Pumpkins

When the Irish tradition arrived in America, pumpkins took the place of turnips. This is because pumpkins are more common in the Americas. Today we find out why.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumpkin

The pumpkin is a plant of American origin, of the cucurbitaceous family. Its scientific name refers to the size that the fruit can assume: cucurbita maxima. This vegetable is harvested in autumn and keeps very well for months, therefore it is one of the precious winter vegetables. In addition to the pumpkin that is cooked, the plant is also sometimes grown to make ornamental pumpkins, which are dug out and used as a container or Halloween lantern. In addition, there is a kind of pumpkin from which to make a natural sponge, the luffa. In terms of cultivation, it is a fairly exaggerated plant in requiring a rich manure and space in the garden, but it never fails to reward the farmer with great satisfaction. Pumpkin is a low-calorie vegetable: 33 calories every 100 grams of fresh product, an interesting characteristic for those who are looking for dietetic foods.

The pumpkin fears frost and is damaged at temperatures below 10 degrees. The plant suffers even if it is too hot, over 30 degrees. Ideal for growing it is a mild temperature, around 20 degrees. The pumpkin needs a rich soil, with a pH ideally between 6 and 7. To have quality pumpkins with compost or mature manure, it is necessary to add a lot of potassium, an element that makes the fruit tastier and sweeter, for this reason it is excellent to mix ashes at will in the compost, or use borlande (beet processing residues, found in agricultural centres among natural fertilizers). The pumpkin is really very demanding in terms of fertilization: before growing it you can dig a hole to fill with manure, preparing this bed of nourishment, or bury 3 or 4 quintals of manure every 100 square meters of garden. This element constitutes about 2.4% or 2.6% of the Earth's crust weight, where it is the seventh most abundant. In many minerals it is present in the form of insoluble salts, from which it is difficult to extract it. Some of its minerals, including carnallite, langbeinite, polyalite and sylvite, are generally found at the bottom of ancient lakes and seas, such as Dancalia. Potassium salt deposits are found in the United States (California, New Mexico, Utah), Canada, Germany and other countries. Silvite, for example, originates in sea salt deposits, salt lakes and volcanic emanations often associated with kainite and kieserite. Paragenesis is with carnallite and rock salt.

https://e-rocks.com/item/tpx222394/polyhalite-sylvite

And what do you use to restore the pH of the soil you want to cultivate pumpkins? Any contribution to the content of this article is welcome.