Week#10 my garden & crops

My garden & crops

It's already week 10, so my last post on this segment is already ten weeks old. Here I am with a sequel to my garden, my crop where I showcased my fluted pumpkin garden.

The varity of pumpkin in my garden is the Telfairia occidentalis veriant. With this special request in my comment section

Primera vez que veo esta variedad de calabaza, incluso si hoja es distinta a la que se cultiva en mi país, me gustaría ver pronto el fruto al llegar el momento de la cosecha.

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Now that my garden is producing its fruits, this is the best time to revisit this post and provide a reply to that comment.

Anthesis / blooming

This is the pistillate, the female flower of a pumpkin plant. Once it falls off, the pumpken fruit takes its place. Unlike the male flower known as the staminate, which are smaller and have a tin long stalk. The main flower produces the pollen nessesery for fertilisation.

In the picture above, the pumpkin is at its Petiole abscission stage after the flower has just dropped off.
At this point, the fruit is still very delicate and can be affected by poor nutrition, fungal or bacterial infection, defficiency in calcium, potassium, or magnesume, which could result in the young fruit falling off.

At the post-anthesis stage, the fluted pumpkin starts developing a white powdery coating.

The powdery coating is a protective mechanism against insects, bacterial, and fungal infection and also creates a lotus effect that maintains its moisture level.

What is the purpose of making your crop field?

My garden is a source of income for me. The leaves from fluted pumpkin are a local delicacy preparing Edikaikong soup and consumers love it fresh. While pruning the fluted pumpkin vine, the leaves are collected and taken to the local market.
The seed in the pumpkin fruit can be sold for planting and could also be used food.

What is the method of watering your garden or crops?

Locally, we know this species of pumpkin as the dew pumpkin. It thrives with the late rains around October through the dry season, and gets most of its water from dew drops. We are approaching the dry season and this is when my pumpken is blooming.
This variety needs very little water as long as you plant it early enough for it to take roots before the dry season sets in.

What are healthy foods and can we grow them?

Any food that promotes good health and healthy living like the pumpken is a healthy food. Packed with vitamins and minerals that promote good health.
Growing fluted pumpkin is fairly easy as long as you put the seed in the correct orientation and at the right timing.

Tell us about disease prevention and control in your garden

Most of the diseases affecting fluted pumpkin are fungal infection and bacteria infections, most of which are found in the ground. The pumpkin itself already has a good defence mechanism against fungal infection, building trellis for it to climb and spread on is an effective way of keeping the vine healthy.

In a previous post, I showed how the trellis for this pumpken vine was built. Trellis are effective disease prevention and control methods.

Why would a person be encouraged to make a garden around the house?

Besides providing income and good food, the garden around the house also gives me another reason why I should wake up tomorrow, something else to care for and warry about in a good way. In my own theory, give an old woman a garden and you will increase her lifespan by 5 years or more.
The task of taking care of my garden is very satisfying and when I harvest something reasonable, it gives me joy.

In my next post, I will cut into the pumpkin fruit, show you its seed and how to make a delicious cuisine from this crop.

Conclusion
Farming is beautiful, it's the oldest occupation, which provides us with satisfying work, good food, and the joy of accomplishment.

Stay tuned for more updates, and thank you for following my gardening journey. I realy love farming and here is my vegetable garden.

I am inviting @lusciouslucy, @okere-blessing @mesola and @dequeen to tell us about your garden.