Squash
General information: this plant belongs to the bush form of the early ripening solid-grained pumpkin. In translation from French, patisson means vegetable pie.
Requirements: the culture grows well on neutral soils rich in humus. At low sites requires drainage, ridges( width 90-100, height 20-30 cm) and crests( height 25-35 cm, the northern side is steeper, the southern side is flat, the distance between the crests is 70-80 cm).
In autumn, 8-10 kg / m2 of manure, 3-5 kg / m2 of compost or humus, are applied to digging soil. On heavy soils organic fertilizers are given more, on lungs - less. In the spring( on the day of sowing) the soil is dug and if organic fertilizers are not used in the fall, add them, adding 24-40 g / m2 of ammonium sulfate, 30-40 superphosphate and 15-20 g / m2 of potassium nitrate.
Ingredients: fruits contain about 6 % dry substance, 4 % sugar, 20-30 mg% of vitamin C, pectic substances, mineral salts.
Cultivation: seeds are seeded 3-4 years ago, and last year they are heated for 2-4 hours at a temperature of 50-60 ° C.To disinfect them for 30 minutes, soak in a 1% solution of potassium permanganate( 10 g per 1 liter of water), using gauze bags for this. Then they are washed, dried and spread between paper napkins or gauze with a layer of 1 cm. The seeds are quenched for 3-5 days in the refrigerator by varying temperatures - 18-20 ° C - 6 hours, 0-2 ° C - 18 hours, while theirmix and moisturize. When the soil warms up to a temperature of 10-12 ° C, and air - up to 15 ° C, you can start to sow. Under the film shelter, the patisson can be sown 2-3 weeks earlier. Seeds are sown on the ridges in 2 lines with a distance between the rows of 50 cm, in the row - 70, between the tapes - 90 cm. Can be sown according to the scheme 70 x 70 or 80 x 80 cm. The depth of seed sowing on light soils is 6-7,3-4 cm. For the earlier harvest, the patisson is grown with seedlings, using pots or cubes 8x8 or 10x10 cm for its distilling. If a picking is provided, the seeds are first sown in boxes with sawdust( river sand, soil) in rows with an interval of 3 cm ondepth 2-3 cm. Shoots dive into pots with humus soil. It is possible to sow the patisson immediately in the pots 20-25 days before the
planting. In our country one species of patisson has been zoned so far - White 13- . Mid-ripening: from the appearance of shoots to the beginning of collection takes 45-47 days.up to full ripeness - 110-115 days. It reaches a size in the width of 15-18, sometimes 28-30 cm. The color of the fetus is white or cream. The flesh is dense. From the bush usually collect up to 20 young patissons.
Care: after sowing in the open ground, the wells are mulched with dry soil or peat, which is poured in a layer of 2-4 cm. The soil is also mulched with a film, which immediately after seeding is stretched on the ridge, sprinkling the ends of the earth. When emergence of shoots, the plants are cut through the plants. In general, care for plants is the same as for the zucchini - regular watering, loosening, feeding, and during budding pinch the growth point, which contributes to the outflow of nutrients in the fruit and brings the time of their collection. With a strong thickening, 2-3 oldest leaves are cut out to lighten the bushes.
Harvesting: the ovaries are removed as they mature within 2-3 days, and with mass fruiting - daily.
Usage: in the food is a young ovary of the patisson - a green, having a diverse form - bell-shaped, disc-shaped, round-flat. They are good both in fresh, and in salty and marinated. They are recommended for kidney, liver, and ulcer disease and atherosclerosis. They are also useful to healthy people, since they contribute to a better assimilation of protein foods and the maintenance of an alkaline reaction of blood.