This material is intended for those who want to try their luck in growing pepino or, as it is also called, melon pear at home. At once it is necessary to note that this task is not an easy task, but if you follow the recommendations presented here by experts, you will succeed! So, how to grow pepino at home to taste his delicious fruits, nurtured by their own hands?
General information
Let's start with a brief description of this plant. Homeland of the melon pear is South America, the most common cultivation of this plant in Peru and New Zealand. The taste of pepino fruit resembles a cucumber, pumpkin and melon at the same time. Color of the fruit is yellow, with small longitudinal maroon strips. Pepino is a very juicy fruit with a slightly sour taste, which causes a large amount of vitamin C in its juice. Also in its fruits are creatine and vitamins PP, B2, B1 and A. Pepino is a very thermophilic plant, it will grow only in a greenhouse. After a brief introduction to this culture, we'll talk about how to grow pepino from seeds at home.
Cultivation from seeds
As we have already said, growing pepino from seeds is a rather troublesome undertaking. Difficulties begin when germinating seeds, because even the best seed material germination is not more than 50-70%. The only suitable time for sowing pepino, if you expect to get fruit from it, is the period from the beginning of November to the middle of December. In order to germinate the seeds, we need a deep plate, toilet paper and glass of such a diameter that it completely covers the plate. We put the paper on the bottom of the plate and moisturize it, and put the seeds on top. We cover the container and make sure that the temperature constantly remains within 28 degrees. After the first seeds are penetrated through the shell, they must be placed under the light of the phytolamp installed at an altitude of 15-20 centimeters. Periodically, the glass must be raised, but only for a few seconds, so that the seeds "breathe". It is permissible to transfer seeds to the soil only after they are freed of their husks on their own. They will require light soil, treated with a weak solution of "Fundazol". This will help prevent the development of infection. The first week after the transplant, the lighting should not be turned off even at night. Later we set the following lighting mode: the first month of life - a light day of 16 hours, and the second - 14 hours. Since the beginning of February, you can switch to natural lighting. If everything is done correctly, then the fruits will start to be tucked in the middle of March. In the event that you "slipped" the time of planting, and because of this the plant has grown by the summer, then it will not bear fruit even with a large number of flowers. This is due to the fact that the temperature and light regimes do not correspond to the natural biorhythms of the plant, which it received, growing in its homeland.
Helpful Tips
And at the end, we give some tips for caring for pepino from people that have achieved success in its cultivation. According to experts, the same methods are used for growing pepino, as in the cultivation of tomatoes and peppers. These plants have identical requirements to the composition of the planting soil, the rules of plant formation and their garter. For example, if you pinch the pino bush in one stem, then the fruit ripens to
We hope that you will succeed in cultivating this southern culture even in our climatic conditions. On this all, it remains to wish you good luck in this difficult matter - growing pepino at home!