Watermelon: planting and care

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Watermelon is one of the favorite summer treats for both children and adults. This is a fairly unpretentious plant that can be grown both in the southern regions and in central Russia. Watermelon is a drought-resistant and rather heat-loving plant.

Grow it as a seedling method, and sowing seeds. Planting begins at a time when the soil warms up to 6 degrees Celsius to a depth of about 10–15 cm. For the middle lane, this is approximately mid-May. Planting watermelons for seedlings is carried out a month before planting in the ground.

Since the skin of the seeds of this crop is quite hard, they are pre-prepared. This allows you to achieve a higher yield and get rid of some pests. Seeds for several hours need to be heated at a temperature of 60 degrees Celsius. Then, for disinfection, they are placed for a while in a solution of potassium permanganate. The last step is to soak the seeds in a 2% baking soda solution.

Watermelon, the planting of which involves preliminary preparation of the beds, grows well only on virgin soils. However, finding such a site is sometimes enoughproblematic. In this case, crop rotation techniques can be used. The most acceptable previous crops for watermelon are onions, root vegetables, or cabbage. You can not plant it after potatoes, squash, zucchini or cucumbers.

After perennial grasses, watermelon, which should be planted in loose soil, can be grown no more than two years in a row in the same place. This is due to the multiplication of various kinds of pests, which otherwise can greatly hinder a good harvest. It is advisable to prepare the bed in the fall, digging up, and burning the old tops.

Seeds are planted for seedlings in 2-3 pieces in a container with a diameter of at least 12–15 cm. This is necessary in order to make it easier to transplant. In spring, watermelon, which is planted only several times over dug up, very loose earth, is transferred to an open sunny place. You can add some sand to the soil to increase its moisture and breathability.

Climbing plants are usually planted at a fairly large distance from each other. This also applies to such a “sweeping” representative of this family as a watermelon. Landing is most often done using the 100x100 scheme. But you can leave such a distance only between the rows, inside them place the bushes seventy centimeters from each other.

Seeds when planting are deepened by about 5 cm, 3 in one hole. If this is a seedling, take two bushes. In the future, the extra can be carefullydelete. This plant does not tolerate transplanting very well. The roots should not be allowed to be exposed during the transfer. It is necessary to pull the watermelons out of the container very carefully, so that a clod of earth remains on the roots.

Watermelons, planting and caring for which are not particularly difficult and do not require special time costs, are watered only three times per season. The first time at the beginning of seed germination, the second at the formation of lashes, the third time before the fruits begin to ripen. Each time after watering, which should be moderate, the soil is carefully loosened and the bushes are piled up. This is necessary for better ventilation and the formation of adventitious roots. The first results can be obtained 3-5 months after planting the seeds. The watermelon plant is unpretentious, however, when grown, it requires compliance with some technological rules.