Inexperienced gardeners plant pumpkin on their plot in the hope that it will not require special care. But, like any living organism, the vegetable needs nutritious soil, which must be watered and fertilized in order to get a rich harvest of healthy and tasty pumpkin.
Vegetables need organic and mineral fertilizers, which are always available for free sale. However, some melon growers try to replace chemical fertilizers with home remedies and are very successful. Let us consider in more detail what chemical-free fertilizers can be used when growing crops.
Wood ash
The substance is used when sowing seeds and planting seedlings. The ash contains a lot of potassium, and this is exactly the material that the pumpkin needs most at this stage. Before planting, add 2 tbsp into each hole. l. dry ash. During growth, two such ash solutions are used:
- Dissolve 100 g of ash in a bucket of water, mix thoroughly and water the bushes.
- Pour 200 g of ash into a liter of boiling water. After some time, bring the solution to 10 liters and let it brew for 2-3 days.
This fertilizing serves as a prevention of fungal diseases, and dusting with ash powder repels insects.
Yeast
The yeast solution is used as a top dressing during flowering and ovary formation on the pumpkin.
The following infusions are prepared:
- 30 g of yeast are immersed in a 3-liter container of warm water. Add 3 tbsp to the composition. l. Sahara. Place in the sun for fermentation.Before watering, add 7 liters of water.
- Modification of the first infusion. Add 100 g of yeast and the same amount of sugar to a bucket of water. The composition ferments for 6-7 days. Then add half a liter of ash and leave for a while. Before watering, the infusion is diluted in a liter of water. 2 liters of solution is poured under each bush.
Interestingly, the yeasty smell attracts pollinating insects. This increases productivity.
Boric acid
For foliar feeding during the flowering phase, boric acid is used. It improves fruiting by 2-3 times.
To prepare the fertilizer, 1 g of the substance is diluted in a liter of warm (40-45°) water. Spray the crop after the acid crystals have dissolved. The drug is distributed on sheets so that there are no large drops. Both the top and bottom leaves are processed.
If mineral fertilizing is carried out at the same time, the concentration of the solution is reduced. For 1 liter of water take 0.5 g of orthoboric acid.
Nettle
For the first feedings, infusions of nettle leaves and stems are used. It could be another herb. Fertilizer preparation:
- a container is selected, for example, a 200 liter barrel;
- filled one third with chopped grass;
- fill with water to the edge of the container;
- the container is closed with a lid;
- the composition is infused for 5 days with constant stirring;
- for feeding, the infusion is diluted with water in a ratio of 1:10;
- Fertilizer is applied at the root, 0.5 liters per bush.
It is better to take nettles for feeding. The tincture made from it is more nutritious and also repels harmful insects.
Ammonia
Fertilizer for vegetables in the first phase of the growing season. Pour 5 liters of water into 50 ml of ammonia. The resulting solution is used to fertilize the pumpkin right to the root.
Chicken droppings
The prepared manure solution is applied to moist soil. Either after rain, or after heavy watering.
Cooking instructions:
- Litter, dry or fresh, and water are combined in a ratio of 1:20.
- Leave for 8-10 days.
- Watering is carried out in the holes, further from the rhizome.
Manure and mullein
During the growing season, it is good to feed the pumpkin with a solution of manure or mullein.
- Manure solution. Composition: 1 kg of manure per ten-liter bucket of water.
- Mullein solution. Prepare with water in a ratio of 1:10.
For watering, the composition is doubled with liquid.
Chemical-free home remedies are easy to prepare and, at the same time, very effective. Avid gardeners have been convinced of this more than once and are happy to share the results.
