Technology for growing watermelons in open ground, soil selection, formation and care

Gardeners often plant watermelons in their summer cottages to enjoy their juicy fruits in the summer. However, not everyone manages to get a high-quality harvest, since growing melons requires special knowledge. Therefore, you need to familiarize yourself in advance with how watermelons are grown.

Features of planting watermelons in different regions

Watermelons are considered heat-loving plants that have a long growing season. It is recommended to familiarize yourself with the technology of growing this crop in areas that differ in climatic conditions. Residents of southern regions with warm climates can plant melons and melons directly in open ground. Thanks to the high temperature, the bushes and fruits will grow quickly. When growing a plant in warm regions, it is much easier to get a good harvest.

In the northern regions, the air temperature is much lower, so watermelons ripen less well. Due to the harsh climate, many gardeners are unable to achieve high yields.

When growing melons in such regions, certain rules are followed:

• For planting, only varieties with early ripening periods are used;
• in order to create optimal conditions for the germination of seedlings, the seed must be planted in greenhouses or under film covers;
• planting is carried out using the seedling method;
• to improve the growth of the root system, all seedlings are watered between the rows;
• to obtain medium-sized fruits, no more than six ripe berries are left on each bush, and to harvest the largest harvest, two fruits are left.

Selection and preparation of watermelon seeds for sowing

Before you start sowing watermelons at home, you need to select and pre-prepare seed material.

Choice

It is recommended to select in advance the seeds that will be planted in the future.When selecting, carefully inspect each seed to identify any signs of damage. Damaged seeds are immediately thrown away as they are unsuitable for planting.

Also, when choosing the highest quality seed, pay attention to its variety. Experienced gardeners advise planting hybrid varieties, as they are resistant to weather changes and common diseases.

Preparation

To obtain strong and healthy seedlings, you will have to do the preliminary preparation of seeds in advance, which consists of several activities:

1. Disinfection. Before sowing, all seeds will have to be disinfected so that they are not susceptible to disease in the future. When carrying out disinfection, all seeds are soaked in manganese liquid for 25-30 minutes. Then they are laid out on a towel and dried thoroughly.
2. Warm up Gardeners strongly recommend heating watermelon seeds, as this promotes their germination. The procedure is performed very carefully so as not to accidentally overheat the seeds. To warm up, all planting material is immersed in a container of water heated to 45 degrees for half an hour.
3. Scarification. When carrying out this procedure, the shell of the watermelon seed is carefully pierced. This speeds up the process of seed germination several times. Scarification should be done 2-3 weeks before planting.

Choosing a landing site

To grow a high-quality crop in open ground, you need to select the most suitable area for watermelons in advance. When choosing a place in the garden, pay attention to the characteristics of the soil. Sandy and sandy loam soils, which are rich in nutritional components, are ideal for melon crops.The level of illumination of the area is also taken into account, since due to a lack of light, the yield may deteriorate. Therefore, experts do not recommend planting seeds or seedlings in shaded areas, under trees or fences.

When choosing a place to plant watermelons in your summer cottage, you should take into account the compatibility of this crop with other plants.

Watermelon seedlings grow well in gardens where black radish was previously grown for a long time. This vegetable saturates the soil with phytoncides, which protect crops from spider mites and other pests. Gardeners also recommend planting melons and melons near tomatoes and parsley, as they repel moths and sawflies.

However, there are several plants with which watermelons are incompatible. You should not plant them after peppers, potatoes, strawberries and eggplants, as these vegetables suck out many of the nutritional components from the soil that watermelon plants need.

We prepare and fertilize the soil

Having chosen a site for planting, begin preliminary preparation and fertilization of the soil in which watermelon seedlings will be grown. The black soil must be loose and contain nutritional components that will accelerate the growth of seedlings. Soil preparation technology consists of several successive stages.

1. Determination of the level of soil looseness and acidity. If the soil on the site has a high level of acidity, you will have to water it with chalk or lime solution. Heavy soils are fed with vermicompost in advance to increase looseness.
2. Adding mineral fertilizers to increase productivity. In the first few weeks after planting watermelons, mineral fertilizers, which are dominated by nitrogen, are added to the soil.This component activates the growth of seedlings, due to which the bushes begin to bear fruit earlier. The area is also fed with phosphorus-containing fertilizers, which increase the resistance of seedlings to temperature changes.
3. Adding organic matter. To saturate the soil with useful microelements, it is necessary to fertilize it with organic fertilizers. It is recommended to evenly distribute bird droppings and humus over the area, then loosen the soil and water it with warm water. To improve the yield of watermelons, you can moisten the soil with herbal infusion mixed with wood ash.

Growing seedlings

When using the seedling method of planting, gardeners have to grow seedlings, which in the future will be transplanted into the garden. It is recommended to familiarize yourself in advance with the peculiarities of planting seeds and replanting grown seedlings to a permanent place.

Planting watermelon seeds

Sowing of seeds is carried out when they have sprouted a little and white sprouts have appeared on their surface. When carrying out planting work, all seed material is planted in pots with soil mixture. About 2-4 seeds are sown in each container, so that in the future you can get rid of weak seedlings and leave only the healthiest seedlings. The seeds are sown to a depth of 3-5 centimeters.

When all the watermelon seeds have been planted in pots, they are covered with plastic wrap and transferred to a well-lit room.

In the first 5-7 days, pots with planted watermelons should be kept in a room with a temperature of at least 23 degrees. After the first shoots appear, the film is removed from the pots, and the containers with seedlings are transferred to a room with a temperature of 15-17 degrees.

Transplanting seedlings

Watermelon seedlings should be grown in pots until the first three leaves appear on the seedlings. After this, the seedlings must be transplanted to a permanent place. To do this, rows are marked along the entire site in which holes are made for further planting. The depth of each hole should be about 8-10 centimeters so that the roots can be completely located underground.

Each hole is watered with warm water, after which the seedlings are carefully planted in the ground. Then the holes are filled with soil and re-moistened with water.

Shaping and pinching

Experienced gardeners recommend regularly planting melons and melons. This procedure is carried out to improve productivity and accelerate the development of watermelon berries. Most often, pruning of vines is carried out when growing plants in open ground, since in greenhouse conditions it is not necessary to form bushes. In order to properly form seedlings, you need to familiarize yourself with the features of removing excess stepsons.

There are three main methods of pinching that gardeners most often use:

1. Pinching side shoots. This method is considered universal, as it is suitable for any variety of melons. During the procedure, 1-2 shoots are left on the main stem. In this case, the ovaries on all lateral stems are completely removed.
2. Trimming side stems. Using this method of pinching plants, you will have to completely remove the shoots. Only a few lashes are left on the main stem, and everything else is cut off.
3. Formation into several stems. This is the most common method and does not require cutting off the shoots completely. 2-4 side lashes are left on the bushes. Moreover, each of them should have 2-3 ovaries.If there are more of them, then all the excess fruits set are removed.

Experts recommend carrying out all activities related to the formation of bushes only on sunny days. This will prevent rotting of the cuts and speed up the drying of the cut lashes.

Rules for feeding and caring for the plant

It is recommended to properly care for melons, since without care it will not be possible to obtain a high-quality harvest. The quality of the fruit directly depends on the application of fertilizers to the soil at all stages of growing watermelons.

When sowing

Before planting seed, be sure to fertilize the soil. To do this, the earth is mixed with a liquid prepared from humus. Then the area is treated with wood ash and bone meal, which increases the permeability of oxygen in the soil.

When planting in open ground

Some people prefer to grow watermelon bushes in open ground, so they immediately plant the seeds in the garden. Before this, the soil on the site is mixed with green manure plants, which are considered the best fertilizer for strengthening the roots.

When flowering

When pollination and flowering of the bushes begin, it is recommended to add more fertilizers with potassium to the soil. This substance promotes the appearance of new flowers on seedlings, due to which the yield increases significantly. Gardeners advise spraying watermelons with Kelik and Nutrivant once a month.

At the beginning of fruiting

At the initial stage of fruiting, you need to take feeding of each bush seriously, since due to a lack of nutrients in the soil, the yield deteriorates. Often the bushes produce few berries due to a lack of boron.

Therefore, to improve the formation of ovaries and ripening of fruits, it is necessary to periodically spray the area with Megafol and Boroplus.

Fetal food

Correct scheme fertilizers for watermelon seedlings promotes berry ripening. To make the fruits more watery and tasty, the plants are regularly sprayed with Uniflor and Terraflex.

How often should you water?

Before you start growing melons, you need to familiarize yourself with the features of their watering. In the first weeks after emergence, the plant needs increased watering, as its root system is weakened. With a lack of moisture, seedlings grow poorly and gradually wither. You will also have to moisten the soil more often during the formation of flowers and the setting of the first fruits. During such periods, seedlings are watered at least four times a week.

Experts advise moistening the soil in the afternoon, when the sun begins to set. In the daytime, you should not moisten the soil, as high temperatures and sunlight will cause the moisture to evaporate faster. For irrigation, use settled water at room temperature. Watering the bushes with too cold a liquid is contraindicated, as this can lead to rotting of the root system and further death of the watermelons.

Watering of melons and melons is stopped after the fruits have fully ripened.

Harvest and storage

If the agricultural technology for growing watermelons has been fully followed, the ripe crop can be harvested 35-50 days after planting. However, sometimes watermelon berries ripen prematurely. To make sure that the fruits are ripe, examine the color of their pulp and seeds. The seeds should be dark brown in color and the flesh should be pink with a reddish tint. The peel of ripe watermelons should be hard and rough.

It is better to store the harvested crop on high racks with shelves that are located at a distance of 55-65 centimeters from each other.Each shelf should be covered with a thin layer of peat or straw. This coating will increase the shelf life of the crop. During storage, watermelons are carefully inspected every month. All rotten fruits are thrown away so that the rot does not spread to neighboring berries. Monthly treatment of the fruit with lime mortar will help protect the crop from rotting.

What diseases and pests are melons susceptible to: methods of control

Often melons grow poorly due to pest attacks or the development of diseases:

1. Anthracnose. The presence of such a pathology can be determined by the brown spots that appear on the leaves of watermelons. To get rid of the symptoms of anthracnose, all infected bushes are treated with Bordeaux mixture and cuprosan solution.
2. Bacteriosis. The disease damages the leaves, on the surface of which oval white spots appear. Bacteriosis cannot be cured, so infected watermelons are dug up and burned.
3. Mite. Due to dry weather, young watermelon seedlings are often attacked by spider mites. Insects feed on the sap from the leaves and stems, which causes the bushes to dry out. A mixture made from onions and garlic will help cope with the pest.

Conclusion

Many summer residents plant their plots with watermelon bushes. In order to grow them correctly, you need to become familiar with the features of planting melons and caring for them.