If you follow certain rules, you can get a good harvest of watermelons in your garden or in the country. This crop requires a long and warm summer. You can plant watermelons in open ground in all regions of Russia, with the exception of Siberia.

Care for striped berries should include watering, thinning, fertilizing, loosening the soil and pruning. Watermelons are susceptible to diseases such as powdery mildew, olive blotch, rot. In case of infection, watermelons are treated with fungicidal preparations.

Features of growing different varieties

The plant is native to Africa. The culture belongs to the Pumpkin family. The stems of the watermelon are thin, strongly branched. They are curly or creeping. They can reach 4 m in length. Young leaves have a thick pile. Then they become rough, hard, have an ovoid-triangular shape. In length from 7 to 23 cm. Inflorescences are female, male and hermaphroditic. They are boat shaped. The fruit is a berry with many seeds. The flesh is usually pink or red, and the outer shell is green (more often with light stripes).

There are many varieties of watermelon, but all of them are conditionally divided into 2 types - woolly watermelon and African melon tsamma (wild species).

All varieties are divided into 3 groups.

Early ones include:

• Skorik.
• Victoria.
• Twinkle.
• Dolby.
• Stabolite.
• Jenny.

Mid-season are:

• Ataman.
• Sluggard.
• Top gun.
• Atey.
• Dumar.

Late ones include:

• Spring.
• Icarus.

Currently, even varieties have been bred in which the fruits have a lemon flavor and the flesh is yellow. Black-skinned hybrids also exist.

In the Moscow region, you can grow the following varieties:

1. 1. Skorik. The fruit is in the form of a ball weighing no more than 3 kg.
2. 2. Light. The harvest is stable, but small. Usually the weight is up to 2 kg.
3. 3. Crimson Sweet. It translates as "raspberry sugar". Among early maturing varieties fruits are the largest - up to 8 kg.
4. 4. Couch potato. Fruits up to 4 kg. They have a fairly long shelf life - up to 3 months. Thanks to this, you can even enjoy such a watermelon on New Year's Eve.

In Siberia, watermelons can only be grown in greenhouses. They must be strong. Suitable for polycarbonate or glass. In addition, another feature of growing watermelons in Siberia is that only the seedling method is used here, and seeds cannot be placed in open ground.

The most suitable varieties of watermelon for Siberia are as follows:

1. 1. Chill. Good resistance to low temperatures. The variety is early maturing. The growing season takes no more than 100 days. Fruits by weight up to 7 kg. The pulp is juicy and sweet. Another advantage is the long shelf life of the berry - up to 1 year. Rozhai has good transportability.
2. 2. Ultra early. This variety is considered quite early. Its growing season lasts up to 2.5 months. The pulp of the berries is sugary. They weigh 4-5 kg.
3. 3. Photon. It's average early variety. It takes 80-100 days to mature. The plant is not demanding on the soil, is resistant to diseases, the number of seeds in the berry is small, and the pulp is tender. The weight of the fetus is 3-6 kg.
4. 4. Charleston Grey. The variety is recognizable by the elongated shape of large fruits. They weigh up to 10 kg. In care, the culture is unpretentious.
5. 5. Siberian Lights. This variety is bred specifically for areas with harsh climatic conditions. The plant is resistant to low temperatures, lack of lighting and drought. Culture almost never suffers from Fusarium. The bark of the berry is dark, without stripes. There are few seeds. Fruit weight - up to 4 kg.
6. 6. Siberian Giant. This is another variety that is bred for northern latitudes. Frost resistant, large size(fruit weighs up to 7 kg), long shelf life.
7. 7. Ultra-early. Fruits are stored for a long time. The plant is resistant to powdery mildew and anthracnose. Culture is unpretentious in care.

Landing Rules

You can breed watermelons through seeds and seedlings. The first option is suitable for regions with warm climatic conditions.

Sowing seeds should be done in the spring as follows:

1. 1. Select a site. On it, the soil should have time to warm up to 13 0 C.
2. 2. Soak the seeds in clean water until the sprouts hatch.
3. 3. Make a hole in the area. They should be 10 cm deep. The distance between the pits should be 1 m.
4. 4. Place fertilizer in the hole. It is recommended to mix humus with 1 tsp. ammofoski and 1 tbsp. l. wood ash.
5. 5. Put the seeds there and sprinkle with the substrate.

The first shoots usually appear after 1.5-2 weeks. If you plant watermelon seeds in open ground in regions with a cold climate, then you must wait until the end of May or the beginning of June. You can also carry out landing under the film - a kind of greenhouse. In this case, the harvest is obtained much earlier. Some prefer to cover the space between the wells with black film. This attracts the sun's rays, prevents the rapid evaporation of moisture from the soil.

Another method is seedling. It is suitable for northern regions.

Landing is carried out as follows:

1. 1. Properly prepare the substrate. It is recommended to mix peat, fine sand and soddy soil.
2. 2. Pick up pots. They should be large and wide. At the bottom you need to make holes to drain excess water.
3. 3. Place watermelon seeds in special containers. It is recommended to do this in late spring. Keep containers in a warm place with a temperature of about 30 0 C.
4. 4. Take care of the sprouts. Water seedlings periodically. It is necessary to ensure that water does not fall on the seedlings. If necessary, you need to turn on additional lamps to improve lighting.
5. 5. Carry out hardening. This should be done 2 weeks before planting sprouts in open ground. It is necessary that they get used to such conditions. To do this, the container with planting material should be taken out for 1-2 hours on the street or on the balcony. Gradually, you need to increase the interval - add an hour every day.

Mandatory is preliminary preparation site before moving seedlings to open ground. The soil should be well warmed, loosened. The place should be chosen with protection from strong wind and draft. Watermelon seedlings feel best in those areas where legumes, alfalfa, and cabbage were previously grown. You should not choose a place where eggplants, potatoes, tomatoes used to grow, bell pepper. The ideal option is sandy or sandy soil. It is necessary to add potassium compounds and superphosphate to it. If the soil is too heavy, then fine river sand is added to it.

Planting watermelon sprouts in open ground is as follows:

1. 1. Dig holes. The distance between them should be 1-1.3 m. Between the rows, 1.5-2 m should be left. It is recommended to place the sprouts in a checkerboard pattern.
2. 2. Deepen the seedlings into the holes and sprinkle with the substrate. Leaves should remain on top.
3. 3. Pour sand near the seedlings. It will prevent diseases such as root rot.
4. 4. Water the seedlings.

In the future, it remains only to care for the culture.

Nuances of care

Watermelon care is as follows:

1. 1. Thinning sprouts. As soon as they appear, a part must be pulled out - only the weak or sick. If healthy seedlings have sprouted too close to each other, then they can be planted in different places.
2. 2. Watering. It should be timely and regular, once a week. For 1 sq. m plot relies on 3 liters of water. It should be poured not only under the root of the plant, but also in places between the rows. It is best to use rain or settled water room temperature. During the heat, it is required to water the culture twice a week. When the fruits begin to appear, watering must be gradually reduced, and 2 weeks before the berries are plucked, it is completely stopped.
3. 3. Loosening the soil. This must be done the day after watering. By loosening the soil, the roots gain access to oxygen. At the same time, weeds can be removed. Grass is not dangerous for watermelon, as its root system is quite branched. Weeding should be done carefully so as not to damage it.
4. 4. Top dressing. The first time it should be carried out 2 weeks after planting the crop. To do this, use chicken manure, mullein or ammonium nitrate. As for the last substance, you will need 20 g of product per 2 liters of water. This is enough for one shrub. If you use mullein, you will need to prepare a solution in a ratio of 1:10. When using chicken manure, it is required to make a solution in a ratio of 1:10. For each bucket of such solutions, it is supposed to add another 15 g of double superphosphate and the same amount of calcium chloride. The second time feeding should be carried out when the fruits begin to set. In this case, it is recommended to use superphosphate and ammonium nitrate. You can mix 4 g of calcium chloride and ammonium nitrate with 3 g of double superphosphate. This is enough for 1 shrub. Fertilizers are supposed to be applied in the form of a powder, but then you need to water the culture. The mixture can be dissolved in water.
5. 5. Cropping. On one bush you need to leave no more than 5-6 fruits. They should be the largest and healthiest looking. The rest will have to be cut off, otherwise all the fruits will not be able to develop fully.

As for diseases, watermelon suffers from the following:

1. 1. Powdery mildew. A whitish-gray coating appears on the leaves.
2. 2. Peronosporosis. Also called downy mildew. Not only a gray coating appears on the sheets, but also yellow spots.
3. 3. Anthracnose. Pink-yellow pads form on the leaves.
4. 4. Olive blotch. Irregular spots appear on leaves and stems. The latter also become corrugated.
5. 5. Bacteriosis. Oily patches appear on leaves and stems.
6. 6. Rot. It happens root, black, white and gray. The reason is fungus.
7. 7. Cucumber mosaic. The disease is not curable. A peculiar ornament appears on the leaves.

Although watermelon is considered an unpretentious crop, with improper care, such diseases develop quite quickly. Fungicides deal with fungal infections. It will not be possible to save a plant from bacterial and viral. Of the insects for watermelon, scoops, wireworms and melon aphids are dangerous. They are helped by insecticides.

No summer is complete without sweet, juicy and fragrant watermelons. Refreshing pulp with a characteristic smell gives energy for a long time.

But it is not always possible to find quality products on the market. Therefore, some summer residents resort to self-cultivation of crops on their site.

Since many varieties of watermelons have been bred today, it is possible to achieve a harvest of delicious fruits even in middle lane where the climate is very different from the southern regions.

High-quality and giant berries are obtained only when grown outdoors. To please yourself and loved ones with delicious fruits, you need to know the rules for planting and caring for this plant.

Description of culture

Watermelon is a herbaceous annual that belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family. The gourd culture was first grown in southern Africa. There is evidence that the plant was cultivated in ancient civilizations. The modern leader in the cultivation of giant berries is China. Large-scale production is observed in Egypt, Iran, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Russia.

The plant is characterized by thin branched shoots, which can be curly or creeping. The stems are flattened-pentahedral in shape and reach 4 m in length. Young shoots are strongly pubescent. The pubescent leaf plates, located alternately on the stem, have a triangular-ovoid shape. The surface of the leaves is hard and rough. The plates grow up to 20 cm long, up to 15-18 cm wide. The culture is characterized by female, male and hermaphroditic flowers. The bracts are boat-shaped.

The fruits are large multi-seeded pumpkins with a smooth surface. Sweet and juicy pulp is characterized by a reddish or pink color; in some varieties it is yellowish.

The rapid development of watermelons is observed in regions with a hot climate and not cold winters. For countries with more severe weather, choose hybrid varieties watermelons.

Growing Features

Growing watermelons in different countries has its own characteristics. The climate of a particular region greatly affects the way crops are cultivated. The plant can be grown by seed or seedlings.

seed way

This method of cultivation is used in warm regions. Before planting in open ground, seeds must undergo mandatory preparation. Watermelons have hard to germinate seeds. If you plant them in the soil without pre-treatment, they will not be able to germinate.

Some gardeners choose the following seed disinfection method:

• The material is wrapped in gauze and placed in a warm solution of potassium permanganate.
• A container with seeds is placed in a bag, which is tied with a small amount of air in it.
• The package with the material is transferred to a room with a temperature of + 21−23 degrees.
• Within 2-3 days, the solution of potassium permanganate should be changed daily.
• When the seed material hatches, then it can be planted on the site.

Watermelon seeds are sown in May, when the soil warms up under the spring sun to + 13-15 degrees. A mixture of ash, ammofoska and humus mixed with earth is added to each well 6 cm deep.

Water is poured into the recesses and after complete absorption of moisture, 4-5 seeds are poured into them. The wells are covered with substrate and rammed. The distance between holes should be at least 1 m.

The first shoots can be expected in 7-10 days. With the advent of three or four leaves, thinning of the bushes is carried out: weak specimens are removed, cutting them off at the very surface of the earth.

seedling method

Hybrid varieties have good cold tolerance, but in regions with a cold climate, watermelons should be grown using seedlings. Seeds for seedlings are sown in April, so that in mid-May the seedlings are ready for planting in open ground.

When the plants get used to round-the-clock hardening, then they can be planted in the ground.

Planting seedlings in open ground is carried out in late May - early July. By this time, 6-7 true leaves should form on the seedlings.

For planting watermelons, choose a site that is well lit and warmed by the sun. For this purpose, the south or southeast side is suitable. The site must be isolated from winds and drafts. Ground for gourds choose sandy or sandy loam with neutral acidity. in tight and clay soils watermelons do not develop well.

The plant is recommended to be planted after perennial herbs, winter wheat, cabbage, onion and annual legumes. It is not advised to grow watermelons after nightshade and pumpkin. Growing the latter on the site is possible only 7-8 years after the removal of watermelon fruits.

Landing

The soil for planting gourds is prepared in the fall. The earth is dug up, adding rotted manure to it. The substrate is diluted with a small amount of a mixture of potassium salt, ammonium sulfate and superphosphate. Sand is added to heavy soil. In the spring, they re-dig the earth with rotted humus and plant seedlings in it.

Care

Watermelons do not require complex care, but a high-quality harvest can be achieved only if certain rules of agricultural technology are observed.

Seedlings should be thinned out, leaving 1-2 pieces in the hole. The remaining seedlings are cut off at the very surface of the earth. Experienced gardeners they manage to plant strong and healthy seedlings from each other, which easily take root in a new place and bring tasty fruits in the future.

With the advent of ovaries on one plant, no more than 5-6 pumpkins are left. Under the specimens lying on the ground, protection is made of foil, roofing material, plastic or other non-rotting material.

Watermelons are rarely watered, but plentifully. The procedure is performed no more than once a week. For 1 square meter beds require about 3 buckets of warm water. During periods of flowering or hot sun, watering is increased up to twice a week, and the soil is moistened not only around the bushes, but also in the aisles. When forming fruits, watermelons are watered less often. Watering is completely stopped 12-15 days before harvest.

At the beginning of the growing season, with irrigation, the soil is loosened at a depth of 5 cm. At the same time, weed grass is removed. When the rows between watermelons close, then they will not be afraid of weeds. Weeding and loosening procedures are stopped.

15 days after planting the seedlings in the open ground, the plants make the first top dressing. 20 g of ammonium nitrate is dissolved in a bucket of water. For each seedling spend 2 liters of solution. Instead of saltpeter, you can use mullein or chicken manure, to which superphosphate and calcium chloride should be added. The second top dressing will be necessary during the appearance of the buds. One bush will require the following amount of fertilizer:

• ammonium nitrate - 4 g,
• superphosphate - 6 g,
• calcium chloride - 4 g.

The introduction of dressings in a dry form requires subsequent watering of the soil.

Diseases and pests and control methods

Often watermelons are exposed various types diseases and pests. This is usually due to improper planting or seed preparation before planting in open ground.

Improper care can also affect the condition of the crops grown. In order to have time to save the plants, it is necessary to regularly check the watermelons for defects and take timely measures to treat the affected specimens.

Often gourds are affected by the following diseases:

• Anthracnose(or verdigris). Fungal disease is characterized by yellow or brown spots with pinkish pads on the leaf blades. During periods of high humidity, a pink coating forms on these spots. With a strong defeat, watermelons dry and die.
• bacteriosis. It is expressed in whitish oily spots that appear on the aerial parts of watermelons. Over time, these spots turn into holes, due to which the leaves fall off. Wilting of the stems and softening of the fruits are observed, which become transparent and stop their growth.
• White And black rot. Fungal diseases cause the destruction of stems, leaves and fruits of plants, which often leads to the death of a bush or a set of crops.
• root rot. fungus strikes root system watermelons, and then spreads over the aerial part, affecting the plant.
• powdery mildew. Fungal disease manifests itself in a light gray bloom on leaf plates, which gradually die off. The fruits lose their appearance and taste and begin to rot.
• cucumber mosaic. The viral disease is expressed by a green mosaic pattern that occurs on the leaves of plants. The cultivated culture slows down its growth, and giant berries are covered with bumps, swellings and dots.
• olive blotch. Unformed spots, which are a sign of the disease, cover the entire ground part of the bush. The leaf plates acquire a corrugated shape, and the stems and petioles become covered with olive-colored ulcers. The ovaries dry out and fall off.
• Peronosporosis. This disease is also called downy mildew. The first symptoms appear on old leaves, and then move on to young ones. Angular spots of a light yellow hue are covered on the upper side of the plates, and the lower side is covered with a grayish-purple bloom. The fruits are deformed and stop their development.

Fungicides help fight fungal diseases. Well proven, Fundazol and Bordeaux liquid. You can buy a drug to treat a plant for a particular disease at any specialized store. If the culture has been infected with a virus, then it cannot be cured. The affected bushes are dug up and destroyed, and the soil where they grew must be disinfected. To protect plants from viruses, it is necessary to track down and destroy carriers of diseases.

Of the insects, watermelons often affect:

Destroy insects with insecticides.

If you plant watermelons correctly and follow the rules for growing, then in the summer you can enjoy a lot of juicy and sweet fruits.

Tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, zucchini - these crops have long become familiar in our dachas. Caring for them has been brought to automatism for many, but the desire to grow watermelon in the garden can be confusing, since very few know how to care for watermelons. Meanwhile, there is nothing particularly difficult in this. With a little work and effort, you can get great results.

Watermelon. First meeting

Before delving into the secrets of agricultural technology, let's get acquainted with the culture that we want to settle on our site.

Watermelon is a member of the Pumpkin family. It is a herbaceous annual culture. Blossoms in the first half of summer, fruit ripening occurs from August to September. Formally, the fruit of the plant is a pumpkin. Depending on the variety of watermelons, they can vary significantly in shape and color. Fruits can be spherical, cylindrical, oval and flattened.

External color - white, yellow, pale or dark green. The surface may have a pattern consisting of stripes or spots. The pulp is sweet and juicy, pink, red and even yellow. One plant can produce from three to six fruits of different weights. The minimum weight of a ripe watermelon is approximately 2 kg, the maximum is more than 25 kg.

Growing technology

To get a decent harvest, you need to know exactly how to care for watermelons. Realizing that this is a heat-loving plant, for it you need to choose the right place and time for planting. best place there will be a bed on which beans, corn, peas or potatoes grew before. You can not plant in places where melons, cucumbers and pumpkins have ripened before. Soil preparation for cultivation should be done in the fall. With deep digging, humus, ammonium nitrate, superphosphates and potassium chloride are introduced.

Seed material does not require complex preparation. It is enough to select the largest seeds, dry them and warm them up a little. Early varieties of watermelons are grown from seedlings, which are planted under a film at the end of May. cultivation late varieties it works well from seeds sown at the end of April in warm holes of 3-4 pieces. The landing site should be sunny, with good protection from the wind. When it gets cold, young plants are additionally protected with a film or cardboard boxes.

Watering, feeding, care

Any summer resident understands that productivity greatly depends on how to care for watermelons. And because we want to rejoice good harvest, then we are engaged in regular loosening of the soil, removal of weeds, watering and fertilizing. The first top dressing is carried out within a week after planting the seedlings in the ground, then at intervals of 2 weeks.

The composition of top dressing includes superphosphates and ammonium nitrate, diluted with water. Proportions: 15 g of the first substance, 10 g of the second and 11 liters of water. Fertilizers must be applied wet soil, after a while, the plant should be washed with clean water. Despite the high drought tolerance, watermelons are very fond of water. Watering watermelons is especially necessary during the formation of the leaves and stem of the plant. During the ripening of the fruit, watering is reduced so that the fruit gains sugar content faster.

watermelon greenhouses

How to care for watermelons in areas where the climate is not suitable for them open cultivation? The answer is simple: use the greenhouse method.

For greenhouse cultivation, seedlings are used, which can be bought or grown independently. To independently obtain seedlings, you will need pots with a diameter of 10 cm, the temperature in the room is at least 25 ° C. Plants are placed at a great distance so that the leaves do not touch. Saplings are fed with mineral fertilizers twice.

A greenhouse for watermelons must be at least 2 m high. Seedlings are planted at the end of May, when the threat of frost has completely passed. On the tenth day, the first garter is carried out. With the greenhouse method of growing, the plant is formed into one stem. To do this, when tying, the tips of the shoots are pinched, and the shoots without an ovary are removed. In addition, carry out a garter of fruits. Small fruits are placed in large nets and tied to a trellis.

Pinching watermelons in the open field

Proper pinching is the main secret to getting large sweet fruits. So, a novice gardener needs to understand how to pinch watermelons. If only the central stem needs to be formed in the greenhouse, then it is permissible to leave 3-4 full-fledged ovaries in the ground, and pinch other processes. This frees the stem from excess load, and the culture grows faster. It is necessary to pinch the upper kidney at the time of the formation of the sixth leaf on the stem. Before the beginning active growth fruits. If the fruits began to grow actively, then pinching is too late.

Harvest

Like any crop, watermelons are harvested as they ripen. It is possible to determine that the fruit has ripened by the shrunken tendrils in the axils of the leaves at the stalks. Another sign of ripeness is the appearance of a shine of the peel, the pattern and color are somewhat lightened, and a dull sound is heard when struck.

Watermelon loves sunlight and warm air. For maturation, it needs a lot of light, hot summers with rare but plentiful rains, sandy soil. Nature created such ideal conditions in the Caucasus, in the Crimea, in the Astrakhan region, Primorsky Krai. But in the Urals and Siberia, you can also grow a juicy berry with scarlet sugar pulp, if you provide the right care for watermelons. In northern regions with cool summers, watermelons are grown in greenhouses. If you choose the right variety and take care of it, you can grow a watermelon in the country.

Greenhouse preparation

For growing watermelons, a greenhouse covered with any material (glass or polycarbonate) with a height of 1.6 to 2 meters is suitable. Because they must curl on special devices, a lower height will not allow the whips to develop and the fruit to ripen.

Greenhouse preparation should begin from mid-March. This is the time when you need to remove snow from it, check the entire structure, fix malfunctions, repair cracks and ventilate well. Before populating watermelons in a greenhouse, it is useful to sow radishes there, watermelons grow well on the ground where cruciferous used to be. After harvesting, it will just be time to plant watermelon seedlings in the ground.

Watermelons grow well in sandy soil, so they will love this mixture:

• garden soil - 3 parts;
• humus - 3 parts;
• sand - 4-5 parts.

It is quite nutritious for the beginning of growth, then watermelons will still have to be fed with fertilizers.

Growing seedlings

Greenhouses usually grow varieties "Spark" (fruits no more than 2 kg, ripen in 70-85 days), "Pannonia" (ripens in 70-75 days), hybrid "Krisby F1" (fruit can grow up to 6 kg, ripens in 60-65 days). The early variety "Shuga baby" is very popular. It ripens in 75-85 days, the fruits, justifying the name, delight with sweet red granular pulp and grow up to 3-5 kg.

Experts advise not to get involved in varieties with large fruit, greenhouses are better suited for small berries, they have a better ovary, and they are also easier to grow on trellises.

First, watermelon seeds are advised to warm up in the sun, and just before sowing, they are first poured with a weak solution of potassium permanganate, and then with warm (25 degrees) water.

Seeds are planted from the end of April. Seedlings will be ready for planting in 25-35 days. It is best to place the seeds in peat cups (with which they are then planted) with a diameter of 10 cm or separate plastic containers, when planting in the ground, the root system should not suffer. IN soil mixture be sure to add fertilizer. These can be fertilizers with phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium, or you can add wood ash and potassium sulfate.

Some summer residents, when soaking seeds, use a growth stimulator or liquid diluted fertilizers for better germination. And others say that good seeds germinate well even without chemicals.

The seed should be deepened no more than 3 cm and placed on a barrel to make it easier for the leaf to come out of the shell. The optimum temperature before germination is 22-25 degrees, and for growing seedlings a little lower - 21-23.

Even before planting in the greenhouse, seedlings need to be fed, this is done 2 weeks after sowing with diluted mineral fertilizer. Previously, this cannot be done, because weak roots may not withstand contact with fertilizer. Young seedlings should receive full coverage for 10-12 hours; fluorescent lamps are suitable for this. With a lack of light, plants can stretch out too much and weaken.

disembarkation

Planting seedlings on greenhouse beds should take place at a steady temperature of 20-25 degrees in mid-May. If the weather does not want to provide such weather, plants will have to be heated. The soil is prepared as follows: remove upper layer soil, the resulting trench is filled with humus and hay, all this is shed abundantly hot water, and the excavated earth is laid on top.

Seedlings are planted directly in peat cups according to the scheme 70 cm by 50 cm (70 between rows, and 50 between plants), if it germinated in plastic cups, they are carefully cut so as not to damage the delicate root system. 2 sprouts can be planted in one hole, but carefully monitor and direct the whips in different directions. Watermelons do not like crowds and crushes, they will not bear fruit if the lashes are intertwined and interfere with each other. The hypocotyl knee should rise a couple of centimeters above the ground, otherwise it may rot.

The temperature should be no higher than 30 degrees, so on a hot day you will have to arrange ventilation. It must be remembered that the lifetime male flower small, if the greenhouse is closed and the bees pass it, you need to artificially pollinate the plants. When the fruits grow to the size of an apple, the lashes without ovaries are removed. One plant should have no more than 6-7 berries, after the last one you need to count 5 leaves and cut off the growth point.

Watermelon does not like a lot of moisture, so you need to be careful with watering, check the soil and water only after drying. A separate question, to which gardeners answer differently, concerns fertilizers. To grow a good watermelon to maturity, it needs to be fed. Usually, top dressing is done 3 times: when the lashes have grown stronger and grown to 30 cm, before flowering, when the ovaries have formed. No more if we want to eat useful material rather than fertilizer.

But what to feed? Recommended by experts complex fertilizers, ammonium nitrate, superphosphates, ammonium sulfate, potassium salts. Supporters of naturalness prefer chicken manure (1 liter of manure is taken for 10 liters of water) and wood ash. No matter how you decide, no matter what you choose, you still need to fertilize. This should be done carefully, watering the plant at a distance of 20 cm from the stem for the first time and 40 cm in the future. Moisture, even water, should not fall on the stems and leaves at all, and you should always water with warm water.

Outdoor cultivation

If you have sandy loamy neutral alkaline soil in your country house and there is an open place warmed by the sun, then with proper care, early ripening varieties can ripen without a greenhouse. In the southern regions of the country, in May-June, seeds can be sown directly into the ground to a depth of about 8 cm. 5-6 seeds are sown per meter of the plot, since they will not all sprout, it should not be too crowded. After sowing the seeds, they are watered with warm water. After a week, shoots should appear, and after the appearance of the fifth leaf, they are spudded.

In the middle lane, seedlings of early ripening varieties are planted on the site. Moreover, before planting on the site, it is hardened - the temperature in the room (if possible) is lowered to 16-17 degrees during the day, and at night to 13-14. If the temperature is not regulated, then you can simply take it out into the street.

Planted in holes with a size of at least 14 cm at a distance of 70 cm from each other and 1 m between rows. Planting should be such that the root collar remains 1-2 cm above the ground.

Sleeps well in open field variety "Suga baby", but it is better to grow it not from seeds, but from seedlings. Proper care behind a watermelon in the garden is a rare abundant watering, obligatory loosening of the soil after watering or rain, fertilizing. It is desirable to straighten the whips so that they do not interfere with each other, tear off the growth point after 6-7 ovaries. Plants need to be fertilized at the same frequency and in the same way as in a greenhouse. If the greenhouse fruits are tied up and they sing in the air, then in the garden the watermelon lies on the ground - you need to make sure that it does not rot, and even that the sun warms it from all sides.

Watermelons suffer from pests and diseases. Wireworms, ants, melon aphids, sprout flies, scoops - everyone wants to profit from watermelon. And there are diseases: powdery mildew, broomrape. From these misfortunes, plants are treated with chemicals (karbofos, phosphamide). Often, careful inspection and wood ash with laundry soap help to avoid trouble.

If you want to grow seedless watermelon, you will have to do it only in a greenhouse way. 'Queen of Hearts', 'King of Hearts', 'Jack of Hearts' mature in about 85 days, they like well-drained sandy-clay soils and plenty of sun. Their seeds germinate at a temperature not lower than 25 degrees.

Some amateur gardeners grow vegetables in barrels. Likewise in iron barrel you can grow watermelon. If you put fertilizer in a barrel and arrange a good drainage layer, and drill the bottom in several places, you can try to plant a watermelon there. Since the soil in the iron barrel warms up well, he may like it. You just need to remember that the soil dries faster in the barrel, that it is not advisable to water the watermelon greens, and the fruits will have to be tied up, as in a greenhouse.

Video “Care for melons and watermelons”

Video lecture for gardeners, which tells about the cultivation of melons and watermelons. After watching the recording, you will learn how to plant seeds correctly, when to plant in the ground and how to fertilize.

First you need to clearly understand that in order to grow a quality watermelon in the open field, you need the same quality planting material, so buy seeds in places you have checked. If your household plot located closer to the south of Russia, then you can grow watermelons in open ground, otherwise, most likely, you can’t do without a greenhouse.

Place and soil

It should be a very sunny place with deep waters, as watermelon does not tolerate excessive moisture. The soil is preferable sandy or sandy, light, as the juiciness of the berry is gaining from the root system, which penetrates deep into the ground. In heavy soil, the root system of a watermelon is not able to fully develop, however, its deep loosening will slightly improve the situation. pH 6.5-7.0. Pay attention to the presence, oh how watermelon does not like them.

It’s good if the predecessor of watermelons was alfalfa or winter wheat. It is impossible to grow watermelons after any melon crop or nightshade.

In autumn, the land is fertilized with rotted manure (4-5 kg ​​per 1 sq.m). Fresh manure makes the plant vulnerable to fungal diseases.

Preparation of watermelon seeds and sowing in open ground (seedless method of growing watermelons in open ground)

Before sowing in open ground, watermelon seeds need to be heated in the sun (right in a bag) for 10 days, so that their temperature reaches 55 ° C, if the seeds are wet, then up to 30 ° C. Then fill them with water and leave for 30 minutes. Those watermelon seeds that float up will have to be thrown away, they are not suitable for sowing. Next, fill with hot water (50-60 ° C), when the water cools down, drain it and soak until pecking. If the seeds cannot be calcined in the sun, then since February the seed has been stored near the battery. 3 days before the proposed sowing in the morning, prepare a solution of ash (1 part ash to 2 parts water), stir for 12 hours. On the same day, in the evening, dip the seeds for 15-20 minutes in a dark solution of potassium permanganate, rinse and dip them overnight in the prepared ash solution. Take it out the next morning and dry it.

Watermelon seeds can be sown from late April until mid-June, it all depends on weather conditions, and by what time do you want to get the harvest. Focus on soil temperature (16 ° C).

Watermelon seeds are sown to a depth of 6-8 cm at the rate of 10 seeds per running meter, let it be planted more densely, because it is not a fact that all the seeds will sprout. To obtain large watermelons, fresh seeds are usually taken for sowing, since old seeds will produce small watermelons with a large number of flower ovaries on one plant. After sowing, water the soil with warm water. The first shoots should appear a week after sowing. When 5 leaves appear, hill the plants, with careful loosening of the soil. Remember that warm weather and lack of rain is important for watermelons, so shelter should always be at hand. Sometimes, when the fruits reach 10 cm in diameter, the main lash is pinched with the removal of all side shoots, then the plant spends all its strength on the development of the main ovary.

Growing seedlings of watermelons for open ground

It is easy to grow watermelons in open ground using seedlings. To grow seedlings of watermelons, use peat-humus pots, this is very convenient because when transplanting, seedlings are not removed from them, they are planted directly in the holes, which means they do not damage the vulnerable root system. If you use plastic cups, then the seedlings are removed with a clod of earth, doing this very carefully, without damaging the roots. At the end of April, pour into peat-humus pots (each seed has its own pot) on 2/3 of the soil mixture from peat, humus and soddy soil in a ratio of 2: 1: 1. Soak the seeds in warm water (up to 50 ° C) for 10 minutes. Now deepen one watermelon seed by 1 cm. As the seedling grows, pour in the soil mixture and monitor the temperature in the room (25-30 °). When the first true leaf appears, a complex mineral fertilizer is applied, and after 2 weeks, top dressing is repeated. When you notice that the leaves of the watermelon seedlings have begun to touch each other, move the pots apart. Watermelon seedlings will be ready for planting in open ground at the age of 30 days, at which point the plant should have about 5 true leaves. A week before transplanting watermelon seedlings into open ground, harden plants (lower the temperature to 17 ° C during the day, and to 12-15 ° C at night.

Immediately before planting, seedlings are fertilized in the soil, about 2 kg of compost is added to each hole with abundant watering. Watermelon seedlings are planted in open ground in holes on ridges according to the scheme 140x70 or 140x140, deepening by 8-10 cm in the resulting slurry, but so that the root collar is 1-2 cm above the surface of the ridge. If you plant 2 plants in one hole, so that they do not touch each other, straighten the whips in different directions. Fill the holes with dry soil, then the crust will not form.

In central Russia, choose varieties of watermelons for growing in open ground with the most early term maturity and small size.

Care of watermelons in the open field

Watering is very moderate, especially during the ripening period, reduce it to a minimum. 14 days after planting watermelons in a permanent place, add a solution of ammonium nitrate (20 g of the drug per bucket of water per 1 bush 2 liters of solution). During the budding period, top dressing is repeated.

Only 2-6 ovaries are left on the bush. Each time after moistening the soil, loosening is carried out until the foliage closes. In windy weather, watermelon lashes are sprinkled with moist earth, and during possible frosts, plants are covered with non-woven material.

Place foil or any other non-rotting material under the plants so that moisture, from which the fruits can begin to deteriorate, cannot spoil the crop.

Turn watermelons regularly to ensure even ripening.

Pay attention to the fruits, if one berry began to grow intensively, while others lag behind in development and turn yellow, then additional feeding is required.

Collection of watermelons

In August, there is an intensive ripening of watermelons, so their readiness for harvest can be determined by a set of signs:

• glossy surface;
• drying of the bract;
• there are no hairs on the stalk;
• when tapping on the berries, a dull sound is heard.

We invite you to watch a video on how to grow Charleston Gray and Orange King watermelons from seed soaking to harvest.