Growing watermelons is an integral part of vegetable growing, especially for those who prefer to indulge themselves and pamper their family with this sweet berry. But in order to get a good harvest, of course, some knowledge and experience will be required.
Watermelon "light". Growing
First of all, we are looking for a suitable place. Watermelon prefers soil after perennial grasses or virgin fallow lands. Watermelons also grow well after spring wheat, corn for silage, legumes, and rice. Perfectly take root after peas, onions or cabbage. But after sunflowers or potatoes, zucchini and cucumbers, they grow poorly.
Land preparation in the European part of Russia consists in early spring harrowing and two cultivations of winter swellings. The first is carried out to a depth of 14 centimeters, the second - right before planting at a seed embedment depth. If the soil is very dense, instead of the primary cultivation, subsurface plowing of 16 cm is carried out.
Gardeners also learned how to get an excellent harvest. Most often, such a variety is taken as watermelon "light", the cultivation of which is the easiest task. This variety ripens quite quickly and is well suited for the climate of the middle zone, where there are few warm days. Seeds are bought only for the first time, and then you can get by with your own - they ripen remarkably.
Watermelon "light", the cultivation of which begins with the soaking of seeds, loves warmth. In mid-April, put the seeds in a rag on a platter, pour some water. To keep moisture, wrap the dish in polyethylene. Do not forget to look and water as needed. Soak enough five seeds. If the apartment is cool, then you can put the saucer on the battery, and do not close the bag tightly so as not to block the passage of air.
Five days later, the watermelon "light" begins to erupt. It should immediately be placed in containers for seedlings. When the kids grow up, watermelon seeds are planted in separate cups.
After the appearance of leaflets (4 pieces), you can plant the kids for permanent residence. If at night there is no minus in Celsius, feel free to plant in open ground.
Disembarkation
Prepare holes in advance - shallow pits. Pour in them a teaspoon of superphosphate, a couple of tablespoons of ash, then mix everything with the ground. Pour well with water. After the liquid goes into the ground, put more humus from the compost pit. Let the holes stand for a day, then you can plant seedlings. After planting, seedlings need to be covered with humus mixed with earth or one soil, slightly pressed and gently watered. They plant carefully, so that a lump of soil remains intact near the root.
Watermelon "twinkle" - cultivation begins! They planted, watered, stuck to the sprouts on a stick, covered with special material, which they crushed with pebbles to the ground, and we are waiting for a miracle!
Between the seedlings, leave a distance of at least one meter, you can even more. The branches of this berry spread very widely. Pretty soon, watermelons will bloom and set. When the branches grow, you need to water more.
If frost is no longer expected, remove material. By mid-August, start harvesting.