Legogeny
Lagenariya( Vietnamese zucchini, Indian cucumber) has a cylindrical fruit up to 1.5-2 m long. But there are also varieties with jug-shaped fruit( pumpkin dishware) or in the form of a flask with a narrow long throat and even quite round. These are decorative varieties of lagenarii.
The greatest interest for gardeners is the edible long fruit of the Vietnamese zucchini. It has the same properties as a common zucchini, but it is more difficult to grow, primarily because its growth and development requires much more time( 120-150 days), and therefore lagenarii have to grow through seedlings.
Seed preparation
Large, flat, lyren-seed-like seeds are enclosed in a firm, dense shell, which should be steamed to allow the seed to penetrate. To do this, the seeds should be placed in a thermos with hot water( about 35-40 degrees) and soak for 24 hours, then wrap them in a damp cloth and keep them in a plastic bag in a warm place( at least 28-30 degrees).
As soon as the seeds germinate, they should be planted in pots with nutritive soil of at least a liter. You can immediately sow dry seeds in moist soil, provided that the temperature of the soil is not lower than 30-32 degrees.
Features of cultivation
Lagenariya rises long, about 10-15days. In the future, care and transplantation to the site are made exactly the same as pumpkins. Seeding on the seedlings should be done about a month and a half before planting the seedlings. Land lagenariyu should be sheltered on the warmed soil, otherwise it will not bloom. Places this plant requires a lot, since it produces whips up to 5-15 m long. The distance between plants should be at least 1.2-1.5 m. When planting seedlings in the hole should be added 2-3 st.spoons azofoski and an extra 1 tbsp.a spoonful of potassium fertilizer that does not contain chlorine( or 1 cup of ash instead of potash fertilizer), in addition, it requires no less than a bucket of good organic. At least 5 liters of water should be poured into the hole.
Lagenarii requires a lot of food, its agronorm N + P + K = 46, the ratio between nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium is 44: 13: 43, that is, it needs approximately equal amounts of nitrogen and potassium. Feed the plant during the entire period of growth and development, weekly, alternating mineral( 3-5 table spoons of azofosca plus 2 teaspoons of "Uniflor-micro" spoonfuls per 10 liters of water) and organic( manure 1:10, bird droppings 1:20, infusion of weeds 1: 5) top dressing. For each plant, it is required to pour out 1 liter of prepared top dressing.
The flowering of lagenarii roughly coincides with the flowering of the pumpkin. The plant throws out long pedicels( about 80-100 cm), and on them evening brilliant, white, large flowers unfold. We do not have nocturnal insect pollinators, so we'll have to pollinate the plant ourselves. Female flowers have small fruits under them, male fetuses do not. Cut off the petals from the torn male flower and gently insert it several times into the female flower. Several men's flowers should be pollinated at once by several female flowers.
Only the very first fruit should be left on the seeds, because the rest of them will not have time to grow to the desired state and will not be the same. Under growing fruits, you need to put boards.
The fruits of lagenarii have an amazing property: if a piece is cut off from a growing fetus, it continues to grow.
The taste of the fruits of lagenarii is almost the same as that of zucchini, and it is used in the same way. The most delicious young fruit is no more than 60 cm long. But for winter storage, they should grow and fully mature. In this case, no more than 2-3 fruits should be left on the plant, cutting off excess lashes and leaving only one growing fruit on 2-3 lashes, behind which there should be approximately 5 leaves.
When cultivating several varieties of lagenarians, do not allow the spraying of long-bodied edible lagenari with decorative forms - the fruits will be tasteless and almost inedible.