In many gardeners (especially beginners), growing melon is associated with certain difficulties. They often face unripe fruit, low yields, crop diseases and other problems. Of course, we are talking about more severe climatic conditions, since in the southern regions melon cultivation does not cause any special difficulties.
The most common method of cultivation, guaranteeing the ripening of the fruit, is planting a plant through seedlings. For this, the most early ripening varieties should be selected.
Then, not earlier than 30-40 days before the sprouts are transferred to the open ground, it is necessary to place the seeds in the prepared glasses with the ground. Before planting, they should be germinated by wrapping them in a damp cloth for a day. It is useful to soak using special EM preparations.
After planting in glasses of melon seedlings, cultivation is carried out by regular watering (every two days). The containers themselves must be covered with a film, which will accelerate the seed germination by several days. An ideal option would be the organization of lighting. You can judge the readiness of seedlings for transfer to the ground when 3-4 melon leaves appear in a melon.
It is not necessary to drastically delay the transplant process, since the plant needs to adapt to new conditions.
To grow melons under the film, it is best to take the varieties "Kharkovskaya early" or "Krinichanka". Usually seedlings are ready for further cultivation after 25-30 days. Overgrown seedlings take root very poorly, so you should not hesitate. During planting, the temperature of the soil should not be lower than 16C degrees at a depth of ten centimeters.
It is very good to grow melons on steam beds equipped with a film cover with small dimensions. Two plants are placed on an ordinary square meter, which are tied to the trellis after three days. Watering should be done with water, which warms up to a temperature of at least 27 ° C. It should be noted that only the soil is moisturized, the plant itself should not be watered. After each moistening, loosen the soil between the rows.
Before the melon begins to bear fruit, the temperature of the air in the greenhouse should not drop below 30 ° C on sunny days, less than 25 ° C in cloudy weather. Fruits are formed on loops from 1 to 3 orders. Side loops must be pinched over 5 or 6 leaves, while no more than 5 fruits are left on the plant. When the ovary begins to form, the air temperature under the film should be increased to 50 degrees, in cloudy weather - up to 30 C.
Melon is grown with the addition of mineral fertilizers, which are applied every two weeks. At the beginning of flowering, the film should be removed so that the melon is ventilated and opened to bee pollinated by flowers. Melon cultivation can also be done by means of seeds placed immediately in the ground. This is also done under film shelter, a week before seedling transfer. When the first sheet appears, thinning is performed, leaving no more than two shoots in the hole. Further care is similar to the first option.