Content
Pumpkin Muscat de Provence is a mid-season French variety bred by Clause Tezier. The variety has a high yield and relatively unpretentious care. Pumpkin can be grown in warm to temperate climates; its fruits have excellent taste, good keeping quality and transportability.
Description of pumpkin variety Muscat Provencal
According to the description of the pumpkin variety Muscat of Provence, the plant is a grass with thick rough whips creeping along the ground. The number of lashes reaches 4-7. Their length can be up to several meters.
The tendrils are located on the lashes, with which the pumpkin clings to obstacles, climbing upwards along them. Also on the stems are large five-lobed leaves, 5 to 8 cm in diameter. Large flowers (up to 10 cm in diameter) have a yellow-white color. They are bell-shaped and have 5 petals. Flowering time falls on the end of May.
Flowering lasts for several days. Pollination is carried out with the help of insects, mainly bees. In their absence, pollination is carried out artificially. The fruits of the pumpkin are called pumpkins. As a rule, 1-2 pumpkins are tied on one stem.
Description of fruits
Fruits are about 40 cm in diameter and weigh from 7 to 10 kg. They are orange-brown in color and rounded-flattened. Fruit ribbing is pronounced. At the stage of technical ripeness, the color of the fruit is grayish-green. The crust is firm and smooth.
The flesh of the Muscat of Provence has a bright orange color, it is firm and very sweet. The pumpkin pulp will contain more than 15% sugar and more than 20% starch. The pumpkin contains vitamins C, E, B1 and B2, phosphoric and silicic acid, a large amount of iron, calcium, magnesium and other microelements.
Mostly the pulp is used for the preparation of juices and purees, but it can also be consumed fresh. Muscat of Provence is a dietary product. Its pulp is recommended for people suffering from diseases of the cardiovascular, digestive and excretory systems.
Separately, it should be said about the beneficial properties of oil from the seeds of Muscat de Provence. The pumpkin seed oil contained in them is used for the prevention of diseases of the nervous and endocrine systems.
The storage time for ripe pumpkins is about six months.
Characteristics of the pumpkin Muscat de Provence
Pumpkin variety Muscat de Provence does not differ in frost resistance and takes about 4 months from the moment of germination to full maturity, so in the northern regions it may simply not have time to ripen.
The plant has average drought resistance, it requires regular watering every 7-10 days.
The yield is from 3 to 5 fruits per plant, which, depending on the degree of planting, corresponds to 20-30 kg per 1 sq. m.
Pest and disease resistance
The disease resistance of this variety is average. Like all pumpkin seeds, it can be susceptible to attacks of fungal diseases (bacteriosis, powdery mildew, etc.), as well as invasions of pests, in particular, spider mites.
Fungal diseases can be stopped by spraying the foliage with a 1% solution of copper sulfate. In the case of powdery mildew, a 70% solution of colloidal sulfur is additionally used.
When traces of spider mite activity appear on the stems (entanglement of the green part of the plant with a sticky web), a tincture of onion and garlic peels is used. Spraying is done daily for 10 days.
Advantages and disadvantages
According to reviews, Provencal pumpkin has the following advantages:
- unpretentious cultivation;
- large fruits with excellent taste;
- high productivity;
- good preservation of fruits.
The disadvantages include:
- the impossibility of growing in the northern regions;
- vulnerability to fungal diseases in humid climates.
Pumpkin cultivation technology Muscat de Provence
You can grow Muscat de Provence pumpkin both in seedling and non-seedling methods. Naturally, in colder climates, the first planting method is used, in warmer climates, the second. Theoretically, it is possible to accelerate the ripening time of pumpkin if you use the seedling method of growing and growing pumpkin in a greenhouse, but in practice this is rarely done, since pumpkin requires rather large areas, and its greenhouse cultivation is not justified.
Since the Muscat pumpkin of Provence prefers soils with a large amount of humic compounds and soluble mineral salts, it should be grown on medium-density loams with neutral acidity.
It is advisable to fertilize the soil with humus or rotted manure six months before planting the pumpkin.
The precursors to pumpkin can be cruciferous plants, legumes, onions, beets, or radishes. It is recommended to plant green manures from legumes or cereals before planting on the site.
Landing in open ground
For sowing pumpkin in a seedless way, only large and high-quality seeds that have passed a defect are used. At the same time, dried seeds or those that have shell damage are immediately selected.
The seeds are pretreated to speed up the emergence of seedlings. To do this, they are heated for 2-3 hours at a temperature of + 50-60 ° C, and then germinated wrapped in gauze soaked in water for several days. Then they are sown 2-3 pieces in one hole in the garden.
At the same time, a square-nested cultivation method and a sowing scheme from 0.7x0.7 m to 1.5x1.5 m are used.The seeds are deepened by 5-10 cm. The usual time for planting seeds is the end of April or mid-May, when the soil is on at a depth of 10-12 cm, it will be heated to a temperature of at least + 12-14 ° C.
Under favorable circumstances, Muscat Provence pumpkin seedlings will appear within 1-1.5 weeks. Of several germinated plants of one hole, one, the strongest, is left a week after germination.
Seedling cultivation
If an earlier harvest is needed, the pumpkin can be planted through seedlings. The very procedure for planting a plant through seedlings is quite simple.
The shift is planted in early or mid-April in pots. The composition of the soil is standard for seedlings of any other vegetable garden. It can be a two- or three-component mixture (peat and sand; earth, humus and sand; earth, peat and sand, etc. in the required proportions), or it can be just ordinary land brought from the garden in which the cultivation will be carried out ...
After about a week, the first shoots appear. In two weeks, they will take root, get stronger and be ready for planting in open ground. Further, they are treated in the same way as seeds when grown in open ground (square-nest planting with a step of 0.7 to 1.5 m).
Weeding
Caring for the Muscat Provencal pumpkin consists of regular extermination weeds, watering, fertilizing and other ongoing work on the site.The large area of the plot, free in the first months of cultivation, allows a large number of weeds to germinate. In addition, as the plant grows, the complexity of these works increases, since the overgrown pumpkin does not allow to move freely around the site.
Therefore, the period of the beginning of crop cultivation, until the pumpkin lashes reached a length of about 1 m, should mainly be devoted to weed control. They should be weeded regularly, at intervals of 3-4 days, while being careful not to touch the young lashes.
Watering
Watering is the most critical in caring for the plant, since on a fertile soil, pumpkin does not need any other care besides it. The recommended frequency of watering is once a week. The rate of water consumption is 20 liters per 1 sq. m. During the ripening of fruits, this rate is reduced to 10 liters per 1 sq. m to avoid cracks in the fruit.
Top dressing
With a sufficiently fertile soil, the plant does not need feeding. In the case of poor soils, it is necessary to feed it 2 times a month with nitrogen and potassium fertilizers. It is recommended to combine organic and complex mineral fertilizers.
Support for stems
Separately, it should be said about the additional props to which the pumpkin stalks will be attached. Since the plant can form from 4 to 7 lashes, and their length reaches 8 m, the area of the site may not be enough to accommodate such a large volume of green mass. In order for everything to fit compactly enough, special supports are used in the form of coarse meshes stretched between the columns, to which the whiskers of the stems will cling.
Their height should not be too high, since the mass of pumpkin fruits is very large. Usually, grids with a height of about 0.5 m are used.
Conclusion
Pumpkin Muscat de Provence is a mid-season variety with large fruits and excellent taste. The variety is quite unpretentious and requires minimal maintenance during cultivation. The fruits can be stored for six months without losing taste.
Reviews about pumpkin Muscat de Provence
