Pumpkin Atlant is a global giant among pumpkin crops. Vegetables weighing up to 150 kg are registered in the world. This is a late-ripening variety, ripening a maximum of 130 days from the date of planting. The bush is quite sprawling and powerful. The vegetable is stored for a long period, since it has a compacted peel.
Pumpkin Atlant is a giant among pumpkins
Atlant pumpkin seeds
Atlant pumpkin bush
General characteristics of the variety
Atlas is considered a sweet variety that contains 15% sugar, 20-22% starch, vitamins E, B2, B1, C. It is used for desserts, cereals, casseroles, baby food, juices, preserves. If necessary, used as feed for farm animals.
The bush has an average climbing ability, the leaves are round, dark green, the ends are pointed. It is grown in open ground in seedlings and seedlings. Sowing seeds for seedlings is carried out in April, in the garden - in May, diving in the beds is also carried out in May. Sowing is performed by the square-nesting method.
Description of the fruit:
- Atlas is characterized by a thick crust of an orange tint; there is no specific pattern.
- The shape of the pumpkin is oval-round, the surface is slightly segmented or completely smooth.
- Pumpkin is divided vertically into lobes.
- The pulp is distinguished by juiciness and tenderness, yellow color.
- The aroma is pronounced.
- Average weight indicators are 20-30 kg, but when creating the most favorable conditions for pumpkins, they reach up to 60-150 kg.
The yield of Atlant varieties is quite high - from 1 ha, you can collect 240-280 centners.
Pros and cons
Among the benefits the following can be noted:
- excellent productivity and keeping quality;
- increased transportability;
- wonderful taste indicators;
- sweetness (allows you to make juices, prepare meals without adding regular sugar);
- juiciness of pulp;
- ease of cultivation and care;
- storage duration.
There are practically no flaws in the pumpkin, except for the excessive fineness of the fruits and the need for the formation of bushes.
Growing Features
Atlas is usually planted in open soil, but when planting varieties in the northern regions, preference is given to the seedling method of cultivation. Before seeding, the seed material is prepared. This is a prerequisite for obtaining a high level of productivity. What do we have to do:
- Manually sort through the grains, discarding hollow seeds. If there is no time for this, it is enough to put the seeds in a container with water, wait 15-20 minutes and remove the elements that have surfaced on the surface of the water. This will be empty grains that will not germinate.
- In order to disinfect the seeds, which will further protect against infection, it is necessary to prepare a weak solution of potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate). Soak grain in it for half an hour.
- It is advisable to soak the seed before planting, which will accelerate the process of sprout formation. To do this, moisten gauze folded in several layers with water, lay the seeds inside, roll up. Place the cloth on any container (plate, bowl) and leave at room temperature until the seeds are bite (about 2-3 days). Be sure to monitor the level of humidity of the gauze - it should not dry out.
- When sprouts appear, you can plant in the soil, depending on the method. It is preliminary recommended to harden the seeds, which will increase resistance to cold and allow you to quickly adapt to the garden plot. To do this, put the grains for 24 hours in the refrigerator (not the freezer).
Planting seedlings
Pumpkin culture Atlant does not tolerate transplantation, since all pumpkins have a delicate root system. This requires gardeners to use a special container that will allow you to freely transfer the plant to the garden. It can be peat glasses and pots (you do not need to fertilize seedlings additionally), plastic glasses, specialized cassettes.
Rules for growing seedlings:
- Soil is being prepared. It can be purchased in specialized stores (universal substrate) or prepared at home. To do this, mix garden soil, sand, peat and sawdust. The rule of thumb is disinfection. The soil can be fried in an oven for 20-30 minutes or doused with boiling water, and then dried.
- If you do not use peat containers, but plastic ones, they process it with a solution of manganese and then lay the soil.
- The laying of the seed is carried out to a depth of 3 cm.
- The soil is poured with warm water, the container is covered with a film until the formation of the first sprouts.
- In one hole you need to put 2 grains.
- Over the course of growth, seedlings are moistened as the earth dries. It is unacceptable to irrigate excessively, otherwise the seed material will rot.
- Seedlings need to be installed under direct rays of the sun, that is, on the sunny side. If the weather is unfavorable, be sure to turn on fluorescent lamps, as a pumpkin of this variety loves a lot of light.
It can be planted in open ground when the temperature of the earth reaches + 10-13 degrees. If the forecast is expected to be slightly frosty, seedlings transplanted into the garden are covered with polyethylene for the night.
Planting seeds in the ground
When sowing planting material in open soil, pay attention to weather conditions - there should not be strong wind and rain. Landing is advisable in the morning or in the evening when there is no heat. How landing occurs:
- In autumn, the preparation of the garden. To do this, you need to dig up the soil, making at the same time compost or manure.
- In the spring, it is advisable to dig the beds again to a depth of 20 cm. If this is not necessary, it is enough to loosen the top layer and remove the weeds. Along with this, wood ash is sprinkled. With increased soil acidity, lime is used.
- Now you need to level the surface and dig holes according to the scheme 80x80, 70x70, 90x90 or 100x100 cm.
- Pit a small amount of water into the pits, put a couple of seeds.
- Sprinkle with earth and moisten again.
With any method of growing Atlant pumpkins, thinning is performed after the first leaf appears. For this, a weaker shoot is selected and removed by cutting the trunk to the very root. Digging out with the root system is not recommended, as a strong vegetable will suffer.
Atlant Pumpkin Care
If you do not follow the rules for pumpkin care, then it is impossible to get a decent harvest, to achieve excellent taste indicators and to avoid morbidity. What is Atlant care:
- Pumpkin culture tolerates drought not bad, but for the juiciness of the pulp requires constant moisture. You can do this once a week, but immediately add 6-8 liters of water. The same dosage can be divided into 2 times. Do this until the formation of fruits, after which the amount of water decreases by 2-3 times.
- After watering, loosening and weeding is required. This is necessary so that the root system is saturated with oxygen, and the grass does not suck out nutrients from the soil. Among other things, weeds are carriers of many pests and diseases, so they should not be on the beds.
- It is forbidden to water with water from the water supply system, since such a liquid contains many substances harmful to plants. To avoid negative effects, water must be defended for at least 3 days. The best option for irrigation is rainwater, which can be collected in containers during rain.
- An important process is fertilizer application. Bordeaux fluid, copper sulphate, slurry, chicken droppings, wood ash are used. Organic top dressing is carried out after the formation of 3 leaves and before the fruiting period. Next, you need to make superphosphate or ammonium nitrate.
- Since Atlanta is characterized by weaving and growth, bushes need to be formed. For this, the method of pinching and removing lateral shoots is used. If the leaf system is overdeveloped, that is, the leaves cover the fruits, why they do not gain color, they need to be removed.
Diseases and Pests
Most often, the Atlant variety is affected by such diseases and pests:
- Bacteriosis. Manifested by withering of the green part of the plant, soft fruit, the presence of spots. For treatment and prevention, copper chloride, Bordeaux fluid is used.
- Powdery mildew characterized by a whitish bloom on the foliage with further drying and damage to the stem. The main reason is an excess of nitrogen in the feed, so the disease can be eliminated with the help of colloidal sulfur.
- Root rot, white, gray. The roots, foliage, stems, pumpkins are affected. The best method of therapy is adding dry soil, since the main reason is waterlogging.
- Viral Mosaic It is common, but not treated, because the virus is harmful to the human body. Signs: the formation of a mosaic pattern on fruits, stems, leaves.
- Spider mite. The stems, foliage are affected. The drug for the fight is Chlorethanol.
- Aphid found on leaves. You can get rid of it with the help of a soap solution, kalbofos.
- Slug localized to any part of the plant. Treatment consists of creating wet traps from rags, cabbage leaves, etc.
General preventive measures against pest attack and disease development:
- Do not overmoisten the soil;
- exclude thickening;
- timely weed removal and loosening;
- to form a bush;
- to dig up with fertilizers;
- disinfects seed material, soil, tools;
- in the presence of infected elements, immediately remove them from the plant and burn.
Possible difficulties
Possible problems and advice gardeners:
- The ripening time of pumpkins depends directly on the shape of the bush. The fact is that in the presence of a large number of lashes and foliage, a sufficient amount of useful substances and light does not penetrate into the fruits. The tops should be pinched already a month after planting the seeds.
- The size of pumpkins depends on the total number of fruits on one bush - the more they are, the less pumpkins grow by weight, so gardeners recommend growing no more than 2-3 elements on one bush. To prevent the formation of putrefactive microflora, lay boards or other material under heavy fruits. In simple words, the pumpkins should not come into contact with the ground, especially if the summer is rainy.
- The root system nourishes the plant. Therefore, the larger it is, the better. To create root processes, it is recommended to instill the whips with a layer of soil, resulting in the formation of roots.
- It is advisable to plant Atlant pumpkin after legumes, potatoes, greens.
- To protect against insects, experienced summer residents use whey and a weak solution of manganese.
- Be sure to untangle the whips.
- If summer conditions are unfavorable, be sure to buy growth stimulants - Zdraven, Zircon, etc.
Harvesting and storage
Atlanta is harvested in the month of September, usually in the early to mid-season. For long-term storage, pumpkins are cut off with the stem, after which they are thoroughly dried in the street or in a dry room. After that, they are placed in a permanent place of storage.
What conditions should be:
- temperature mode - a maximum of +8 degrees;
- air humidity - 75-80%;
- the room is cool, ventilated;
- the bottom of the container is covered with dry newspapers, sawdust or straw.
Before laying, each fruit should be inspected for damage, wiped with a dry cloth.
Reviews
Natalie Peskova, 38 years old. I bought Atlanta seeds by accident and was very surprised at such a large size. I had fruits weighing up to 44 kg, and, to be honest, I did not know how to cut them. But she was able to preserve the juice for the winter, and did not add sugar at all. What can I say, a very tasty and juicy pulp, does not require special care and, surprisingly, even in a dry summer I do not particularly pour water, and the fruits are still good. So I recommend it.
Inga Fisun, 44 years old. We have been growing Atlant for quite some years, the pumpkin goes for preservation, cooking (especially delicious pies and pies) and livestock feed. I tried to dry, but somehow it didn’t work. The only thing I want to note is the burden in the formation of the bush - the lashes grow so fast and so strong that you have to remove the shoots often. The rest of the culture is unpretentious and tasty.
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The giant Atlant variety is popular in all countries of the CIS and the world where pumpkin crops are grown. It is unpretentious, but high-yielding, tasty and beautiful in appearance, transportable and has a wide range of applications, as it contains a large amount of sugar.
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