Rules for planting and growing watermelons and melons

Growing watermelons and melons in the greenhouse and open field is not associated with great difficulties. Some summer residents refuse to plant melons, considering it inappropriate to occupy a large area of ​​the site. Meanwhile, these crops get along well together and give an excellent harvest, subject to certain rules. In a compact garden plot, you do not need to set aside a separate place for melons and watermelons, they can be planted nearby and enjoy juicy sweet fruits.

Seed treatment before planting

Seed material is planted in peat molds at the end of April. Before sowing, it is advisable to warm the seeds well indoors or near a heating device. It is also recommended to soak them in warm water and disinfect them in one of the solutions:

• hydrogen peroxide solution is prepared at the rate of 10 tablets per liter of water;
• a weak solution of manganese or boron of 0.05% concentration;
• "Epin extra", a stimulant is diluted as follows: 6 drops of a dietary supplement per 100 ml of water;
• "Zircon", the solution is prepared at the rate of 2-4 drops of liquid per liter of water.

Treatment with biostimulants will not only destroy pathogens, but also allow plants to adapt to temperature disasters, and also increase crop yields. Soaking is carried out in a cotton bag, which is immersed in heated (approximately 60 °) water, the liquid is allowed to drain and left for a day. During this time, the seeds should swell and crack slightly. If this does not happen, it makes no sense to plant them in the ground: the culture will turn out to be weak. When planting, 2 seeds are placed in each mold, in the future this will allow you to remove a weaker branch.

Advice

Soaking and warming the seeds at the same time is the best preparation for seedlings. Melons are watered only with water at room temperature, while it is necessary to ensure that it does not irrigate the leaves. Seedlings of melons and gourds are quite capricious and require good lighting, heat and careful watering.

Special soil is sold in stores, but you can prepare it yourself. For this purpose, mineral fertilizer "Kemira universal" is added to the suitable soil. For each pot, 1 teaspoon is enough, then the earth is mixed well. The seeds are buried to a depth of 2-3 cm and watered. Under favorable conditions, the first shoots appear on the 5-6th day, and in a week you can see the first leaf.

Growing melons in a greenhouse

Melons are planted in covered ground at the end of May. By this time, the soil will have warmed up enough, and frost will not damage the root system. Pre-young plants are recommended to be hardened, for this they are taken outside at a temperature of 13-15 degrees or the air in the room is cooled to these figures. The best seedling age for planting is approximately 25-30 days.

Before planting, the soil is tightened with plastic wrap, in which holes are cut for peat containers. This allows not only to protect heat-loving crops from low temperatures, but also increases productivity. Fertilizers are additionally applied to the holes: humus, ash or mineral additives. From above, the nutrient components are covered with a layer of earth.

The greenhouse should maintain optimal temperature and light conditions. The temperature should be 20-25 ° during the day, and 15-18 ° at night. Watered sparingly and infrequently with warm water. To prevent condensation from forming, the greenhouse must be periodically ventilated.Watermelons and melons are quite sensitive to excess moisture, their seedlings can rot, and the fruits themselves grow watery and tasteless. If it gets colder outside, cover the soil and young seedlings with plastic wrap, cotton cloth or paper.

Advice

At the time of planting melons in the greenhouse, you can have time to harvest young cabbage, early radish and greens. This not only warms up the soil additionally, but also saves space.

Landing order

The scheme of planting in open ground is as follows. The distance between plants should be 40-50 cm for watermelons and 50-60 cm for melons. When grown together in a greenhouse, watermelons and melons are planted in a checkerboard pattern. Peat containers are buried shallowly into the ground, a gap of about 3 cm should remain between the leaves and the ground. This trick will further protect the plant from disease and decay.

When planting, the scheme and the distance between the rows are taken into account. Usually it is recommended to plant in 2 rows, between which a piece of land 50 cm wide is left. The next planting of melons in the ground is carried out at a distance of 80 cm from the first rows.

Care for melons in the greenhouse

Caring for watermelons and melons is not difficult and not too laborious. Young shoots can be covered with cut plastic bottles, this protective frame allows for increased yield. As the plant grows, the bottle is removed or replaced with a higher shelter. When the stem has increased enough in length, it is attached to a special support - a trellis, you can tie the top with a thread to the ceiling of the greenhouse. Heavy fruits are placed in nets, cardboard boxes. The main thing is that they do not come into contact with the ground.

Advice

7-10 days after planting, you can feed it with nitrogen fertilizer - urea or nitrate, for this, 20 grams of the substance are diluted in 10 liters of water.

Care for melons consists in loosening the soil, watering and feeding. It is necessary to ensure that weeds do not appear between the shoots after planting. Young plants are watered once a week, then it is allowed to do this twice a month.

Watermelons and melons are drought-resistant crops, they germinate in the southern regions, where the absence of rain for a long time is considered normal. When the first fruits appear, watering is stopped. Watering melons should be done carefully, making sure that no water gets on the root part of the stem. Otherwise, the crop can be damaged by rot.

Every 2-3 weeks the soil should be fertilized with mullein infusion and minerals. During feeding, a small handful of ash can be added to each hole.

Artificial pollination in a greenhouse is carried out with a male flower, it is determined by its impressive size. The flower is picked and applied to the female flowers. The crop should not be watered before pollination so that excess moisture does not affect the pollen quality. Many gardeners attract bees to pollination: they open the doors of the greenhouse, put saucers with sugar syrup.

Plant formation

As they grow, the stems are bred in different directions. Later they are tied to wooden or metal trellises.

To teach a good harvest, you must follow the rules.

• On melons, the apical part of the stem is cropped. This procedure will be sufficient for early maturing varieties. Late melon varieties are docked differently. In addition to removing the top, the side parts are also examined, their thickness and power are assessed. Young lashes are removed, leaving 3-4 strong branches.
• You will have to tinker with watermelons. The cultivation of this culture is carried out in one stem, it is selected by the presence of shoots in the leaf axils. The stems on which the ovary is absent are removed, the rest are pinched. When the culture grows above the size of the trellis, a repeated pinching of the apical lash is carried out at the level of the 4-5th leaf.

Features of growing in the open field

Before planting plants in open ground, you should decide on a place.Watermelons and melons prefer to grow in slightly elevated, shallow areas that are well warmed up and illuminated by the sun's rays. Here they grow better, bear fruit abundantly and ripen early.

Care is carried out by loosening the soil, removing weeds and excess lashes. In the process of growth, several inter-row soil treatments are carried out. The first - when young leaves appear, to a depth of 6-8 cm, the second - when 5-6 true leaves appear, loosening can be combined with top dressing.

Harvest watermelons and melons as they ripen. The ripeness of watermelons is determined by the drying of the antennae in the axils of the leaves, the disappearance of dullness and the appearance of shine, and the clarification of the peel of the fruit. If you tap on a watermelon, a dull sound appears, but to distinguish it, you need to have practical skills.

Advice

The ripeness of the melon is determined by the dried stalk.

Are melons compatible?

Can watermelons and melons be planted nearby? These crops consume similar chemicals from the soil and require approximately the same processing methods. If you plant them side by side, it will greatly simplify the care procedures: watering, garter, groundbait. However, melons and gourds greatly impoverish the soil, and they can be planted in the same place only after a few years. To prevent this, watermelons and melons should be regularly fed with mineral fertilizers.

Collecting seeds from watermelons and melons when planting them together is not recommended, since mutual pollination occurs. The result of such a hybrid may not be very tasty.

If you are the owner of a large plot of land, it is better to plant these crops in open ground in different parts of the garden. If the site is small, then they can be planted nearby, nothing terrible will happen. The proximity of melons with each other will not affect the yield.