Watermelon is a gourd. Its growth is associated with a warm climate. But at present, this culture is grown in various climatic conditions in their gardens and in greenhouses. About when to plant watermelons so that they reach ripeness, read the article.
Watermelon Description
This plant survives due to its long stems, which extract nutrients from the deep layers of the soil for the fetus. Their length reaches four meters and more. They are curly in structure. Despite the fact that the stems are thin, they are able to withstand large fruits. Leaflets are ovoid and pubescent along the edges. They grow in length up to 10-20 cm, and in width - from 6 to 17.
The flowering period of watermelons begins in the summer. Their fruits are considered berries, and to many people this seems unusual. Under a dense, thick crust contains juicy, tasty, sweet and very fragrant flesh with a large number of large seeds.
How to choose a site and prepare the soil?
The growth and development of plants, the formation and ripening of their fruits largely depend on how to conduct preparatory work. What is needed for this?
- To get a good harvest of watermelons, you need to create normal growth conditions for them. First of all, such a site is selected that during the whole daylight will be heated by sunlight and not blown by strong winds. It is important that there are no drafts.
- Seedlings quickly take root and grow well on a site formerly occupied with onions, alfalfa, cabbage, and legumes. You do not need to plant watermelons in those beds where eggplants, tomatoes, peppers, and potatoes were grown before.
- When you have decided on the site, you should start preparing the soil. Sandy and sandy loamy soils are suitable for watermelons. While the site is free of plants, it needs to be fertilized with manure, potash fertilizers, superphosphate. If it turns out that the soil on the site is heavy, it must be discharged. To do this, just add fine-grained sand, otherwise the watermelons will grow poorly and bear fruit.
Preparing seeds for planting
For planting watermelons, planting material needs to be prepared. The steps for this procedure are as follows:
- First, calibration is done, for which you need to pour seeds on a horizontal surface and arrange them in separate heaps, focusing on size. For large, medium and small seeds, containers with appropriate parameters are prepared. So their germination capacity will increase: large specimens will not oppress small ones. Seeds will sprout together and will grow evenly. Small specimens do not need to be thrown away. They are suitable for planting, only seedlings of them will bear fruit later.
- The second step is scarification. It is not necessary to do it, but it is desirable. It is carried out in order to make it easier for the germ to come to the surface. To do this, just rub the “nose” of the seed with sandpaper with a fine texture.
- Then the heating of the seeds is done. To do this, place them in hot water for 30 minutes. The procedure cannot be ignored, it is mandatory for watermelons.
- After this, the seed is disinfected, for which they are placed in a potassium permanganate solution for 20 minutes.
- The last step is to dry the seeds. This should not be done on the battery or in the oven, but in a natural way. Seeds are laid out in a single layer on the horizontal surface of the table or floor on the street under a canopy. Be sure to exclude sun exposure and drafts.
To increase germination, seeds are germinated. Before drying, they are wrapped in a soft cloth made of natural fiber, moistened with clean water and placed on a plate next to a heat source. The condition of the rag must be constantly monitored, it should not dry out. If necessary, moisturize.
How to plant watermelons in open ground seeds?
If the cultivation of crops will be carried out in regions where a warm climate dominates, then the seeds do not need preliminary preparation, except for soaking. When the sprouts hatch, they are immediately sown in the ground. How to plant watermelon seeds, read below.
- In the spring, when the snow melts, under the influence of sunlight the soil will begin to warm up. It is necessary to wait until its temperature reaches +13 ° C. Seeds should be kept in a container of water warmed to room temperature until they germinate.
- In the garden or in the country, a site for planting is selected. Holes are made throughout its area, their depth is 10 cm. The distance between them should be large. About one meter.
- Then, fertilizer prepared independently is poured at the bottom of each pit: humus is mixed with a tablespoon of ash and a teaspoon of ammophos.
- After that, the seeds are placed in the hole, covered with soil and wait until they rise. This happens two weeks later or a little earlier.
- Planting seeds in regions where the cold climate prevails is carried out at other times. When to plant watermelons in this case? Considering climatic features, seed planting should be carried out at the end of the last month of spring or at the beginning of summer.
How to grow seedlings? Useful Tips
When to plant watermelons for seedlings? It depends on the region of growth and the method of cultivation. If watermelons are bred in open ground, sowing seeds in pots (for example, in the climatic zone of Moscow) occurs in early April. When to plant watermelons for seedlings? Each climatic zone has a different time for sowing seeds in pots. This is agreed on in the lunar calendar.
For sowing watermelons for seedlings, small containers are used, it is better if they are peat. The soil is poured into them, but not to the very top, but three to four centimeters lower. Then proceed to sowing seeds. Three, four or five pieces are planted in each pot. They are buried in the soil only four centimeters, not more, otherwise they will germinate for a long time.
Pots are covered with a film - it will protect the soil from drying out. Then they are transferred to a cool place with an air temperature of +17 ... + 20 ° . It is very important that the surface of the soil in the pots is always wet. Through a transparent film it is clearly visible. Before emergence, the film is not removed, and crops are periodically watered with settled water at room temperature.
After about seven days, seedlings will appear. If the seeds did not germinate before planting or were deeply planted, this will happen a little later. For pots with young plants, choose a place in the room so that it is well lit by the sun. It is important that the temperature is in the acceptable range: +16 ... + 24 ° . In order for the seedlings to get used to the low temperature, it must be taken outside for a short time. When to plant watermelons? This should be done when the seedlings are strong enough - then they will quickly take root in a new place.
Planting watermelon seedlings
How to plant watermelons in open ground? In order for these plants to grow comfortably in the selected area, the land is pre-excavated and well loosened. Planting seedlings is recommended 30 days after sowing seeds. This time falls on the last week of May or the first decade of June. Afternoon hours are the best time to land. How to plant watermelons in open ground? The landing technology is as follows:
- Dig holes with a depth and diameter of up to 50 cm. Between them are left gaps of one meter. It is better to arrange the pits according to the principle of chess.
- In each hole you need to make: humus, sand, superphosphate - 5-7 l, 3 l and ¼ part of the glass, respectively.
- From above, the hole is covered with loose soil to form small mounds.
- Holes are made to a depth of 10 cm, and 0.5 liters of water are poured into each.
- Seedlings are taken out of a glass, lowered into a hole, and covered with earth, which is well compacted. On top of the tree trunk circle is covered with a thick layer of sand.
- Seedlings are watered and covered for a while to avoid direct sunlight on the leaves, otherwise they will rise for a long time.
Outdoor seedlings care
Planted plants are stressed because they have been placed in a new environment. To make the acclimatization process faster, seedlings need to be taken care of.
- Thinning. This procedure is carried out with the appearance of three to four leaves. Plants are thinned out, one or two are left in the hole, all the rest are removed.
- Weeding. Watermelons are very clean plants, they do not tolerate weeds. Therefore, they will have to be fought often, especially at the beginning of growth. Very soon, the seedlings will grow, take the form of bushes, and then the frequency of weeding will be reduced. Weeds will no longer be able to harm mature plants.
- Topping. This is done so that the lashes grow faster. You need to pinch the curly shoots at the level of two or three upper leaves. At the same time, weakened lashes are removed. Three to five ovaries are left on each bush.
- Loosening. This procedure is carried out constantly, since watermelons prefer airy soil.
Watering
When we plant watermelons in the ground, you need to be prepared for the fact that they will have to be watered often, otherwise they will not gain juice well. Striped berries should be watered regularly, once a week, in hot weather - two. To do this, use a lot of water: three buckets per square meter of land area. You need to moisten not only watermelon bushes, but also the free area between them. With the advent of fruits, watering decreases, and before they are picked, it stops altogether (in two weeks).
Top dressing
Plants need it already a couple of weeks after they have been planted in the ground. An aqueous solution of ammonium nitrate is used as fertilizer. One bush will require two liters. The second top dressing is done when the buds begin to form. Calcium chloride, ammonium nitrate of 5 g each, superphosphate - 1 g more are added under one bush.
We plant watermelons in a greenhouse
Watermelons are a thermophilic culture. In the distant past, they were grown in regions corresponding to such a climate. But now there are opportunities to get delicious fruits in cold climates. Only here they do not grow in open ground, but in greenhouses. How to plant watermelons in a greenhouse?
- First you need to plant the seeds in boxes with soil. Allocate a place for planting in the room to put containers with planting material.
- Then prepare the beds for planting watermelons. This is done as follows: the top layer is removed from the soil, a trench is formed. Humus, nitrogen fertilizers are poured into it, and soil is placed on top.
- After this, the seedlings are transplanted into beds (they will have sprouted from the seeds by this time). Landings are covered with a film of polyethylene in two layers. When to plant watermelons in a greenhouse? The best time for this procedure is the end of April.
- To plant sprouts, dig holes of small depth - from 10 to 11 cm. Between them leave spaces equal to 70-100 cm.
- A trellis must be installed near each hole. She is needed for tying the growing stems to her, as they are curly, and they need to cling to something.
- To improve the fruiting of watermelons in the greenhouse, you need to run the bees, but not a whole swarm, but several individuals. They will pollinate the flowers.
- When the shoots begin to sprout intensively, they should be cut off immediately, but first of all they get rid of the weak and sick.
- In the process of growth, plants need useful additives, so they should be fed with mullein or chicken droppings.
- A prerequisite for growing watermelons in a greenhouse is its regular ventilation. This is not necessary to forget.
Greenhouse Watermelon Care
When the flowering period begins in the grown lashes, watermelons must be pollinated manually, otherwise the ovaries will not form. Each lash in greenhouse conditions can withstand a load not exceeding two fruits. But if you leave only one striped berry, it will be much larger.
Watermelons are grown using trellis. Each fruit is wrapped to avoid its contact with the ground. Watermelons growing in the greenhouse are much weaker than those growing on the melon. Their whips do not support the weight of the fruit and fall to the ground. If they are not wrapped, they can rot.
If many side shoots have formed and they branch to the other side of the support, they are cut off. Plants need to be constantly turned to the sun, since the lashes need good lighting, otherwise leaves and fruits will form poorly.