Snake melon is actually a kind of loofah, but it is named snake melon because it looks like a snake. We may have all heard of snake fruit, but we may have rarely heard of snake melon, so many people don't know the delicious taste of snake melon. Now there are often snake melons in the market, so today, let's give you a brief introduction to the planting method of snake melons from the fields and country roads.

Planting time of snakegourd

Seeding and seedling raising are usually carried out from March to April in the north of the Yangtze River, and the growth period can be extended to10 ~11month. It can also be cultivated in autumn off-season. If the seedlings are sown early, heat preservation facilities must be added to protect the seedlings from cold. Most of them are cultivated in scaffolding. Flat shed cultivation is the common form of shed. Generally, it can be harvested from May to June, and tender fruits are supplied to the market. Generally, it can be harvested about 10 days after flowering. It takes more than 30 days to ripen the ripe melon, and then the seeds can be taken in.

Cucurbita pepo likes temperature, is resistant to damp heat, has fleshy roots and developed roots, and can grow at the temperature of 15~40℃, and the most suitable temperature is 20~35℃, which can be cultivated in all types of soil. The whole growth period of Cucurbita pepo is about 180~200 days. Tenderlike herb with vigorous growth. The leaves are dark green, with dense villi on both sides, palm-shaped and radial veins.

The female flower is solitary, the male flower is racemose or complex, and the petals are split, bifurcated and curved. The fruit is long and narrow at both ends, and the tail end is often curved, with a transverse diameter of 4-5cm and a length of 2.5m m. The tender fruit is fluffy, the pulp is 3-4mm thick, the meat is soft and fishy, the mature fruit turns orange-red, the seeds are earthy brown, the surface is rough, there are 2 parallel small grooves, and the 1000-grain weight is 200-250 grams.

Cucurbita pepo is creeping and highly branched. Generally, the main vine is about 3 meters long. Flowering and fruiting around the 1 1 leaf position, with white flowers; The fruit is snake-shaped, with a single melon of 450-600 grams, and an average of 24 melons per plant. The tender melon meat is light blue, the skin is light green, and the mature melon skin turns from green to red. The picking period is from June to the end of September. Average yield per mu 1560 kg.

Method for plan snake melon

First, sowing and seedling raising: sowing began in early March in Wuhan in spring. Cucurbita pepo has a thick seed coat and slow germination, so seeds should be soaked to accelerate germination before sowing. Generally, after the seeds are dried for 4-6 hours before sowing, the seeds are scalded with warm water at 55℃ for 3 minutes, with constant stirring during scalding. When the water temperature drops, the seeds are soaked with clean water for 12 hours, during which the mucilage on the seed coat is washed off and the seeds are soaked with clean water. After soaking the seeds, wrap them with gauze to keep them moist, and put them at 32 ~ 33℃ to accelerate germination. When more than 80% of the seeds are white, they can be sown.

Generally, 50-hole seedling tray is used to raise seedlings, and peat and perlite are used as substrates, with the ratio of 2∶ 1. Sow 1 seed in each hole, cover with a thin substrate after sowing, and then cover the seedbed with a plastic film for heat preservation and moisture preservation. It is best to keep the temperature at 25~30℃ before emergence, and remove the plastic film in time after emergence to prevent cotyledons from being scalded. Pay attention to timely watering and ventilation at seedling stage, strengthen the control of temperature and humidity, and cultivate strong seedlings, which are about 30 days old. When the seedlings grow to 2~3 true leaves, they are planted.

2. Soil preparation and field planting: select fertile fields that have not been planted with cucurbitaceae crops in recent 3 years, plow and prepare soil 10 day before field planting, and apply 3000-5000 kg of decomposed organic fertilizer, 30 kg of calcium magnesium phosphate, 30 kg of potassium chloride 1 5 kg of ternary compound fertilizer every 667 square meters (1mu).

In the first half of April, the planting should be done in the afternoon on a sunny day. When planting in pieces, the spacing between plants should be 50-80 cm, with 2 rows per border and 400-600 plants per 667 square meters. It is appropriate to plant seedlings with cotyledons exposed to the ground. When planting seedlings, we should select strong seedlings and eliminate sick seedlings, weak seedlings and deformed seedlings. After planting, irrigate enough root water in time to promote the survival of melon seedlings as soon as possible.

Third, field management: seedling management. Shegua likes temperature and is not tolerant of shade. In the case of rainy and low temperature and insufficient light in early spring, plants are prone to symptoms such as yellow leaves, slender stems, long seedlings and even dead seedlings. Therefore, after the slow-growing seedlings survive, watering should be properly controlled to promote the development of root system and the robust growth of plants. After transplanting 10 day or so, irrigate the seedlings with 3~5 kilograms of urea every 667 square meters, which is beneficial to raise seedlings in time and enhance plant resistance.

Intertillage weeding. Timely intertillage is beneficial to the growth and development of snakegourd root system and to improve the temperature and permeability of soil around the root system. Before erection, conduct a deep intertillage between rows to remove weeds and dredge irrigation and drainage ditches. According to the occurrence of soil and weeds, intertillage can prevent weeds 1~2 months after intertillage, and at the same time, soil cultivation can be carried out to prevent root exposure.

Fertilizer and water management. Apply it once after planting and delaying seedlings.

Seedling-promoting fertilizer can be sprayed with 3% compound fertilizer aqueous solution to promote new roots. Before pulling vines to bloom, according to the plant growth situation, 3% urea aqueous solution should be applied as appropriate to make the plants grow sturdily, so as to avoid malformations and affect the yield and quality.

Fourth, timely harvesting: snake melons are fresh and tender, only suitable for fresh sales, mainly picking tender melons. The tender fruits and stems and leaves of Cucurbita pepo can be fried and made into soup, which has a unique flavor. Generally, it should be harvested in time after flowering 12~ 15 days, when the melon skin is milky white and shiny. As an ornamental snake melon, it is generally not harvested, which makes it turn red when it is ripe and has more ornamental value.

The above are the planting time and methods of some snake melons that are simply sorted out by the fields and country roads. I hope it will be helpful for friends who grow snake melons and you can use it as a reference.