Pumpkin Volzhskaya gray: description, cultivation

The article provides a detailed description of the Volzhskaya gray pumpkin: description of the variety, characteristics, growing rules.

Pumpkin Volzhskaya gray: variety description

Pumpkin Volzhskaya gray: photo of the variety

Orange pumpkins are popular with gardeners around the world. Such varieties have rightfully earned their popularity due to their excellent taste and beautiful appearance. This pumpkin is widely used in the cooking of various cuisines, including the orange pumpkin used to prepare complex dishes. However, there are varieties that have a different vegetable shape, as well as a variety of shades. Volzhskaya gray pumpkin is a hybrid plant and bears rather large fruits. The surface of the fruits of this variety has a gray color, which is quite unusual in itself. The harvest of the Volzhskaya gray pumpkin is quite stable. Agricultural technology is not too complicated, which cannot but please the majority of summer residents.

Pumpkin variety Volzhskaya gray was obtained by breeders of the Experimental Melon Station. It happened back in 1940. This variety is officially registered in the State Register of the Russian Federation. It is recommended to grow the Volga gray pumpkin in the North Caucasus, in the Lower Volga region and in the Urals.

• For growing pumpkin varieties Volzhskaya 92 gray, the seedling and seed method is used. The shrub is of medium size, usually a powerful main shoot and thinner branches with foliage on the sides.
• The green mass is formed in moderation. In the course of maturation, the leaves of the plant begin to fade and sometimes dry out.
• The flowers of the gray Volga pumpkin are of medium size. They grow singly and are pale yellow in color. The outer side of the flowers is slightly pubescent.
• The large-fruited pumpkin variety Volzhskaya gray grows quite actively throughout the site. If the plants are planted too close to each other, then there is a risk that the stems of the bushes will begin to intertwine.

To obtain a good harvest, it is necessary to follow the basic rules of care, to water the plants regularly, to apply fertilizers (this is especially true when the fruits are tied and ripe). If everything is fine with the plants, then the foliage, as it were, rises above the shoots and thus additional protection from aggressive sunlight is formed.

A distinctive feature of the large-fruited Volzhskaya gray pumpkin is, without a doubt, the color of the fruits. After the skin is fully ripe, it takes on a rich gray tone. It should be noted that it does not turn yellow after reaching technical maturity, and also does not change color during storage.

The pulp has the most classic color. When the fruit is fully ripe, it becomes a beautiful orange color inside. There is a lot of juice in the pulp, it has a sweet pleasant taste. Many culinary enthusiasts recommend combining this pumpkin with meat and seafood.

The fruit has a rounded shape, the pumpkin is slightly flattened above and below. The skin is quite dense, has an elastic structure, and is well separated with a knife. The layer of pulp is at least five centimeters.
The seeds of the Volga gray pumpkin have a semi-oval shape, as well as a bright pumpkin shade in taste.
As a rule, one fruit in its weight reaches ten kilograms. However, if you add additional nutritious top dressing to the soil, you can get fruits up to twenty kilograms.

Pumpkin Volzhskaya gray 92 can be stored quite well.This is due to the rather thick peel. Such a pumpkin can be transported over long distances without any problems. At the same time, the pumpkin perfectly retains its external and taste qualities.
In its application, the Volzhskaya gray pumpkin is a universal variety. Thanks to the sweetish component in the taste, you can cook dessert dishes from such a pumpkin. Also, due to their juiciness and pleasant aftertaste, pumpkins are good in second courses. In addition, such fruits are eaten raw. The seeds are also edible, they can be fried or eaten by simply drying them a little beforehand.

Pumpkin Volzhskaya gray: characteristics of the variety

Pumpkin Volzhskaya gray 92: photo of the variety

The pumpkin variety Volzhskaya gray gives rather large fruits, in terms of ripening it is referred to as mid-season varieties. Technical ripening occurs in one hundred to one hundred and five days from the moment the first sprouts of seedlings appear. It is better for planting to choose areas with shade, but at the same time with diffused light. This variety loves the sun, however, if there is too much direct sunlight, then there is a risk that the foliage of the plants will receive sunburn.

The fruits of the Volga gray pumpkin almost never rot due to their dense skin. It should be noted that the unusual color of the fruit does not change during the entire growing season.

The Volzhskaya gray pumpkin is planted with the help of seeds or through seedlings. As a rule, from one square meter, you can get about fifteen kilograms of the crop. During the growing season, two or three vegetables can grow on one bush of such a pumpkin.

The pumpkin of the Volzhskaya gray variety has a fairly strong immunity against harmful insects. With regard to the defeat of diseases of fungal origin, here the level of resistance is average. Pumpkin can suffer from powdery mildew and fusarium. Volga gray pumpkin tolerates dry weather well. Can easily survive temperatures up to +10 degrees. A dry season will not be able to damage the plant, provided that the foliage with fruits will not be exposed to direct sunlight.

The Volzhskaya gray pumpkin has a number of positive aspects. Firstly, if the ovaries have formed, dry weather is not terrible for the plants. Secondly, this variety shows a stable result in terms of fruiting. Thirdly, the Volga gray often pleases summer residents with rather large fruits. Fourthly, the pulp has a very pleasant taste and also contains a lot of juice. Among the above advantages, gardeners note a high degree of keeping quality of fruits. Also, the fruits do not rot, lying on the ground for a long time. The color does not change throughout the growing season. Among the minuses, one can note the fact that the plant needs fertilization for normal growth and development.

Pumpkin Vodzhskaya gray: planting rules for varieties

Pumpkin gray Volzhskaya: photo

In southern regions with warm climates, this pumpkin can be planted using seeds. Since the summer is long enough in such zones, the pumpkins have time to form and fully ripen.
As for the northern edges of our country, it is better to give preference to the seedling growing method. Young plants need to be planted on May days using film. When the risk that the spring frosts will return has passed, the shelter can be removed. For this, stable warm weather should be established. In order for this variety to please you with its harvest, the following rules must be observed when planting:

• To plant, you need to wait until the soil warms up by at least fifteen degrees.
• It is necessary to maintain a distance between plants, it is, as a rule, sixty centimeters.
• The soil for planting is prepared in advance, compost and wood ash are added to it.

It is not recommended to plant a large-fruited Volzhskaya gray pumpkin in close proximity to plants that grow straight, as curly pumpkin stalks will twine around the trunk of the plant, and will become an obstacle to development.

Let's say a little about the methods of planting a pumpkin culture. The seed method is good for the south of our country. Before sowing them into the ground, you need to carefully sort out the planting material. After that, the seeds should be soaked in growth stimulants. When planting seeds, you need to deepen by eight to ten centimeters. In one hole, you can place not one, but two or three seeds. When shoots appear, choose the strongest, and as for the rest, you can simply plant them in other places.

As for growing through seedlings, then pay attention to the fact that your young plants should be about one month old by the time of transplanting into open ground. Before this, the seedlings need to be hardened (for a week), and also well fed with mineral-based fertilizing. When the pumpkin is planted in its permanent habitat, cover the planting with polyethylene if the night temperature is below +10 degrees.
When growing seedlings at home, it is better to use separate containers for planting. One seed should be placed in one hole.

Caring for large-fruited pumpkin

After the plants are planted, add wood ash to the soil on a regular basis. This will prevent the chemical composition of the soil from changing for the worse. In addition, wood ash is able to slow down the appearance of weeds.
Watering the Volzhskaya gray pumpkin is necessary only not with cold water. It will be better if before that it settles for at least a day. It is best to water it in the evening, at which time the rays are no longer so aggressive. A drip irrigation system can be installed to irrigate your plantings.
If your plant is already in bloom, first loosen the soil well before watering.

Formative pruning of your plantings should be done on a regular basis. Otherwise, such a pumpkin is able to creep over the site in a short time. Because of this, the fruits may become smaller, and shoots will also begin to form, which will not bear fruit. It is also imperative to periodically thin out your bushes, as well as weed from weeds.

As a rule, one plant forms two vegetables, if all care rules are followed. If you want to get a large fruit, then you need to remove the 2nd ovary. Thus, all the forces of the plant will be thrown into the formation of the fruit.
And it is imperative to help the plant, and do not forget about additional fertilizing, which should also be applied regularly.

When the Volzhskaya gray pumpkins are still very young, add an infusion of herbs or mullein. Adult bushes, which have already formed ovaries, need fertilizers based on potassium and phosphorus. The plant does not need nitrogen during this period.
The fertilizers used must be alternated, observing an interval of a couple of weeks. If you do not want to face the appearance of harmful insects, use a tobacco solution. It should be used when buds are forming.

As you can see, the large-fruited pumpkin Volzhskaya gray shows itself well in many Russian regions, since Volzhskaya gray is a fairly adaptive variety. The Volzhskaya gray pumpkin variety has excellent taste, for which many summer residents are very fond of. This pumpkin is perfect for preparing a variety of dishes, including desserts.

Large-fruited pumpkin Volzhskaya gray 92: video about the variety