To receive rich harvest of squash, this vegetable culture is recommended to grow up in the seedling way. And seedling can be grown up independently, also the beginning summer resident can cope with such task.
Features of cultivation of marrow seedling
For cultivation of seedling use pots with a diameter not less than 10 cm. Also polyethylene sacks or paper cups will be suitable for these purposes. For access of air at the bottom of glasses make small openings.
The prepared tanks fill with the soil mix consisting for 60% of peat for 10% from sawdust, for 15% from humus and for 15% from the cespitose earth. To reduce acidity of the soil, add chalk or lime to it. Also soil mix is recommended to enrich with mineral fertilizers: on bucket of the soil add 7-8 g of urea, 8-10 g of sulfate potassium and 17-20 g of superphosphate.
Just before crops of seeds, soil mix is watered with 0.5% solution of potassium permanganate (it is done for disinfecting of the soil). Plant germinated seeds: one seed in one pot or glass.
Before crops the seeds ret in water of room temperature and leave for day.
After crops of seeds indoor temperature has to be 20-22os. When there are first shoots, temperature recommend to reduce to 15-17os, and in 6-7 days to place seedling in the room with temperature 20-22os again. 10-12 days later after emergence of the first shoots seedling feed up mullein. For this purpose the mullein is mixed with water in the ratio 1:1, insist in the closed capacity within 7-10 days then fertilizer is dissolved with water (proportion 1:10) and water seedling. On one pot about 40-50 mg of solution are required. The following fertilizing of plants is carried out in 4-5 days prior to change of seedling (on bucket of solution of mullein take 10 g of ammonium nitrate, 17-20 g of superphosphate and 13-15 g of sulfate of potassium). Seedling of squash needs moderate watering, but at the same time the soil should not dry up. The water used for watering has to be room temperature. Also during cultivation of seedling the plant needs to be tempered: for this purpose it is recommended to take out for a while on verandah or on balcony. It is necessary to replace to the soil seedling of 27-30-day age. And replace squash with earth lump, otherwise seedling will be long hurt, and even in general will wither.
At change it is necessary to have 10% stock of seedling as losses are inevitable.
Care for the replaced seedling
For the second day after planting of seedling recommend to loosen the soil. And when on plant there will be 4-5 small leaves, squash are hilled. Before blossoming plant feed up. For this purpose on 10 l of water take 45-50 g of superphosphate, 25-30 g of potash saltpeter and 20-25 g of sulfuric ammonium (under each bush pour 1 l of such solution). The second fertilizing is done before fructification: on 10 l of water take 45-50 g of superphosphate and as much potash saltpeter (under each bush of plant pour 1.5 l of solution). Water squash of room temperature (cold water cannot be used as ovaries will begin to fall down). Until the plant does not blossom, it is watered once a week (8-10 l on square meter of the earth), and during blossoming – 2-3 times a week (10-12 l on square meter).