All modern people know what watermelon and melon are. These fruits are popular and loved even in the northern regions. But not everyone knows that they differ from other plants in that they need special growing conditions . Watermelon, melon and still pumpkin are melons and grow on a special field called melon. This word has been known in Russia since the 16th century. It came to the Russian language from Central Asia, where these cultures were grown from time immemorial.
What is melon
This is the field on which gourds grow: watermelons, melons and pumpkins. In the Turkic language, it denoted a garden or vegetable garden in the steppe. Indeed, productive melon can only be in the steppe arid regions, where there is a lot of sun and high temperature. Gourds love sandy or loamy soils, do not ripen next to other plants and cannot tolerate shade. Therefore, melon is a huge field sown only with watermelons or melons. Most of these fields are in Central Asia, the Caucasus, southern Ukraine and the Volga region. Melon breeding is less developed in the Chernozem region, Siberia and the Far East.
Features of gourds
1. They are the most thermophilic of all cultivated plants. Pumpkin or melon seeds begin to germinate at 14–15 degrees Celsius, and watermelon seeds at 17 degrees. They do not withstand even short-term frosts. Best crops grow at 30-35 degrees. If at night the temperature drops below 12 degrees, the melon plants can die.
2. These cultures prefer well-lit places. That is why melon is best suited for their cultivation. This does not mean that watermelons cannot be grown in the garden, but they will become sweet and tasty only in a sunny place free of weeds.
3. Soils they prefer loose, best sandy. Only pumpkin is less picky about them and can grow anywhere.
4. Gourds are highly drought tolerant. They all have a powerful rod root system and many small roots, which suck the slightest moisture out of the soil. But this does not mean that they do not need to be watered. Melons in arid areas were irrigated using a canal system, due to their location in river valleys and inland valleys.
5. All plants melon need space. They have a creeping, highly branching stalk. It is recommended to sprinkle it with earth at the site of the side shoots, so more roots are formed. These crops do not tolerate neighborhood with other plants, which is why melon is needed for their cultivation. This has been known since ancient times, but in recent years, gardeners have been trying to grow watermelons and melons in the northern regions.
Gourds in the country
Russian breeders are successfully working on the creation of varieties of watermelons that can grow even in Siberia and the Far East. But the melon, which is also called the "queen of melon", needs a lot of sun. Only one variety was bred - "Collective Farm Girl", which can be grown in the middle lane, but in taste and aroma it is very inferior to the southern ones. And if you choose the right type of watermelon and spend a lot of time caring for it, then you can grow this fruit not on the melon. What conditions must be observed for the cultivation of gourds?
1. Choose the right soil. It should be light, loose, not clogged and rich in organic matter.
2. Seeds before sowing need to be warmed up well at a temperature of 30 degrees for 1-2 days.
3. Seeds are planted in well-moistened soil at a great depth: from 4 to 8 centimeters. It is best to grow seedlings in the middle lane.
4. For each bush there should be plenty of space, free from other plants.
5. Ripe fruits must be picked on time.
Subject to these rules, you may have your own melon in the country, which gives good harvests.
The value of gourds
Even those who do not know what grows on the melon have heard about the benefits of these plants. Their flesh contains a large amount of sugars and organic substances. The fruits have a refreshing pleasant taste and high nutritional value. They are used in medicine for the treatment and prevention of many diseases. Pumpkin is especially useful, in terms of carotene content it takes the first place.