Description of squash varieties NLO, Gosha, Disk, Solnyshko, Sunny Bunny and their yield

Is squash a species or variety?

The Internet contains a lot of information about the squash plant, but what is true and what is not is difficult to determine. This is a type of common pumpkin. It was from her that plants inherited the ability to change the color, shape and rigidity of the vegetable when fully ripe. It is extremely difficult to eat the fruit of a strange plant that has been lying around for too long, because it is woody.

Since squash itself is already a variety, it is impossible to talk about types of vegetables. But these plants can be classified according to their characteristic characteristics. Breeders have provided the opportunity to group varieties in a way that is convenient for a person:

• according to the shape of the fruit,
• by fruit color,
• according to ripening period,
• by weight of the fetus,
• according to the shape of the bush.

From the point of view of practical application, it is convenient to group varieties by ripening time and weight.

Do not forget that the fruit of the squash plant can be called “squash” and “pumpkin”; both names are correct.

Patisson - plate pumpkin - video

Magnificent nine early ripening varieties

Of the early ripening squash, several varieties can be distinguished, in which the ripening period from germination to the first harvest is 35–38 days,

Kopek

The fruits of the Kopeika variety are successfully used in cooking and are valued for their high vitamin content. These babies make good company with other vegetables in jars of assorted pickles or marinades. Kopeyka will not let you down either in individual preparations or dishes.

Miniature disks of yellow-orange squash will easily bring life to both the garden and the table

Cheburashka

Bushes of the Cheburashka variety will delight you with the friendly appearance of tasty and juicy pumpkins, as well as high yield.

Surprisingly even scallops decorate a snow-white plate of Cheburashka pumpkin

Flashlight

The excellent table quality of squash of the Lantern variety will not leave lovers of home cooking indifferent.

The fruits of the Flashlight variety live up to their name with their unusual shape and cream color.

There are varieties with a later ripening period, around 40 days.

Disk

Pumpkins of the Disk variety will surprise lovers of grilled food with their taste; the main thing is to collect them very small, up to 5 days old. Ripe squash will please you because it can be stored for a long time.

The bell-shaped fruits of the Disk variety are greenish in color when young, and become snow-white with age when fully ripe.

Gosha

The fruits of the Gosha variety attract increased attention not only for their whimsical qualities, but also for their excellent taste.

The disc-shaped fruit of a rich dark green color will decorate not only the garden, but also the table

UFO Orange

Squash of the UFO Orange variety have a fairly dense peel, which, along with their excellent taste, makes the fruit indispensable for cooking in the oven or for stuffing.

The plate shape and rich yellow with an orange tint distinguish pumpkins of the UFO Orange variety, making them stand out in the garden.

Umbrella

The squash variety Umbrella has been known since 1993. Even then, gardeners fell in love with them for their unusual sweetish taste and large size. Housewives will certainly appreciate their table qualities in daily food and preparations.

The fruits of the Umbrella variety, similar to a flattened bell, change their color during ripening from light green to rich white, as if signaling their readiness

Sleigh do light

Bushes of the Sani Delight variety bear fruit without interruption until frost, presenting owners with delicious mini-squash.

Small plate-shaped pumpkins of the Sani Delight variety live up to their name with their sunny bright yellow color and smooth, light-reflecting surface

Great luck

It would be wrong to ignore the Big Luck variety of squash, because they have proven themselves excellent in cooking.

Disc-shaped pumpkins of the Big Luck variety have an intricate, interesting color - against the background of rich greenery, white stripes and spots are clearly visible

Comparative characteristics of early ripening varieties - table

Mid-season varieties

White 13

The bush is large, heavily leafy, branching, and forms a short vine. The fruit is white, disc-shaped with a jagged edge, weight 400-500 g. The structure of the flesh is dense, the color is white. Ripe fruits can be stored for a long time. Yield up to 3 kg/sq. m.

Gold medallion

Bush plant with medium branching. The yellow disks of the fruit grow up to 400 g, the flesh is white with a creamy tint, medium density, tender, excellent taste. Productivity 3/kg sq.m.

Mid-season and late varieties of squash

Mid-ripening and late-ripening varieties are not as popular as their early-ripening counterparts, so there are significantly fewer of these varieties. From the moment they sprout until the first fruits are collected, 50 or more days pass.

Snow White

Pumpkins of the Snow White variety are demanding in terms of growing conditions, but they are grateful for their care with their excellent taste and the ability to be stored in the refrigerator for about two months.

The friendly disc-shaped white fruits look impressive among the rich green foliage

Piglet

The Piglet variety can be classified as both early-ripening and mid-ripening varieties. The fruits of this plant are harvested before they have reached full ripeness, which most often determines their belonging to the group of early ripening ones.

Smooth, looking like an elegant white plate, the fruit not only looks good, but also has good taste.

Watermelon

The Arbuzinka variety, unusual in everything, will attract the attention of lovers of non-standard, but very tasty.

The plate shape of an interesting color similar to a watermelon makes the pumpkin look even more like a berry, because as it grows it becomes rounder

Sun

Stable yield and amazingly even shape of the fruit are the distinctive features of the squash variety Solnyshko.

The bright yellow color and plate shape with jagged edges of the Solnyshko variety pumpkins make them stand out both in the garden and in the kitchen.

Tabolinsky

The fruits of the Tabolinsky variety, along with good taste, contain a high amount of dry matter, which attracts not only housewives, but also food industry specialists.

The smooth, plate-shaped fruit will change color from bright yellow to orange as it ripens.

Comparative characteristics of mid-season varieties - table

Landing dates for Russia, Ukraine and Belarus - table

Planting squash in the ground

When to plant squash in the ground

Seedlings grown at home are planted in the ground when the seedlings are 3-4 weeks old and have developed 2-3 true leaves, that is, also around the very end of May or early June. The seedlings are first hardened off, gradually accustoming them to fresh air, sun and outdoor temperatures. To do this, the seedlings are taken to a wired balcony or unheated veranda and a window or window is opened in the room for several hours, increasing the duration of ventilation daily. For the last day or two, the window has not been closed at all.

Soil for squash

The site for squash should be sheltered from the wind, sunny, south or southwest, with deep groundwater. Plants love crumbly chernozems and neutral loams. Acidic soil is not suitable for squash - it must be neutralized with wood ash. Squash grows well after plants such as green manure, cabbage, radishes, carrots, onions, herbs, tomatoes, peas, potatoes and early vegetables. Precursors such as zucchini, pumpkins, cucumbers and squash are undesirable.

Preparation of the site for squash is carried out in the fall: the soil is dug up with rotted manure and mineral fertilizers:

• 2 kg of organic matter, 1 teaspoon of potassium sulfate and superphosphate and 2 tablespoons of wood ash per m² are added to the peat soil for digging to a depth of 20-25 cm;
• in autumn, when digging to the depth of a spade, add 2-3 kg of peat with the addition of humus and sawdust, as well as a tablespoon of superphosphate and 2 tablespoons of wood ash per 1 m²;
• in sandy soils, a bucket of peat and turf soil, 3 kg of sawdust and humus, and the same fertilizer for squash as for clay soil are added for digging per 1 m².
• 2 kg of sawdust, a tablespoon of powdered superphosphate and 2 tablespoons of wood ash are added to the chernozem soil per m².

In the spring, 3-5 days before planting, the bed is watered with a solution of 2 tablespoons of Agricola-5 in 10 liters of water at the rate of 3 liters per m², after which the bed is covered with a film, which is removed only on the day the seedlings are planted in the ground.

How to plant squash in open ground

Seedlings are planted on a calm, cloudy day or in the evening. Holes with a depth of at least 12 cm are placed at the same distance as when sowing seeds in the ground - 70x70 cm, but before planting the seedlings, the holes are spilled with warm water, then a seedling with an earthen lump is transferred into each hole and positioned so that the cotyledon leaves of the seedling ended up at surface level, after which they add soil to the hole, compact it, mulch the bed with peat and, for the first time, shade the seedlings from direct sunlight.

Climbing roses: planting, care, cultivation

Vegetable care

Regular watering is the most important thing when caring for squash. During the growth period, vegetables require 5–8 liters of water per 1 m2 weekly. With the appearance of flowers and fruits, plantings need 8–10 liters per 1 m2 twice a week.

Water the squash only with warm water, without touching the leaves.

The biggest and most common problem in caring for squash is the overgrowth of the fruits and, as a result, the shedding of the ovaries. Therefore, squash are harvested every 5–6 days from the moment the first fruits ripen.

For salting or pickling, you can remove slightly unripe squash, but for another method of eating, we must wait until the fruits are ripe

Squash do not require pinching, but in mature, overgrown bushes, 1-2 old leaves are cut off once a week to increase yield.

Feeding squash - table

General characteristics of the plant

The UFO squash variety consists of 2 varieties. On the shelves of shops selling seeds you can find white and orange UFOs. Each of them has its own characteristics, but they relate to the description of the appearance and taste of the fruit.

Bushes of the UFO variety of squash do not form lashes. This sets plants apart from pumpkins or cucumbers, because they require much less space for planting. But UFO squash have leaves with well-developed blades and long petioles, so the total height of the plant can reach 70-80 cm. No more than 5-6 bushes can be placed per 1 m².

The UFO variety belongs to the early ripening varieties. You can get the first fruits at technical ripeness in 40-50 days. These vegetables are usually not brought to biological ripening; they are eaten at a young age, until the seeds have developed and the crust has not corked.

The plant is unpretentious to growing conditions. The main factor that can affect the number of fruits is the illumination of the ridge. It is advisable to allocate an area for squash where there is sun most of the day. Squash grows well on loose and fertile soil, but the UFO harvest will also please you on more complex soils with a dense structure. Only saline soils with a lack of natural drainage do not tolerate vegetables well.

Squash are resistant to many diseases of pumpkin crops. The NLO variety is practically not affected by root rot and is resistant to powdery mildew and downy mildew. During rainy seasons, some of the fruits left for growing and ripening (for example, for seeds) may suffer, but the greens simply do not have time to rot or be damaged by fungus.

The average weight of 1 squash at biological ripeness is 400-500 g, and the diameter reaches approximately 20 cm. Vegetables are rarely grown to such a size. Greens with a diameter of 3-5 cm and a weight of about 100 g are suitable for consumption. The yield of such vegetables can be about 6-7 kg per 1 m².

Plant diseases and pests

The worst pests for squash and squash are slugs, due to which gardeners can lose up to half of their harvest. Unfortunately, there is only one way to combat them - to ensure that the squash fruits do not lie on the ground. The best option would be to place plywood or planks under the vegetables.

Squash often suffer from various types of rot (root rot, white rot) and powdery mildew. To avoid plant death, you need to systematically treat them twice a month with biofungicides, such as Trichodermin, Fitosporin-M or Alirin. These drugs are harmless to people, so they can be safely used during fruiting.

Typical squash diseases - photo gallery

With anthracnose, brownish spots appear throughout the plant and, as a result, ulcers on the fruits

Most often, greenhouse squash suffers from root rot due to improper temperature and water conditions.

As a rule, only the leaves of the plant are affected by white flour coating, but this disease can also lead to damage to the fruits

A plant affected by mosaic becomes completely covered with a speckled coating of an unnatural color and slowly fades

Basics of care

Caring for squash includes the following procedures:

• loosening and mulching, weeding,
• thinning,
• pollination,
• protection of fruits from excess moisture,
• watering,
• fertilizing

Loosening, weeding, mulching

From the moment of planting until removing the plant from the garden, you will need to regularly weed the bushes, preventing weeds from drowning out both young shoots and adult individuals. Loosening the soil around the bush is used rarely and superficially, trying not to damage the roots. Exposed roots are eliminated by adding soil and mulching (the latter helps reduce the amount of loosening and weeding). Sawdust, peat, and humus are used as mulch.

It is convenient to use mowed and dried grass from the lawn as mulch for squash

Thinning

The abundance of large, strong leaves affects the qualitative and quantitative composition of the crop. Thickened bushes are thinned out by trimming one or two old leaves at a time. The procedure is carried out in the morning, with an interval of 2 to 4 days.

Pollination

Cloudy, rainy weather throughout the growing season also adds to the difficulty. In such weather, pollinating insects do not fly over the blooming flowers, and pollination does not occur. You have to “work as a bee” yourself, manually pollinating each opened female flower with a male one.

Video: hand pollination of plants using the example of pumpkin

Protecting fruits from moisture

Depending on the purpose of use, fruits are collected either small, so-called technical ripeness, or wait until biological ripeness (that is, when the fruit has reached the color and size required by the variety). If heavy fruits lie on the ground, it is advisable to make supports under them so that they do not rot. In a mulched bed (especially if the mulch is black spunbond or black film), the fruits also remain dry and clean.

Squash fruits lying on the ground are lifted using special supports to prevent rotting.

Watering

Regular watering is carried out throughout the entire life cycle of the plant. The development phases of squash affect the volume and time interval of moistening. From the appearance of sprouts until the time of flowering, water once every 5-6 days, waiting until the soil around the bush begins to dry out. The volume of water used is 6–8 liters per m2. From flowers to full ripening, moisture consumption increases by a couple of liters. The frequency of watering is once every 3-4 days.

Use settled water heated to 23 °C. The temperature of the liquid is important, since cold watering is dangerous for the plant. It weakens the protective forces of squash and leads to diseases. Water the squash carefully. Do not allow liquid to come into direct contact with the plant. For convenience, grooves are made around each bush. To retain moisture in the soil, each watering is completed by laying a layer of mulch.

Nature makes its own amendments to the planned schedules and regimes. A dry, hot season will increase the number of waterings; in cold, damp weather, it is worth taking care to prevent excess moisture and hypothermia of the crop, i.e., reduce the number of waterings and cover the plants with spunbond at night.

Feeding before planting and during the growth period

Preparatory tillage of the soil (application of mineral and organic fertilizers) before planting provides squash with useful substances for the entire growing season. In other cases, fertilizers are used at least twice per season. For the first time, young vegetation that has developed four adult leaves is fed. Use one of the working solutions:

• Agricola-5 (25 g of the drug per 10 liters of water) - the resulting volume is sufficient for watering from 10 to 20 m2 of area;
• a mixture of 20–25 g of potassium salt and 50 g of superphosphate (per 10–12 liters of water);
• Harvest, Kemira-universal or Growth II (25–30 g per 10 liters of water), 500 ml for each plant.

The second time feeding is carried out during the period of buds appearance and ovary formation. It is better to use organic fertilizers - any of the proposed options of your own choice or on the advice of experienced gardeners:

• one part mullein to 10 parts water, with the addition of potassium sulfate (20 g) and superphosphate (15 g);
• one part bird droppings to 15 parts water.

For the third time, if required, fertilizers are applied after two weeks from the previous feeding. Use solutions of complex mineral preparations, as in the first application, or an ash solution with urea (a glass of wood ash, a tablespoon of urea per bucket of water). Consumption ranges from one and a half to two liters per plant. When applying fertilizing, overfeeding the crop is unacceptable. Excess organic matter - namely nitrogen - leads to abundant growth of vines and leaves, which can negate all efforts to obtain a harvest.

Video: caring for squash: how to achieve a big harvest