and joyful, but there are also disadvantages. Such varieties are stored for no longer than a month, so they must be immediately processed or rolled up when they are first removed.

Mid-season varieties. These types include:

• Winter sweet;
• Blue Hubbard;
• Volga gray;
• Medical;
• Russian woman.

These varieties, unlike the previous ones, ripen in 120 days, and can be stored, which gives them many advantages. This type of pumpkin is harvested in September, when almost the entire crop is already in your places for storing winter supplies.

Late varieties. Among them should be distinguished:

• Pearl;
• Testi Delife;
• Vitamin;
• Baternat.

These pumpkins ripen for about two hundred days. It is advised to collect fruits before the onset of severe frosts, when the winter weather has already settled. Sometimes there are such cases when the time has come to cut the pumpkin, but it is not quite ripe yet. In such cases, it is still collected and placed in a dark, cool place. There she will ripen in a month. Then these fruits can be processed, rolled or frozen.

The Russian woman belongs to the mid-season varieties of pumpkin

It is very important to ensure that these vegetables are not damaged, otherwise they will deteriorate and will not be suitable for use.

Professional gardeners note that in the southern regions, pumpkins are not harvested for quite a long time. It is kept on the beds almost until the tops are completely dry.

This is due to the fact that frosts and colds in such places come late, so the pumpkin is not threatened with freezing and spoilage.

So how do you know if a vegetable is ripe or not, can you remove it from the ridge, or should you wait a bit?

To resolve this issue, you need to highlight several signs of a ripened pumpkin product.

Signs of a ripe pumpkin:

• Pumpkin legs will be as dry, hard and hard as possible. Naturally, they will not be green. The green stalk is one of the signs that the pumpkin is still ripening, and in no case should it be cut.
• The leaves are dry, yellow and pale.
• This ripe vegetable has a bright color.
• Its skin is very hard and tough.

Dried pumpkin tail signals its ripeness

How to cut a pumpkin and store

When you cut a plant, it is better to leave four centimeters of the stalks. Do this very carefully, because any damage, and especially a cut in the peel, will have a bad effect on the storage of this product.

Let's take a step-by-step look at how to collect a gourd (as a pumpkin is called in the common people):

• The first thing an experienced gardener does is go through all the ridges and inspect the entire crop for ripeness. Because the pumpkin is removed all at once, and not a few unripe ones are left in the beds.
• After that, you need to stock up on a good sharp knife or garden shears. Professionals in this business advise using scissors, because it is much more convenient. Using them, it is difficult to cause significant damage to the peel.
• Next, prepare a place to store the crop. Having chosen a suitable place, you can put old blankets or straw on the floor, so it does not deteriorate and does not rot.
• Then carefully cut off all the fruits and transfer to a storage location. When cutting this plant, it is important to remember that it is necessary to leave four centimeters of the stem.

A mature pumpkin can be used for food immediately after harvest, but many leave the vegetable for storage. Moreover, a rather large amount of fruits comes out. Therefore, no family can afford to eat a large amount of gourd.

It is often kept in cool place, in the underground or in the pantry, in the attic, garage, shed or pantry.

In addition to coolness, also take into account the humidity of the air in this room during storage. because high humidity air reduces the shelf life of the pumpkin fruit by as much as three months. And this is quite a significant amount of time.

Thus, we found out that pumpkins can be harvested from the end of August until October, depending on the variety and climate. We also demonstrated how to properly and competently remove pumpkins from the beds.

To determine the ripeness of a pumpkin, first of all, you need to look at its color: the fact is that when ripe, these vegetables change their color dramatically, for example, green fruits become bright yellow, bluish hue - pink-yellow. It is important to consider that the color of mature pumpkins is exceptionally rich.

How to properly care for a pumpkin before harvesting?

Regardless of the size of the fruit and the timing of harvesting, there are rules that will help protect the fruit in the garden from decay and pests. Lying constantly on its side, in contact with the ground, in wet weather a huge berry can rot and become unusable. Those who try to process a pumpkin with a rotten side are doing it wrong. Before the fruit has received visible damage, changes have already occurred in the core, and it should not be eaten.

The pumpkin should be placed on a hillock or a specially arranged mound, put a wooden or plywood plank down, cover it with a film on top during autumn rains. In the last month, when the pumpkin is gaining sweetness, watering should be stopped. The length of the roots, which go to a depth of up to three meters, is enough to ensure the right amount water.

Indicates that the pumpkin harvest time has come, the first cold snap, since even a slight frost makes the fruit unsuitable for storage. You can still hold the fruit in the garden in dry weather, covering from cool nights.

When can you pick a pumpkin?

You can get a fully ripe pumpkin from the field only in hot regions, when the fruits naturally ripen in the field for more than 4 months. But the pumpkin is good because, in addition to a long shelf life of several months, it still continues to ripen.

Therefore, you can find out if the pumpkin is ripe and how long it can lie on the ridge, knowing the main signs of the readiness of a vegetable for harvesting:

The leaves of the bush withered, changed their color to yellow, dried up. If before that there were no signs of anthracosis disease, then the natural death of healthy foliage is a sure sign of the end of the growing season.

The stem becomes stiff upper layer corks, it becomes woody at the same time as the stem supplying food. It is no longer possible to shift the pumpkin in a different way without violating the integrity of the eyeliner.

The color of the pumpkin, whatever it is, from gray to yellow becomes brighter, the pattern is more noticeable.

The crust should not leave marks from scratching it with a fingernail. The cover hardens and does not spring when pressed with fingers. A ripe pumpkin responds to cotton with a ringing sound. A ripe pumpkin is covered with a matte coating, the stalk is easily separated.

When harvesting a pumpkin, you need to treat it carefully, trying not to scratch it. If a nuisance occurs, seal the place of damage with a bactericidal plaster or do not leave the damaged vegetable for storage.

Early ripening varieties are harvested at the end of August, growing seedlings. These varieties include the common Gribovskaya bush, Freckle, Golosemyannaya. Their crust is thin, the shelf life is up to a month.

Varieties of the average ripening period of pumpkin - Smile, Medical, Rossiyanka will sing in 4 months. Harvest in September, but before the first frost. Frozen fruits are not suitable for storage. Varieties of these pumpkins are stored up to two months after the onset of ripeness.

The most valuable fruits are late-ripening varieties grown under the southern sun. These include Vitamin, Muscat, Pearl. These pumpkins have a thick, hard rind and sweet flesh that is added raw to salads. Late varieties are stored in a cool room for up to six months. They are harvested late, but even in the south, ripeness occurs in a month or two.

The ripening times indicated on the seed packet are for ideal conditions. The weather makes its own adjustments. Therefore, you need to navigate when to harvest a pumpkin according to the weather, the condition of the plant and the biological timing of the ripening of the variety.

When storing any pumpkin, it is important that the integrity of the fit of the tail to the bosom is not violated. If there is a gap in this place, an infection will get in and the fetus will rot.

Harvest Rules

Cleaning is carried out in dry weather, after the lashes dry well from the morning moisture. If bad weather charged, you will have to harvest in wet weather, such fruits need to be dried well. Separate damaged specimens at the same time. In dry, warm weather, root crops cut off from the main stem can still be held on melons, under the rays of the sun.

When determining the ripeness of pumpkins, it is necessary not only to look at their peel, but also to touch it with your hands: unripe fruits bend easily when pressed, and the peel is so tender that it is easily pierced with a fingernail. The peel of a mature pumpkin is matte and has a pattern characteristic of this variety (usually when buying seeds on the label there is a photo of ripe fruits with a characteristic pattern). Many varieties of pumpkins become covered with a bloom when ripe, which is easily erased when touched.

You can also determine the ripeness of a pumpkin by the sound: ripe vegetables emit a ringing sound, unripe - deaf.

In general, most pumpkin varieties ripen in September, so it is worth considering that by the end of September, the pumpkin is ready for harvest.

If all the signs described above indicate the ripeness of the fruit, then the last thing you should pay attention to when determining the ripeness of a pumpkin is the stalk. In unripe vegetables, it is light and strong.

If you picked a pumpkin and do not know if it is ripe or not, then you can determine its maturity by seeds. To do this, cut the fruit and look at the seeds, try to separate them from the pulp: in a ripe vegetable, the seeds are dense and rounded, they are easily separated from the fibers. Remember, pumpkin has one wonderful property - to ripen.

A removed pumpkin in a dark, cool and dry place can ripen for about a month.

You can store the fruit in such conditions for a long time, allowing you to use a fresh healthy product during the winter.