The most popular crop that can be found in almost any gardener’s summer cottage is pumpkin. As a rule, pumpkin is undemanding in care, germinates quite quickly and ripens in a short time. Thanks to the wide variety, everyone can choose the appropriate variety for cultivation, depending on the ripening period, appearance and taste. Pumpkin Pink banana is considered an exotic melon crop. Unlike the round fruits familiar to all gardeners, it has an elongated shape and resembles a zucchini in appearance. Breeders in the United States were involved in breeding the Pink Banana pumpkin variety; more than 100 years have passed since then, but in Russia this variety of crop appeared relatively recently.
Pumpkin Pink banana: variety description
Pumpkin Pink Banana: photo of variety
The pink banana occupies an area of up to 500 centimeters in the garden. The beginning of flowering of the Pink Banana pumpkin will occur much faster if you install a trellis; then the pumpkin will gradually begin to rise and weave upward. Give this crop good care. And throughout the summer you can harvest a large amount of harvest. If the area for the harvest is chosen incorrectly, then you will still notice at least a couple of fruits on the bush.
Benefits of the Pink Banana pumpkin variety
This pumpkin variety is highly resistant to various diseases caused by pathogenic fungi. In Russia, this pumpkin can grow well in open soil. The branches are very strong and strong, this gives them the ability to withstand a lot of ripe vegetables if the pumpkin grows long. The rhizomes of this pumpkin are very powerful. The leaves have a dark green color. After planting the vegetable in open soil, you can begin harvesting the fruits after about ninety to one hundred days.
Important! As the pumpkin begins to bloom and ripen, it takes on a beautiful appearance.
Disease susceptibility
The “Candy” pumpkin variety is susceptible to a number of diseases and is affected by pests.
- spider mite - plantings against it are sprayed with onion infusion. Made from husks (60 g per 100 ml);
- powdery mildew - to combat it, pumpkin is treated with a solution of potassium permanganate (3 g per 10 l) or copper sulfate (2 g per 10 l), at the stage of the disease it is sprayed with Bordeaux mixture with a concentration of 1%;
- melon aphid - to prevent pest attacks, plants are treated with a soap solution (200 g per 10 l) or karbofos (60 g per 10 l);
- fruit rot - in case of disease, the affected areas are removed, followed by treatment of the resulting wound with aloe juice.
Diseases appear mainly at the stage of ovary emergence and fruit formation. The main preventive measure is strict adherence to crop rotation (3-4 years).
Pumpkin pink banana: harvest
The growth process of a pumpkin is very interesting to watch. The harvest can be of different shapes even on one bush. The ripe harvest reaches a length of about one and a half meters, has an average thickness and is somewhat reminiscent of zucchini in appearance. This pumpkin variety has a pointed nose. They can be slightly curved, resembling a banana, which is why they get the name pink banana. The vegetables are quite dense, they are light in color, and the vegetables are also a little soft. As the pumpkin matures, the rind begins to harden. When the pumpkin begins to ripen fully it takes on a pink tint, but still retains a little orange. When cut, it is bright orange in color. It is uniform, there are no fibers in this variety. According to reviews, this pumpkin has quite good taste. Not a strong smell, but a clearly audible sweet taste. It has such a mild and pleasant taste that some argue that it is suitable for eating uncooked in salads and snacks. It can also be used for porridges, baking, and pies.
Characteristics
Planting should be started only after a complete study of the advantages and disadvantages of this variety.
- The variety ripens relatively quickly.
- After planting in open soil, you can start collecting fruits after about 90-100 days.
- The length is one and a half meters.
- If there are any fruits left, they can be stored for a long time.
- The fruits of ripe pumpkins are universal.
- Excellent taste quality.
- Easy to care for.
- Frequent harvesting.
- Resistant to diseases and pests.
- The weight of a pumpkin can be from 5 to 18 kilograms.
- Under poor growing conditions, the pumpkin may still produce up to three fruits.
- Can be grown in open soil.
- Due to the lack of fiber, the good taste remains even after frost.
How to grow?
There are several features of growing wax gourd.
Through seedlings
In the North and central regions, the vegetable is grown in seedlings.
Time and method of sowing
Seeds for seedlings are planted 25-30 days before transplanting to a permanent place.
What should be done:
- prepare a container for planting, preferably peat pots;
- fill them with soil for seedlings;
- make a hole in the soil, 1-2 cm deep;
- Place 2 seeds in each hole;
- sprinkle with earth;
- pour water at room temperature;
- move the pots to a south-facing windowsill.
After germination, the weaker sprout is carefully cut off with scissors.
Conditions for growth
For seedlings to grow well it is necessary:
- Temperature. Maintain within 25 degrees. Provide additional insulation until sprouts appear. To do this, cover the pots with transparent film.
- Watering. Do this with a spray bottle. Spray the plants regularly from the moment of planting as the soil dries out.
- Hardening. 1 week before planting in the ground, plants should be taken outside and left for 3-4 hours to allow them to adapt to climate conditions.
Transplantation into the ground
Plants should be planted in the ground closer to the beginning of June, when the weather outside is consistently warm. You can also transplant it into a greenhouse, where the temperature is constantly maintained at 25-30 degrees. This method is suitable for cold climate regions where growing heat-loving vegetables is only possible in a greenhouse.
How to do it:
- pour boiling water over the garden bed;
- dig holes at a distance of 70-100 cm from each other;
- carefully replant the seedlings, along with the peat pot;
- mulch the bed with leaves and humus.
Preparing the bed
You should remember these rules when choosing a place to plant a pumpkin:
- Plot. Good lighting will be required.
- The soil. Planted in fertile soil with low acidity.
- Predecessor cultures. It is better to plant Benincasa in soil in which beans, peas, potatoes, and cabbage previously grew.
- Preparation. In the fall, the area needs to be dug up and then manure applied. In spring, add mineral fertilizers.
- Disinfection. To prevent many diseases, additional soil treatment with a solution of ash mixed with water in a ratio of 1 to 10 will help. The liquid is infused for 3 days. It is applied by spraying.
Sowing seeds in open ground
The soil temperature when planting seeds should be at least 10 degrees. Typically this method is used in areas with hot climates.
Boarding order:
- divide the area into rows;
- in each row, dig holes 4 cm deep (follow the pattern as when planting seedlings);
- take 2 seeds;
- put them in each hole;
- sprinkle with a thin layer (about 2 cm) of soil or peat;
- water;
- After germination, pinch out the weaker sprout.
Resistance to insects and diseases
As we said above, the Pink banana variety is resistant to various diseases and pests.
Important! If there are symptoms of bacteriosis, it will be almost impossible to save the fruits.
The first signs of the disease:
- brown sores;
- darkening of fruits and the appearance of rot;
- uneven fruit growth.
As soon as you notice any of the above signs, the damaged leaves must be removed and the remaining bushes must be saved with Bordeaux mixture, which will prevent the development of the disease.
Pink Banana Pumpkin: Pros and Cons
Let's look at some of the advantages of the pink banana variety, which become quite a big argument for planting this particular variety.
- Pumpkin is very healthy, as it contains many vitamins, so it is worth adding it to your diet more often.
- If you didn’t have time to use the pumpkin quickly, you can store it for six months without any problems.
- Pleasant in appearance and has excellent taste.
- Ripens relatively quickly.
- You can eat pumpkin when ripe.
Among the disadvantages you can find that vegetables need to be irrigated sometimes. In addition, there is a possibility that dangerous pests may appear.
How to eat them?
The best and most useful thing for healthy absorption by the body is not to subject it to any heat treatment.
This will ensure the safety of the vitamins and microelements that this fruit is so rich in. Therefore, if you are tormented by the question of buying red bananas, how to eat them, the answer is: preferably raw. Only in this case will you learn:
- 15% of the daily value of vitamin C;
- 2% vitamin A;
- 20% vitamin B6;
- potassium;
- iron;
- beta-carotene;
- cellulose.
But when you want to taste something exotic, you can grill them, as they do in the homeland of the fruit.
This is what a peeled ripe red banana looks like
Growing
Pumpkin can be grown by seedlings or planted in open soil, as well as in a greenhouse. At the beginning of spring it is already worth starting to grow seedlings. You need to plant pumpkins in the garden very carefully, without damaging the rhizomes. When planting, leave up to one meter between bushes.
Pumpkin only needs regular irrigation, fertilizing and weed removal. If necessary, you can hang the pumpkin on a trellis, so it will begin to crawl up instead of lying on the ground. You can harvest the crop within ninety to one hundred days after planting in open soil.
On a note! To increase fertility, you can add humus to the holes.
Features of care
Rapid seed germination is only possible if additional plant care measures are taken. For this purpose, many gardeners cover the holes with film, creating greenhouse conditions. When shoots appear in the film, you need to cut holes up to 10 cm through which ventilation will occur.
After spring frosts, the slots can be increased to 15 cm in diameter in order to completely release the sprouts from the shelter and spread the film on the surface.
This creates favorable conditions for growth, since the soil temperature is several degrees higher than usual, and moisture evaporation is sharply reduced.
See also
How often and correctly to water a pumpkin in open ground and is it necessary? Read
During periods of dry weather, when flowers bloom and when fruits are filling, plants should be watered generously with water at a temperature of more than 20 degrees. Periodically, the beds require removing weeds and loosening the soil. In order not to damage the root system, the soil is loosened first by 8–10 cm, and then by 5–6 cm.
