Watermelon is one of the favorite summer treats for both children and adults. This is a fairly unpretentious plant that can be grown in the southern regions and in central Russia. Watermelon is a drought tolerant and fairly thermophilic plant.
Grow it as a seedling method, and sowing seeds. Planting begins at a time when the soil warms up to 6 degrees Celsius to a depth of about 10-15 cm. For the middle band, this is approximately mid-May. Planting watermelons for seedlings is made a month before planting in the ground.
Since the skin of the seeds of this culture is quite hard, they are pre-prepared. This allows you to achieve a higher yield and get rid of some pests. Seeds for several hours need to be warmed up at a temperature of 60 degrees Celsius. Then, for disinfection, they are placed for some time in a solution of potassium permanganate. The last step is soaking the seeds in a 2 percent baking soda solution.
Watermelon, the planting of which involves the preliminary preparation of the garden, grows well only on virgin soils. However, finding such a site is sometimes quite problematic. In this case, crop rotation techniques can be used. The most acceptable previous crops for watermelon are onions, root crops, or cabbage. You can not plant it after potatoes, squash, zucchini or cucumbers.
After perennial grasses, a watermelon, which should be planted in loose soil, can be grown for no more than two consecutive years in the same place. This is due to the propagation of various kinds of pests, which otherwise can greatly interfere with obtaining a good crop. It is advisable to prepare the garden bed in the fall, digging it over, and burn the old tops.
For seedlings, seeds are planted in 2-3 pieces in a container with a diameter of at least 12-15 cm. This is necessary in order to make the transplant easier. In the spring, the watermelon, which is planted only several times dug up, very loose earth, is transferred to an open sunny place. You can add a little sand to the soil to increase its moisture and air permeability.
Climbing plants are usually planted from each other at a fairly large distance. This also applies to such a “sweeping” representative of this family as a watermelon. Landing is most often done using the 100x100 scheme. But you can leave such a distance only between the rows, inside them the same bushes can be placed seventy centimeters from each other.
Seeds during planting are buried by about 5 cm, 3 in one hole. If it is a seedling, take two bushes. Subsequently, the excess can be carefully removed. This plant does not tolerate transplantation very well. The roots must not be allowed to be exposed during the transfer. It is necessary to pull out watermelons from the container very carefully, so that a lump of earth remains on the roots.
Watermelons, planting and care of which are not particularly difficult and do not require special time costs, are watered only three times a season. The first time at the beginning of seed germination, the second during the formation of lashes, the third - before the fruits begin to ripen. Every time after watering, which should be moderate, the soil is thoroughly loosened and bushes are pulled up. This is necessary for better ventilation and the formation of additional roots. The first results can be obtained 3-5 months after planting the seeds. The watermelon plant is unpretentious, however, when growing requires compliance with certain technological rules.