Secrets of growing strong watermelon seedlings at home
Not only residents of the southern regions dream of eating watermelon from their own plot, but also residents of areas with a cool climate. In a short summer, the seed will not be able to develop into a full-fledged bush with huge striped berries. If you plant seeds directly on the garden bed, then in the fall you will admire the large carved leaves and yellow flowers, and you will not wait for juicy fruits. Gardeners have found a way out: you can grow seedlings at home, and then transfer them to greenhouses or into open ground.
Seed sowing dates
To correctly determine when to sow seeds, you need to know when you will plant seedlings in a greenhouse or outdoors. You can use the lunar calendar for hints, but if favorable days fall too early or late, it is better to be guided by common sense and the weather forecast. If you are going grow watermelons in a greenhouse, take advantage of the observations of past years: at what time the soil and air in the shelter usually reach the right temperature at which the plants can be planted. General recommendations will not work here, it all depends on the material, volume and design of your building.
In order for watermelons to take root well and begin to develop in the open air, the seedlings should not get frozen. Roots also need warmth, at soil temperatures below + 15⁰ they will not take root well, diseases will appear, plants will weaken and may even die. Planting too late is also undesirable, the autumn cold can ruin the crop. In open ground, seedlings can be planted about a month after emergence. Count from the estimated transplant date 30-35 days ago, add about 10-15 days for germination - this will determine the day of sowing seeds. For example, if you plant grains in the soil in mid-April, you can transplant them into open ground in early June.
In greenhouses, conditions are more benign; plants can be planted there 20-25 days after germination. Calculate as for open field planting and determine the sowing date. For example, if the soil and air in your greenhouse reach the desired values around May 10, the seedlings should appear on April 20, which means that you need to plant the seeds in early April.
Getting started sowing
It is already difficult for heat-loving watermelons to live in a cool climate, and if you also injure their roots during transplantation, the plants will become very bad. If the root system is damaged, it is likely that the plants will develop diseases caused by fungi or other infections that have penetrated through the wounds. Don't be stingy and buy peat pots, this will facilitate both your work and the rooting of seedlings. The optimal diameter of the container for melons and gourds is 10 cm: the roots will not be cramped, and the planting will not take up much space on the windowsill.
It is desirable to purchase special soil for seedlings watermelons, but you can prepare the soil yourself. Pour a quarter of a bucket of garden soil, fill the remaining volume with humus, add 3 tbsp. spoons of phosphates and 1 tbsp. a spoonful of potash and nitrogen fertilizers. Mix the composition thoroughly, moisten and fill the containers where you will plant the seeds. There is another recipe for preparing soil in which healthy seedlings can be grown. A container of 10 liters must be filled with equal parts of humus, sand and garden soil and add 1 liter can of ash.
If you just bury the seeds in damp ground, it will take a very long time for them to germinate. Watermelon seeds should be kept in a damp cloth at a temperature of about 30⁰, and it is better to use a growth stimulator.There are many drugs, read the instructions on how to use the tool. When the seeds hatch, place them in the refrigerator on a shelf with a temperature of about + 6⁰. After 12 hours, remove and keep the seeds in a warm place for the same amount of time. This procedure is called stratification, repeat it 3 times, and abrupt changes in the thermal regime will cause the embryos to wake up faster and begin to develop.
Place the seeds sideways on the ground and press lightly to keep them in this position. Cover crops with 2-3 cm of soil and moisten. Cover the containers with plastic wrap and keep at a temperature of about 25⁰ until shoots appear. Do not forget to open the containers for a few minutes every day to remove evaporated moisture from under the film.
Advice
Consider your local climate when buying seeds. For areas where summer does not pamper residents with warmth, there are cold-resistant varieties of watermelons, give preference to them. The shorter the ripening time, the more harvest you will get in the short northern summer.
Seedling care
As soon as the cotyledon leaves appear from the ground, remove the foil and transfer the pots to a cooler place (21-23 ° C). Watermelon seedlings need to be provided with good lighting for at least half a day. If the windows face north or the weather is cloudy, turn on the fluorescent lamp above the plantings, otherwise the sprouts will be elongated and weak.
Advice
Make sure that the plants are not crowded on the windowsill. When they start touching leaves, move the pots apart so that the seedlings do not interfere with each other.
Growing well-developed watermelon seedlings is possible only with proper watering so that the plants have enough moisture. The soil does not need to be overdried, but it does not need to be constantly wet. From living in conditions close to marsh, the roots are affected by rot and other diseases. Only warm water is suitable for irrigation; splashes should not fall on the leaves. Watch out for the drain holes: when they work well, all excess liquid will drain onto the sump.
10 days after the emergence of seedlings, feed the planting with a complex fertilizer, dissolved in water, or a liquid preparation; repeat this procedure every decade. When 3 true leaves appear on the seedlings, it can be planted in a greenhouse, and after the fourth leaf - in open ground. Seedlings at this age are already ready to move, but is the soil ready? If its temperature has not reached 15⁰, it is too early to plant. Warming up the earth can be accelerated if you cover it with a black film in advance.
Seedling problems
Often gardeners cannot understand why the seedlings wither and die. There can be many reasons. If the seedlings are watered too hard or if the seeds are planted in contaminated soil, fusarium, a fungal disease that affects the vessels of the stem, can occur. The plant withers and dies. In adult watermelons, the disease can occur from transplanting into cold ground or from damage to the roots. Destroy the affected specimens, and treat the rest of the seedlings with a disinfectant and make sure that moisture does not stagnate in the soil.
Root rot also occurs from fungus. On seedlings, the leaves turn yellow and wither, then the seedlings die. Examine the shoots carefully, and if you notice brown spots at the bottom of the stem, immediately isolate or destroy the diseased plant. The best prevention of this disease is the use of reliable soil, moderate timely watering and a sufficiently high air temperature.
To avoid the disease of watermelon seedlings, several conditions must be met.
- Use disinfected soil, reliable seeds and disinfected tools.
- Feed in time so that the seedlings do not weaken.
- Avoid sudden temperature fluctuations.
- Avoid excessive moisture.
Weak seedlings sometimes begin to gradually turn yellow. The plant wants to tell you that it is low on light or needs nitrogen fertilization. Watermelons love warmth, but not the scorching rays of the sun.If you want to grow seedlings on a south-facing window, shade the seedlings during the day. Plants can develop poorly due to the fact that they are cold.
Output
In most regions of our country, it is impossible to eat watermelon from your garden if you sow seeds directly into the garden. Gardeners, even in northern areas, are trying to grow seedlings at home so that in a short summer the plants can develop and bear fruit. Pay attention to the ripening times indicated on the seed package, do not chase large-fruited varieties: the smaller the size of the watermelon, the faster it will ripen.
Calculate the most suitable sowing time for your area. Use disinfected soil and quality seeds, stratify, and the grains will sprout quickly. It remains to properly care for the seedlings, to feed and water them in time, to make sure that they do not get sick. If you can grow good, strong seedlings, adult plants will reward you with delicious fruits. Let inept gardeners say that watermelons do not grow in the north, and you were not too lazy to grow melons in a cold climate, and now you are eating juicy sweet pulp.
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