When are pumpkins harvested in autumn?

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

It's hard to believe that this huge fruit belongs to the berry family. Wow berry weighing from 2 to 70 kg! Pumpkin is the most useful food product containing many vitamins and microelements, but it is especially valued for its high content of beta-carotene and fiber. Known for its diuretic and choleretic properties. This berry is very useful for diseases of the cardiovascular system and liver. And gastronomic qualities are a topic for a separate discussion. How pumpkins are grown and harvested, in what form they are eaten, is described in the article.

What pumpkin loves

It is believed that this berry is not picky, it can grow wherever you put a seed in the soil. Although she has her own requirements. Pumpkin prefers soft, light soils and well-lit areas. This is not surprising, because the culture comes from the hot latitudes of South America. She feels especially good on manured beds, and to be more precise, in places where manure and humus are stored. In a word, organic fertilizers contribute to the rapid growth and ripening of fruits. Powerful stems of pumpkins do not tolerate pruning and take a lot ofplaces, and this must be remembered. The stems even climb trees, and one often sees mighty fruits hanging from high branches. Of course, this is an additional problem at the moment when the pumpkins are harvested, but how beautiful and original!

Terms of maturation and harvesting

This culture is good because it grows in almost all climatic zones, of course, except for the cold North. It is only important to choose the right variety. There are three main varieties of pumpkins: edible, fodder and ornamental. Of course, only edible varieties are famous for their high palatability.

For the northern and middle latitudes, planting dates are later, and in order to have time to get a crop, you have to resort to planting seeds under a film. This helps to significantly speed up the cultivation and meet the optimal time when harvesting the pumpkin. In the southern regions, everything is simpler: pumpkin seeds are planted in mid-late April in open ground. Seeds germinate quite quickly, after the start of flowering, small green fruits form in a short period. By the time of ripeness, they gain their final weight and color - from pale green to bright orange. The time when pumpkins are harvested is quite long. Some varieties can be harvested in the middle of autumn unripe and stored in a dry place until fully ripe. But mostly the fruits are harvested last in the garden. They can not be touched until the first frost. When pumpkins are harvested, be sure to leave the stalk - so the fruits are stored longer. Do not put off for long-term storage damaged, beatenor frozen pumpkins.

About the most pleasant

Of course, this is about how to boil pumpkin. There is nothing easier. The fruit must be washed, chopped into slices with a kitchen hatchet, cleaned of seeds (which must be dried and eaten raw or fried - very he althy and tasty!). Put in a saucepan and pour hot water so that the product is not completely covered with water, otherwise the pumpkin will turn out watery and tasteless. Someone adds sugar to the water for cooking, someone sprinkles boiled chunks with sugar, but it’s best not to sweeten, the pumpkin itself is quite sweet. If the pieces are easily pierced with a fork, then the cooking is over. You need to immediately get the pumpkin, spread it on a large dish or tray and let it dry. There is such a delicacy best with cold milk.

But in general, the pumpkin does not have to be boiled. It is even tastier and he althier when baked - just place chopped pieces on a baking sheet and put in the oven. They bake it as a whole, cutting off the top, removing the seeds and filling it with stuffing - for example, a mixture of nuts, dried apricots, prunes, honey, or just porridge. Yes, and pumpkin porridge is good in itself, it is tasty and he althy for both adults and young children. Such a miracle berry!