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Melons cultivation technology. Melons on the site: we grow melons and watermelons. Features of growing in the open field

The homeland of melons and gourds is tropical and subtropical latitudes, so they need light sandy lands. Melon cannot consist of black soil. But climatic conditions do not matter much. Fruits from the Pumpkin family grow well both in the south and in the Far East. The exceptions are the regions of the Far North. Difficulties in obtaining a harvest will arise when planting watermelon and melon, but there are technologies for growing these plants in greenhouses.

Characteristics of melon varieties

The list of plants growing on melons includes watermelons, melons, zucchini, squash, pumpkins. Most of them have long vines creeping along the ridges with large leaves and yellow single flowers. They tolerate dry weather well, as their strong and strong root system can "extract" moisture from the deepest layers of the soil.

Melon growing is a simple science. Crops require a lot of sun and heat, and the weather should be hot and dry at the time of growing. But when purchasing seed, it is important to pay attention to the length of the growing season. If the landing area involves a rapid summer, only early species are planted with a maturation cycle of no more than 90 days.

Watermelon

There is a huge variety of varieties of melons such as watermelon. In addition to the fact that there is a division into table and forage species, this berry is different in weight, shape, color of pulp and peel, taste, place and method of cultivation.

General characteristics of the plant:

1. The stem resembling a liana is long, flexible, curly, rounded, can reach 5 m in length.
2. Leaves are wide, attached to the trunk with short petioles. The leaf plates are large - about 25 cm long, 20 cm wide.
3. Flowers are yellow - 2.5 cm in diameter, unisexual.
4. Fruits are oval, round, square, pyramidal.
5. Pulp with numerous seeds - yellow, red, pink.

To date, more than 1000 varieties of the largest berry in the world have been grown, and they are all different from each other. Not only the form can be unusual, but also the content. The recently hatched seedless fruits are surprising. They are grown using a special pollination technology.

The following groups of watermelons are conventionally distinguished:

N / a		Description	Photo
	Colocynth	The plant has round leaves, large flowers, small fruits. The peel of a ripe watermelon is yellow, dense. The pulp is white with a slight yellowish tinge. It has many beneficial substances. In some countries it is used as a remedy. Suitable for preparing powders, extracts, oil is squeezed out of seeds
	Ordinary	The largest species group of watermelons is annual. Ellipsoidal or round shape, green to dark green rind with or without stripes. The pulp is red, white, yellow. Has a high sugar content, the size depends on the place of cultivation. The seeds are dark, flat, the stems are like a creeping vine, the leaves are fleecy, hard about 22 cm.Excellent taste
	Square	Similar to an ordinary one. The unusual shape makes it easy to transport and store. The cubic configuration is obtained due to the peculiarities of cultivation: when the future watermelon reaches the size of a large bulb, it is covered with a cube of plywood or wood

In areas with cold climates, do not plant seeds directly into the soil to increase the ripening period. The first step in growing watermelons is to plant seedlings in early spring. Only in this case, a fully matured product is obtained by mid-September.

Melon

The fragrant fruit belongs to the Pumpkin family. The pulp contains a large index of easily digestible sugars, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and more. Recommended for use in case of deterioration in health:

Unlike watermelon, which is considered a berry, melon is recognized as a vegetable.

Melon is an excellent adjuvant in many diseases, it is recommended by doctors as a nutritional component. But still, this fragrant fruit has contraindications:

1. Not recommended for diabetics, as the product contains up to 13-15% sugars (depending on the variety). If the patient has a grade 2 disease, a bitter variety can be used, it lowers the glucose level.
2. With liver diseases.
3. Children under one year old.
4. With great care for those who have gastritis and ulcers.
5. Diarrhea and other gastrointestinal disorders.
6. For diseases of the spleen, the fruit is consumed with honey.

Melon is 90% water, additionally it contains a huge amount of carbohydrates. Therefore, nutritionists recommend using it as an independent dish, without mixing it with other products.

Pumpkin

The shape of the fruit can be very diverse - round, oval, small (decorative) or large, have a hard crust on top, and flesh inside. All these parameters depend on the variety and growing conditions. Flat seeds of about 3 cm have nutritional and medicinal value.

Pumpkin is a very important agricultural plant, it is easy to grow, later there are no difficulties with storage. In cooking, the vegetable is used to make mashed potatoes, soups, sweet pastries, jam, juice, etc.

The vegetable is used for the following diseases:

anemia and other types of anemia;
male weakness;
cardiovascular disorders;
diseases of the nervous system;
various disorders of the gastrointestinal tract;
obesity;
chronic tuberculosis, etc.

However, there are a number of contraindications and restrictions:

1. It is not used for diabetes of all degrees.
2. Raw fruits and juice are prohibited in case of ulcers.
3. Pure juice is not drunk in case of gastrointestinal disorders.

The body of some people does not tolerate any pumpkin varieties well, an allergic reaction is possible.

Zucchini and squash

The list of melons and gourds additionally includes squash and zucchini. They are similar in taste, nutrient and mineral content, useful properties for the body and contraindications.

The benefits of vegetables:

1. The skin of the squash contains antioxidants that rid the body of free radicals, prevents the development of oncology, and preserves youth.
2. They contain potassium, which is necessary for the heart muscle and normalization of blood pressure.
3. Both vegetables contain fiber, which reduces the risk of neoplasms in the rectum.
4. Patisson is a natural source of folate. It is important in cell division and DNA synthesis.
5. Controls the level of bile and glycogen.
6. Due to the diuretic property, excess fluid and sodium salts are removed, causing its retention.
7. Patissons are useful as an adjuvant in prostate cancer.

Medicine claims that both zucchini and squash contain a fairly large amount of vitamins (C and group B). But it must be remembered that the data presented in various sources correspond to fresh vegetables.

Harmful properties of squash and squash:

1. Canned melon derivatives are not recommended for those with diabetes mellitus.
2. Not indicated for hypotensive patients.
3. Should not be used for digestive and gastrointestinal problems.

Growing crops of the Pumpkin family

There are cardinal differences in planting and growing vegetables depending on the region. If in the south it is enough to plant seeds in the soil, make minimal care manipulations and after a while to harvest, then in the central part of the country and in the Far East it is necessary to carry out preliminary work both before planting and for growing melons.

Experienced melon growers are advised to sow seed for seedlings in March. Until the summer she is kept in the apartment on the windowsill. And only at the end of May - beginning of June they are planted on a prepared bed. The transplant is carried out extremely carefully, since the root system of the melons is very fragile and delicate. A method of transshipping an earthen coma is suitable.

Nuances of melon growing in cold regions

And watermelons, and melons, and zucchini are grown almost everywhere. In order for this to be possible, experts advise:

1. In the middle zone of the country, plant melons in the ground, but at the same time cover each sprout with a plastic bottle cut in half. Remove the cover before watering. Place a 5-liter container on top of a 1.5 liter bottle, cutting off the bottom. When the plant outgrows the small container, it should be removed, leaving the large one. This will create a mini greenhouse for each sprout.
2. In order for the vegetable to be poured sunlight, melon should be arranged in an open space without shaded areas. But in strong sunshine, the plants should be briefly covered with large burdock leaves or use a light awning.
3. For ease of care and space saving, it is better to start the vine on the supports. You need to stick poles along the bed with plantings, pull the wire on them in 2-4 rows, and let the stem run along this support.
4. During prolonged rains, the fruits lying on the ground will begin to rot, so it is necessary to put small planks, polystyrene under them, build sandy mounds, create some other protective cushion.
5. In the central and eastern regions, very often groundwater occurs close to the surface. Therefore, the overgrown roots, having reached them, begin to rot. If you initially water the plant not under a bush, but a little in the distance, the root system will not go deep, but will grow to the sides.
6. On melons, the resulting lashes are subject to obligatory pruning. Leave one large stem-liana with flowers.
7. The pinching is carried out after the 6th flower. If you leave more, the fruits will be small and tasteless.

All care for melons after planting seed or seedlings in open ground consists in abundant watering, pinching, fertilizing, preventing decay and protecting against diseases.

Disease control measures

The first stage in the fight against diseases of melons is the disinfection of seeds before planting. Etching is carried out using a solution of copper sulfate or zinc sulfate.

Other measures are presented in the table:

Disease	Signs	Causes	Treatment
Fusarium	The fungus enters the root system and it is impossible to detect it visually in the early stages.	Waterlogging and night temperature drop to + 16 °	The plant should be removed, the soil should be disinfected with copper sulfate
Anthracnose	Spots of yellow and brown color appear on the leaves, then they increase, spread, forming ulcers, the fruits rot	The causative agent is a fungus originally located in the ground	Spot spraying with Bordeaux liquid. The course consists of 3 procedures at intervals of a week. The soil is disinfected with potassium permanganate or copper sulfate
Root rot	Weeping spots of brown and black color begin to spread from the bottom of the leaf, move to shoots, and eventually absorb the entire plant	Strongly varying values of temperature and humidity, excessive application of root fertilizers	They are treated only at the first stage: water for irrigation is replaced with a solution of potassium permanganate, the roots are taken out of the ground, treated first with copper sulfate, then sprinkled with ash, and after processing the soil, they are buried. In neglected variants, melons are destroyed
Bacterial spot	The fruits show spots that are watery to the touch and yellow-green in color. Over time, they grow, turn into growths, the leaf turns black, the fruit dies	The disease is carried by insects	There are no drugs for treatment. In the primary stage, all sheets are cut off. If it does not help, the plant must be destroyed.
Powdery mildew	The leaves look like they are sprinkled with flour. Over time, the fungus acquires Brown color, turns into an outgrowth	The disease is fungal, is in the ground or on seeds	The bushes are treated with Karatan, Bayleton, Topaz, the infected parts are cut off and burned
Mosaic disease	Large light areas appear on the leaves, later the plant deforms and dies	Viral disease is transmitted by insects infected with tools and seeds	At primary signs, 2 times are sprayed with Carbaphos with a difference of 7 days
Leaf rust	The plant is sprinkled with shapeless rusty bumps. Powdered spores pour out of cracked bumps	Infection with rust fungi as a result of an excess of nitrogen and high humidity	The affected parts of the plant are cut off and destroyed, then everything is treated with fungicides
Olive spot	Weeping spots of a gray-green hue appear on the fruits, the leaves become brittle, in 10 days the culture dies	Untreated infection in the ground	At the first stage, Bordeaux liquid is used. If time is lost, they are treated with Abigo-Peak, Oxyhom. Course 3 times, interval 7 days

The cultivation of any varieties of melons and gourds in Russia is not very difficult. It is enough to follow the basic rules and timely prevent diseases.

Lecture plan:

a) features of agrotechnology for melon growing on sandy soils;

b) agricultural technology for growing melons and gourds on irrigated lands;

c) agricultural technology for fodder melons and gourds;

d) agricultural technology for growing melons and gourds on drip irrigation.

1. Features of agrotechnology for melon growing on sandy soils.

In our country, melon growing on sandy soils occupies quite large areas. The largest harvest melons and gourds are produced on unused sandy loam enriched with organic matter and on loamy chernozems. From melons and gourds, watermelon develops best on sandy loam soils.

On sandy loam soils, melons and gourds give higher yields, higher quality and lower cost.

However, in order to get high yields of melons and gourds on the sands, you need to apply specific cultivation techniques. These include: crop rotations with perennial grasses, the introduction of large doses of humus, spring plowing of the soil, various anti-erosion measures, such as sowing wings, planting forest belts, and other techniques special for melon growing on sandy soils.

On sandy soils, in most cases, deep autumn plowing is used, which is especially useful for the horizon with compacted sand layers compacted to a solid state. Such deep plowing is carried out, usually in two years on the third. On very soft sandy soils in areas with strong winds, autumn plowing is not used to avoid wind erosion, and the main soil cultivation is carried out in the spring. It consists of plowing to a depth of 25 - 27 cm with simultaneous harrowing in one track. It is best to carry out plantation plowing on sandy soils. At the same time, sometimes plowing is done in strips 70 - 80 m wide, and unplowed strips 5 - 6 m wide are left between them. The strips protect crops from wind, sand and dust, and serve as a place for the removal of fruits for transportation.

For the northern regions of Kazakhstan with sandy soils, the scientist Ehrenburg, for example, recommends: Sowing strips 50-100 m wide, occupied by melons, alternate with intervals of the same width, occupied by perennial grasses. After 3 - 4 years, the grass layer is plowed up for melons, and the former melons and gourds are occupied by perennial grasses. The stripes are located, as a rule, across the prevailing winds. Good results are obtained by packing the field after sowing with ring rollers, which increase the yield of melons and gourds by almost 40%.

On sandy and sandy loam soils, rotted manure gives a great effect when it is deeply plowed. It improves the water regime of sandy soils and enriches them with organic matter in the zone of the greatest development of the root system. It is applied in a dose of 30-40 tons per hectare. Simultaneously with manure, mineral fertilizers are given: 3 - 4 centners of superphosphate, 2 - 3 centners of ammonium sulfate and 1.5 - 2 centners per hectare of 40% potassium salt. On sandy soils, the incorporation of organic and mineral fertilizers should be as deep as possible.

For melons and gourds, sandy soils with a shear level of groundwater are most typical. With a deep bedding of groundwater, they become inaccessible to plants, and when they stand close, they displace the soil air and lead to wilting of plants.

In areas where there is a large amount of precipitation in the form of snow, snow retention is effective, which allows you to increase the reserves of soil moisture.

Spring cultivation of land on sandy soils consists of one pre-sowing cultivation, which is aimed at killing weeds.

Melon seeds on sandy soils are sown somewhat deeper than on bound soils, and the feeding area is provided much larger: for watermelons, for example, from 4 to 9 m2, instead of 1.5 - 3 m2, and for pumpkins from 8 to 11 m2 , instead of 2 - 4 m2.

On sandy soils, fertilizing them with liquid fertilizers has a strong positive effect on melons. Fertilizer rates for top dressing are as follows: poultry droppings give 4 - 8 centners, ammonium sulfate 1.5 centners, superphosphate 3.5 centners and potassium salt 0.7 centners per hectare. The first top dressing is applied to a depth of 6 - 8 cm, the second - by 10 - 12 cm.

Cultivation of row spacings on sandy soils is carried out in the same way as on cohesive soils, but taking into account the spraying of the topsoil. On sandy soils, the number of inter-row cultivation is tried to be reduced to a minimum, and in the absence of weeds, it is not carried out at all.

Forest belts on sandy soils are planted with a width of 10 m with an inter-strip space of 140 m. They increase the yield of melons by 30 - 100% and accelerate the ripening of fruits by 10 - 12 days.

Sorghum, corn, sunflower, winter rye, Sudan and other high-stemmed plants are used as the wings. The wings are placed at a distance of 20 m from each other. In width, they consist of 2 - 3 rows of cultivated tall-stemmed plants. Backstage, like forest belts, according to research, also increase the yield of melons and gourds by 30 - 100%.

Furrowing the field is an important method of erosion control. Furrowing is carried out with a single-body plow with plumb lines in the middle of the row spacings every 6 m along and 6 m across the rows. The groove, as you fall asleep, is restored periodically every 10 days.

The above mentioned agricultural techniques allow you to get the second yields of melons and gourds on sandy soils. These techniques also protect light sandy soils from erosion, which damages them to a greater extent than cohesive soils.

2. Agrotechnics of growing melons and gourds on irrigated lands.

During the growing season, watering of melons and gourds should be carried out with a decrease in soil moisture in the 0 - 80 cm layer to 80% HB with an irrigation rate of 500 - 700 m3 / ha.

Watering is carried out until the melon wilts and, depending on the soil moisture, to maintain it at the above specified optimal level and is repeated after 5-15 days. Then watering is not carried out for about 30 - 40 days until the time the ovaries of berry fruits appear on the plants. Such a long break in watering is necessary in order to increase the growth of roots in depth, retard the growth of the vegetative mass and accelerate the onset of fruit formation. After a break, from the moment the ovaries appear on the melon, irrigation is resumed and carried out with a decrease in soil moisture from 0 - 80 cm to 80% HB. Watering continues until the time of the final formation of the fruits, so that the ripening of the fruits does not take place during the dry period. If you water the melon regularly, without interruptions during flowering and ripening of fruits, then, as melon growers say, the ovaries will fall off on the plants, and the set and formed fruits will not be able to ripen normally and will be watery, not sweet.

Watering melons and gourds is recommended along furrows, since sprinkling causes the development of fungal diseases, in particular powdery mildew and anthracnose. The best time for watering melons is considered to be at night and in the morning. Night watering not only contributes to an increase in the yield of melons, but also reduces their incidence of fusarium bogging.

After watering, melons and gourds are loosened and huddled. The first time they spud the plants when 1 - 2 true leaves appear. When hilling, the soil is poured with a small roller around the plant. During irrigation, the land settles, and during inter-row cultivation, the rollers are destroyed, therefore, usually in the phase of 3 - 4 true leaves, a second hilling is done. The roller protects the root collar from flooding during watering.

Hilling is a mandatory technique when growing melons and gourds in irrigated conditions.

In general, irrigation correctly carried out at the optimum time contributes to an increase in the size of fruits, a large yield of marketable products, an earlier harvest and an increase in the efficiency of fertilizers.

3. Agrotechnics of fodder melons and gourds.

Fodder melons include fodder watermelon, fodder pumpkins and squash. Fodder melons and gourds are a valuable special feed for all types of agricultural animals. Their practical significance is due to the fact that, along with silage in winter, they replace green grass... Fodder melons and gourds, like fodder root crops, are easily assimilated by the animal's body. They contain a significant amount of carbohydrates and vitamins, stimulate the appetite of animals, improve digestion and promote better use of roughage. They increase the productivity of dairy cows, egg production of chickens, fattening of pigs and other animals. In terms of nutritional value, fodder melons, and especially fodder pumpkin, not only are not inferior to fodder root crops, but significantly surpass them.

Fodder melons and gourds - zucchini, fodder watermelon and pumpkin are included in the green conveyor schemes and are their mandatory components in all regions of Ukraine.

The best predecessor for all melons and gourds is the herbaceous layer of the perennial cereal-legume mixture. Good yields can also be obtained when sowing melons and gourds on virgin soil and perennial natural deposits.

On chernozem soils rich in humus, row crops, such as corn, millet, can be admitted as a predecessor.

Melons and gourds are good predecessors for all grain and row crops.

The place of melons in the crop rotation also depends on the purpose of cultivation, for example, when using the fruits of fodder pumpkins in the summer for feeding cows or pigs, they should be sown near no livestock in the summer.

When harvesting the fruits of fodder melons for the winter, they should be cultivated near the winter location of livestock to reduce transfer costs.

Autumn basic soil preparation for fodder melons does not differ from soil preparation for other crops.

If fodder melons and gourds are sown on grain crops, then immediately after harvesting, stubble is plowed to a depth of 4 - 5 cm. After 2 - 3 weeks, after germination of weeds, the area is plowed deeply. With deeper autumn plowing, a higher yield and better quality of melons are obtained than with shallow plowing.

In the spring, as the plowing ridges of the plot dry up, cultivations are carried out once or twice to retain moisture and better warm the soil.

Fodder melons belong to late sowing crops, therefore, to protect the soil from overgrowing with weeds, it is advisable to carry out pre-sowing cultivation of the soil with a cultivator and a cultivator to a depth of at least 10 - 12 cm simultaneously with pre-sowing cultivation after harrowing in one or two tracks, it is easier to avoid unnecessary moisture loss.

In general, it is necessary to ensure that the field is loosened and free of weeds in the spring before sowing.

All fodder melons and gourds are very fond of fresh, inexhaustible soils and not old arable lands require a good harvest. Organic fertilizers are especially good for application. In our southern conditions, more soil at a dose of 15 - 20 tons per hectare should be applied in the fall before plowing. Spring introduction of humus is unacceptable, because for its embedding it will be necessary to plow the soil, which is associated with a greater loss of moisture. The introduction of humus should be done immediately before plowing the land. Of the mineral fertilizers, the greatest effect in our southern conditions is given by superphosphate, which is applied under autumn plowing in an amount of 2 - 5 centners per hectare, depending on the growing conditions.

For sowing, you need to take only good quality seeds, best of all 1 class. The seeds should be large, well-filled and ripe. For these purposes, the seeds are sorted, discarding small, immature and puny ones.

The choice of the correct sowing date for fodder melons and gourds is a moment of exceptional importance. These crops should not be sown too early in the spring, as when sowing very early, the seeds do not germinate for a long time and rot in the soil.

The soil temperature at a depth of 10 cm when sowing melons should be at least 10 ° C for a pumpkin, and at least 12 ° C for a feed watermelon. Observations show that the decisive moment, for example, for the emergence of friendly shoots of fodder watermelon, is the average air temperature (morning, afternoon and evening) 15 ° C at least for 1 - 2 days. Usually, sowing of fodder melons and gourds in our country is carried out in late April - early May. However, the exact calendar dates sowing cannot be established, since the course of spring, even in the same area in different years, is not the same. In general, fodder zucchini is sown before everyone else, then pumpkins and fodder watermelons are sown last.

It is very important that there is no frost after the emergence of melons and gourds, as they die at temperatures below zero.

Seeding rates for forage crops range from 2 to 4 kg / ha and depend on the crop, sowing scheme and seed size. The size of the seeds varies relatively little in the fodder watermelon and varies greatly in different types of pumpkins. Bush pumpkins (zucchini, squash) are always sown denser (with a smaller feeding area) and therefore more seeds are required per hectare.

The yield of melons to some extent depends on the choice of the correct feeding area. There are varieties that give very long, but not numerous, lashes, intertwined with neighboring plants, but not particularly shading each other.

A normal harvest of fodder melons and gourds can only be obtained if favorable conditions are created for full development shoots. In thickened crops of melons, some plants are oppressed by others, which reduces the yield and worsens the quality of the fruits. In the south of Ukraine, the best feeding area for fodder watermelons will be 3 m2, for pumpkin 2 - 4 m2, for fodder zucchini 0.5 - 1 m2.

When placing plants on an area, one must take into account the biology of growth - it scatters its lashes in all directions and therefore each plant should be allocated as square as possible. The pumpkin stretches with its main lash, most often to the east, occupying an elongated figure with its shoots and leaves, therefore the area for placing the pumpkin plants should have a shape elongated from west to east, the zucchini have a strongly shortened main lash, so that the bush almost does not stretch in the east, therefore they, like fodder watermelons, require a square placement area.

The seeds of fodder melons and gourds are sown in three ways in an ordinary, two-line tape and nesting. With an ordinary method of sowing fodder watermelon and pumpkins with row spacing 1.4; 2.1 and 2.8 meters, zucchini with 70 cm row spacing.

Sowing fodder pumpkin with tape two-line method is carried out according to the scheme (2.1 + 0.7) × 1.4 m; it is better to sow fodder watermelons and zucchini in a square way as in the watermelon scheme 1.4 × 1.4 m, zucchini according to scheme 0, 7 × 0.7 m.

The seeds of fodder melons and gourds are sown to a depth of 4 to 7 cm, the depth of seeding depends on correct and timely care.

Care should primarily pursue the goal of maintaining moisture in the soil, providing the crop with nutrients, and controlling weeds, diseases and pests.

The main methods of care are cultivation, loosening of row spacings, weeding with simultaneous thinning of plants. The number of row spacings depends on the weediness of the field and the state of the weather, and during the growing season of plants varies from 3 to 5. Loosening of the row spacings in dry years is especially important.

The procedure for performing work on the care of crops is as follows: after the emergence of seedlings, the first loosening is performed.

With the appearance of the first true leaf in the plants, the row spacings are cultivated, after 15 - 18 days, if there are weed roots on the site, the next cultivation is done. When cultivating row spacings, the cultivator must be adjusted so that the pruning tools do not damage the plant roots. Simultaneously with the second cultivation, the final thinning of the seedlings is done, leaving one plant on the hole.

The third inter-row cultivation is carried out when the lashes have already grown. Before cultivation, they pass and throw these lashes temporarily to the beds in order to avoid damage by machines. After cultivation, the lashes are placed in their previous positions and at the same time the soil is manually loosened in the rows. The straightened lashes are immediately sprinkled with earth near the shoots so that they put down additional roots and improve the supply of plants with moisture and nutrients minerals... Securing and dusting the lashes with earth is quite a lot of work. They try to attach or pin it with hooked branches or the device of special wind protection curtains from tall crops used for silage, such as sunflowers, corn, sorghum. Three-row wings, laid simultaneously with the sowing of melons, every 15 - 20 m across the prevailing winds, provide good protection from the wind and at the same time completely prevent the twisting of the lashes and the death of a part of the assimilation apparatus of plants - watermelons, pumpkins - when twisting the lashes, even the death of young ovaries is observed due to burning by the sun.

Undoubtedly, the plants towards the wings also consume water and nutrients for their development, therefore the melons located along them give a lower yield, but the wings themselves are of particular value, since they go to feed along with fodder watermelons and pumpkins.

Very nice results provides plant nutrition during their growing season. Top dressing should be carried out in the early periods of plant growth. Only then can it influence the harvest.

If feeding is given once for the whole summer, then it is better to carry it out before the formation of lashes; if 2 - 3 times, then the first feeding is given at the stage of 4 - 5 leaves, the second - during the formation of lashes and the third - at the beginning of fruit setting. When applying liquid dressings, do not allow the solution to get on the plants, so as not to cause them a burn.

However, it is important not only to grow the crop, but also to harvest it efficiently, on time and without losses.

Harvesting of pumpkins and watermelons is carried out depending on the ripening conditions of the fruit.

Pumpkins are harvested as the ripeness of the fruit approaches, which is recognized by their color, hardness.

Their distinctive feature is long stems with antennae. In the event that supports are placed next to these crops, the lashes will begin to "climb" along them. In order to correctly apply the cultivation technology, which will be described below in the article, you need to know exactly which crops are melons.

These are melon, pumpkin, watermelon, squash, zucchini and some others.

Two-year-old seeds are considered the most suitable for sowing in melons. If there is no way to get such planting material, you can also use annuals. However, in this case, they need to be warmed up to 60 degrees for 2 hours. In order for the seedlings to be more friendly, the seeds of melons and gourds are also germinated. To do this, they are wrapped in gauze and dipped in warm water for four hours. Then they are placed in a damp burlap and kept there for a day or two.

Melons and gourds for the most part prefer sunny places, warm weather and are resistant to a long absence of moisture. The thing is that the hot regions of the planet are the homeland of all these cultures. Watermelons, for example, are native to South Africa, while melons and pumpkins are found in Asia.

Melons not only tolerate dry air well, but also produce more tasty and sweet fruits in such conditions.

Seeds are planted in the ground only when the summer weather becomes stable, that is, in early June. In order to get the harvest a little earlier, melons and gourds can be grown in seedlings. For this, peat cups are used, because these plants do not tolerate transplantation well. Melons are planted in the ground either in the nesting method, or in rows. Each such plant requires a lot of space. Firstly, they have long lashes that need space for development, and secondly, they have large fruits, which is why they require a huge amount of nutrients.

Melons and gourds are planted in 2-3 pieces. Melons and watermelons - to a depth of 4 cm, pumpkins - 6 cm. In warm weather, seedlings appear on the tenth day of sowing, and the first true leaf - after another week. Depending on the variety, the main shoot can begin to form in 15-40 days.

Then shoots of the second order, the third, etc. branch off from it. The flowers of these plants are heterosexual - both female and male specimens bloom on the same plant.

As for fertilizing, during the season melons in the early stages of development can be fertilized with mullein infusion. In the autumn, having harvested, potash and phosphorus fertilizers are applied for digging, and in the spring, when preparing the beds, nitrogen fertilizers. Although the plants in this family are drought tolerant, they still yield higher yields when watered. During the season, the soil under them is well moistened 9-12 times. However, during the ripening of the fruit, water the plants as little as possible. Otherwise, the fruit will grow watery and not too sweet.

The cultivation of melons and gourds is a rather complicated matter, since the climate in Russia is not very suitable for them. Often, even with proper care of the crop, the gardener does not receive it. The result, after all, largely depends on the weather conditions. If you still want to grow watermelons or melons on your site, then you should try to do it. If you're lucky, you can diversify your diet with delicious and unusually healthy fruits.

Residents of the central regions of Ukraine cannot boast of a melon crop - watermelons ripen late, grow small, savory. But the miraculous harvest of watermelon and melon can be harvested if you use a few professional secrets.

“It is better to plant watermelons in the second year after the introduction of organic matter into the soil,” says Orest Barabash, head of the Department of Vegetable Growing at the Ukrainian Agrarian University, Doctor of Agricultural Sciences. - Best of all, watermelons grow on sandy loam soils. In addition, not all varieties are suitable for middle latitudes. I would recommend the following: Borisfen, Borchansky, Golopristansky, Dumara, Obriy, Sichnevy, Chernomorsky. These varieties ripen by mid-August. Melon should be taken mainly of three varieties: Serpyanka, Titovka and Bereginya.

In order for the harvest to be good, it is better to grow melons and gourds by seedlings. Seeds are sown on April 10-15. Before that, you need to wet them, wait until they hatch, and plant them in peat-milling pots 10 × 10 centimeters in size. The pots must be filled with soil up to half - when the seedlings are stretched out, it will be necessary to add earth.

In open ground, watermelons are planted from May 18 to May 25, when the threat of frost disappears. If the soil is not sufficiently fertilized, half a kilogram of humus is placed in the pits and 8-10 centimeters of earth is poured on top. When planting, it is necessary to strictly observe the row spacing: for a watermelon - 1.8 meters, for a melon - 1.4. In a row, watermelon seedlings are planted at a distance of 1.4-1.8 meters, melons - 0.7-1.4. Two plants can be planted in the holes at once.

When the seedlings grow, they are evenly distributed: one shoot to the right, one to the left. On the central stem, where the fruits are formed, you need to leave 3-4 ovaries, and pinch off the rest of the stem on the 6-7th leaf.

Melons are grown using the same technology. But, unlike watermelon, melon forms fruits on lateral shoots. 6-7 ovaries are left on the plants, and the stems are pinched off over the fruits on the 3-4th leaf.

Lunar-solar sowing calendar

March 28 - rutabagas, turnips, potatoes, Jerusalem artichoke, turnip onions, radishes, beets, horseradish, flowers from bulbs;

Planting and growing watermelons and melons in the open field

Watermelon and melon are associated with the taste of summer, and every gardener dreams of growing delicious fruits on his plot. Watermelon has long been used as a healing diuretic medicine to cleanse the body. Melons are thermophilic and grow in warm climates, therefore, to grow and plant watermelons in the open field, you need to have special knowledge.

It is imperative to find out in advance whether it is possible to plant melons if a cucumber, pepper, pumpkin or zucchini grows nearby.

Can watermelons and melons be planted nearby?

Melons belong to the pumpkin family. Crops are very healthy and contain a huge amount of vitamins. If you learn how to properly grow these plants, you can get a high yield of delicious fruits.

Melon is quite suitable for "neighborhood" with watermelon. Plants tend to grow. It is not recommended to plant them together too close..

Correct sowing of seeds for seedlings at home

Seeds for seedlings are planted approximately 60 days before disembarkation in open ground... This means that in the middle of March, the seeds should be purchased. You can buy them in any specialized store or ask those who have already managed to grow a high-quality harvest of watermelons and melons.

It is impossible to get from the seeds of last year's watermelon good harvest... The best seeds to plant are 5 years ago... It is important to understand that only any early-ripening varieties with a ripening period of up to 70-85 days are suitable for our climate. It is better to give preference to hybrid varieties that are more adapted to adverse conditions.

When preparing seeds, make sure they are not empty. For this, seeds are immersed in a container with water, everything that surfaced can be safely thrown away... Watermelon seeds germinate more slowly than melon seeds. Therefore, it is recommended to scald watermelon seeds with boiling water, for better germination, and only then sow.

Preparing for planting and soaking

Soak. Each individual type of seed must be wrapped and soaked in cloth rags and keep in a humid environment until germination... You can also soak in special napkins.
If the seeds have already hatched, but there is no way to plant them in a timely manner, you can leave the seeds in the refrigerator.

Home-grown seeds are planted in separate small pots with a diameter of 10 cm, preferably peat. The soil should be a mixture of: humus, sod land 3: 1, add peat, sawdust, humus 3: 1: 0.5.

It is planted in each pot 2 seeds each to the depth 5 cm... Moisten the earth with a spray bottle. Cover the top of the container with cling film and put in a warm place +25 degrees.

when the seeds germinate, transfer them to sunlight at a temperature +22 degrees... Remove the film;
the best place for seedlings is a windowsill on the south side of the house;
a week after sowing, feed the seedlings with mineral fertilizers, another week - infusion of mullein with superphosphate.

Landing in open ground

When planting in open ground, you need to focus on the climatic conditions, the selected crop variety, the readiness of the seedlings.

Soil selection

Before planting melons in open ground, you need to choose a place for planting. Exotic plants love sunny places where there is no shade and wind.

Melons and watermelons need rich soils as well as those that withstand moisture well. The ideal option is sandy and sandy loam soil with a hydrogen index of 6-7 units.

Preparing watermelon seedlings

When the seedlings appear 5-7 leaves, she is ready to be transplanted into the open ground. Best time – the end of May... However, you need to be guided by weather conditions so that the air temperature remains at +15 degrees at night.

A week before planting in open ground, the seedlings need to be hardened to a daytime temperature of + 16 + 20 degrees.

Seedlings are ready for transplanting after 5-7 leaves appear

Open Ground Landing Pattern - Depth and Distance

For planting in open ground, you must adhere to the following rules:

In the garden, holes should be made at a distance 0.5-0.7 meters apart according to the checkerboard pattern. Leave a gap of 70cm between the rows.
Seedlings are placed in the holes so that the surface remains only a few top leaves... The soil should be crushed, and sprinkled with sand around to protect the plant from rot.
After planting, the crop should be watered with summer or slightly warmed water.
To protect a young plant from the scorching sun, you need to close the shoots with moistened plastic or paper caps for 2-3 days.

Features of growing melons

To ensure free access of oxygen to the roots, the soil needs to be constantly loosen to a depth of 10 cm... With the development of side loops, spud the culture. In order for the plant not to spend all its energy on gaining mass during the growth period, you need to pinch the main stem. For the full development of melons, three shoots are enough.

When fruit ovaries appear, 2-6 of the strongest and largest specimens are left on the bush. To reduce the load on the lash, it is recommended to tie the fruits into nets and hang on a support... The fruits are placed on foil pads to prevent rotting.

To reduce the load on the lash, the fruits can be hung in a net

If the watermelons will be used for storage and transportation in the future, it is better to take a berry not fully ripe.

Benefits of planting in open ground:

in warm weather, you can achieve maximum ripeness fruits;
daily watering of the crop is not required;
yields can be increased by observing the basic rules for soil selection and planting seeds for seedlings.

It is quite possible to grow watermelons and melons in a summer cottage. Some even grow them in bags or greenhouses. If you follow all the recommendations, then by the end of summer you can enjoy sweet, sugar fruits. The main advantage of growing melons in your garden is the absence of chemicals.

Melon crops: how to grow a melon, pumpkin, watermelon

Golden melons, pot-bellied pumpkins, sugar watermelons - all these are melons. They are all relatives, but each plant has its own secrets of cultivation. How to get a good harvest of melons and gourds, the nuances of planting and care, agricultural techniques - so that all the relatives of the harbuzs are "alive and healthy."

Traditionally and mistakenly, it is believed that good watermelons and melons grow only "in the south". And we are in a hurry to buy imported fruits, but we don't even buy seeds of watermelons and melons. But in vain! Modern varieties and hybrids can be successfully grown in our gardens.

Watermelons, melons, pumpkins grown from seeds with our own hands will not yield to the southern ones in taste. And nutritionists have long been talking about the benefits of these fruits. They contain a lot of carotene, potassium, phosphorus, organic acids, iron salts. In terms of useful qualities, they, in many ways, are in no way inferior to fruits.

General rules for growing melons and gourds from seeds

All melons and gourds need a lot of light and heat, moisture in the soil and dry air.

The peculiarity of melons and gourds in their thermophilicity and the need for direct sunlight, without shading.
The temperature at which pumpkin, watermelon, and melon develop best from seeds is above + 20 ° С. For abundant flowering of female flowers and fruit setting - the recommended temperature during the day: + 20 ° С - + 25 ° С, and at night it does not drop below: + 18 ° С - + 20 ° С.
At a temperature of + 12 ° С, the development of melons and gourds slows down significantly, and at + 10 ° С and below it stops altogether. With frosts, melons and gourds can die.
The root system of melons and gourds is strong, well-developed, therefore pumpkins, watermelons, and melons can successfully withstand drought. Pubescent leaves - prevent moisture evaporation from the leaf plate.
In order for the yield of melons and gourds to be plentiful, and the fruits tasty and large, you need to ensure regular watering.
The increased air humidity in the place of cultivation from melons and gourds seeds must be excluded. At high humidity, they can be affected by diseases. To keep the air dry, water at the root.
Melon seeds are sown in one place every 4-5 years. You should not sow melons and gourds in one place every year. Bad precursors for watermelon, melon and pumpkin: cucumbers, squash, squash. Good: herbs, grains, cereals, corn, tomatoes, forage crops, potatoes, beets, carrots, herbs and other vegetables.
Melons and gourds respond well to feeding, the number of female flowers increases, the formation of an ovary, the pouring of fruits, their taste and quality.
Melons can also be grown from seeds through seedlings. It is better to grow only early and mid-season pumpkins and early watermelons and melons by direct sowing of seeds into the ground.
To get large fruits and more ovary, whip pumpkin, watermelon, melon - pinch. One way: by the end of August, pinch the tops of all shoots on which there is an ovary. The second way: pinch the plant over 4-5 real leaves so that lateral shoots appear, and then remove the tops after 2-3 ovaries appear on each.

Different melons and gourds have their own characteristics of growth, development, care. Let's look at the nuances of agricultural technology, the choice of seeds of different varieties and growing crops.

Features of growing melons and gourds

Melon from seed

In the southern regions, you can grow any varieties, and in cooler regions - the best melon varieties: super-early Titovka, Early 133, reliable early hybrid Amal F1, traditional Kolkhoz woman, etc.

Soils and illumination.

Neutral or slightly alkaline cultivated soils without stagnant water are suitable for growing melons. Good melons will only grow in full sun. Seeds are sown in soil fertilized since autumn.

Preparing melon seeds for sowing.

Dip the seeds in 1% -2% salt solution before sowing. The best seeds will sink to the bottom. Rinse them with water and treat with germination stimulants.

Sowing melon seeds.

Sow for seedlings in containers with a volume of 150 ml or more. Sow 3-4 seeds each. Before planting in open ground, seedlings should be 25-35 days old. Seedlings will appear within 6-10 days at a temperature of + 25 ° C. Sowing depth 4 cm - 7 cm. In the garden, seeds are sown when the soil warms up to at least + 12 ° С

Melon planting.

Plant the melon in nests of 3-4 plants in each hole. The distance between the nests is 50 cm - 70 cm in a row. Row spacing - from 120 cm. When planting, add a complete complex mineral fertilizer to the planting site.

Melon care.

When 5-6 real leaves appear - remove the weakest plants from the hole, leave 1-2 strongest ones. Feed the plants with specialized fertilizers several times a season. Water regularly at the root. Stop watering 203 weeks before the fruit ripens. Then the melons will be sweeter.

Seed watermelon

When choosing watermelon seeds, please note that the most delicious are mid-late and late varieties, and the earliest ones will definitely have time to fill and ripen, regardless of the weather. The most popular varieties: Crimson sweet, oval with light green skin Charleston Gray, with bright yellow flesh - Yanusik variety, etc.

Soils and illumination.

Watermelons love light sandy loam soil, enriched with compost or humus in the fall. And sunny locations without the slightest shade.

Preparing watermelon seeds for sowing.

In a 3% -5% salt solution, the best seeds will sink to the bottom. Rinse them, treat them with a stimulant and sow.

Sowing watermelon seeds.

The timing of sowing watermelon seeds for seedlings is determined as follows: the age of the plant for open ground is 30-35 days. Seedlings appear within 10 days. When the soil warms up to + 12 ° C, you can sow in open ground. Sowing depth: 4 cm - 6 cm.

Planting a watermelon.

Several sprouts or seeds - form 3-4 plants in holes. After a month, 1-2 of the strongest plants are left. Distance in a row between nests - from 50 cm. Between rows: from 150 cm.

Watermelon care.

Top dressing is carried out regularly, like a melon, once every 2 weeks, starting from the moment 3-4 of this leaf is formed. To prevent the whip from fluttering in the wind, you can sprinkle it with peat or other mulch. Watermelons don't like it when their leaves turn over and break. The ends of the whips - pinch on general rules for melons.

Seed pumpkin

Of all the melons, the pumpkin has one of the longest ripening periods. For most varieties, it is 110-120 days from germination to harvest. There are seeds of early pumpkin varieties, usually short-growing or bushy plants, with fruits weighing up to 2 kg (portioned). Pumpkin has the ability to ripen during storage and can be stored at room temperature for several months without loss of taste. And there is a pumpkin, the seeds of which are formed without a hard shell, they can be eaten without peeling - Gymnosperms.

Soils and illumination.

The pumpkin plant itself is unpretentious and will survive on any soil. But in order for sweet, ripe fruits to grow from seeds, cultivated light nutritious soil is needed. You can plant a pumpkin in a light partial shade, but the lashes will rush to the light and the best fruits will be only in a well-lit, well-warmed place.

Preparing pumpkin seeds for sowing.

Choose the fullest and largest seeds, treat them with a stimulant before sowing.

Sowing pumpkin seeds.

In order to get larger and more mature fruits, and the harvest is richer, grow seedlings. Sowing both in the beds and in containers is done to a depth of 4 cm - 6 cm.

Planting a pumpkin.

Seedlings and seeds are planted in a garden bed when the temperature at night no longer drops below + 12 ° C. Plants are planted in nests, holes up to 50 cm in diameter are made in advance, and they are filled with fertilizers. Large-fruited pumpkins are grown - 1 plant per nest, hard-bore and nutmeg - 2-3 plants.

Pumpkin care.

Fertilize and water the pumpkins regularly, especially when the fruit is being poured. While weeding and loosening, slightly huddle the bushes.

It is possible to grow melons and gourds - pumpkins, watermelons and melons of good quality and sugar content in any region of Ukraine. To do this, you just need to follow the growing recommendations and buy seeds of the varieties that are suitable for you.

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Five tricks to grow watermelons and melons even in harsh conditions

Trick one: double cover

With this method, watermelons and melons are sown in open ground to a depth of 3-4 cm: watermelons at 1.5–2 m from each other, melons at 1–1.2 m. Each hoard contains 2-3 seeds. But they do this not at the end of May, as is usually recommended, but in the first half - then they will have enough time to fully mature. Someone will say: so there is still half a month of frost ahead, the seedlings will die! And here is the main trick - young plants need to be covered. And in an unusual way.

First, the crops are covered with a liter plastic bottle with a cut-off bottom. The bottom of it is poured with sand and poured through the neck with warm water (45-50 ° C). On top of the first bottle, put a second, five-liter, also without a bottom. It turns out a kind of nesting doll in which the heat is perfectly preserved.

When the first true leaf appears on the plants, the strongest of the three seedlings is left in each hole. After thinning, the plants are abundantly watered and covered, but now only with five-liter bottles. And do not rush to take them off at the beginning of June - let watermelons and melons warm themselves under plastic caps until June 15-20.

Trick two: a place in the sun

Ideally, if the soil in the area for watermelons and melons is light, sandy. But this is not the most important thing. It is important that a lot of sun gets on the melon. So there should be no trees or bushes nearby.

But when the fruits begin to ripen, they must be shaded so that they do not bake in the sun. For this, burdock leaves or newspaper are suitable - they are placed on top of watermelons and melons on hot days.

Trick three: a plate under the barrel

Another problem with melons in cool conditions is rot. From dampness, fruits and even shoots rot. And in order to avoid this, a plank should be placed under each melon and watermelon so that they do not come into contact with the soil. Pour 2-3 handfuls of sand at the root collar.

Trick four: watering aside

In melons and gourds, the roots go deep into the soil - in hot and dry conditions, they get their own water this way. But in the northern regions, where groundwater is often very close, long roots play a cruel joke - when they reach the aquifer, they rot.

Therefore, it is important to force the roots to grow not in depth, but in breadth. This is easy to do - you need to water the plants not at the root, but along the furrows, which are made in the middle between the rows.

However, it is important not to overdo it with watering - they are needed only in very extreme heat. And the next day, the earth must be loosened and mulched so that there is no soil crust.

Trick five: trimming the whips

A large number of fruits in a cool, short summer will still not have time to ripen, and the bush will spend energy on them to the detriment of the rest of the crop. So on each plant, you should leave no more than 5-6 watermelons or melons.

In watermelons, female flowers are formed on the main lash, so they do not touch it, but the side ones are cut out. And in melons, on the contrary, the main lash is cut over 5-6 sheets.

With this method of growing melons, the crop can be harvested at the end of August.

How to grow melons in the open field?

Methods for growing melons and gourds in the open field

Growing by sowing seeds in non-insulated soil

Site selection and crop rotation. In many places in the temperate zone, virgin and fallow lands are being developed. Where the soil is fertile enough, the newly developed land should be widely used for melons and gourds: they give high yields. For example, in the Altai Territory in 1954, on the Kuibyshev collective farm of the Uglovsky District, on virgin soil from an area of 20 hectares, a crop of watermelon of the Pobeditel 395 variety was obtained, 750 quintals per hectare. In the same year, the collective farm "Znamya kommunizma" of the Kulundinsky District (Altai Territory) harvested 350 quintals of table watermelon, and 700 quintals of fodder per hectare from an area of 32 hectares. In the same area, the Khrushchev collective farm on an area of 36 hectares has grown a crop of fodder watermelon at 400 quintals per hectare and table watermelon 130 quintals per hectare.

The collective farm named after Lenin of the Kalmansky district in the virgin lands received a pumpkin crop of the Stofuntovaya variety of 750 centners per hectare on an area of 13 hectares.

In vegetable farms, melons and gourds can be placed in a special crop rotation together with other thermophilic crops. Good precursors for melons and gourds are legumes, onions, cabbage, root crops and vegetable seed plants that do not belong to the pumpkin family. For the purpose of preventive control of pests and diseases, melons and gourds should not be returned to their original place earlier than 4 years.

Melons and gourds are often sown after winter wheat sown over fertilized fallow.

In areas where melons and gourds occupy small areas, it is better to place them in greenhouse areas, in the aisles of a young garden and in other warm areas. If possible, it is best to choose a plot with a southern, southwestern or southeastern slope with light sandy loam or loamy soil and a permeable subsoil for melon.

On the southern slopes, the ripening of fruits in watermelon and melon occurs 1-1 1/2 weeks earlier than on a flat surface, and the fruits are usually more sugary.

Fertilization and soil cultivation. Melons and gourds make high demands on fertilization and tillage. For all areas of the zone, deep plowing is effective, the introduction of increased doses of phosphorus and potash fertilizers together with manure or compost. However, the dose of fertilizer should be different depending on the soil differences and the amount of precipitation. The smallest amount of fertilizers is applied on chernozem, and the largest - on non-chernozem soils.

Seed preparation for sowing. Before sowing, the seeds must be pickled. In the temperate zone, it is especially important for sowing to select the largest seeds that have the greatest weight, since large, heavy seeds yield 25-30% higher yields. In addition, the experiments of the Gribovskaya Vegetable Breeding Station showed that in the cold spring period, plants from large seeds give a lower percentage of loss. Thus, in 1953 three lots of seeds of Gribovskaya seedling melon 13 were sown. The first batch had an absolute weight of seeds of 50 g, the second 40 and the third - 30 g. Due to the cold weather, the plants did not germinate well, many died. Counting of seedlings in early June showed that plants from a batch of seeds with an absolute weight of 50 g remained by 39.2%, from a batch of seeds with an absolute weight of 40 g - by 28%, and from a batch with an absolute weight of 30 g-23 ,one%. Similar results were obtained at the Gribovskaya experimental breeding bed and in 1956.

In the temperate zone, getting quick and friendly entries is essential. In most cases, sowing with germinated and wet seeds is effective. Seeds of melons, pumpkins and zucchini are soaked before sowing for one day, for table and fodder watermelons - for two days. In the experiments of the VR Williams All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Forage, the increase in yield from soaking the seeds of the 100-pound pumpkin for two hours was 21.2% compared to the yield obtained from sowing with dry seeds.

Sowing carried out in such a way that the seedlings do not fall under the influence of the last spring frosts, when the soil temperature at a depth of 10 cm will not be lower than 12 °. The pumpkin can be sown before watermelons and melons, when the soil temperature reaches 8-10 °. On average, 1 hectare requires 1.5-5 kg of melon seeds, 2-5 kg of watermelon, 4-5 kg of bush pumpkins and zucchini, 3-4 kg of long-leaved pumpkins. 3-5 pumpkin seeds or 10-15 melon or watermelon seeds are sown in each well and covered with soil.

The seeding depth depends on the soil composition. On light soils, melon seeds are sealed to a depth of 3-3.5 cm, watermelons - 4-6 cm, pumpkins - 5-8 cm.On more cohesive and moist soils, melon seeds are sealed to a depth of 2.5-3 cm, watermelons - 3-5 cm, pumpkins 4-5 cm.

If the soil is not moist enough, then in order to get fast, friendly shoots, before sowing, the holes are watered and the seeds are placed in moist, just watered soil and covered with dry soil.

On large areas, melons and gourds are sown with SKG-6 and CHI-6 seeders.

Care. Crops before emergence, as well as young shoots, must be protected from birds. After germination, that is, approximately 10-12 days after sowing, all areas with melons and gourds should be cultivated to a depth of 10-12 cm in two directions with tractor or horse cultivators, depending on the size of the feeding area.

During the summer, at least three loosening is carried out, of which the second and subsequent loosening must be done to a depth of 5-6 cm. Before the last cultivation, the lashes have to be thrown into rows so as not to damage them with the tractor wheels and cultivator paws. After the last tilling, the lashes are straightened over the site, and the soil near the plants is loosened by hand. Thinning is combined with soil cultivation around the root collar of plants.

The method of sprinkling lashes into grooves in areas with excessive moisture can be effective only in dry years, since with an excess of moisture in the soil, the lashes of watermelons and melons, sprinkled with earth, rot.

Melons and gourds are pollinated by insects. According to the calculations of the agronomist MK Sakharov (1951), the number of visits by bees to flowers of melons and gourds is 84.8-96.2% of the number of visits by other pollinators. He found that from plants whose flowers are pollinated by bees, seeds are 2 times more viable than from those plants that were pollinated by other insects or artificially. Therefore, during the flowering period, it is necessary to take out 1-2 colonies per 1 hectare to the melons.

Many melon growers use the technique of single or double turning of the fruit of watermelons by 180 ° to obtain a more beautiful fruit. This technique is carried out carefully, without twisting the stalk, 20 days after the formation of the ovary. The fruits are turned away from the sun to avoid burns. Rotating melons is not practiced.

There are a number of works that indicate the advisability of limiting the lashes in melons and gourds by pinching the tops and cutting out non-fruiting shoots. In the Moscow region, in the experiments of the VR Williams All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Forage (1953), pinching the tops of pumpkin lashes at the beginning of fruit setting increased the yield by 33%. In the experiments of the Department of Vegetable Growing of the Moscow Agricultural Academy named after K.A. Timiryazev (1939), the yield of the Etamskaya pumpkin variety without pinching was 11 tons, and with a pinching - 22.5 tons per hectare. The work of the same station showed that pinching melons sharply increases the yield, as well as the number of ripe fruits. In zucchini, it is recommended to pinch the top of the main stem during budding. At the Gribovskaya Vegetable Breeding Station (Moscow Region), positive results were obtained from pinching all the tops of pumpkin, melon and watermelon lashes at a time when 2-3 fruits are formed on the plant. Due to the pinching, excessive thickening of the lashes is eliminated and the growth of fruits is enhanced due to the large influx of plastic substances to them. According to the data of the West Siberian Vegetable Experimental Station, pinching the main stem of melons above the 5-6th leaf significantly accelerates the ripening of fruits.

The state farm "Muslyumovsky" in the Chelyabinsk region successfully applied the pinching of the melons of the main stem over the 3rd leaf, the first-order lashes over the 7-8th leaf, the second-order lashes over the 4th leaf, counting from the formed ovary. In the pinched plants, the ripening of the crop began two weeks earlier than in the control. According to the state farm, in 8 hours one worker is pinching the tops of the main lashes on an area of 0.15 hectares, and pinching the axes of the first and second order on an area of 0.05 hectares.

Growing watermelons in your garden

Sowing watermelons
How to water
Videos

A lot has been said about the benefits of watermelons: sweet juicy fruits are indicated for diseases of the heart and blood vessels, kidneys, liver, salt metabolism disorders, obesity and many other ailments. It is the richest source of potassium, magnesium, iron, folic acid, vitamins, acids and pectin substances. However, many are simply afraid to buy watermelons for fear of being poisoned by them. It's no secret that unscrupulous businessmen who grow their products are increasing the dose of pesticides and fertilizers in order to get a higher yield. Naturally, natural is much healthier and safer for our health.

Watermelons are very demanding for heat and light, it is not for nothing that they are considered one of the most heat-loving crops. Seeds will germinate at a temperature of at least 15 degrees, and the temperature norm for flowering will be considered a value from plus 18 to 20 ° C (in the morning) and up to 25 degrees - in the daytime. As soon as the daytime temperature drops below 20 ° C, plant growth will slow down. Choose seeds that are not early ripening varieties, but also do not differ in long ripening. Many summer residents praise the varieties of watermelons Ogonyok and Sugar Kid. They differ from other varieties of watermelons with an average size of 4–6 kg and a dark green color without bright lines, the flesh is dark red, the bones are black.

Watermelon is drought tolerant due to its well-developed, powerful root system, but, at the same time, does not tolerate shading.

Growing watermelons: which soils are suitable

For growing watermelon, sandy loam soils are suitable, warming up in the sun and protected from strong winds. Too moist soil, with a heavy mechanical composition and characterized by being near groundwater, is absolutely unsuitable. The best option- neutral or alkaline soil, but not acidic, where very small fruits will grow, which will have time to crack while still green. Change the planting sites every year - this is good for the soil: next year it is better to plant corn or wheat instead of watermelons.

Sowing watermelons

The first shoots will appear after 8-10 days, which will be considered the norm. If the ground is still cold, then the germination time increases, and the seedlings may simply die. This can also lead to the development of pathogenic flora in seedlings, which will further adversely affect their development during the growing season.

Each hole should be filled with ash (1 tbsp), mixed with earth, humus and nitroammophos (1 tsp). In the future, this will increase yields by about 20%. The seeding depth is 5–8 centimeters. After sowing, mulch the soil surface with humus so that a crust does not appear, which can harm the seedlings when they come to the surface.

Watermelon care

To accelerate the growth of watermelon, various shelters are used: from simple individual ones to group film ones. At the same time, even simple coverings with a film increase the temperature, thereby accelerating ripening by two to three weeks. In addition, with the help of such devices, you will protect plants from pests such as kravchik beetles.

It is possible to arrange tunnel shelters with frames made of rod or wire rod. They are removed, as a rule, at the beginning of June, on a cloudy day, so that the plants cannot “burn out” under the scorching sun. Otherwise, they will weaken or become a source of infection for mass melon.

As for pollination, when grown under the film, it is done manually. To attract bees next to watermelons, you can plant honey plants or spray melons with a weak solution of honey or sugar.

How to water watermelons

During the cultivation of watermelons under a film, they are watered as they dry out. After removing the shelters, watering should be stopped. In the open field, watering stops with the beginning of fruit setting.

In the future, care is reduced to breaking through seedlings, loosening, weeding the soil, destroying weeds and feeding. Do not thicken! Melons and gourds are very light-requiring, therefore, if you want to grow a large and sweet watermelon in the open field - remember that only one plant should remain in the hole - try to keep 1 sq. meter had no more than three landings.

Video about growing melons and gourds

Video: growing under drip irrigation

Video about Japan's square watermelons

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Melon crops include annual or perennial plants of the pumpkin family (Cucurbitaceae), which have long, outstretched or climbing stems with antennae: watermelon, melon, pumpkin, zucchini, squash, etc. The most popular, for obvious reasons, are watermelons and melons, which are cultivated to obtain juicy fruits with high taste. Watermelon and melon are eaten mostly fresh as a dessert. However, jam, preserves, molasses, watermelon honey (nardek, bekmes) are also cooked from the fruits of these melons and gourds, candied fruits, marshmallows and pickles are prepared, they are still widely used in the canning and confectionery industries. Valuable vegetable oil is obtained from the seeds of many plants of the pumpkin family.

As part of this article, we'll take a look at a seasonal watermelon growing business. The high popularity of watermelon is due to its valuable dietary, taste and nutritional properties. Watermelon is high in sucrose and fructose, which give it sweetness, while the pulp and rind of watermelon contain a variety of beneficial amino acids, macro- and micronutrients, including antioxidants, fiber, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, sulfur, folic acid and sodium.

General information about watermelons

In our country, watermelons in industrial scale grown in the Volga region and in some areas of the southern regions, as well as in the Crimea. Watermelons are thermophilic plants that are well cultivated in the steppe climate with long hot dry summers, so in these regions they ripen freely in the open air, acquiring excellent taste. In the middle black earth regions of Russia, as well as in the more northern regions, watermelons are grown, as a rule, not in the fields (in open ground), where they simply do not have time to ripen in a season, but in greenhouses (under the film). Watermelon has a strong root system, which provides the plant with enough moisture and nutrients to ripen large juicy fruits. The main root of watermelon plants can penetrate into the soil to a depth of two meters, and the lateral roots form a large number of roots of the second and third orders, reaching a depth of 3-4 meters.

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At first, the vegetative mass of plants develops rather slowly, since the root system grows intensively during this period. But already 20-30 days after the emergence of seedlings, the plants begin to grow actively, forming side shoots. Their growth can reach two meters in just one day. The flowering time of a watermelon depends on its early maturity. As a rule, flowers can be observed within a month and a half after germination, and flowering continues until the end of the plant's growing season.

The flowers of a watermelon are usually dioecious, that is, both male and female flowers can form on the same plant. In the most common varieties, however, bisexual, that is, hermaphroditic, and male flowers are formed more often, and in some species - female, male and bisexual. You can distinguish between female and male flowers by size: the former, as a rule, are larger, have a wide five-lobed stigma on a short column. Bisexual flowers are outwardly similar to female ones. They differ only in that they form both stamens and a pistil at once. Flowers open in the morning at dawn and fade in 15-16 hours. Female and bisexual flowers open earlier than male flowers and, if fertilization has not occurred, remain open for the next day. Male flowers fade after a few hours.

Depending on the duration of the growing season (that is, from the moment of emergence to the onset of biological maturity of the plant) varieties and hybrids of watermelon are divided into several main types: ultra-early (up to 70 days), early (71-80 days), mid-ripening (81-90 days ), medium late (91-100 days) and late ripening (over 100 days). Keep in mind that ultra-early and early watermelon varieties tend to be less sugar-rich and more watery than mid- and late-ripening ones. However, for industrial cultivation, these varieties are considered more preferable.

Watermelon fruits can vary greatly in shape, color and size. In most cases, they have an oval-round shape with an average diameter of 20-25 cm and an average weight of 3-6 kg. The surface of the bark of a watermelon is usually smooth, but there are also segmented fruits, and the thickness of the bark depends on the variety, growing method and soil quality. In most fruits, the bark is between one and one and a half centimeters thick. In some varieties, the thickness of the bark does not exceed half a centimeter, and in thick-baked watermelons it can reach 4 cm. The most popular are still watermelons with an average feed thickness of 1-1.5 cm. Although thick-baked watermelons are more convenient to transport and are stored longer, buyers, as a rule, they do not want to overpay for the "extra" weight of the inedible bark of the fetus. Thin-bored watermelons have a very short time storage and require careful transportation.

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Watermelon flesh is usually red, but in some varieties it can have an orange, yellow, or even pearl hue. However, experienced entrepreneurs rely mainly on traditional rather than exotic varieties. The seeds also vary in shape, color, and size. They can be large, medium or small, weighing from 30 to 150 grams / 1000 pieces. black, yellow, white, reddish brown or even greenish in color. Seed germination usually lasts for 4-5 years.

Of all the types of these melons, the common watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) is the most widespread. It is a herbaceous annual with fruits of a spherical, oval, cylindrical or flattened shape with bark of various shades from white and yellow to dark green with a pattern in the form of stripes or spots. Its pulp is usually pink, red or crimson, but there are also varieties with white or yellow pulp. The stems of this culture are thin, creeping or curly, very flexible. They can be up to four meters in length. The seeds of the common watermelon are flat, often bordered, with a scar. This plant blooms throughout all the summer months, while the fruits usually ripen not earlier than August-September.

Growing watermelons outdoors

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To begin with, you will need to choose suitable varieties for growing watermelons on melons. Approach this issue with great care. Ignore the bright pictures on the websites and the assurances of the sellers. To get started, read the growing guidelines or consult an experienced agronomist. When choosing, pay attention to the fact how many days it will take for a given variety to ripen.

The best varieties of melons are considered Astrakhan, or Bykovsky (white), monastery (green with white stripes and with red or gray seeds), Kamyshinsky (the same color), Crimson Sweet (early ripening) and a number of others. The seeds are usually sold in packs of five for 35-45 rubles per pack. At the same time, some suppliers set the minimum purchase lot - from 500-700 rubles.

Melons are planted only when hot weather finally sets in. As a rule, this is mid to late May (in the southern regions) or early June. Watermelon belongs to heat-loving plants, it does not withstand freezing and does not tolerate temperature drops to 5-10 ° C. For the normal development of the plant, the temperature should be from 20-25 ° C and above (optimal - 30 ° C). The humidity of the air (it should ideally be 60%) and soil is also of great importance. On the one hand, thanks to its powerful root system, the watermelon survives even in arid regions. However, if you want to get large, juicy and tasty fruits, then you need to maintain soil moisture at a certain level.

As mentioned above, watermelon seeds remain viable for 4-5 years. At the same time, two-year-old seeds are considered the most suitable for sowing, since plants grown from fresh seeds (from the previous harvest) are not particularly fertile. As a last resort, you can plant annual seeds, but in this case it is recommended to warm them up to 60 ° C for a couple of hours. To obtain uniform shoots, the seeds of melons and gourds are pre-germinated. To do this, they are wrapped in gauze, dipped in warm water for four hours, and then laid out on a damp sacking, wrapped in a cloth and kept in it for two days. After that, they can be planted in the ground.

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If you want to plant watermelons earlier than usual (in the second half of May), then you can grow them in seedlings using peat cups, since melons do not tolerate transplanting well. When planting watermelon seeds early, they must be pre-hardened to increase their resistance to cold. To do this, they are first soaked, and then within 1-2 days they are quenched at temperatures from 0 to 20 ° C.

Watermelon prefers mechanically light or sandy loam soils that warm up quickly in the sun. It is best if perennial grasses, winter wheat, corn for silage, green fodder or legumes were grown in the field before the melons. Experts recommend returning the crops of watermelon to the previous place of cultivation of the same or other crops of the pumpkin family no earlier than after 5-8 years. However, this rule is often not followed.

Experienced people advise putting watermelon seeds in the soil not vertically, but horizontally on their side. Thus, it will be easier for the leaves to break through the thick shell of the seed. In open ground, watermelons are planted in rows or in a nesting way. Consider the fact that there should be a fairly large space per plant. This requirement is due, firstly, to the length of the lashes, and secondly, to the size of the fruits, for which the plants need a very large amount of nutrients to ripen. Watermelon seeds are sown by hand into shallow holes 4-6 cm deep. 2-3 seeds are placed in one hole, then it is filled with water and covered with earth.

Seedlings appear, as a rule, on the tenth - eleventh days of sowing. After another week, the first leaf blooms, and the main shoot begins to form at least two weeks later, or even later, depending on the variety. Care for melons and gourds is standard - weeding and loosening the soil, removing weeds and regular watering. For the entire season, it is necessary to weed and loosen the melon at least four times, but water it 3-4 to 9-12 times per season, depending on the weather and the condition of the plants. When the central leaves of plants begin to wilt, this is a sure sign that they are lacking moisture. Watermelon should be watered with warm water (temperature from 15 ° C) to the very root. Watering should be relatively abundant so that moisture penetrates deep into the entire arable layer. Water consumption ranges from 50 to 100 cubic meters per hectare. In not very dry weather, the next, more abundant watering is carried out after the formation of the ovary and when the fruits reach a weight of 3-5 kg. In this case, the water consumption can be 150 cubic meters per hectare. It is extremely important to develop your own schedule and rates of watering, depending on the region and weather conditions, and strictly adhere to them. Too little or too much moisture can cut the resulting crop by more than half. With excessive watering, there is a high risk of developing various fungal diseases of plants, and excess moisture during the ripening of fruits can negatively affect their quality: watermelons will turn out to be unsweetened and watery.

At the beginning of growth, melons and gourds are recommended to be fertilized with the infusion of the cowshed (rotted manure). After harvesting, potash and phosphorus fertilizers are applied for digging melons (half dose of phosphorus and nitrogen and half dose of potassium). In some manuals, you can find recommendations for additional fertilization of melons in the spring with nitrogen fertilizers. However, they must be used with extreme caution. Excessively large doses of nitrogen fertilizers reduce the palatability of fruits, which, although they grow larger, do not have a characteristic sweet taste. Moreover, high nitrate levels can be harmful to human health.

With proper care (with regular weed removal), suitable climate, favorable weather conditions, fertile soil and watering per hectare of sown area, when grown on the ground, you can harvest 20-40 tons of crops, and when grown on film - 40-70 tons. As we mentioned above, the ripening process in early ripening fruits takes 60-85 days, in mid-ripening and late-ripening - on average 100 days. You can determine the maturity of the fetus by its appearance- the elasticity and shine of the bark, its color, the brightness of the pattern. If you hit a ripe fruit with your palm, the sound will be muffled. When squeezing such a watermelon, a crackle of pulp is heard inside. In cold weather, ripe watermelons can remain on the melon for up to a month. However, in extreme heat, they burn out in less than a week under the scorching rays of the sun, so take care in advance of a room for storing ripe fruits and timely harvesting.

Growing watermelons in greenhouses

If you want to get an early and / or more bountiful harvest, if you plan to start growing watermelons in regions whose climate is not suitable for melons, then you cannot do without greenhouses. The following varieties of watermelons are suitable for greenhouse cultivation: F1 Gift to the North, Cinderella, Ultra Early, F1 Charleston near Moscow, Ogonyok, Pannonia F1, F1 Pink Champagne, Sibiryak, F1 Krimstar ".

It is recommended to sow seedlings for the greenhouse in the second half of April. For distilling seedlings, a special mixture is prepared, which includes three parts of humus with one part of the earth, a tablespoon of potash and nitrogen fertilizers, three tablespoons of phosphorus fertilizer. Also, if you are not using mineral fertilizers, you can add a glass of wood ash and one teaspoon of potassium sulfate per bucket of potting soil.

As when sowing seeds in open ground, when planting seedlings, they are laid at a shallow depth - up to 2-3 cm. Before germination, the soil with seeds must be kept at a temperature of 22-25 ° C. When the first shoots appear, the temperature can drop at night to a maximum of 15-17 ° C.

In general, caring for watermelon seedlings is the same as for cucumber seedlings. It is necessary to provide the shoots with a long daylight hours - from 12 to 14 hours, otherwise, with a lack of light, they will begin to stretch too quickly, giving long, but weak shoots. You can provide the necessary lighting with the help of special lamps that are used for greenhouse crops. A week after germination, it is recommended to shade seedlings with black film from 18 to 8 hours (from evening to morning). On the tenth day after the emergence of shoots, the plants are fed with mineral fertilizers (10-15 grams of potassium chloride, ammonium sulfur, 20-25 grams of superphosphate per 10 liters of water).

Do not forget to prepare the soil in the greenhouse in advance for planting seedlings. It is planted only in "warm" beds. To prepare such, a week before planting, a layer of earth with a thickness of 15-20 cm is removed from the soil.Hay with humus is laid in this trench, which is sprinkled with nitrogen fertilizers and abundantly moistened hot water and then covered with soil and black film. After the soil warms up to at least 10-12 ° C, it will be possible to plant seedlings in it to a depth of 10 cm.In the southern regions this occurs in the first or second decade of April, in the central regions - in the second - third decade of April, in the forest-steppe - in the third decade of April - the first decade of May. When lashes appear and grow, they are tied to trellises, and the fruits themselves, due to the large weight, are recommended to be hung in nets. For the rapid growth of plants, the lashes are pinched, leaving three leaves above the fruit and removing weak shoots.

The greenhouse must be regularly ventilated to avoid drafts. It is desirable that insects enter the greenhouse that pollinate the female flowers. However, you can do it yourself. To do this, carefully monitor the appearance of male flowers, which fade very quickly. With manual pollination, they are plucked, the petals are carefully removed and the anthers are applied to the stigma of the female flowers several times. Experts advise doing this in the morning at an air temperature of about 20 ° C, but only on the condition that the air temperature did not drop below 12 ° C on the night before.

Remember to leave enough seed for the next planting after harvest. The watermelons that grow from these seeds are better able to resist various diseases and grow faster.

Ripe watermelons are sold to wholesale companies, private sellers, directly to end customers and through fruit and vegetable bases. With small volumes, it is most profitable to sell watermelons on your own, since wholesale prices differ from retail prices at times.

Sysoeva Lilia

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