Melon cultivation. How to grow delicious and sweet watermelons outdoors? The subtleties of caring for melons: we grow a watermelon in the open field. Planting seedlings in a permanent place
And the open field is not associated with great difficulties. Some summer residents refuse to plant melons, considering it inexpedient to occupy a large area of the site. Meanwhile, these crops get along well together and give an excellent harvest, subject to certain rules. In a compact garden plot, you do not need to set aside a separate place for melons and watermelons, they can be planted nearby and enjoy juicy sweet fruits.
Seed treatment before planting
Seed material is planted in peat molds at the end of April. Before sowing, it is advisable to warm the seeds well indoors or near a heating device. It is also recommended to soak them in warm water and disinfect in one of the solutions:
- hydrogen peroxide solution is prepared at the rate of 10 tablets per liter of water;
- a weak solution of manganese or boron of 0.05% concentration;
- "Epin extra", a stimulant is diluted as follows: 6 drops of a dietary supplement per 100 ml of water;
- "Zircon", the solution is prepared at the rate of 2-4 drops of liquid per liter of water.
Treatment with biostimulants will not only destroy pathogens, but also allow plants to adapt to temperature disasters, and also increase crop yields. Soaking is carried out in a cotton bag, which is immersed in heated (approximately 60 °) water, the liquid is allowed to drain and left for a day. During this time, the seeds should swell and crack a little. If this does not happen, it makes no sense to plant them in the ground: the culture will turn out to be weak. When planting, 2 seeds are placed in each mold, in the future this will allow you to remove a weaker branch.
Simultaneous soaking and warming of seeds is the best preparation for seedlings. Melons are watered only with water at room temperature, while it is necessary to ensure that it does not irrigate the leaves. Seedlings of melons and gourds are quite capricious and require good lighting, warmth and careful watering.
Special soil is sold in stores, but you can prepare it yourself. For this purpose, mineral fertilizer "Kemira universal" is added to the suitable soil. For each pot, 1 teaspoon is enough, then the earth is mixed well. The seeds are buried to a depth of 2-3 cm and watered. Under favorable conditions, the first shoots appear on the 5-6th day, and in a week you can see the first leaf.
Planting melons in indoor ground is carried out at the end of May. By this time, the soil has already warmed up enough, and frost will not damage the root system. It is recommended to pre-harden young plants, for this they are taken outside at a temperature of 13-15 degrees or the air in the room is cooled to these figures. The best seedling age for planting is approximately 25-30 days.
Before planting, the soil is tightened with plastic wrap, in which holes are cut for peat containers. This allows not only to protect heat-loving crops from low temperatures, but also increases productivity. Fertilizers are additionally applied to the holes: humus, ash or mineral additives. From above, the nutrient components are covered with a layer of earth.
The greenhouse should maintain optimal temperature and light conditions. The temperature should be 20-25 ° during the day, and 15-18 ° at night. Watered sparingly and infrequently with warm water. To prevent condensation from occurring, the greenhouse must be periodically ventilated. Watermelons and melons are quite sensitive to excess moisture, their seedlings can rot, and the fruits themselves grow watery and tasteless. If it gets colder outside, cover the soil and young seedlings with foil, cotton cloth or paper.
At the time of planting melons in the greenhouse, you can have time to harvest young cabbage, early radish and greens. This not only warms up the soil additionally, but also saves space.
Landing order
The scheme of planting in open ground is as follows. The distance between plants should be 40-50 cm for watermelons and 50-60 cm for melons. When grown together in a greenhouse, watermelons and melons are planted in a checkerboard pattern. Peat containers are buried shallowly into the ground, a gap of about 3 cm should remain between the leaves and the ground. This trick will further protect the plant from disease and decay.
When planting, the scheme and the distance between the rows are taken into account. Usually it is recommended to plant in 2 rows, between which a piece of land 50 cm wide is left. The next planting of melons in the ground is carried out at a distance of 80 cm from the first rows.
Care for melons in the greenhouse
Caring for watermelons and melons is not difficult and not too laborious. Young shoots can be covered with cut plastic bottles, this protective frame allows for increased yield. As the plant grows, the bottle is removed or replaced with a higher shelter. When the stem has grown sufficiently in length, it is attached to a special support - a trellis, you can tie the top with a thread to the ceiling of the greenhouse. Heavy fruits are placed in nets, cardboard boxes. The main thing is that they do not come into contact with the ground.
7-10 days after planting, you can feed with nitrogen fertilizer - urea or saltpeter, for this, 20 grams of the substance are diluted in 10 liters of water.
Care for melons consists in loosening the soil, watering and feeding. It is necessary to ensure that weeds do not appear between the shoots after planting. Young plants are watered once a week, then it is allowed to do this twice a month.
Watermelons and melons are drought-resistant crops, they germinate in the southern regions, where the absence of rain for a long time is considered normal. When the first fruits appear, watering is stopped. Watering melons should be done carefully, making sure that no water gets on the root part of the stem. Otherwise, the crop can be damaged by rot.
Every 2-3 weeks the soil should be fertilized with mullein infusion and minerals. During feeding, a small handful of ash can be added to each hole.
Artificial pollination in a greenhouse is carried out with a male flower, it is determined by its impressive size. The flower is picked and applied to the female flowers. The crop should not be watered before pollination so that excess moisture does not affect the quality of the pollen. Many gardeners attract bees to pollination: they open the doors of the greenhouse, put saucers with sugar syrup.
Plant formation
As they grow, the stems are bred in different directions. In the future, they are tied to wooden or metal trellises.
To teach a good harvest, you need to follow the rules.
- On melons, the apical part of the stem is cropped. This procedure will be sufficient for early maturing varieties. Late melon varieties are docked differently. In addition to removing the top, the side parts are also inspected, their thickness and power are assessed. Young lashes are removed, leaving 3-4 strong branches.
- You will have to tinker with watermelons. The cultivation of this culture is carried out in one stem, it is selected by the presence of shoots in the leaf axils. The stems, on which there is no ovary, are removed, the rest are pinched. When the culture grows above the trellis size, repeated pinching of the apical lash is carried out at the level of the 4-5th leaf.
Features of growing in the open field
Before planting plants in open ground, you should decide on a place. Watermelons and melons prefer to grow in slightly elevated, gently sloping areas that are well warmed up and illuminated by the sun's rays. Here they grow better, bear fruit abundantly and ripen early.
Care is carried out by loosening the soil, removing weeds and excess lashes. In the process of growth, several inter-row soil treatments are carried out. The first - when young leaves appear, to a depth of 6-8 cm, the second - when 5-6 true leaves appear, loosening can be combined with top dressing.
Harvest watermelons and melons as they ripen. The ripeness of watermelons is determined by the drying of the antennae in the axils of the leaves, the disappearance of dullness and the appearance of shine, and the clarification of the peel of the fruit. If you tap on a watermelon, a dull sound appears, but you need to have practical skills to distinguish it.
Melon ripeness is determined by the dried stalk.
Are melons compatible?
Can watermelons and melons be planted nearby? These crops consume similar chemicals from the soil and require roughly the same treatment methods. If you plant them side by side, this will greatly simplify the care procedures: watering, garter, groundbait. However, melons and gourds greatly impoverish the soil, and they can be planted in the same place only after a few years. To prevent this, watermelons and melons should be regularly fed with mineral fertilizers.
Collecting seeds from watermelons and melons when planting them together is not recommended, since mutual pollination occurs. The result of such a hybrid may not be very pleasant to the taste.
If you are the owner of a large plot of land, it is better to plant these crops in open ground in different parts of the garden. If the site is small, then they can be planted nearby, nothing terrible will happen. The proximity of melons with each other will not affect the yield.
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 cheesecloth and immersed 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, grow in the wild in South Africa and melons and pumpkins 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 a 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, which need space for development, and secondly, large fruits, because of which 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 fall, 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.
1. Overall value
2. Botanical and biological characteristics
3. Cultivation technology
1. Melon crops - watermelon, melon and pumpkin - are cultivated for the sake of obtaining juicy fruits that are distinguished by high taste. They are of great food and feed importance.
Watermelon and melon are eaten mostly fresh. In addition, honey is boiled from watermelon and candied fruits and pickles are prepared, melon is used in the canning and confectionery industries. Late-ripening melon varieties have gained worldwide fame for their unsurpassed taste, transportability and ability to store almost until the new harvest. Pumpkin is used boiled and baked, it is used for making candied fruits and honey (from juice). Edible oil is obtained from the seeds of melons and gourds.
For livestock feed, fresh fruits of fodder varieties of watermelon and pumpkin are usually used. 100 kg of fodder pumpkin equals on average 10.2 fodder units, 100 kg of fodder watermelon - 9.3 and 100 kg of squash - 7.2 fodder units.
Melon growing as a branch of plant growing emerged in our country in the middle of the last century. Currently, the sown area is under melons is more than 1 million hectares. The CIS ranks first in the world in terms of the cultivated areas of melons and gourds.
Cultivation areas. Productivity. Watermelon is cultivated mainly in the Middle and Lower Volga region, in the North Caucasus, Ukraine and Moldova, melon - in Central Asia and Transcaucasia, and pumpkin - in the central regions of the Non-Black Earth Zone, in the Central Black Earth Zone, Trans-Urals, Siberia and Far East... Along with pumpkin, early ripening varieties of watermelon are also cultivated in these regions. In recent years, the border of melon growing has moved significantly to the north and east.
Outside our country, melons and gourds are cultivated in many countries of Asia (India, China, Japan), Africa and America. From European countries, melons are sown in Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Italy.
The average yield of watermelon on non-irrigated lands is 200-250 centners, and on irrigated lands - 400-500 centners per hectare, melon yield ranges from 160 to 500 centners per hectare, pumpkin - from 350 to 700 centners and more per hectare. The highest yields of melons are obtained in Ukraine, Moldova, the North Caucasus, as well as in the irrigated conditions of Transcaucasia and Central Asia.
2. Botanical characteristics. Biological features.
Gourds belong to the Pumpkin family - Cucurbita-seae, which includes the three most important genus in the culture - watermelon (Citrullus), melon (Melo) and pumpkin (Cucurbita). Plants belonging to these genera, annuals, are very similar to each other in the structure of vegetative and generative organs.
Watermelon. The watermelons cultivated in our country belong to two types: table watermelon - Citrullus edulis Pang, and fodder watermelon (candied) - Citrullus colocynthoides Pang.
The root of the table watermelon is pivotal, highly branched, reaching a depth of 2.5-3 m and extending to the sides up to 5-7 m.
The stem is creeping, long-plaited (2-5 m), creeping, with 5-10 branches covered with hard hairs.
The leaves are strongly dissected into pinnately cut lobes, rigidly pubescent.
Flower - yellow, dioecious; female flowers are larger than male ones. Cross pollination using insects.
The fruit is a multi-seeded false berry (pumpkin) on a long stalk, spherical, oval or oblong, colored white-greenish, greenish or dark green, often with a marble pattern (Fig. 1). The bark of the fruit is leathery, fragile, from 0.5 to 2 cm thick. The pulp of various consistencies, carmine-red, pink, less often white or yellow, has a sweet or slightly sweet taste. The pulp contains from 5.7 to 13% sugar. Fruit weight from 2 to 20 kg.
Seeds are flat, ovate (0.5-2 cm in length) with a scar along the edge and with a hard peel of white, yellow, gray, red and black color, often with a spotted pattern. The mass of 1000 seeds is 60-150 g.
The fodder watermelon is somewhat different in structure from the table watermelon.
Its root system is more powerful.
Leaves with larger, shortened lobules.
The flowers are large, with a pale yellow corolla. Male flowers are located on long legs, female flowers are on shortened ones.
Fruits of various shapes - spherical or oval-oblong, green or light green in color with dark stripes of a marble pattern. The pulp of the fruit is greenish-pale, contains 1.2-2.6% sugar. Fruit weight from 10-15 to 25-30 kg or more.
The seeds of fodder watermelon do not have a scar. The mass of 1000 seeds is 100-200 g.
The main varieties of table watermelon: Favorite of the farm of Pyatigorsk 286, Stokes 647/649, Melitopolsky 142, Mramorny, Rosa of the Yugo-Vostoka.
The most common varieties of fodder watermelon: Dishkhim, Brodsky 37-42, Bogarny 112.
Table watermelon is one of the thermophilic, heat-tolerant and very drought-resistant plants. In moist soil, its seeds begin to germinate at a temperature of 10 - 17 0 C. Seedlings appear on the 8-10th day. Frosts in the HS are destructive for them. The most favorable temperature for the growth of stems and leaves is 20-22 °, and for the development of fruits - 25-30 ° C. Table watermelon is a light-loving plant of a short day. The best soils for it are sandy loam chernozems, clean from weeds.
The fodder watermelon in comparison with the table watermelon is less picky about the growing conditions.
Melon represented by many botanical species. In the CIS, types of melons with soft flesh are widespread: Khandalyak - Melo chanda-lak Pang., Adana, or Cilician - M. adana Pang., Kassaba - M. cassaba Pang .; and with dense pulp: Chardzhou - M. zard Pang., Ameri-M. ameri Parig., cantaloupe - M, cantalupa Pang.
The stem of the melon is creeping, cylindrical, hollow, heavily branching, coarse-haired.
The leaves are reniform or cordate, on long petioles.
The flowers are orange-yellow.
Fruits are large, of various shapes and colors. The pulp is loose or dense, contains 12% sugar (Fig. 2).
Seeds are ovoid, flat, white-yellow, from 0.5 to 1.5 cm long, contain 25-30% oil. The mass of 1000 seeds is 35-50 g.
Melon varieties with soft flesh include Khandalyak Kokcha 14, Dessertnaya 5. Melon varieties with firm flesh: Ameri 696, Kolkhoznitsa 749/753.
By its biological characteristics, the melon is close to the watermelon, but it is more thermophilic and easier to put up with loamy soils.
The pumpkin in culture has three types: table pumpkin or ordinary pumpkin - Cucurbita pepo L., large-fruited fodder pumpkin - C. maxima Duch. And butternut pumpkin - C. Moschata Duch ..
The stem of the common pumpkin is highly developed, creeping. Some pumpkin varieties are characterized by a bush form (zucchini).
L and s t I five-lobed, with coarse subulate pubescence.
Male flowers are collected in several pieces in leaf axils, female flowers are single, located on lateral branches.
The fruit is obovate (Fig. 3), with fibrous sweet pulp containing 4-8% sugar.
Seeds are medium in size and small, oval, with a clear rim, white, cream or darker color, contain 36-52% oil. The mass of 1000 seeds is 200-230 g.
Large-fruited fodder pumpkin has a cylindrical hollow creeping stem. The leaves are reniform, weakly globular, covered with coarse hairs. The flowers are very large, orange-yellow. Fruits are spherical, flattened or elongated, reaching 50-70 cm in diameter, of various colors. The pulp of the fruit is friable, juicy, orange, less often white, contains 4-8% sugar. The seeds are large (2-3 cm long), smooth, with an indistinct rim. The seeds contain 36-50% oil. The mass of 1000 seeds is 240-300 g.
Butternut pumpkin has a creeping, branched rounded-faceted stem. The leaves are reniform, cordate-notched or lobed, pubescent with fine hairs. The flowers are green or reddish-orange, the fruit is elongated, with an interception. The pulp of the fruit is dense, contains 8-11% sugar. Seeds are medium in size, dirty gray with a clear rim, and contain 30-46% oil. The mass of 1000 seeds is 190-220 g.
The most common varieties of table pumpkin: Almond 35, M ozoleevskaya 49, Spanish 73, Gribovskaya 37 (zucchini). Fodder pumpkin varieties: Hundred-pound, Large-fruited 1, Hybrid 72, Local varieties of muscat pumpkin.
Pumpkin is less thermophilic and less drought tolerant than watermelon and melon. Its seeds begin to germinate at a temperature of 12-13 ° C. Seedlings suffer less from frost. Pumpkin works best on loamy soils.
3. All melons and gourds are demanding on soil fertility and cleanliness of fields from weeds. They work well on virgin and fallow lands, on a layer of perennial grasses and on floodplains.
Place in the crop rotation. In field crop rotations, fertilized winter crops and grain legumes are considered the best predecessors of melons and gourds. Melons themselves are good predecessors of spring crops, especially spring wheat, and in the southern regions, subject to early harvesting of melons and gourds, and for winter crops.
Fertilizer. Melons and gourds are responsive to the application of organic and mineral fertilizers. The most effective joint application of these fertilizers. It is especially important to fertilize on light sandy soils. As the main fertilizer, manure is applied under deep autumn plowing in the amount of 15-20 tons for watermelon and melon and 30-40 tons per hectare for pumpkin. Higher doses of manure for these crops should not be applied, as this can cause a delay in fruit ripening and deterioration in their quality. Simultaneously with the manure, mineral fertilizers are applied (N 6 oP 45 K 5 o). Of great importance is the introduction of mineral fertilizers when sowing in rows (N 10 P 15 Kio). In addition to the main and pre-sowing fertilization, it is also desirable for irrigation to fertilize before flowering plants (N 30 P 45 K 45).
Soil cultivation. For melons and gourds, deep autumn plowing is carried out in the fall, and in the spring - harrowing and at least two presowing cultivation with simultaneous harrowing. On highly compacted soils in the northern regions of melon growing, the first cultivation is often replaced by plowing.
Sowing. Seed preparation. For sowing, seeds are taken from fully ripe healthy fruits. Their germination rate should be at least 90%. To increase germination, the seeds are subjected to air-thermal heating for 3-5 days. Before sowing, the seeds must be treated with 80% TMTD (5 g per 1 kg of seeds) or fentiuram (4 g per 1 kg of seeds).
Sowing dates. Sowing melons and gourds should be started when the soil at a depth of 10 cm warms up to 14-16 ° C. When sown in cold soil, as well as when cold weather returns, the sown seeds do not germinate for a long time and can rot in the soil.
Sowing methods. Seeds are sown in a square-nested, rectangular-nest and in an ordinary way using corn, cotton and special seeders. The distance between nests or rows for watermelon and pumpkin is 2.1-3 m, for melon - 1.4-2.1 m and zucchini - 0.7 m. scheme 2.1x2.1 1-2 plants per nest (2.3-4.6 thousand plants per 1 ha), melons -2.1x1.4 or 1.4x X 1.4 m, two plants per nest (7.5-10.2 thousand plants per 1 ha) and zucchini-70x70 cm, IXI m (10.2-20.4 thousand plants per 1 ha).
Seeding rates for watermelon seeds are 2-3 kg, pumpkin - 3-5 kg, melon and zucchini - 2-4 kg per 1 hectare. The sowing depth of watermelon and pumpkin seeds is 6-8 cm, melon and zucchini - 3-5 cm.
Crop care. Before emergence, harrowing and loosening are carried out with rotary hoes to destroy the crust and destroy weed seedlings. In the future, inter-row treatments are carried out to a depth of 12-15 cm for the first and 8-10 cm for subsequent treatments. When processing row spacings, the overgrown lashes of plants must be removed to the side so as not to damage them with the wheels of tractors and tillage implements. To prevent the lashes from swelling with the wind, they are sprinkled with damp soil. This causes the formation of additional roots, which improves plant nutrition. Good results are obtained by pinching (chasing) the ends of the lashes during the flowering of male flowers. In the experiments of the Voronezh Agricultural Institute, the chasing of fodder watermelon increased the yield by 66.7 centners per hectare. Irrigation of melons and gourds begins long before. flowering and carry out 3-5 waterings at intervals of 10-15 days. During flowering, watering is temporarily stopped, and resumed when fruit sets. Irrigation rate is 600-800 m 3 of water per 1 hectare. After each watering, the row spacings are loosened.
Harvest. The ripening of melons with a long flowering period does not occur at the same time. Therefore, table varieties of watermelon, melon and zucchini are harvested as they ripen in several steps, and pumpkin and fodder watermelon - in one step, before the onset of frost.
The signs of ripening of watermelon fruits are drying of the stalk, coarsening of the bark and the appearance of a clear pattern on it. Ripe melon fruits acquire the color and pattern characteristic of the variety. The ripeness of the pumpkin can also be determined by the color of the fruit and the density of the rind. Zucchini is harvested until the bark is roughened. In the case of plucked fruits, the stalks should be left to improve keeping quality.
Ripe and undamaged fruits of pumpkin and fodder watermelon can be stored in a dry and insulated room at a temperature of 2-5 ° C for almost the entire winter. Table watermelon and melon, with the exception of Central Asian and Transcaucasian, are not stored for long.
Usually watermelons and melons are grown outdoors in the southern regions of our country. These melons and gourds grown in the Astrakhan and Volgograd regions, Krasnodar Territory and other regions with similar climatic conditions are considered the best. After all, it is these plants that are extremely sensitive to heat and the length of daylight hours.
Melons and gourds are grown in garden beds and in central Russia However, due to the shorter warm period in these regions, home-grown seedlings of watermelons and melons are planted in open ground.
The main varieties for open ground
| Variety name | Main characteristics | Fruit ripening time | Transportability |
| Watermelon varieties | |||
| Honey giant | Medium-growing, fruits are large, elongated, fruit weight 13 - 14 kg | Early ripe (fruit ripening period - up to 65 - 70 days) | It tolerates transportation well, keeping quality is good |
| Sugar baby | Large fruits, with a dense skin and juicy scarlet pulp, fruit weight up to 5 kg | Early ripe (about 70 days) | It tolerates transportation well |
| Gift of the sun | Drought-resistant variety, round yellow fruit, scarlet flesh, sweet | Early ripening (62 - 71 days) | Transport is well tolerated |
| Prince Arthur 1 | Hybrid variety, oblong fruits, light green with dark stripes, weighing up to 2 kg | Early ripening (about 70 days) | Transport is well tolerated |
| Refined sugar | Fruits are round in shape, the peel is dense, light green, weighing up to 5 kg | Early ripening of fruits | |
| Rosario F1 | The fruits are large, the color of the peel is dark green, the peel is thin, weight is about 5 kg | Early ripe | Transport with care |
| Melon varieties | |||
| Cinderella | Fruit color - bright yellow, oval, weight - up to 2 kg | Early ripening of fruits | Well tolerates transportation |
| Story | Fruits are elongated with a bright yellow color of the peel, the flesh is light cream in color, the weight of the fruit is up to 2 kg | Early ripening, amicable (about 2 months) | Well transported |
| Galileo | Fruits are round, reticulate, yellowish-orange in color, weighing about 1.5 kg | Refers to mid-season varieties | Well tolerates transportation |
| Assol | Fruits are rounded, covered with a net, peel color is orange-yellow, weight - up to 1 kg | Fruit ripening - early | Well tolerates transportation |
| Gold of the Scythians | The fruits are round in shape, the color of the peel is bright yellow, the weight of the fruit is up to 1.5 kg | Refers to mid-season varieties (up to 80 days) | Well tolerates transportation |
All of the above varieties of melons are suitable for growing in the open field.
Growing seedlings of watermelons and melons
- These heat-loving plants need primarily good lighting during the day as well as in warmth. If these two conditions are not met, then healthy and robust seedlings are unlikely to grow.
- Since the seedlings of these melons and gourds grow rather quickly - from the moment of planting the seeds to the receipt of full-fledged seedlings, it takes about a month - it is important to plant the seed on time. In the conditions of the central regions of Russia, melon seeds are planted for seedlings in the third decade of March - in the first decade of April.
- It is better not to buy it hand-held from unknown manufacturers, but to buy it in specialized stores. These seeds must be regionalized for the regions in which they will grow.
- The soil mixture in which the seedlings will grow should consist of one part of the soil and three parts of humus or compost. It is also necessary to add a complex preparation to this mixture, which includes fertilizers containing potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen. but you can buy ready-made potting soil mixture for melons in a specialized store.
- Since the seedlings of watermelons and melons are very tender, they should not be picked. therefore the seeds should be planted one at a time in peat pots. In addition, the finished seedlings will be large enough in volume, and if they are planted several pieces in a container, these melons and gourds will interfere with each other during the growth process. If there is no suitable container for planting seed, the semblance of cups can be made by cutting off the plastic bottles.
- Water the seedlings as the soil dries up. During the growth of seedlings, it can be watered with mullein solution a couple of times until planting in open ground.
- Seedlings are considered sufficiently grown if they have at least 5 true leaves.
- In conditions middle lane Russia should plant seedlings in open ground when the danger of spring frosts has passed - in the third decade of May or in the first decade of June.
Planting seedlings in a permanent place
Before planting seedlings, it is necessary to choose a place where these melons and gourds will grow.
The beds should be located in a place where the sun will illuminate them throughout the day. The place should be protected from drafts and strong winds.
How to plant watermelons (video)
Usually watermelons and melons are planted using the square-nesting method. The distance in the rows between them should be about 0.5 m, the row spacing should be at least 0.7 m. The soil should be light enough while retaining moisture well enough.
After planting seedlings in open ground, each plant is covered plastic bottle with the bottom cut off. This creates a greenhouse effect for melons and gourds so that they quickly acclimatize in a new place. In addition, this is a kind of precaution so that the plants are not damaged if the night temperature drops below 15 ° C. After 7 - 9 days, when the plant grows, the bottles can be removed.
Growing from seeds
In the southern regions, much earlier than in other regions of our country, warmth comes... Therefore, there melons can be grown by seeds directly in the open field.
- The place for planting is chosen in the same way as when planting seedlings of these heat-loving plants on the site - the main thing is that there is a lot of light.
- Seeds should be soaked in warm water for several hours before planting., to which special growth stimulants should be added. Then they can be planted in the holes.
- Plant two seeds in each hole.
- When shoots appear, they are carefully distributed in different directions so that the melons and gourds do not interfere with each other in the process of their growth.
Care technology
These cultivated plants, like other vegetable crops, need regular watering, weeding, hilling and loosening. All these activities are very important for the normal growth of watermelons and melons.
Watermelons and melons should be watered carefully so that moisture does not get on the foliage. If the weather is dry, then these plants are watered no more than once a week, but abundantly. When flowers appear on the lashes, the amount of watering should be increased. But during the ripening of the fruits, it is no longer necessary to water the melons at all.
Also, watermelons and melons should be fed several times per season as they grow.
- The first time to fertilize these plants is necessary immediately after they take root in the open field. This top dressing should include fertilizers containing P, K and N.
- When the lashes begin to grow, the melons should be fed again. This time, you should use solutions based on organic fertilizers (chicken droppings, manure), to which superphosphate and potassium salts are added.
- The third time the plants need nutrients is when the ovaries begin to form. For this, a solution is prepared containing the following minerals: a teaspoon of superphosphate, a tablespoon of ammonium fertilizer and 1.5 tablespoons of any potassium salt are dissolved in a bucket of water. Under each bush, 1.5 - 2 liters of such a complex fertilizer should be poured. The solution is poured into circular grooves located at a distance of 16 - 18 cm from the stems.
Growing lashes should be distributed over the bed, removing weak shoots, as well as those on which flowers and ovary do not appear. This is how the whips of watermelons and melons are formed.
How to grow a melon (video)
It is possible to grow watermelons and melons in the open field both in the southern regions of our country and in the climatic conditions of central Russia. Plants are demanding for heat and light. Observing all the rules for planting and caring for these melons and gourds, you can get good yields.
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 greatest yield of melons and gourds is given 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 obtain high yields of melons and gourds on the sands, specific cultivation techniques must be applied. 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 fall 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, fall 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 northern regions In Kazakhstan with sandy soils, the scientist Ehrenburg recommends, for example: 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 the greatest development 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 a little deeper than on bound soils, and the feeding area is 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 and gourds 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 for 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 melons wilt and, depending on the soil moisture, to maintain it at the above specified optimal level, and 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, delay 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 watering melons is considered night and morning hours. Night watering not only contributes to an increase in the yield of melons, but also reduces their incidence of fusarium binding.
After watering, melons and gourds are loosened and hilled. 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 carried out correctly 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 food 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 allowed 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 will be sown on grain crops, then immediately after their harvesting, stubble cultivation is carried out 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 crests of the plowed area dry up, cultivations are carried out once or twice to preserve 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, care should be taken 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, unexhausted soils and not old arable lands require 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. From mineral fertilizers greatest effect in our southern conditions gives superphosphate, which is brought under fall plowing in the amount of 2 - 5 centners per hectare, depending on the growing conditions.
For sowing, you need to take seeds only good quality, 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 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 ° С for pumpkin, and at least 12 ° С for 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) of 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 forage watermelon and varies greatly in different types 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 correct area nutrition. 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 food 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, the biology of growth must be taken into account - 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, so the area for placing pumpkin plants should have a shape elongated from west to east, zucchini have a strongly shortened main lash, so that the bush almost does not stretch eastward, 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 from 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 nutrient 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.
Highly 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.
