Nutmeg pumpkin: benefits and harms

Butternut squash owes its origin to Mexico. This annual herb belongs to the Pumpkin family. Sweet taste and high content of vitamins and minerals distinguish it from other species. Nutritionists love to use this vegetable in the menu for their clients, as it is low in calories, which means it helps to maintain a slim figure.

Butternut pumpkin: description

This pumpkin variety has a nutmeg flavor when cut, which is why it got its name. The colors and shapes of pumpkins are different, they depend on the varieties included in the nutmeg group. However, there are also many similarities between them.

Some varieties reach 30 kilograms, but most of the varieties usually weigh less than 10 kilograms. The peduncle, or as it is also called, the umbilical cord, is smooth, hard with five edges. The pulp of all varieties has a rich consistency, it is fibrous, dense without empty spaces inside. All seeds are in the middle of the fruit. Its shell is thin and easy to cut. The pulp is incredibly sweet, which distinguishes it from other varieties.

Useful properties of butternut squash

Butternut squash contains a huge amount of nutrients, so its nutritional value is very high, unlike other varieties. The content of keratin significantly exceeds the content in carrots. In addition, pumpkin is rich in minerals, vitamin C and fiber, which improves heart function, etc. Eating this vegetable helps to improve vision, slow down skin aging, as it contains antioxidants, strengthens blood vessels, helps cleanse the body of toxins and helps to strengthen immunity. As mentioned above, nutritionists like to recommend adding pumpkin to the diet for people who need more than just keep your figure, but also cope with obesity. This vegetable contains only 45 kcal. per 100 grams.

Contraindications

However, being a very healthy vegetable, butternut squash has contraindications. People with diseases such as diabetes mellitus, gastric ulcer, duodenal ulcer, pancreatitis, elevated bilirubin and cholecystitis should discuss pumpkin consumption with their doctor.

As a rule, this variety cannot be included in the diet of people suffering from these diseases due to high sugar.

Butternut squash is very popular among culinary specialists. Many recipes have been invented for its preparation, but it is important to know that all its vitamins enter our body only when consumed raw.

Butternut pumpkin: rules for choosing a site and preparing a site for planting

Muscat varieties are not picky and do not require much attention and special care. However, you should be aware that, unlike others, varieties belonging to the group of butternut pumpkins prefer warm conditions for growth. There are two ways to grow them. The first is seedling, the second is seed. If you live in the northern regions of the country, then it is better to plant a pumpkin through seedlings. In the south, seeds can be sown directly into open ground.

Before planting your beauty, decide on a place. She prefers to grow in open sunny areas without drafts. Pumpkin is not demanding on the soil and can bring good yields on all types, however, preference is given to light and well-drained soils.It does not need fertilizers, but in order to saturate the soil with nutrients, especially if it does not correspond to the preferences of the vegetable, in the fall, fertilizers in the form of a mullein can be applied to the site and dug well.

A good planting site is considered to be where legumes belonging to the nightshade or cabbage family used to grow.

Seed preparation before planting

Before planting the seeds, they must be immersed in hot water and allowed to stand for two hours. Next, they must be wrapped in a damp cloth. Do not process seeds with manganese or any other means. The seeds bought in nurseries or in specialized stores have already passed all the necessary processing.

What is important to know when landing

If you are growing pumpkin using seedlings, then the seeds should be planted at the end of April. Seedlings should be kept in a bright room with room temperature. The seedling must be watered regularly, added twice complex fertilizers and hardened before transplanting it into the open ground, taking the plant outside and increasing the residence time there every day. The transplant is done when the first two true leaves appear, and the earth warms up. As a rule, this is done in the second half of May.

Before planting in open ground, prepare the holes in advance. In depth, they should go 10 centimeters, the distance should be 60x60. Water must be poured into each hole and after it is absorbed, the plants can be planted. After planting, sprinkle the plant with earth and tamp it down with your hands.

Butternut squash: care

Caring for butternut squash is not difficult. All she needs is regular loosening and weeding, this will help oxygen and nutrients in more supply to the plant.

It is also important to water regularly, even if the variety you are planting is drought tolerant. Of course, such varieties will not die, but the yield may be lower. Before the ovaries begin to form on the vegetables, they must be watered once every 7 days. Further, watering should be done twice as often. It is important to know that only water is used for irrigation, which has managed to settle and in a warm form.

Please note that watering stops 14 days before the expected harvest.

As mentioned above, this vegetable crop does not require additional feeding, but in order to get really large yields, you can please them by adding fertilizer in the form of liquid manure, two weeks after planting and feed it with wood ash during flowering.

Butternut squash needs pruning. The fact is that by leaving extra shoots, we deprive the plant of the strength to form a large harvest.

Diseases and pests

Many varieties of butternut squash are very resistant to various diseases, but there are exceptions. At such a moment, it is important to quickly navigate and take action.

Diseases you may encounter:

1. Anthracnose is a disease caused by ascomycete fungi. It can be identified by brown spots on fruits and stems. As soon as you notice them, you need to immediately start treatment so that the fruits do not dry out. For this, the plant is treated with a solution of copper sulfate.
2. Bacteriosis is a disease caused by various types of fungus. You can identify them by the dark, green spots on the leaves. This disease leads to deformation of the fruit. If found, it is necessary to remove all damaged areas as soon as possible and burn. Next, the plant is processed with a solution of copper sulfate.
3. Root rot - this disease destroys the root system and the base of the stem, which leads to the complete extinction of the entire plant. In order to overcome this disease, you will need to use fungicides that experts in nurseries or stores can advise you. Among gardeners, drugs such as Previkur and Fundazol are used. Wood ash is well suited for the prevention of this disease.

Spider mites, melon aphids, and slugs are those harmful insects that love to attack the butternut squash. In order to cope with them, there are also many means. For example, Karbofos is considered a popular remedy for aphids and ticks. Ash can be used against slugs by sprinkling it on a plant, an infusion of garlic and a drug such as Thunderstorm.

In order to protect the pumpkin from diseases and harmful insects, prevention helps well.

To avoid rot and fungal diseases, it is necessary to monitor the outflow of water, stagnation must not be allowed. Crop rotation is also important and must be followed. It is necessary to plant plants observing the distances between them, remove weeds, pay a little attention to your pumpkin and inspect it and not plant nearby plants that are susceptible to the same diseases.

How to properly collect and store pumpkin

The ripening period of varieties belonging to the Muscat group is different. Therefore, harvesting always takes place at different times. The main thing is to cut the fruits on time and not leave them until the onset of severe cold weather. Only a small number of varieties are able to withstand the cold, the rest may die.

When harvesting, use a clean knife, do not pick the fruits with your hands. Cutting them off do not damage the peel, this can provoke the development of infections inside. Do this when it is not raining outside and the sun is shining.

It is better to store the crop in a dry and cool place where the temperature is about 12 degrees.

If you plan on storing the pumpkin rather than eating it straight away, it is best to harvest it when it is not fully ripe. During storage, it will ripen.

Conclusion

Butternut squash is the juiciest and sweetest squash of all. In our country and abroad, it is very popular among gardeners, for its wide range of uses, long shelf life, taste, unpretentiousness and, of course, for the large amount of vitamins it contains. Even in the manufacture of baby food, manufacturers prefer to use exactly the varieties of this group.