There are a large number of varieties of pumpkin with different ripening periods and with different taste characteristics. Ornamental and fodder varieties of this plant are also grown.
Groups of varieties by growing season
Varieties with early and medium early ripening are very popular - the crop can be harvested approximately 3 months after the emergence of young shoots (80-98 days). As a rule, the fruits are small or medium in size. Plants are characterized by optimum resistance to frost. The best yields are given by such varieties as:
Smile
Amazon
Russian woman
Gribovskaya bush 189
Therapeutic
Description of the variety Gribovskaya bush 189
This plant has a compact size. The peel of the fruit is colored green, and on its surface there are dark green stripes. Near the stalk, the fruits sometimes have a ribbed structure. The weight of pumpkins is average (2-7 kg). The pulp has a rich color and a pleasant taste. The variety can be stored. Plants are resistant to fungal diseases.
Plants are considered mid-season, the maturation of which takes 100-120 days. The fruits keep well. The most popular varieties:
cucumber
Gilea
honey beauty
Chit
Variety Almond: a brief description
Pumpkins have a rounded elongated shape. Their average weight is 2-5 kg. Juicy and sweet pulp is not satisfactory. The fruit can be stored even longer than six months (up to nine months).
Varieties of late pumpkin are often pleased with the large size of the fruit. The crop is subject to long-term storage. It takes 120-145 days to mature. The best varieties:
hundred pound
Kavbuz
Titanium
Winter sweet
Pumpkin Titan: variety description
The plant forms long lashes (about 3 m in length). The fruit weight can be impressive (some specimens grow up to 100 kg). Pumpkins are round in shape. Orange peel covers bright flesh with few seeds. Taste characteristics are excellent.
Pumpkin varieties suitable for open ground
In open ground, you can grow varieties that are resistant to lower temperatures. The most noteworthy are:
Butternut
Gribovskaya winter
Spanish guitar
Altair
Kherson
South
station wagon
Farmer
Description of the grade Spanish guitar
This butternut squash has an extremely pleasant dessert taste. The shape of the pumpkin resembles a guitar (it narrows towards the center, and expands towards the edges). The variety is characterized by a small content of seeds. The peel of pumpkins is quite thin, but at the same time dense.
Middle lane: the best pumpkin varieties
Varieties for the Moscow region and for the middle lane, as a rule, have early, medium early and medium ripening periods. Pre-grown seedlings are planted in the ground. The best representatives:
Pearl
Arina
Gribovskaya bush
Spaghetti
Mozolevskaya
Crookneck Scrooge
Volga gray
Chit
Therapeutic
Description of pumpkin Healing
This variety produces good yields of early fruits. The peel is painted in light gray and decorated with a mesh pattern. Under it is a bright pulp. She is juicy and sweet.
Pumpkin: varieties for Siberia
Pumpkin varieties with a short growing season are considered ideal for Siberia. This category includes:
Dachnaya
Pearl
Smile
Freckle
Russian woman
Russian woman: description of the pumpkin variety
This variety forms lashes of medium length and is distinguished by good resistance to adverse natural factors. The dark orange flesh resembles a melon in taste. The fruits are large. They are characterized by good keeping quality.
Pumpkin: varieties for the Urals
In the Urals, varieties are grown with a short growing season and good resistance to environmental factors. The best recommendations are varieties:
Atlant
Aport
Barn
Miracle Yudo
Bambino
Vitamin
Titanium
Gribovskaya winter
Therapeutic
Loaf
Description of the variety Bush orange
Bush orange - an early variety that gives good yields. Plants are compact, with short lashes. Pumpkins are oblate-rounded, with an orange peel. Fruit weight is average (about 5 kg). The pulp is delicious.
Sweet varieties of pumpkin
Sweet pulp is one of the factors in choosing a pumpkin variety. Some fruits are similar to melons in taste - they are used to make desserts and even jams. Noteworthy:
Atlant
Chit
large-fruited
Azure
Therapeutic
Marble
Russian woman
Smile
Winter sweet
honey beauty
Description of the pumpkin variety Honey
Some gardeners believe that this variety leaves behind any sweet varieties of pumpkin. Vegetation takes only 85 days. The pulp is fragrant, sweet, crunchy. It can even be eaten fresh. Pumpkin makes delicious juice. Fruit weight is average (about 4-6 kg). The variety is characterized by excellent keeping quality.
Large pumpkin varieties
When creating optimal conditions, the weight of a large-fruited pumpkin can reach 100-150 kg. However, such champions are not always needed - the "giants" are grown for the sake of another record. For use in food and winter storage, more modest-sized fruits are suitable. In our country, such varieties of large pumpkins as Titan, Large-fruited and Atlant are grown. Pumpkin seeds are in demand:
Big Max
Centner
Winter sweet
Big Max: variety description
The fruits of this variety can reach a mass of 40 kg. They are not only large, but also very tasty - the flesh is dense, sweet, fragrant. The rind is light orange in color. Fruits can be stored.
Butternut squash varieties
It is believed that it is the nutmeg pumpkin that has the sweetest and most fragrant pulp. Only increased thermophilicity with a sufficiently long growing season can be considered a disadvantage (in conditions of a short summer, the fruits do not have time to ripen properly). However, plants can also be grown through seedlings, and for ripening it is enough to put them in a dark, warm and dry place. The most popular varieties:
Vitamin
Muscat
butternut
Gilea
Plavkadu
Arabatskaya
Polyanin
Pearl
Description of the pumpkin variety Arabatskaya
Cylindrical pumpkins weigh 5-9 kg. With good care, this figure can increase to 40 kg. The peel is orange, but it has a slight grayish tint. Bright pulp has excellent taste characteristics.
Varieties of pumpkin for seeds
In some cases, pumpkins are grown for healthy and tasty seeds. The best varieties that produce a large number of seeds:
Volga gray
Danka Polka
sweetie
Centner
Danae
hundred pound
gymnosperm
Danae
Description of the Danae variety
This variety has an important advantage - it not only produces a lot of seeds, but also allows you to do without peeling (the seeds are devoid of a hard shell). The pulp pleases with excellent taste characteristics. The plant has a medium early maturity. The spherical fruits are covered with a dark green peel with a mesh pattern (when fully ripe, it becomes orange in color). Their average weight is 5-7 kg.
Pumpkin: varieties for storage
The following varieties of pumpkin are best stored:
Kherson
Zhdana
Slavuta
Mozolievskaya 15
Arabatskaya
Gilea
Polyanin
Yanina
Polyanin: variety description
Variety Polyanin is characterized by good transportability. Fruits withstand long storage. They are cylindrical in shape. The skin is dyed light brown. The surface is divided into segments. The pulp has a dense structure and a pleasant sweet taste. The average weight of pumpkins is 4 kg.
This useful vegetable culture enjoys the unchanging folk love. Many varieties of pumpkin can be called the best - it all depends on which characteristics are in priority.
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Experienced vegetable growers have learned to grow atypical varieties of pumpkin. But there are the best varieties of pumpkin for the Moscow region for open ground, which once breeders bred and zoned for the middle latitude. It is on them that attention should be focused at first to those who began to master the cultivation of this original, fragrant and healthy vegetable.
If you do not make a mistake with the variety, a plentiful harvest of pumpkin fruits can be obtained even in areas where the summer season lasts a short time, and the weather does not please with intense heat. By species, all pumpkins are divided into three groups:
Pumpkins are also classified according to such a criterion as the growing season, which falls on the interval from the moment of growth of full-fledged seedlings to the harvest of fruits:
- early - 90 days;
- mid-season - 120 days;
- with a late vegetation period - up to 130 days and more.
Rating of the best crop varieties for outdoor cultivation
Most of all, hard-bark varieties are common in our gardens and orchards, which number about 30 items. The keeping quality of such a crop is excellent, which allows you to eat the fruits immediately or not touch them for some time until they are eaten. For the central strip of Russia for open ground are presented below.
Pumpkin with melon notes
Pumpkin Melon
Pumpkin variety Smile
Variety description: early ripe compact plant produces fruits of bright orange color, small in weight (about 1.5 kg). When you cut them, you immediately feel a delicate aroma. The flesh is both crunchy and sweet at the same time.
bottle culture
Bush pumpkin Matilda is a nutmeg species of the family. The fruits are pear-shaped and elongated. The pulp is orange in color, fragrant, with a sweetish aftertaste.
Pumpkin Matilda
Table gourd Marble
Table pumpkin Marble large-fruited, pumpkins ripen late. The lashes are elongated, the fruits are dark green in color, weigh 3.5-4.5 kg. The orange pulp is crunchy and sweet, replete with carotene. It is possible to consume it raw. Variety with excellent fruiting.
Gourd Marble
Pumpkin Pastila champagne
Medium climbing pumpkin Pastila champagne has fruits of an elongated ellipsoid shape. Ripe pumpkins acquire an unusual pinkish hue of a not very thick-walled peel, complemented by a slight mesh. Bright orange pulp fills almost the entire cavity from the inside, while the seed chamber, commensurate with the length of the fruit, maintains a small size. The fruits are small - 2-3 kg. The pulp has a pleasant aroma with hints of vanilla. The variety is quite extravagant: pink-colored elliptical fruits have exceptional taste characteristics.
Champagne marshmallow can be eaten fresh and processed.
Prikubanskaya pumpkin
The medium-ripening pumpkin Prikubanskaya forms cylinder-shaped fruits, compacted towards the top, with an orange-brown color. The skin is refined. The pulp has a reddish tint, juicy and tender, with excellent taste data. The culture is quite productive.
Pumpkin Apricot
Medium-early pumpkin Apricot is unique for its round-cylindrical fruits with slight ribbing. The ripe fruit is yellowish, but the dark green stripes on it are wide enough, which makes the coloring interesting and bright. The skin is thin, but firm. The soft core of a yellow shade, slightly fibrous. Apricot pumpkin seeds do not have a typical dense shell, they are covered only with a thin film rich in fiber. The Apricot variety is mainly cultivated for production.
almond gourd
Universal with medium vegetation, the Almond pumpkin variety releases elongated lashes. Orange-colored fruits are rounded, gaining a weight of 4-5 kg. The yellow-orange soft center is distinguished by excellent characteristics - juiciness, sugar content, crunchiness. It is used in the production of juices and baby food. Permitted for long-term storage.
Zorka pumpkin variety
The mid-early Zorka pumpkin is the owner of large fruits intended for culinary use.
The plant forms strong stems and large leaves of not dissected shape and dark green color.
The fruits of Zorka are flattened-round, with an average weight of 4.5 kg. The outer crust is divided into equal segments. The color of the crust is gray with a whitish mesh and pinkish spots. The thin crust bends well, shows a greenish tint on the cut. The flesh is orange, medium-compacted, with coarse fibers, not juicy enough, but demonstrating delicious taste.
Medium-sized seeds are covered with a smooth yellow-brown skin.
Varieties of pumpkin Atlant
Mid-late pumpkin Atlas weakly releases elongated whips. Differs in smooth fruits of a round-oval shape with some segmentation. Their color is yellow-orange, weight - 6-10 kg. The soft core is juicy, dense, orange in color, accumulating oils and beta-carotene. The Atlant variety is valued for its increased yield (2.7 kg of pumpkins are obtained from 1 square meter), the ability to persist for a long time without losing its nutritional indicators. Recommended for eating raw, for home cooking and processing into juices. Atlant is distinguished by rather large seeds, which weigh approximately 500 g in the amount of 1000 pieces.
Pumpkin variety Titan
Long lashes grow on the plant, reaching 3 m. The mass of fruits is sometimes impressive. So, there are individual pumpkins weighing up to 100 kg. In the form of a gourd, the Titan represents a ball. It has an orange peel and flesh with a slight presence of seeds. Titanium is excellent in terms of taste.
Good day to all readers!
I want to tell you today about pumpkin varieties with a photo and description of this most useful vegetable. Many varieties have been grown by gardeners for many years and enjoy well-deserved fame. There are also new varieties that you need to try to grow on your site.
Grey-bark and nutmeg pumpkin varieties can be eaten raw in salads.
Large-fruited varieties usually keep well.
The most common among gardeners are three types of pumpkin:
- hardcore
- Muscat
- large-fruited
- Decorative - this type is also gaining popularity.
Varieties of hard-skinned pumpkin
Variety "Acorn"- This pumpkin is also called "acorn". Because its small fruits look like acorns. The flesh is orange-yellow with a sweet taste. The outer skin can be of different colors. From dark green to orange and their combinations (green with orange dots).
Pumpkin variety "Acorn"
Variety "Aport"- mid-season pumpkin, almost round, orange peel without a pattern. Bush plant, fruits grow up to 7 kg.
Juicy, orange-yellow, crisp flesh. Impressive sweet creamy taste.
Pumpkin variety "Aport" Variety "Smile"- early pumpkin. Ripens in 85 days. On a neat small bush, on average, 7-8 fruits grow, and maybe up to 15. Pumpkins are small - 1.5 kg. average. Bright orange with light stripes.
A characteristic feature of the variety are beautiful flowers and good keeping quality. At room temperature, it lies quietly until January, without losing its taste. The pulp is sweet, fragrant, crunchy, 3-4 centimeters thick.
Pumpkin variety "Smile" Variety "Spaghetti"- the name of this variety is "speaking". The pulp breaks up into fibers during cooking, resembling spaghetti. The shape and color of the fruit resembles a melon. Unripe pumpkins are greenish in color. Fully ripe fruits have a light yellow skin.
Pumpkin variety "Spaghetti" Variety "Freckle"- an early ripe variety of bush form. Small fruits up to 3 kg., with a light green peel with light spots.
Yellow-orange flesh, very tasty - tender, sweetish, with a hint of pear.
The variety is productive, well stored. Likes a good watering.
Pumpkin variety "Freckles" Variety "Bush Gribovskaya 189"- early maturing variety. Before the first harvest no more than 98 days. The fruits are oval, elongated, the peel is light orange with dark green and black spots, weighing about 4 kg.
Orange flesh, excellent taste.
Pumpkin variety "Bush Gribovskaya 189" Variety "Dachnaya"- mid-season variety. Fruits are oval, orange-green, weighing up to 4.5 kg. Bright orange flesh, juicy, tender, sweet with vanilla aroma, excellent taste.
A very productive variety, suitable for growing in all regions. After harvesting, it retains its taste qualities for 4 months.
Pumpkin variety "Country" Variety "Bush Orange"- early ripe plant with short lashes, grows compactly. The fruits of this pumpkin are round, orange, weighing up to 5 kg.
Orange thick flesh up to 7 cm, excellent taste. This pumpkin is well and long stored, unpretentious to growing conditions, tolerates drought well.
Pumpkin variety "Bush orange" Varieties of large-fruited pumpkin
Basically, these are the most cold-resistant and unpretentious varieties. The weight of some varieties can reach up to 100 kg.
Sort "Rossiyanka"- early ripe pumpkin, climbing. The fruit looks like a bright orange top weighing 3-4 kg. Orange, sweet flesh with a delicate taste of melon. The grade differs in cold resistance, good productivity.
Pumpkin variety "Rossiyanka"
Variety "Ordinary"- the most common pumpkin. Fruits can be up to 25 kg. But the smaller they are, the tastier and sweeter.
Pumpkin variety "Ordinary" Variety "Gribovskaya winter"- late ripening (ripening after 140 days). A plant with long lashes. The fruits are flattened, weighing more than 3 kg. grey.
Bright yellow or reddish flesh. Excellent taste - juicy, tender, sweet, dense, up to 6 cm thick. Well stored.
Pumpkin variety "Gribovskaya winter" Variety "Winter sweet"- late-ripening pumpkin with long lashes. Fruits flattened about 6 kg. The peel is dark gray, divided into segments.
Yellow-orange flesh, very tasty - juicy, thick, sweet. Recommended for baby food and juice production. Tolerates drought.
Pumpkin variety "Winter sweet" Variety "Medicinal"- early ripe, this variety is recommended for dietary nutrition. The skin is grey, thin. Orange, crispy, sweetish, juicy flesh.
Well kept. Resistant to low temperatures down to -2◦С.
Pumpkin variety "Medicinal" Variety "Merchant"- medium-early table pumpkin. It is recommended to grow in different regions. The fruits are flattened, light orange, smooth, weighing 15 kg or more. Fruit taste is good. Can be stored up to 5 months.
Pumpkin variety "Merchant" Variety "Candy"- mid-season variety with long lashes. Grows well in fertile soils. The fruits ripen simultaneously up to 8 pieces, an average of 2.5 kg. Reddish skin with green spots.
Bright orange, very tasty pulp - juicy, crispy, dense. Contains 8% sugars, 1% carotene, a lot of vitamin C. Productive.
Pumpkin variety "Sweetie" Variety "Kherson"- mid-late climbing pumpkin. Fruits are flat gray-green in color with gray spots, weighing 4-6 kg. Crispy, orange, sweet, juicy flesh, very tasty. Drought-resistant, heat-loving variety. Well kept.
Pumpkin variety "Kherson"
Variety "Volga gray"- mid-season pumpkin with long lashes up to 8 meters. The fruits are light gray, almost round, weighing up to 8 kg. Yellow or orange flesh, medium sweetness and juiciness. Stores well and is drought tolerant.
Pumpkin variety "Volzhskaya gray" Variety "Baby"- mid-season, climbing pumpkin. The fruits are light gray, flat, weighing up to 3 kg. Yellow, not very juicy flesh - sweet, dense.
Pumpkin variety "Baby" Sort "Altair"- greyish skin. The pulp is very juicy and sweet, yellow-orange in color. You can eat raw.
Pumpkin variety "Altair" Butternut squash varieties
These pumpkins are distinguished by excellent taste, long shelf life, but are more capricious in cultivation and are more suitable for the southern regions. These pumpkins can be eaten raw. It's not scary that they are such sissies. In harsh climates, they can be grown through seedlings. Fruits can be picked a little unripe, they will ripen at home.
Variety "Butternut"- this variety is found under the name "Walnut" and "Muscat". Outwardly similar to a pear. The fruits are small up to 1 kg. Orange, juicy, sweet and aromatic flesh. It can be stewed, boiled, baked, but it is better to eat it raw. This variety has a lot of useful vitamins and minerals.
Pumpkin variety "Butternut" Grade "Bylinka"- Gray skin. Juicy and sweet, bright orange flesh. Delicious raw.
Pumpkin variety "Bylinka" Variety "Vitamin"- late-ripening pumpkin with long lashes. Green, oval fruits weighing up to 6 kg. Very tender pulp, tasty and sweet (sugar 5-7%), bright orange, crispy. Contains an increased amount of beta-carotene, useful in raw form, for baby food and juice preparation.
Pumpkin variety "Vitamin" Video describing pumpkin varieties
The number of varieties and varieties of pumpkin is simply amazing in its diversity, so many gardeners cannot decide which seeds to choose for planting. On farms, gardens and fields around the world, there are three of the most famous varieties of pumpkin - nutmeg, hard-bark and large-fruited.
Hard-barked pumpkin
This variety is characterized by the growth of long lashes that reach 7 meters, the stem is powerful, furrowed, however, in the selection there are short-stemmed and bushy forms of this vegetable crop. Today, hard-barked pumpkin is the most popular species that grows on the territory of Ukraine and Russia. It has excellent taste and can be stored for a long time, unlike other varieties.
Hard-skinned pumpkins are characterized by early ripening, so at the end of summer they are already fully ready for harvest. This distinguishes this variety from nutmeg and large-fruited ones, which are harvested just before frost. The main value of this variety lies in its taste, although the fruits of the plant are relatively small. Its main difference is that the fruits have a hard skin, the stem is rather prickly and hairy, the stalk is furrowed. In the countries of the post-Soviet space, more than 30 types of this pumpkin grow, and each has found its own application.
pumpkin hokkaido
There are many gourmet varieties of gourds, but the earliest of them is the Japanese pumpkin under the beautiful name of Hokkaido, which not only ripens early, but also has excellent taste. Pulp Description: Widely used in cooking as it has a pleasantly sweet flavor that is reminiscent of sweet potatoes or edible chestnuts.
By weight, the Hokkaido pumpkin is small and can have up to 2.5 kg, its shape is flattened, pear-shaped or rounded. The plant loves abundant watering and fertilizers, which increases the number of harvested fruits. And the pulp of Hokkaido pumpkin has a lot of minerals, vitamins and acids that are beneficial for the human body. The bark of the fruit is represented by different shades, ranging from light orange to bright red, and there is also a grayish, green and yellow-green peel.
forage gourd
This variety of pumpkin is an excellent animal feed.
Sprouted pumpkin is crushed together with grain and silage waste, and then fed to livestock, chickens, and pigs. After such feed, pigs noticeably gain weight, cows have more fat and milk, chickens grow quickly and produce more eggs. And all this is explained by the fact that the fruits of fodder pumpkin contain a lot of vitamin E, which increases reproductive function.
The variety has a high yield and is 20 tons per hectare, however, on well-fertilized and properly cultivated areas, yields up to 60 tons per hectare. All fodder varieties of pumpkin are distinguished by very large fruits, sometimes reaching gigantic sizes, but their taste is mediocre, so the fruits are practically not used in cooking. Regarding the number of fruits of one plant, it can be equal to 10 pieces. The average weight that a fodder gourd has is up to 35 kg, however, some of them can weigh up to 50 kg.
green pumpkin
In recent years, decorative pumpkin varieties for the Moscow region have become very popular, among which the green dietary pumpkin, rich in a mass of useful substances, stands out. This is a mid-late variety that has dark green fruits with a turban shape. Pumpkins are slightly wrinkled on top and have an average weight of up to 10 kg. These are orange pumpkins (pulp color) with juicy pulp. This species belongs to dietary cults, as it has a beneficial effect on the human body, removes toxins and provides it with useful vitamins and minerals.
Among the most popular varieties of green pumpkin, it is worth highlighting the large-fruited Freckle variety, which ripens very early and has a green peel with light spots. The Acorn variety is also often found, in its shape it resembles acorns with a small weight. The pulp of this pumpkin has a pleasant taste and orange-yellow color. The peel comes in a variety of colors, ranging from dark green to dark orange. Regardless of the variety, the green gourd is small and readily used for making desserts. And such pumpkins are stuffed and served as a hotel dish.
Pumpkin Pineapple
The plant of this variety is distinguished by long lashes with a thick stem, on which 5-6 fruits are formed. Pineapple pumpkin fruiting occurs all summer and autumn continuously, and the very first pumpkins appear 4 months after sowing the seeds. The fruits of this variety are distinguished by excellent taste qualities with a high sugar content, which is why it is called sweet pumpkin and is used to make desserts.
The only drawback of pineapple pumpkin is the poor preservation of the fruit, which is no more than two months. The pumpkin ripening period is 103-107 days, but if the plant is provided with good watering and a favorable warm climate, then ripening will be significantly accelerated. Among consumers, pineapple pumpkin is considered not only the most useful, but also very tasty, as it contains 10% sugar in its composition. Regarding the mass of fruits, they reach 1.5-2.5 kg and are distinguished by a dense, thin skin. The pulp is very sweet, thick, dense, has a nutmeg flavor, which becomes more pronounced with increasing shelf life.
pear-shaped pumpkin
Among all annual climbing plants, decorative pumpkins are in unprecedented demand, which give bright, beautiful fruits resembling a tangerine, apple or pear. Such pumpkins are stored for a long time and are able to decorate the interior of every country house. When compared with other varieties, the pear-shaped pumpkin really looks like a pear and is distinguished by a bright yellow color. However, in the selection there are varieties that have two colors, outlined by a clear border, some of them are distinguished by a striped color.
Such a yellow pumpkin has found its application at various holidays as decorations. For example, on Halloween, lanterns with scary faces are made from the fruits of this pumpkin and decorate the interior with them. As for the taste of this variety, its pulp is very sweet, juicy and is used as a dietary product. The human body easily digests pumpkin, so it is used to prepare many dishes.
Quite often, this pumpkin is prescribed for a diet menu, since 100 grams of the product contains only 30 calories.
white pumpkin
This species has a lot of names, it is a winter pumpkin, white or wax. The most sought-after variety of white pumpkin is called "Benninkaza". A white pumpkin comes from the island of Java, but then it began to be widely cultivated in Japan and China, and a little later it began to be grown in our country. This plant is characterized by long, dense stems that grow very quickly, especially on fertilized soil.
At the very beginning of its growth, the pumpkin has a greenish tint, but as the ripening period approaches, a dense wax coating forms on its surface. It can be stored for a sufficiently long period of time without losing its taste and useful elements. There are a lot of trace elements, vitamins and pectins in the peel of a white pumpkin. Characteristics of the fruit: differ in oval shape and can reach a length of up to 60 cm.
However, such a long pumpkin has a small weight, reaching 4 kg. Its peel is dense with a pale green tint, covered with a waxy coating with a blue tint. The flesh of the fruit is juicy, white. This variety is not in vain called a winter pumpkin, because under favorable conditions it can be stored for 2-3 years, and this significantly distinguishes it from other varieties. White pumpkin is used in cooking, medicine, for decorating household plots. It is worth noting that with each day of fruit ripening, they acquire a denser wax coating.
Large-fruited pumpkin
It is not difficult to guess that the large-fruited pumpkin differs from other varieties in its gigantic size, because its average weight is 25-50 kg, but with well-fertilized soil, the fruits reach 100 kg or more. In addition, it is considered the sweetest variety of pumpkin, as some of them can contain up to 15% sugar in their pulp, which is slightly more than watermelon. Large-fruited pumpkin is a fairly unpretentious plant that can withstand slight cold and provides high yields.
The peel of the fruit is fleshy and thick, which ensures long-term storage of the crop and excellent transportability. The shape of a large-fruited pumpkin is round, the stalks are cylindrical. The pulp of the vegetable is widely used in cooking, as well as animal feed. 
The pulp contains a lot of useful vitamins from the group: A, E, C, PP, K, B, as well as trace elements magnesium, potassium, calcium, copper, iron, phosphorus.
In addition, the fruits of the plant are widely used in medicine, so they are prescribed to people with stomach diseases, with increased acidity, ulcers. The pumpkin pulp also has a laxative effect, therefore it is prescribed for chronic constipation. But pumpkin juice is an excellent choleretic and diuretic effect. The homeland of large-fruited pumpkin is South and Central America, later it began to be grown in Europe, and today it grows all over the world, including our country.
Pumpkin novelties, their taste qualities
Chinese bitter gourd has several names, these are karela, bitter cucumber, momordica charantia. It looks like a grassy liana and originates in tropical Asia. Pumpkin is not adapted to the cold, so the cultivation takes place in places with a warm climate, these are South and Southeast Asia, China, the Caribbean islands. The pulp of the fruit has a dense structure, a pale green hue and a bitter taste.
Fruit seeds differ in completely different shapes, ranging from ovoid to rectangles. At the beginning of ripening, the pulp of the pumpkin is bitter, but when the fruit is ripe, it becomes sweet. The most mature seeds suitable for further sowing should have a red-brown hue. If the fruit is not ripe, then its pulp has a watery, crunchy texture, which is used in medicine and cooking.
Not every gardener knows about all the existing pumpkin varieties. In our article, we will get acquainted with the most popular of them, we will learn how to identify individual varieties from the photo and the attached description.
There are a huge variety of pumpkin varieties in the world selection, and some vegetables are used as animal feed, other fruits are used in cooking.
Varieties
In nature, there are three main varieties of pumpkins, which differ from each other not only in appearance, but also in other characteristics.
hardcore
The considered crops fell in love with domestic gardeners for the quick ripening of fruits. If the harvest of nutmeg and large-fruited varieties is harvested in the fall, then the described plants bear fruit already in the middle of summer.
Note: the main value of the crops under consideration is the excellent taste of the pulp, selected seeds. A distinctive feature of many varieties of hard-skinned pumpkins is the furrowed stalk, as well as a hairy stem.
One of the most popular types of hard-skinned pumpkins is the gymnosperm. The seeds of this vegetable are practically devoid of a shell, so they are used to make various sweets, including halva.
The pulp of such fruits has a reduced amount of natural sugars compared to other varieties, but despite this, it is considered quite tasty. The fruits of the gymnosperm are small, so the culture gives low yields.
Among other shortcomings of the described plant, attention should be paid to the possibility of rotting seeds when planted in open ground. In this regard, the culture in question is grown using seedlings.
Gymnospermous pumpkins are mid-season varieties. Their fruits have a dark green skin with a specific mesh (speckled). The vegetable has a long shelf life, its weight can range from 2 to 7 kilograms.
Spaghetti
This variety differs from analogues in its special pulp, which in appearance resembles vermicelli. According to experts, the first crop of the described crop can be harvested as early as 2.5 months after germination.
The plants have well developed lashes, fruits are oval with firm creamy yellow skin. The pulp is beige with a characteristic vanilla flavor. The fruits are small, their weight rarely reaches 1 kilogram.
Gribovskaya bush
An early ripe variety with a growing season of about 3 months. The plant is quite powerful, bush type. The fruits are large with yellow-orange skin, the average weight is about 5 kilograms.
These crops grow compactly and give good yields. The pulp of the vegetable has a great taste, in connection with this, the mushroom bush is classified as a table variety.
large-fruited
These varieties include large pumpkins with sweet pulp and light seeds. The fruits are quite voluminous, so they are often stored on the street, because most gardeners have cellars or cellars designed for other vegetables.
Titanium
According to experts, the fruits of this crop can reach a weight of 180 kilograms, although the champion pumpkins had a weight of 500 kilograms.
Titan is considered a mid-season variety, since its growing season is within 120 days. The plant has long lashes, round fruits with orange skin. The flesh is yellow, of medium thickness, of acceptable taste.
Russian woman
This vegetable is very popular among domestic gardeners. The Russian woman is undemanding in care, gives good yields, is distinguished by high keeping quality and excellent taste.
The first harvest of this pumpkin can be harvested 3 months after germination. The average fruit weight is 3 kilograms, the pulp has a sweetish taste with a characteristic melon aroma.
hundred pound
Quite old, but still a popular variety of large-fruited pumpkins. This plant is considered mid-season, as its growing season is within 120 days. The culture has powerful rather long stems, fruits are oval or rounded, weighing from 7 to 25 kilograms.
The pulp is friable, characteristic yellow in color, has a low sugar content. The fruits of the hundred-pound gourd are used in pet food. The main advantage of the described culture is considered to be good immunity to major diseases.
Muscat varieties
On the territory of our country, nutmeg varieties are grown from seedlings. These plants are distinguished by a five-sided stalk. The seeds of such crops are brown or yellow.
It's important to know: the fruits of this type of pumpkin are considered the most useful and tasty, but heat is needed to obtain good yields of this crop.
golden pear
This new and very promising variety has a sweet, dense flesh that has a nutty flavor that is unusual for other pumpkins. The fruits are made in the form of a drop, have an orange skin, their weight rarely exceeds 2 kilograms.
Golden pear ripens early, its growing season is about 3 months. The culture differs from analogues in high resistance to diseases and pests, good preservation of fruits.
Vitamin
This is a late variety of nutmeg pumpkin with a growing season of 135-140 days. Pumpkins in this variety are cylindrical, less often oval in shape with well-defined ribbing. Ripened fruits have a brown surface with a barely noticeable pink tint and a characteristic mesh made of green spots.
The pulp is orange, crunchy. It contains a huge amount of beta-carotene. The fruits are well stored in the basement or cellar, their weight is in the range of 3 to 5 kilograms.
Gilea
Such pumpkins are classified as mid-season, as their growing season ranges from 100 to 110 days.
The vegetables in question are cylindrical or spherical in shape, their brown or orange surface is coated. The pulp is orange, juicy and sweet. Fruits can be stored in the basement for up to 1 year, their weight reaches 8 kilograms.
Many domestic gardeners grow pumpkin from seedlings. In this case, sowing seeds in separate containers should be carried out in mid-April or early May. To accelerate growth, pots with seedlings are placed on a windowsill well-lit by the sun.
Pumpkin seedlings are grown in a temperature range of 25 to 27 degrees, with each seed sown in a pot with a minimum diameter of 14 centimeters. The selected container is half filled with a nutrient substrate.
Approximately 10 days after germination, when the height of the seedling reaches a decent size, earth is added to the container. A feature of the operations carried out is the bending of the stem into a ring and sprinkling the plant with soil up to the cotyledon leaves. This technique makes it possible to obtain a well-developed root system of the plant.
Gardener's advice: top dressing of pumpkins in the seedling stage is carried out no more than twice during the entire growing period.
The transfer of seedlings to open ground is carried out after the appearance of 3 true leaves, this usually occurs in seedlings of 25 days of age. Transplantation is done in stable warm weather not earlier than the end of May. About two weeks before this, the seedlings need to be hardened by reducing daytime temperatures to 16 degrees, nighttime temperatures to +13 degrees.
The best predecessors of pumpkin are cabbage, potatoes and tomatoes, as well as all members of the legume family. For planting these crops, it is advisable to choose a dry area on a hill where heat will accumulate. Some gardeners place plants on a compost heap for additional warming. In this case, a small amount of superphosphate and wood ash is added to the planting hole.
When growing seedlings in peat pots, they are moved to open ground along with the container. If ordinary plastic flowerpots were used to obtain seedlings, the plant must be carefully turned upside down and the earthen ball removed.
After that, the culture is transferred to the planting hole and watered with warm water (about 2 liters of liquid per hole). Planting of seedlings is carried out in such a way that between seedlings within one row there is at least one meter left, the row spacing is 2 meters.
For the first time after planting in a permanent place, the plants are covered with cut plastic bottles or paper caps. Further crop care comes down to loosening row spacings, removing weeds, periodic watering and top dressing.
As we have seen, the process of growing pumpkins is not particularly difficult. First you need to choose a suitable variety, after which you can proceed to the main work.
Watch an interesting video about delicious pumpkin varieties: