How to plant watermelons. How to plant a watermelon to get large, sweet fruits

Watermelon is a heat-loving plant of the gourd family. This culture at good care rewards its owner with watermelons of excellent quality. When buying this gourd in the market or in a store, there is always a chance to buy a low-quality, unsweetened or even dangerous product.

Therefore, the most the best way getting delicious ripe watermelons is self-cultivation. Delicious watermelons grow only when correct selection, site preparation, plant care from the beginning to harvest.

How to grow watermelon in the country

Site selection and garden preparation

When choosing a place to plant watermelons, it is best to immediately determine the acidity of the soil. The optimal indicator for this is 7. The place should be sunny, away from trees, bushes, and always on a warm, south side. The earth should not be dense and clayey. The best predecessor is onions, cabbage, legumes.

It is best to prepare the ground in advance, in the fall. The place for planting after the predecessor must be dug up and scattered with rotted humus. For better harvest next year you can make a layer cake from humus, hay, earth and sand. In the spring, the beds are re-digged, leveled with a rake.
If there was no opportunity to prepare a garden bed in the fall, then this can be done after the snow melts. in early spring. The soil is dug up and sprinkled with rotted humus.

Growing through seedlings

In regions with a short summer, watermelons should be grown from seedlings.
To get a guaranteed tasty harvest, you need to choose quality seeds that are suitable for this region. In any case, you need to choose from early hybrids.
When calculating the timing, it must be taken into account that seedlings after germination should be planted after 25 days. Seed germination takes up to 10 days (usually 3-5 days). Based on these indicators, the landing time is calculated.

Seeds are sown in mid-April. By mid-May, seedlings can be planted in open ground.

It takes root rather poorly, for this reason each plant is planted separately in pots.

For sowing seeds, you need to take a liter peat pots or plastic cups the same volume.

The soil can be made independently or bought ready-made. Humus, peat, soil is taken, river sand(in the same ratio) and 0.5 kilograms wood ash per 20 kilograms of mixture. Ready mixes should be suitable for growing cucurbits.

Before sowing, watermelon seeds are soaked for half a day in warm water with the addition of potassium permanganate. Or they germinate about 3 days after treatment in a manganese solution.

In a pot with moistened soil, 2 seeds of watermelons are buried 2 centimeters deep.
Pots with seeds are covered with a film. When shoots appear, the film is removed.

Seedlings are installed on the windowsill on the south side. So that the seedlings do not stretch out, the temperature in the room is kept at no more than 24 degrees. After 4 - 6 days after germination, all weak shoots are removed.

In order for the seedlings to grow faster, a lamp with daylight is installed nearby for 12 hours a day (turns on in the morning and evening). Watering is done every other day, heated to 25 degrees with water.

A crust must not form on the surface of the soil!

Fertilizing plants should be carried out one and a half weeks after the appearance of the first shoots. Take 10 parts of warm water, part of mullein, add a tablespoon of superphosphate, 2 teaspoons of ammonium nitrate, stir and water. The second top dressing should be done a week after transplanting the seedlings.

Fertilizers diluted with water during irrigation should not get on the plants, otherwise burns may form.

Seedlings are hardened off before planting. The intensity of watering seedlings is reduced. A gradual decrease in temperature or daily airing is carried out. Watering the plants should be stopped 3 days before transplanting.

When and how to plant in open ground

If the plants have 5 main leaves, then the seedlings can be transplanted. Soil temperature at planting watermelon seedlings must be at least 12 degrees.

Seedlings are planted in prepared holes. The distance from each hole should be 50 by 70 centimeters, between rows 2.5 meters. The lashes during growth are distributed between the rows.

Seedlings are planted in a hole from a pot with an earthen clod and covered in a circle with earth and carefully watered. At first, for better rooting, plants can be covered with spunbond at night.

Video about planting watermelon seedlings

Growing under film

When growing seedlings under a film, seeds can be sown in March. If seedlings are planted from pots, the temperature of the soil under the film should not fall below 12 degrees. best time for this is considered the middle - the end of April.

For growing under film, the film must be two-layer. The film is pre-stretched along the pits or furrows. The first layer is laid on the ground, holes are made 8-10 centimeters long for plant growth. The film when growing seedlings should not touch the plants. For the second layer, arcs are installed on the beds, the film is laid down and fixed on top.

The first layer of film will warm the soil, retain moisture, and keep weeds from growing around the watermelons. For uniform watering, you can use a drip system. Instead of the first layer of the film with standard irrigation, you can use a special moisture-permeable material.

When plants grow, the second layer of the film should rise above the surface and allow the plants to grow freely.
When warm weather sets in, the shelter is removed.

Care, formation of watermelons, top dressing

After planting seedlings, after a week it needs to be fertilized. Plants should be watered once a week with settled water.

30 grams of ammonium sulfate, 20 grams of potassium salt, 50 grams of superphosphate are added to water per 10 liters. No more than 2 liters of dressing solution is used per plant.

Feeding should be stopped half a month before fruit ripening.

When the fifth leaf is fully formed, the growth point on the plants must be removed. When the first ovaries appear on the plants, the largest berry on the lash, which has reached the size of a plum (5 centimeters), is left, and the rest are removed.

No more than 6 fruits should remain on one plant. After the berry, 4 leaves are counted, and the ends of the whip are plucked off. Scourges that grow beyond the beds must be removed.

A large harvest directly depends on timely pollination, and with closed cultivation, the film for a day during flowering must be raised. Otherwise, pollination will have to be done independently, connecting the male ovaries with the stigmas of the female ovaries.

Diseases and pests

When watering, do not touch the plants, otherwise pests and diseases may appear. Watering is done along the edges of the pot and directly into the ground.

Unfortunately, gourds are very susceptible to both diseases and pests.

Fusarium, powdery mildew, bacteriosis, botrytis, olive blotch, anthracno h in case of manifestations, they should be treated with colloidal sulfur, Bordeaux liquid, cineb.

Spider mite, wireworm, melon aphid and many other pests damage and even lead to their death. To combat pests, you need to use Keltan, Karbofos, Phosphamide and others.

When white putrefactive spots (sclerotinia) appear on the plant, infected parts are removed. Decayed places are sprinkled with lime, ash. Landings are sprayed with a 5 percent solution blue vitriol.

With the manifestation of black rot, diseased parts of the plant are removed. The remaining plantings are treated with a solution of copper chloride.

At root rot, watering is reduced, plants are sprayed with 0.1 percent foundationol.

To prevent infection of watermelons with diseases or pests, weeds must be removed at the time.

How to determine ripeness?

When harvesting, you need to choose the right ripe fruits. Volumetric ripening of watermelons occurs in mid-August.

• A ripe berry becomes shiny and stops growing.
• The side on which the fruit lay should have a yellowish color.
• Watermelon can be squeezed a little and you can hear a slight crackling of the pulp.
• When tapped, a sonorous, clear sound is heard.
• Ripe watermelon is light and does not sink in water.
• The tail should be dry, without hairline.
• When running along the cortex with a fingernail, the top layer should be easily removed.

Who grows watermelons?

Professionals who grow watermelons are called melon growers. And they grow their watermelons on melons.

melon grower- This is a specialist in melon growing.

melon growing- this is the cultivation of watermelons, melons, pumpkins, and this is also a branch of agriculture.

This profession has become widespread in the southern regions of our country, and in the Middle lane, the Moscow region, the Urals, Siberia, watermelons are grown by amateur gardeners on their plots.

Features of cultivation in the Moscow region, the Middle lane, in the Urals, in Siberia.

Previously, watermelons could only be found in the southern regions, but now they are also grown in the Moscow region, the Middle lane, the Urals, and Siberia.

The main feature of growing watermelons in these regions is the seedling method.

Seeds are selected according to the region, this will allow you to get a rich harvest and enjoy your watermelons. The variety must be early ripening. Hybrids are chosen for better endurance.

In the spring, planted seedlings are covered for the night with any covering material, or they grow under a film and are ventilated during the day. To protect plants from the winds, beans, corn, and spinach are planted nearby.

It is better not to water watermelons 2 weeks before harvesting, this will speed up ripening and increase the sugar content of the fruit.

You should not expect very large fruits, but 2 or even 4 kilograms can be obtained with ease.
When disembarking finished seedlings you can get watermelons almost a month earlier.

Video about growing watermelons in the Middle lane

As you can see, growing watermelons is quite affordable for everyone. Can be grown if desired open field excellent berries.

You can grow somewhere else, except for the south of our country. However, at the end of March 2017, the State Register of the Russian Federation registered 211 varieties and hybrids adapted for various climatic conditions; including those that can be grown in all regions.

Today we will talk about table watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) - it is this species that pleases us so much with its delicious fruits. Watermelon belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family. The fruit (pumpkin) is a multi-seeded berry.

Watermelon flowers are divided into female, male and bisexual. The bulk of the varieties are bisexual, but there are those in which the flowers on the plant are strictly unisexual. The female flowers are slightly larger than the male ones. Like many plants of this family, watermelon is cross-pollinated.

Watermelon flowers are located on the main shoot in the axils of the leaves according to the ripening period: in early ripening - from 4 to 11 leaves, with an average term - from 15 to 18 leaves, late varieties flowers are arranged in axils from 20 to 25 leaves.

Growing watermelon after related crops is not recommended. But legumes and cabbage are good predecessors.

Sowing watermelon directly into the ground

You can sow watermelons immediately into the ground, but you need to choose the right variety or hybrid for your region, otherwise you can’t count on a good harvest. Sow watermelon when the soil is warmed up to a depth of about 10 cm and the optimum temperature for seedlings is +15...+16°C.

After the emergence of seedlings, they are thinned out for the first time, and in the phase of 3-4 true leaves - again, leaving the strongest seedlings at a distance of about 1 m from each other. In the greenhouse, you can take a smaller distance, somewhere around 70 cm.

Planting watermelon seedlings

The use of seedlings will help solve the problems of a short warm period required for fruit ripening, poor set and excess moisture in early summer. In my climatic conditions, the period when the watermelon fruit grows (summer) is shorter than the growing season, even for varieties and hybrids with an early ripening period.

sow in the beginning of May, immediately into separate pots with a capacity of at least 0.3 liters, because watermelon does not tolerate transplanting.

The soil mixture is made up of sod land, sand and peat, taken in equal proportions. Add about 50 g per 5 liters of mixture dolomite flour and potassium sulfate, about 100 g of double, about 50 g of ammonium nitrate.

Preferably 30 minutes before sowing. warm the seeds hot water(+50...+55°С). Then germinate them in wet sand at a temperature of about +25°C. When the seeds have the beginnings of a root, plant them in pots, sprinkle with sand, cover with a film and put in a warm place. During the day, the temperature should be around +25°C, and at night it should be reduced to +20°C. Seedlings will appear in about a week.

Light day must be at least 12 hours, otherwise the development of seedlings may stop. With a lack of light, seedlings can stretch out, so on cloudy days or in a poorly lit room, seedlings need to be illuminated.

When the seedlings already have 3 true leaves, they need to be fed with mullein and liquid.

AT mid June you can plant seedlings in the ground, in a permanent sunny place. If you had to move it to the garden earlier, when the threat is still relevant, experienced gardeners will help protect the plants.

watermelon care

Watermelons love to drink and eat)

top dressing

When the seedlings begin to form whips, feed the plants with a solution of mullein (1:8) or chicken manure (1:20). At the same time, you need to give the plant and mineral food - it will do just fine.

Next top dressing - potash fertilizers must be given at the time of formation of the ovary.

Watering

The root system of a watermelon is rod, goes to a depth of more than 1 m, lateral adventitious roots can occupy a sufficient area in upper layers soil. After planting, you can water not often, but plentifully: 3 buckets per 1 m², and at the time of flowering, watering is carried out at least 2 times a week. During the period of fruit ripening, watering is stopped.

The subtlety of growing watermelons lies in the fact that with a sharp cold snap, it can get sick and die, for normal development and full fertilization of the ovaries, it needs a temperature of +25 ... +30 ° С.

Already at + 15 ° C, plant growth slows down, therefore, in unpredictable weather conditions of the middle lane, many cover the melon with a film. FROM inside copious condensation may form on it; to remove it, gauze is pulled under the film or.

Another subtlety of growing watermelons is pollination: if the weather is cloudy, it is more difficult for bees to do their job, so you need to touch two or more pistils on other flowers with stamens from one flower.

In the southern regions of our country, the tops of the shoots are removed: their growth stops, they begin to branch more strongly, the fruits are larger.

Varieties and hybrids of watermelons

In order to somehow streamline the varieties of watermelons belonging to one common variety, they were divided into 10 conditional groups distributed geographically:

1. Russian
2. Western European
3. Transcaucasian
4. Asia Minor
5. Indian
6. Afghan
7. Central Asian
8. Far East
9. East Asian
10. American

Varieties of watermelons that are grown in our country most often belong to the Russian group, less often to the Transcaucasian and Central Asian.

When choosing a variety or hybrid for your region, pay attention to the growing season. Suitable for cool non-chernozem regions early varieties, and for warmer regions, varieties and hybrids with medium and late ripening are good. You also need to look at drought and frost resistance. Surely you will be useful to many personal experience our readers who successfully grow watermelons in different regions: , and areas, edge, !

"Spark"

This variety belongs to the early ripe ones, it can be grown in the Non-Black Earth Region: 71-87 days pass from germination to ripening.

Watermelon variety "Spark". Photo from pixabay.com

The shape of the fruit is spherical, weighing an average of about 2.5 kg. The pulp is bright red, sweet; the peel is thin, black-green. Seeds are small. Sow in the ground from April 20 to May 10. Seedlings - from May 25 to June 10. Landing pattern - 1 m x 0.6 m.

"Crimson Sweet"

It can be grown under the condition of a short hot summer. From shoots to harvest from 60 to 70 days.

Watermelon variety "Crimson Sweet"

Anthracnose resistance is good, powdery mildew is also almost not affected. It will weigh about 3 kg, the taste is rich, very sweet.

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Growing watermelons in open ground with seeds and seedlings

You can grow watermelons using seeds and seedlings. Of course, so that in the end good and delicious fruits, the landing technology should be performed correctly.

In addition, the subsequent care of the plant largely affects the quality of ripened fruits. Therefore, it is best to familiarize yourself in advance with all the secrets of growing watermelons using seeds and seedlings.

Place to land

For growing watermelon choose sandy or sandy soil. Its acidity should be 6-7 units.

Since watermelons are a thermophilic plant, a place for planting should be chosen warm, sunny, so that it constantly warms up. Planted in warm soil up to +12 +15 degrees.

Watermelons will grow well after the following crops:

• potato;
• cabbage;
• carrot;
• legume crops.

In no case should you plant a plant in places where solanaceous or melons have grown before, since these plants have common pests.

It's important to know: it is recommended to prepare a site for watermelons in the fall, it needs to be dug and loosened. Then, on the dug up land, the berry will grow well and give an excellent harvest.

Digging the earth should be done in conjunction with rotted manure or humus. For 1 square meter the following amount of fertilizer is applied - 5-6 kg of humus or rotted manure, superphosphate 50 grams, potassium salt 35 grams and ammonium sulfate 40 grams.

Sand is poured into the weighted soil - 2 buckets per 1 m2. It is not advisable to use fresh manure for fertilizer. When digging, all weeds and roots are removed, because watermelon does not like these unpleasant "neighbors".

If a further landing will be produced under the film, then you should also purchase necessary material and cover the ground with them.

Planting a watermelon

There are two ways to plant watermelons:

1. In a seedless way.

For planting watermelons in open ground, you should choose cold-resistant seeds with a ripening period of 90 days. Varieties are perfect - "Spark", "Gift to the North", "Chill".

Seeds should be soaked in water before planting. The water temperature must be at least 50 degrees. It is necessary to soak until the seeds sprout.

Then they are planted in the soil. The soil should be warmed up to +12 +15 degrees. They are usually planted in early May, by the time the seeds germinate it will become warmer, and the soil will warm up with the sun.

After 8-10 days, the first shoots should appear. If the earth is cold, then germination will be delayed for a long period, and as a result, the seeds may die.

It is worth noting: before landing, be sure to pay attention to the weather conditions. If it is cool in early May, then planting should be postponed to the end of the month.

In order to grow good harvest, the following disembarkation technology should be observed:

• each well is filled with a mixture of ash, earth, humus and nitroammophos (1 teaspoon). Pour 1 tablespoon of the mixture into the well. This will help increase productivity in the future;
• then we lay the seeds in the soil to a depth of 6-9 cm;
• sprinkle with humus so that a crust does not form on top. This crust can harm the sprouts when they come to the surface, and they will die.

Below, we suggest you watch a video on how to transplant watermelon seedlings into open ground:

2. Growing seedlings.

Seeds are planted for seedlings in late April - early May. It is desirable that the indoors be supported temperature regime+25 +30 degrees.

Seed germination begins at a temperature of + 17 degrees, but in order for them to grow and develop fruitfully, it is recommended to maintain at least 25 degrees in the daytime, and at +18 degrees at night. Seedling picking is not necessary.

The soil in which the seedlings grow should be fertilized. This will provide fast growth sprouts. For all the time the soil needs to be fertilized twice, mineral fertilizers are used as top dressing.

Important to remember: when planting, seedlings cannot be completely covered with soil. On the surface, sprouts of 3-4 cm should be left.

The sprouts should not come into contact with each other, otherwise they can be severely damaged when planting. Therefore, you should watch the sprouts, and as they grow, the cups should be moved away. Shoots ready for planting must have at least 3 leaves.

Seedlings are planted in the soil in late May or early June. Be sure to follow the landing technology. Sprouted seedlings are planted in prepared beds to a depth of 9-11 cm.

One or two shoots are planted in the hole. If 2 shoots are planted in the hole, then they are bred according to different sides so that their lashes do not intertwine.

Before planting, up to two kilograms of compost or humus are poured into the hole and poured with water. It should be planted in a gruel of soil and fertilizers, sprinkling with dry soil.

Care

In addition to landing, you must follow the rules of care. It is from proper care future harvest depends.

Care consists of the following:

1. Shelter. In order to accelerate the growth of the plant, covering materials can be used. Under the film, an elevated temperature is maintained and due to this, the plant begins to grow faster.

In addition, the fruits will appear 2-3 weeks earlier. Also covering material will provide protection against various pests. To cover with a film, you can make not high racks on the sides and put covering material on them. It should be removed in early June and preferably on a cloudy day, otherwise the plants may burn out under the scorching sun.

2. Irrigation procedures. Since watermelon has a very powerful root system, which can go to a depth of more than 1 meter, it should not be watered very often. Once a week is enough. He gets the missing moisture from the ground himself.

3. Soil fertilization. The first top dressing is done 7 days after planting seedlings or seeds. The next two are done at intervals of 2-3 weeks. For the first top dressing, the following can be used as fertilizers - a solution of ammonium nitrate, 20 grams per 10 liters of water. For subsequent dressings, it is best to use mineral fertilizers.

4. Work on the formation of bushes. The fruits are formed on the main stem. In order for them to ripen quickly, it is best to leave no more than 6 ovaries on the stem of the plant, it is recommended to remove the rest.

Also, do not forget about loosening the soil. Beds with watermelons should be periodically loosened. It is advisable to do this after rain or watering.

Overgrown lashes can be tied to special racks or lightly sprinkled with earth. This will protect them from the wind and speed up the growth of the fruit.

Harvesting

Fruit picking begins around August. Before cutting a watermelon, check it for maturity. Usually a ripe fruit has a glossy skin and a dry tail.

There are no hairs on the stalks. Usually, when you knock on the fetus, a dull sound is heard. All these signs are conditional, so it is recommended to use them in combination.

Growing watermelons is a rather laborious process, so it should be approached responsibly. Be sure to prepare the landing site well, pre-dig the soil and fertilize with top dressing.

Do not forget about further care behind the plant. It is from all right technology cultivation depends on the future harvest.

We offer you to watch a video on how to properly plant watermelon seeds for seedlings:

Do you have a lot of free land in your garden? Try to plant the most big berry- watermelons. They are unpretentious and do not require much trouble with them.

Choosing seeds

First you need to decide on the seeds. It is better to select such varieties of watermelons that do not ripen for long, but it is also better not to purchase varieties that ripen very quickly. For the garden the best option there will be varieties such as Sugar Baby or Ogonyok. When buying, also specify where the seeds were brought from. If from the south, then it is not a fact that they will be adapted to natural conditions your lane. You can start growing watermelons in the spring. The first step is to grow seedlings. After all, planting watermelons in the garden is dangerous because of the risk of sudden frosts. They can destroy landings. Pots for seedlings of watermelons need to choose a medium diameter. Do not make any cuts on the seeds, ostensibly for an earlier shoot! Before planting the seeds in a pot, they must be held for 10 minutes in warm water. Then deepen into the ground by 3-4 centimeters. It is necessary to monitor the temperature in the room where the pots of seeds are. It should be between 18 and 23 degrees. And when shoots appear, try to stick to a temperature of 18 degrees.

Watermelon seedlings: care

In late May - early June, seedlings can be planted in the ground. It would be better to cover the watermelons with some material after landing. A few days before planting watermelons in the ground, seedlings should begin to harden. Within a week, you need to gradually extend the time the plant stays without shelter. If the temperature does not drop below 8 degrees at night, then you can try to leave the seedlings open at night.

How to plant watermelons: choosing a place

The place must be sunny and warm. Most best option so that it is accessible from the south to the sun and closed from the north and west from cold winds. Holes are best done from north to south in one row. The distance between them must be at least 60 centimeters. Pits are made about 50 cm deep, 2-3 buckets of compost or humus, one-third of a bucket of sand and a little superphosphate, preferably double, must be added to them. Mix all contents thoroughly. You can mulch the soil, as a result, there will be no need to constantly weed, and almost ideal conditions will be created for the root system thanks to mulching. Holes are cut out on the covering material into which seedlings should be planted. You can also water over the material, it passes water well.

top dressing

The seedlings of watermelons took root and began to grow, which means that you need to start feeding them. Good for first dressing chicken manure or cow. Then after 12 days, feed again, but already mineral fertilizers, watermelons must be watered strictly warm water especially if the weather is hot. Watering should be frequent, but watering can be stopped from the beginning of August.

Time to harvest

So, figured out how to plant watermelons. Now let's see when you can harvest. If summer pleases with warm days, then the first watermelon can be ready for use as early as the twentieth of July. But the main crop is usually harvested from mid-August. If the weather is still hot at this time, then do not rush to harvest, watermelons can still grow until September. So grow and enjoy the sweet results of your efforts. Now you know what you can plant in the garden. Everyone can do this, since planting watermelons, and even more so growing and caring for them, is not difficult at all.

Today it has become popular to grow in the country or personal plot quite exotic plant species, even if you live in Central Russia. Such an opportunity is provided by numerous varieties of watermelons and melons, adapted to the conditions of capricious weather, sudden changes in temperature, in a word, to all the surprises of the zone of risky farming.

Growing watermelons is quite an exciting activity, acquiring in recent times more and more fans. Getting a full-fledged watermelon in the Moscow region or in the Vologda region is not a problem today, you just need to know some rules of agricultural technology and adhere to them strictly. Let's take a step-by-step look at the entire simple scheme for planting watermelons and find out what can prevent you from getting a full-fledged harvest of this melon crop.

The watermelon varieties offered in stores do not always meet the necessary standards for planting them in conditions Middle lane. Here you need to be guided by the early ripening of the berry, and watermelon is considered a berry, you should choose varieties that give small fruits and are resistant to various diseases.

Numerous hybrids meet these criteria. Pay attention to ultra-early varieties, they will be able to ripen long before the onset of the first autumn frosts, and you will get the degree of sugar content of the fruit that you dreamed about. You can also advise the variety "Spark" known among avid gardeners, which is considered early. It produces very small fruits, but they are high in sugar, can be stored for some time and are very productive.

Preparing seeds for sowing

In order for the seeds to sprout quickly and amicably, it is necessary to spend several preparatory activities: calibrate the seed material, then carry out scarification, warm the seeds and disinfect them in a special biostimulator or a weak solution of potassium permanganate. Despite the apparent difficulties, the processes are not complicated and even inexperienced gardeners can do it. We will analyze each of their stages separately.

• What is calibration? This is the sorting of seed material by size, and hence by germination. Why sort seeds? The secret is that if in one bowl there is a strong and large seed next to a small one, the first will not allow the second to develop normally, taking the lion's share of the nutrition for itself. Therefore, strong watermelon grains are planted separately from weaker or smaller seeds. In this case, the seedlings will be even and friendly.
• Scarification is a procedure that not all gardeners do. It involves damage to the seed shell, sawing it or opening it. These actions are explained by faster germination of seedlings. Scarification can be done in this way: take a grain and rub it with a “nose” on sandpaper, so the hard layer of the peel will be erased and the sprout will be able to “jump out” faster.
• Warming up is an obligatory step for watermelon seeds, it not only accelerates the biochemical reactions inside the grain, but also helps the seedlings to germinate faster. In order for the procedure to be performed correctly, water with a temperature of about + 50 degrees is required. It is desirable that this mode be kept for half an hour. Seeds are immersed in water and kept in it for the allotted time.
• Disinfection is a mandatory item, it is necessary for the disinfection of seeds. They should be placed in a container of water in which a small amount of potassium permanganate is diluted. It takes 20 minutes for the harmful bacteria on the surface of the seeds to die. After this procedure, watermelon seeds are dried on a radiator and can be sown in separate pots or boxes.

Note! You can germinate the seeds before planting by wrapping them in gauze or cloth, moistening it with water. It is desirable that the temperature during germination be quite high, above room temperature. Batteries are used for this, but you definitely need to make sure that the fabric does not dry out. After the appearance of small white sprouts from the peel, you can safely plant the seeds in the soil.

Selection of soil and containers

It is advisable to place each future watermelon in a separate pot, the size of which should not be less than 10-12 cm in volume and height. It is advisable to fill the containers not to the very edge, but leave 3 cm each, this is necessary in order to be able to subsequently add soil.

For watermelons, it is desirable to make soil from humus or peat with humus in equal amounts. Sod land (1 part) with humus (3 parts) is also suitable. One small spoonful of superphosphate or two large spoonfuls of wood ash should be added to any of the compositions. This amount is applied per 1 kilogram of soil mixture.

How to sow watermelon seeds

Planting watermelons on open areas possible only at the end of May, not earlier. By this time, the seedlings are already 30-35 days old from the moment of sowing, and, as a rule, they have 4 leaves. From these dates, and guided by these indicators, it is worth approximately calculating the moment of landing, that is, these days fall in the middle or end of April.

Plant two seeds in each container, planting depth of about 3 cm. After germination, the weakest is removed. Make sure that the place is not blown by a draft; a south window is suitable for this.

Seedling Care

For the germination of watermelons, a temperature of 25-30 degrees is required, if it is observed, then you can wait for the appearance of "loops" in six days. After the shoots appear, you can limit the temperature regime to +18 degrees, this is necessary for the adaptation of young shoots. Further, it is desirable to put each container in a place where again the heat of the air will be at least +22 degrees. This mode is necessary for three weeks, until the planting of seedlings on permanent place to open gardens.

Highly important points in the care of seedlings is lighting. Young growth is very susceptible to light, and if it is not enough, then the shoots will stretch and become long and weak. Additional lighting with special lamps will help to avoid this. Watermelons are extremely photophilous plants, so make sure that there is enough light.

After about two weeks, seedlings can be fed with fertilizer, which is prepared from mullein and water in proportions of 1:10. Manure should be fermented, you should not take fresh, you can burn young plants. Second portion nutrients due in a couple of weeks. This time, the nutrient mixture is prepared from mullein, to which 50 g of superphosphate, 30 g of potassium sulfate, 15 g of ammonium sulfate are added. These components are added per 1 liter ready solution water with manure.

This is all that watermelons need as additional power supply before landing in open ground.

Landing in open ground

It is impossible to do without hardening the plants, until the moment of planting, the seedlings are taken out to a cool room, starting for an hour, then for a longer period. What you need to know about the rules for growing melons and gourds on a personal plot for each gardener:

• Landing is done in the morning, along with pea soil, watermelons are planted in a permanent place with a distance of about 80 cm from each other. Plants are deepened to the level of cotyledon leaves. Then you need to water them and cover with a film.
• The film can be removed only at the end of June, when the difference between night and day temperatures will noticeably decrease.
• Watermelons should be watered abundantly and often, when female flowers appear on the plants, watering is reduced, and when ovaries appear, it practically stops.
• Pollination is an important link for the usefulness of the crop. It is possible, without waiting for the appearance of bees and other pollinating insects, to independently produce pollination. To do this, you need to touch the rest with one flower. The ripening period of fruits after pollination will come in 40-45 days.
• The formation of lashes is a necessary measure. If you are growing watermelons on special supports or trellises, you should leave one stem to form 4-5 fruits. After it is formed required amount ovaries, pinch the stem, limiting its growth.
• Watermelons need protection from diseases, especially if the weather is not pampered in the summer. Preparations: Hom, Ordan, Abiga-Peak will help prevent the development of peronosporosis, powdery mildew, aschotitosis, anthracnose. But from harmful insects it is worth stocking up with such means as: Fufanol, Fitoverm, Decis, Tantrek. They will reliably protect plants from the attack of aphids, scoops, wireworms, meadow moths.

Sowing watermelons with seeds in open ground is carried out exclusively under a film or a greenhouse, in ridges prepared in advance. In this case, the harvest can be expected much later, and the film cover is removed depending on weather conditions.

Growing a watermelon is a fascinating activity, because to achieve desired result far from everyone succeeds, especially when it comes to the zone of risky farming. But, to satisfy their own ambitions, sometimes gardeners take on the most daring project. Just imagine that on your table at the end of the season suddenly appears grown with my own hands ripe, juicy watermelon, which, with its aroma, gathers a whole crowd of curious people around it. And, of course, it turns out to be ripe, red, sweet!