Growing Hokkaido Pumpkin: Caring for A

Autumn time is pumpkin time. One of the most popular pumpkins is the Hokkaido. The orange-red pumpkin with the bright pulp is so popular because you don't have to peel it to prepare it. Since the climate in its Japanese homeland is similar to ours in Central Europe, the vegetable with the sonorous name Cucurbita maxima Duchesne ssp. maxima convar. Maxima 'Red Kuri', or Hokkaido pumpkin for short, can also be grown in home gardens with little effort.

Characteristics

• botanical name: Cucurbita maxima
• other names: Uchiki Kuri, Kuri pumpkin
• Pumpkin
• Origin: Japan, Hokkaido Island
• annual plant
• Flowers: male and female flowers on one plant, bell-shaped, yellow
• Fruits: red or green, depending on the variety, between 0.5 and 1.5 kg
• bright yellow-orange flesh
• Growth habit: creeping or climbing

Cultivation

Find out everything about growing the Hokkaido pumpkin below. Which requirements have to be met? How is the sowing done?

Location

The Hokkaido pumpkin, called Uchiki Kuri in Japan, is one of the early-ripening winter pumpkins that can be grown both in the garden and in large pots. As a heat-loving plant, it prefers a sunny, but protected place to grow healthy and vigorous. If the soil freezes through, irreversible damage to the plant occurs. Flowering begins at the end of May, but it will then take at least another two months until harvest time.

floor

Pumpkins like the Hokkaido grow very quickly. It takes an average of 95 to 120 days from sowing to harvest. In order to thrive well, the plant needs nutrient-rich, fertile soil that can store the water well, but on the other hand is not prone to waterlogging. A very sandy garden soil should therefore be mixed in advance with a good portion of compost and possibly some high-quality garden soil. If the soil is compacted or if the rain and irrigation water can only drain off poorly, it is necessary to possibly create a drainage layer and make the garden soil more permeable with sand and compost do. In this case, it has also proven to be a good idea to add a slight mound to ensure good drainage.

• relaxed
• humus
• nutritious
• profound

Tip: Locations near or on top of the compost are also ideal for the Hokkaido.

Plant neighbors

A clever combination of neighboring plants pays off in garden culture. In addition to the height of the plants and the shape of the roots, the nutritional requirements of the individual vegetable species also play a decisive role. Hokkaido pumpkins are among the strong eaters and with their tendrils spread relatively flat over the ground.

Good plant neighbors

• Beans (especially vertically growing species)
• broccoli
• Spring or vegetable onions
• Corn
• Marigolds

Bad neighbors

You should not grow dill, cucumber or cabbage together with the pumpkin or only grow it at a distance. Other types of pumpkin and zucchini should also not be socialized. Different types of pumpkin are able to fertilize each other. If, in the worst case, cross-pollination occurs, this can be noticeable in the taste and quality of the Hokkaido pumpkin.

Growing from seeds

Since the plant is an annual vegetable, the Hokkaido pumpkin is grown exclusively from seeds. You can get the seeds in any well-stocked garden center. You can of course also take the seeds from a self-grown or purchased Hokkaido and use them for cultivation.

Direct sowing outdoors

The Hokkaido pumpkin is a bit sensitive to cold temperatures. So wait until after the ice saints in mid-May before sowing the seeds directly outdoors. Before you put the seeds in the ground, however, you should first dig up the bed well, improve it if necessary and remove any weeds, large stones and old roots from the soil. It is best to bring in manure in the autumn before sowing or to plant a green manure to increase the nutrient content in the garden soil.

• Time: from mid-May to the end of June
• 2 to 3 seeds per hole
• Sowing depth: 2 to 3 cm
• Cover loosely with a fine substrate
• Distance: 1 m
• Germination time: 8 to 14 days
• Cultivation time: around 4 months until harvest

It is necessary to keep the seeds evenly moist until they germinate. To do this, carefully spray the soil around the seeding site with the fine water mist from the garden hose or use the shower attachment of a watering can so as not to wash the soil away. It is best to place a wooden stick or a label on the seed spot when planting so that you can find the seeds more easily when watering. The first seedlings will appear after about two weeks. If several seeds have sprouted per hole, transplant surplus plants and dispose of weak specimens.

Pre-breeding

To give the kuri pumpkin a head start and move the harvest forward by a few weeks, you can also prefer the pumpkin seeds indoors, in a cold frame or in the greenhouse. The ideal time for this is between the end of March and the beginning of May. Moving them forward in the house also has the advantage that the seedlings are not devoured by snails. If you have harvested the seeds yourself from a fresh pumpkin, rinse off the remaining pulp under running water. You can either plant the fresh seeds directly in soil or store them in a dry place in a dark place for a few months. In order to accelerate the germination of the dry seeds, it makes sense to soak them in room warm water for one to two days before planting. For pre-cultivation on the windowsill in the house you will need:

• Hokkaido seeds
• Plant pots
• clear plastic bags
• Elastic bands
• Potting soil

Fill the potting soil into the plant pots and moisten them with a little water. Press a small hole in the middle with your thumb and place two seeds in each pot next to each other in the hole. After covering the seeds with a fine substrate, place a freezer bag over the pot and secure it with a rubber band. To germinate, place the pots on a warm, light window sill out of direct sunlight.

Tip: Do not grow the Hokkaido seeds too early or the plant will grow too big before it can be planted outdoors.

plants

When at least three weeks have passed since sowing and there is no longer any risk of frost, it is time to plant the small pumpkin plants outdoors. Each individual plant needs around two square meters to be able to spread and avoid competition with other plants.

• Time: after the ice saints in mid-May
• Planting distance: at least 1 m

Bucket culture

If you don't have your own garden, you can also grow a Hokkaido on the balcony. However, the plant needs a fairly large container so that it can develop well and produce plenty of fruit.

• Size: at least 100 x 50 x 50 cm
• Drainage holes in the bottom
• First fill in 5 to 10 cm drainage made of expanded clay or lava granulate
• Substrate: humus flower or garden soil plus compost
• Share of compost: about a third

care

Growing and caring for Kuri pumpkins is not particularly difficult and even beginners in vegetable growing can easily manage it.

to water

Water your hokkaido plants regularly so that the soil never dries out completely. In doing so, direct the water as directly into the root area of ​​the plant as possible and avoid wetting the leaves. Damp foliage and wet flowers are prone to disease. While in early summer and with smaller plants it is often sufficient to water two to three times a week, the pumpkin has to in greater heat and long dry spells, usually watered daily or even twice a day, preferably in the morning and afternoon will.

Fertilize

When planting the young pumpkin seedlings, you should make sure that the soil is rich in nutrients. If you brought in manure or green manure in the autumn of the previous year, no additional fertilizer is necessary at the beginning. In all other cases, you prepare the young plants in the best possible way if you mix generously sifted, ripe compost into the substrate. You can also mix in the following components:

• Horn shavings
• Horn meal
• guano

In the growing season, apply about five liters of compost per square meter about every two to three weeks. Nettle manure has proven itself as an alternative. The liquid manure is rich in nitrogen and thus supports the Hokkaido pumpkin in its rapid growth.

Skimming

A Hokkaido pumpkin, like all types of pumpkin, tends to branch out profusely. However, since the plant only has a limited amount of energy available, it prefers to put it into the shoots. The result is a lot of small fruits. If you prefer this growth habit, you don't have to do anything about it. If you prefer to harvest larger Hokkaido fruits, you can do this by removing excess tendrils. This process is also called pricking out. However, the procedure is nowhere near as labor intensive as with tomatoes. It is sufficient to max out twice during the growth phase.

• June: shorten all longer shoots except for 2 leaves
• July: Cut the tendrils above the fifth to sixth leaves
• break off the first female flower on each shoot
• leave only about five to six female flowers
• break out all the others
• remove all male flowers after pollination

The male flowers appear first on the pumpkin plant, and the female flowers a few days later. The flowers are easy to distinguish: while the male flowers have a long stem, is on the At the base of the female flowers a rounded, thickened ovary is created, which already looks like a small pumpkin looks like.

Tip: To protect the fruit from rot caused by pressure points and moisture, it has been proven useful to place a handful of straw under each fruit.

harvest

The Hokkaido pumpkin is one of the winter pumpkins that are in season in autumn and late autumn. Depending on the time of sowing, the fruits can be harvested between the end of September and November. Individual pumpkins can be ripe as early as August. Only harvest the Uchiki Kuri when fully ripe so that it can be stored for as long as possible. If this is not possible due to cold and wet weather conditions, it makes sense to bring the fruit forward. The pumpkin ripens quickly in a dry and warm place. You can tell whether a Hokkaido is ripe by the following characteristics:

• bright orange peel
• Exception: green Hokkaido varieties
• firm, smooth skin surface
• Handle: dry and slightly woody
• Fruiting body sounds hollow when knocked

Note: When harvesting, leave a piece of stalk at least two inches long.

storage

Ripe, undamaged fruits can be kept for several months after harvesting, provided they are stored under perfect conditions. Unfortunately, even experienced gardeners often make mistakes when it comes to storage. Because when choosing the storage location, you have to pay attention to a few important principles: Pumpkins do not tolerate cold and must never be stored in a damp place. If there are problems with mold and moisture in your basement, find another place to store it.

• Make sure to leave the stem on the fruit
• place on a board with newspaper
• in a wooden box with wood wool
• do not stack
• turn occasionally

Diseases and pests

Young plants and the flowers of the Hokkaido pumpkin are popular with snails. You should therefore ensure that there is good protection against snails for a pumpkin sown in the field.

mildew

Furthermore, the lifespan of Hokkaido pumpkins is often limited by powdery mildew or downy mildew. Powdery mildew is a fungus with a particularly characteristic damage pattern. It lies as a white, floury coating on fruits and leaves. While powdery mildew usually occurs after a long period of drought, downy mildew occurs when it is consistently damp or even wet. Warmth favors the spread of the harmful fungus, which is why it usually occurs in the summer months. So water your Hokkaido regularly, but never over the leaves. And make sure you have a good location where the pumpkin can dry off well and the soil drains off the water sufficiently. To combat powdery mildew, a mixture of water and fresh milk in a ratio of 9 + 1 has proven itself. Spray the leaves and fruits with the mixture for a few days in a row.