Uncle Zhang has been planting pumpkins for more than ten years, and every autumn, pumpkin vines always climb everywhere, with lush branches and leaves, spreading all over the vegetable garden. 
However, what made Uncle Zhang anxious was that the vines were growing so well, but the actual fruiting pumpkins were very few, and in some years there were only one or two, which seriously affected the harvest. A few days ago, Uncle Zhang was eating with a bowl, looking out the window distraughtly, only to see the large green of pumpkin vines in the vegetable garden under the bright autumn sunshine, but there was no pumpkin fruit in the entire vegetable garden. 
Daughter Xiaohong was also worried when she saw this, she knew that her father must be worried about the pumpkin. "What's going on with this pumpkin, why is it like this every year, it's simply the first to grow, and the last to be the result!Uncle Zhang complained angrily while picking up rice in his mouth. 
Xiaohong walked over and patted her father on the shoulder, persuading him to eat first, and they would figure out a way together in a while. Uncle Zhang remembered that there was an old farmer in the village who lived in Laolinwan, and heard that his pumpkin cultivation skills were first-class, and the pumpkin harvest was particularly good every year. 
Uncle Zhang came to Wang Lao's farmer's house and told in detail about the trouble of planting pumpkins with vigorous vines but not bearing fruit every year. Old farmer Wang scratched his white beard and nodded sympathetically: "I have also encountered this problem, you can take me to see your pumpkin." So the two came to Uncle Zhang's vegetable garden, only to see dense melon vines covering the sky and the sun, verdant. The old farmer bent down to carefully inspect the leaves and vines, and walked around the fields. 
Finally, he stood up and said to Uncle Zhang: "I judge that it may be that you are not fertilizing properly, too much nitrogen fertilizer causes the plant to grow vigorously;This, coupled with excessive rain, affects the pollination and fruiting of the flowers. Uncle Zhang fell into deep thought after listening. He remembered that he had excitedly applied a few more bags of fertilizer to the field the other day, and that the pumpkin flowers were always wet due to the recent rains. 
The old farmer Wang smiled and nodded, and explained to them the use of different fertilizers and precautions. Uncle Zhang and Xiaohong listened with relish. It turns out that the causes of pumpkins not bearing fruit are so complex, and they also have certain mistakes. After on-site analysis, the old farmer Wang has a clear understanding of the reason why the pumpkin does not bear fruit. The next step is to come up with a solution. 
The first method is to circle the main vine growth point**, which can cut off the nutrient supply at the top and promote the downward flow of nutrients to the melon and fruit. The old farmer Wang explained while skillfully making a circle on the main vine of the pumpkin. Uncle Zhang and Xiaohong approached and carefully watched the operation steps of Old Farmer Wang. 
The second method is to flip the pumpkin vine, which slows down its absorption of nutrients and promotes fruiting. The old farmer Wang said, carefully lifting a section of pumpkin vine, turning it around and pressing it into the soil. Xiaohong exclaimed, "Uncle Wang, won't the pumpkin vine break?"The old farmer Wang smiled and shook his head, reassuring her. 
Farmer Wang also patiently demonstrated methods such as cutting off some side roots of pumpkins and planting bamboo sticks in the main vine. Uncle Zhang and Xiaohong listened with their mouths wide open, for fear of missing any details. In the end, the old farmer Wang taught them the pumpkin manual pollination method, and explained the steps to the two in detail. 
I'll do it all!Xiaohong said happily. Uncle Zhang also nodded again and again, sincerely thanking the old farmer Wang for his careful guidance. Under the guidance of Lao Farmer Wang, Uncle Zhang and Xiaohong couldn't wait to start practicing these local methods to control pumpkins. In the first two or three days, there was no obvious change on the pumpkin vine.
Xiaohong was a little anxious, while Uncle Zhang was full of confidence and encouraged his daughter to wait patiently. After the first week, Uncle Zhang was pleasantly surprised to find that a few bright yellow flowers bloomed on the pumpkin vine!This is the first time in many years that this garden has seen pumpkins bloom. Uncle Zhang happily called Xiaohong to come and see, Xiaohong stared at the few small flowers on the pumpkin with bright eyes, and was so excited that she couldn't speak.
After a few days, the pumpkin flowers bloomed more and more, from just a few to all over the melon vines. After a few days, after the flowers have withered, the small pumpkin fruit gradually hangs on the vines. Uncle Zhang counted a total of 13, which was a bumper harvest for their family. The pumpkin grows bigger and heavier day by day. When the biggest pumpkin was almost half the size of Little Red's body, she was so happy that she was jumping around the garden with the pumpkin in her arms and refusing to put it down.
Uncle Zhang laughed and teased her, but he was extremely grateful to the old farmer Wang for passing on the know-how, which helped them finally solve the problem of pumpkin not bearing fruit. This year, under the guidance and help of Lao Farmer Wang, Uncle Zhang finally changed the dilemma of pumpkins not bearing fruit and enjoyed the fruits of the harvest. Uncle Zhang decided to record the bits and pieces of pumpkin planting during this time, not only for souvenirs, but also to share valuable experience.
Uncle Zhang wrote down in detail in his notebook the whole process from the pumpkin growing vigorously but not bearing fruit, to consulting the old farmer Wang to analyze the problem, to the old farmer teaching the soil method, and the final prosperity of his pumpkin. Finally, he proudly recorded the number of 32 pumpkins harvested this harvest year.
At the end of the note, Uncle Zhang wrote down his feelings: this experience made me understand that scientific and reasonable fertilization and timely management of flowers and fruits are extremely important, and farming not only depends on labor and luck, but also requires the accumulation of a lot of experience from predecessors;We should preserve and promote this valuable traditional agricultural knowledge.
Uncle Zhang decided to make a booklet, print out a few copies of this experience, and distribute them to several neighbors in the village who also grow pumpkins. Hopefully, when they encounter the same problem, they can learn from it and don't have to wait for a long time to make a wrong attempt.