Gourds are called annual plants belonging to the pumpkin family. Their distinctive feature is long stems with antennae. In the event that supports are placed next to these cultures, the lashes will begin to "climb" them. In order to correctly apply the growing technology, which will be described below in the article, you need to know exactly which crops are melons.
These are melon, pumpkin, watermelon, squash, zucchini and some others.
The most suitable for sowing in gourds are biennial seeds. If there is no opportunity to get such planting material, you can use annuals. However, in this case, they need to be heated to 60 degrees for 2 hours. In order for the shoots to be more friendly, the seeds of gourds also germinate. To do this, they are wrapped in gauze and dipped in warm water for four hours. Then placed in a moist burlap and incubated so for a day or two.
Melons mostly prefer sunny places, warm weather and are resistant to a long absence of moisture. The thing is that the homeland of all these cultures is the hottest regions of the planet. Watermelons, for example, grow in the wild in South Africa, and melons and pumpkins in Asia.
Melons not only tolerate dry air well, but also give more delicious and sweet fruits under such conditions.
Seeds are planted in the ground only when the summer weather becomes stable, that is, in early June. In order to get the crop a little earlier, gourds can be grown in seedlings. To do this, peat cups are used, because these plants do not tolerate transplanting. In the ground, gourds are planted either in a nesting manner or in rows. Each such plant requires a lot of space. Firstly, they have long lashes that need space for development, and secondly, large fruits, which is why they need a huge amount of nutrients.
Gourds are planted in 2-3 pieces. Melons and watermelons - to a depth of 4 cm, pumpkins - 6 cm. In warm weather, seedlings appear on the tenth day of sowing, and the first real leaf - after another week. Depending on the variety, the main shoot may begin to form in 15-40 days.
Then second-order shoots, third-order shoots branch off from it. The flowers of these plants are heterosexual - both female and male specimens bloom on the same plant.
As for feeding, during the season melons in the early stages of development can be fertilized with infusion of mullein. In the autumn, having harvested, potash and phosphorus fertilizers are applied for digging, and in the spring, when preparing the beds, nitrogen fertilizers are applied. Although plants of this family are characterized by drought tolerance, they still give a higher yield when watering. During the season, the soil under them is well moistened 9-12 times. However, during fruit ripening, water the plants as little as possible. Otherwise, the fruits will grow watery and not too sweet.
The cultivation of melons and gourds is quite complicated, since the climate in Russia is not very suitable for them. Often, even with proper care, the gardener does not receive. After all, the result largely depends on weather conditions. If you still want to grow watermelons or melons in your area, then you should try to do it. If you are lucky, you can diversify your diet with delicious and unusually healthy fruits.