How to grow a watermelon at home: planting rules and plant care. We grow watermelon from a stone at home Vitamins and minerals for a plant

The cultivation of melons and gourds in the garden is possible in almost any region of the country. But before you get down to business, you need to study the basic information on how to properly prepare seeds and seedlings.

Where and how do watermelons grow

In the south of Russia, melons and gourds grow very well, but in the middle lane, in the North and in Siberia, they often lack warmth and sun. You need to plant seedlings in well-heated, open places. In regions with cool summers and cold winter, it is necessary to plant plants in greenhouses.

If you know how to grow a watermelon at home in the garden, you can achieve good results.

Watermelon at home

Melons and gourds love moist, loose soil. It would be ideal if tomatoes, potatoes, cereals (corn, wheat, oats, rye) and legumes (beans, peas, chickpeas, beans, lentils, soybeans) were previously grown in the beds or in the greenhouse.

The harvest will be good if the garden is built in such a way that the lashes grow vertically. It is most convenient to do this in a greenhouse.

Fertilizing melons is a must. You can buy ready-made fertilizer or prepare it yourself, using phosphorus and potassium to prepare the solution.

How to grow watermelons at home

People who do not have a garden or vegetable garden have no choice but to grow a watermelon at home, on the balcony. Both tomatoes and cucumbers are grown on the balconies. So why not try to grow melons and gourds?

Planting a watermelon from a stone

Experienced gardeners know how to plant a watermelon from a stone at home. To do this, you need to choose the largest and best seeds, without cracks. Before planting, the seed must be warmed up in the sun or a battery, then rinsed with a weak solution of potassium permanganate several times. Then wrap in damp gauze or other cloth. Leave the wrapped seeds in a warm place for several days until the sprouts hatch.

After that, you can plant the seed in the ground.

Sprouted seeds are thrown into the ground, in a garden bed or in a greenhouse. But this method is only for southern latitudes.

Note! For colder regions, this option is not suitable; in central Russia, melons are grown at home, on window sills and balconies.

The seeds are planted in large pots or containers. A large capacity is needed in order not to transplant seedlings later, this is fraught with damage to the roots. As a result, the sprout will develop very slowly or die. Watermelon seedlings have very delicate and sensitive roots.

Pollination of watermelons in the garden

If the flower is not pollinated, the fruit will not grow. It's great if bees, bumblebees and other insects fly into the garden. And if they are infrequent guests or watermelons grow in a greenhouse? Then you can attract bees or pollinate the flowers by hand. Flying insects will be attracted by the sweet smell, you can plant plants or flowers with a pronounced sweet smell next to the melons in advance, or just sprinkle water with sugar or honey on the flowers from time to time.

Artificial pollination of plants

To pollinate plants manually in a greenhouse or at home, you need to transfer pollen from a male flower to a female flower. This can be done with a brush or cotton swab. Or you can simply pick a male flower and generously shake the pollen over the female one.

Note! The female flower differs from the male one in that there is a small fruit on it (female) below.

It is very important to choose the right type of watermelon, taking into account the region. For example, for the Leningrad region, only early ripening varieties should be chosen, and hybrids are best suited for southern cities.

It is advised to grow seedlings in places where there is a lot of sunlight and where the humidity is more than 70%. If there is not enough moisture, you should regularly spray water in the room from a spray bottle.

If the bed is located vertically, the fruits should be tied up during their ripening period in order to prevent the lash from breaking.

Additional Information. If melons are grown on the ground and wet, rainy weather is established, you need to take care that the fruits do not start to rot and put a thin board or glass under them.

Following these simple tips and conscientiously caring for the seedlings, it is quite possible at the end of summer to enjoy your own watermelon grown at home or in the garden.

Many people love watermelons. But watermelons appear on the market only in a certain season.

What to do if you wanted to feast on juicy pulp at other times of the year? There is a way out - to grow a watermelon from seeds at home.

True, not everyone has private plotwhere you can put a greenhouse and grow watermelons. But everyone has a window sill or balcony, and this is enough to grow this plant at home.

Preparatory work

When growing watermelons at home, you can safely skip the transplanting stage, which is needed if you plan to transplant the plant to the open air. At home, planting takes place immediately in a large container, in which the watermelon will grow until fully ripe.

The first thing to do to plant a watermelon is to purchase or build your own planting box. If you haven't found a drawer, a basin, bucket, or flowerpot is also great.

The main thing is that the volume is large enough for the root system. It is not advisable to use a transparent container - the roots of a watermelon are sensitive and can dry out.

As a soil, it is better to take store soil rich in microelements. It is imperative to enrich the soil with lime fertilizers, since the acidity of 6pH is required for growing watermelons.

Important to remember: the volume of the growing container must be at least 10-15 liters!

Seeds, as in many other crops, must be soaked before planting. It is necessary to keep in water until the seeds hatch.

How to properly plant a watermelon

3-4 seeds are usually planted in one container, planting is done to a depth of about 3 centimeters. But this does not mean that they will all grow in one container. Of those seeds that will sprout, you need to leave only one, the healthiest-looking sprout.

Watermelon is a plant that needs a lot of light. therefore excellent solution will be placing seedlings on the windowsill.

If you plant seedlings in winter time years, then you need to take care of additional lighting, since in natural conditions the plant receives light for 12 hours.

Remember that the plant is thermophilic and it is very easy to freeze it. Therefore, if you chose a windowsill on the balcony, then you need to make sure that the temperature is right there. The ideal temperature for the growth of this culture is + 25-30 degrees during the day and about 17-18 degrees Celsius at night.

Despite the fact that the fruits of a watermelon are very juicy, excessive moisture is very harmful to this plant. As well as over-watering.

Plant care

During the growth of the plant, fertilizers must be added to the soil. The feeding diet must necessarily include nitrogen and phosphorus, and after the formation of fruits, also potassium.

In a container with seedlings, it is necessary to place a support along which the whip will grow. When the lash reaches a length of about a meter, it must be pinched. During the growth of the watermelon, the soil must be constantly loosened.

You cannot leave more than two fruits on one lash. All excess fruits must be cut off. Left fruits, it is better to fix them on a support with a net.

It is important to know: after the introduction of potassium into the feeding, the amount of nitrogen must be significantly reduced.

Harvesting

At home, fruits rarely exceed one kilogram. But their peel is much thinner.

It takes about 3-3.5 months for the fruit to fully ripen. However, there are more, in which the ripening period is 60-80 days.

The ripeness of the fruit can be easily determined: if the peel is shiny, the stalk is dry, and the sound is dull when struck, then the fruit is ripe.

If you didn't manage to grow a watermelon at home the first time, don't be discouraged. You just need to make another try, while taking into account the recommended varieties for growing in your area and the reviews of amateur gardeners.

Below, we invite you to watch a video about how watermelons grow on a windowsill:

A long liana, with carved leaves and hanging, huge fruits by household standards - this is how a watermelon might look at home . It is usually grown in summer, when there is plenty of light and warmth. And today, growing a watermelon at home on a windowsill is not at all a fantasy, because with proper care you can get a decent harvest. How to grow a watermelon at home - read the article.

Conditions for growing watermelon

How the watermelon will grow and whether it will give edible fruits depends on the choice of soil, top dressing, watering, the temperature and light regime and the choice of place.

It is preferable to grow watermelon on the south side. The more sun the better. Direct sun rays are only good for him.

An ideal place at home would be a warm, sunny loggia or balcony. You can plant plants on the southern, western and eastern windows, the northern ones are absolutely not suitable for them.

In fact, growing a watermelon on the balcony is not so difficult, you just need to comply with the necessary conditions.

Daylight hours for successful cultivation watermelon is 12-14 hours. In the evenings, they turn on LED, fluorescent lighting or phytolamps. On cloudy days, the lamps are left on for the whole day.

Temperature

Watermelons are grown at high temperatures of 25-30 ° C during the day and at least 18 ° C at night. It is especially necessary to monitor the thermometer during the formation of the ovary.

Plant breeders differ greatly on watering. Some prefer regular, and even plentiful watering, others talk about its strong limitation and its complete cessation during ripening, arguing that water is not needed to increase the sugar content. In any case, the seedlings are watered in the usual way, and watering the plant in the second stage of its life depends on a number of conditions, including experience.

The soil is prepared loose and fertile with a neutral reaction: 1 part of sod land, sand, humus, plus one-tenth of ground wood ash. For disinfection, the soil is steamed in a water bath for 1.5-2 hours, kept in microwave oven 10-20 minutes, spill with boiling water.

Top dressing begins when the plant has 3 true leaves. Plants are watered with water, and then with complex mineral fertilizers (Kemira, etc.), diluted according to the instructions. The ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in them at this stage may well be shifted towards nitrogen, but it is better that they are equal. At the stage of ovary formation, they are fed again - there should be more phosphorus and potassium fertilizers. After 2-3 weeks - the third time.

For growing at home, not all watermelons growing outdoors are suitable. There are varieties that bear fruit indoors, such as Ogonyok, Crimson Sweet, Ultra Early, Sugar Baby, Sibiryak, Gift of the Sun, Kai F1, Cinderella, Gift to the North F1. They have good taste, do not need abundant light, early ripening, disease resistant.

The seeds of these varieties are distinguished by good germination and if they are purchased from trusted suppliers and the brand is reliable, then almost everything germinates. Before planting, they are kept for 10-15 minutes in a weak solution of potassium permanganate at a temperature of 50-55 ° C. Then they are placed in a damp cloth (sand, etc.) until they bite, after which they are planted in 2 cups for seedlings, burying 2 cm in the ground.It can be planted immediately in cups.

An interesting, but optional, technique of stratification when germinating seeds in a humid environment, stimulates the processes in the seed: they are kept for 12 hours on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator at a temperature of + 6 ° C, then another 12 hours at room temperature. The process is repeated 2-3 times.

2 weeks after the emergence of shoots, weak seedlings are discarded and left in each glass, one of the strongest.

It is undesirable to plant watermelon seeds in large containers at once: a large mass of undeveloped soil easily sour, and the seedlings may die. They are transplanted after a month, the plants are moved to a permanent place along with a lump of earth, in order not to injure the roots.

Seedlings can be planted in open ground and get a good harvest in the garden. Pre-hardening: during the week, take out the seedlings for a short time every day in the open air.

After transferring the seedlings into pots, the root begins to grow rapidly. It grows long, with well-developed lateral roots, so large containers are selected - 5-15 liters.

The pinching is done over 3-4 leaves, the lateral branches are directed vertically or allowed horizontally. It is also grown in one lash, in this case flowers and fruits will appear faster.

Flowering (after 30-50 days) and fruiting of watermelon depends on the variety, which are early ripening, mid-ripening and late-ripening. It is interesting that, depending on the timing of flowering, flowers appear in different leaf axils: in early maturing - in 4-11 leaf axils, with an average period - at 15-18, late - at 20-25. Any variety can be grown in the house, but given the thermophilicity and photophilousness, preference is given to early varieties.

To obtain the fruit, the flowers are artificially pollinated. Watermelon has 2 types of flowers - male and female, which appear on both the main and lateral shoots. Male flowers (developed stamens, thin peduncle) pollinate female flowers (developed pistil, thick peduncle) and await fruit set. An enlarged stalk of a female flower means that the little watermelon has begun to grow. With the vertical arrangement of the lashes, it becomes necessary to attach it to prevent breakage.

You shouldn't leave more than 2 watermelons on the branches in the house if you want to enjoy delicious pulp. The shoots are pinched after the formation of the fruit so that the forces go to ripening, and not to growth.

From planting to the end of the growing season, an average of 3 months pass. It is difficult to grow a fruit over 1 kg at home. Wait until the watermelon ripens and perhaps it will surpass the purchased ones in taste. Recall that in a mature fruit, the bark is glossy, the stalk is dried out, without hairs. when knocking, a ringing sound is heard.

But, even following all the rules of care, there is no guarantee that you can get a large-sized watermelon on the windowsill or balcony. And yet, growing such exotic plant will bring a lot of pleasure and new skills in growing unique plants at home.

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Probably, you rarely meet a person who would not like watermelons. However, not all of us have a plot to grow our favorite fruits and vegetables. This is the main reason people are wondering how to grow a watermelon at home.

Not everyone knows, but you can grow watermelons without using seedlings, but immediately in a permanent place. As a rule, seedlings are used in order to subsequently transplant plants into a greenhouse. This is done so that the berry has time to ripen. And if we are talking about growing fruit at home, then this stage can be safely skipped.

Basic steps to grow the most delicious watermelon on the planet

You should start by buying a large enough capacity, because the watermelon has a branched root system. A 50x50x30 cm box is perfect for this.You can make it yourself, for example, from wooden boards... If this is not possible, then you can always take a basin or bucket. If the selected container is transparent, then it makes sense to wrap it with a dark cloth. Such a measure is necessary so that the roots do not dry out and turn green. The container must be filled with fertile soil with trace elements.

You can buy it at any garden or hardware store. Fortunately, nowadays, even in some supermarkets you can find similar products, if, of course, there is a garden department there. Thirty days before you plan to plant a watermelon, you will need to lime the soil. This is necessary so that the acidity is about 6 pH.

Before planting the seeds, they must first be soaked for about ten minutes in water with a temperature of more than 100C. You need to keep it until the seeds begin to peck, after which they can be planted. Please note that you should never separate the seeds.

How many seeds to plant?

You don't need much, because they can all ascend. But three seeds will be the most the best option... It should be planted to a depth of about three centimeters. After the sprouts appear, you need to choose the strongest one and leave it.

Placing a plant

The best place is by the window

No better placethan a windowsill. You can, of course, just put it near the window, but the plant must receive a sufficient amount of light. However, do not forget that the frame must not be left open, otherwise there is a risk of freezing the thermophilic plant. The best temperature for ripening is between +25 and +30 degrees. Until the fruit is formed, the plant will be considered a seedling. At night, the optimum temperature will be about +18 degrees. When you notice that the fruit starts to set, you should not drop the room temperature drastically. Leave it also at least +25 degrees. In addition, it should be remembered that moisture for watermelons is destructive. It must be remembered that watering should be moderate, do not overfill.

Harvesting in three months

Typically, if the watermelons are grown in a greenhouse, it takes about three months. If we are talking about growing a watermelon at home, then most likely it will take a little longer. If we are talking about growing at a time of year when the daylight hours are less than twelve hours, then fluorescent lamps should be used. This is necessary to highlight the watermelon. Try to keep your lighting clearly directed. Let it illuminate the plant as much as possible. In addition, special reflective surfaces should be used. Moreover, you should place them around the watermelon.

Vitamins and minerals for plants

Like any other living creature, the watermelon needs feeding. Try to do this according to a certain pattern. The most common method is primary feeding with phosphorus and nitrogen. Moreover, this is done in equal quantities. After you see that the fruits are tied, you should think about using top dressing, where there is a large amount of potassium. And at this moment it is necessary to ensure that there is not as much nitrogen in the feeding as in the initial stage.

It makes sense to install a support in the container with which you can fix the shoots of your watermelon. The most important stem is usually attached at a height of about one hundred centimeters. Lateral shoots are attached in a slightly different way: they are attached so that a few leaves remain above the flower with an ovary.

After you notice that the fruits have formed, you do not need to leave everything. Two is enough, all the rest must be pinched off, because there will be no point in them. They will only take away all the juices and nutrients. If you leave more than two fruits, then they will all remain small. When you see that the fruit has reached a size of about ten centimeters in diameter, then it must be placed in gauze or a net, after which it should be tied to a support. This is done to make it more durable.

By the way, when you grow a watermelon at home, you should remember that it will not reach such a huge size as in a greenhouse planting. However, thinner skin is a big advantage. Usually, growing a watermelon at home, you can get a fruit weighing about a kilogram.

If you do not know which variety should be preferred, then stop at the seeds of such varieties as "Kakho," Ogonyok "or" Sibiryak ". These varieties are the most unpretentious for growing at home.

If the first time you fail to grow such a watermelon that you wanted, or does not work at all, then you should not be very upset. Try again, just on the next landing you will need to take into account the mistakes made and not repeat them again. Juicy and sweet watermelons for you!

Thanks to modern technologies growing berries and vegetables is no longer a fantasy. To understand how to grow a watermelon at home, you need to familiarize yourself in advance with some of the nuances that will allow you to collect an ecological and tasty harvest over time.

How to choose and plant seeds

First of all, you need to choose a material for planting. Not every variety of watermelon can be grown at home.The seeds of the delicious watermelon from the market or store are not suitable for this purpose, because this variety is grown in open areas in spring and summer. For the same reasons, varieties that are grown in summer cottages will not be suitable yet.

But there are hybrids that are resistant to lack of light, early maturing, they do not require special care. The following varieties are considered excellent: Ogonyok, Kaho, Sibiryak, Volgar, Gift of the Sun. They sprout very well, are tenacious, the fruits have a sweet taste.

After purchasing, the planting material must be selected before growing the watermelon at home. Small and damaged seeds are eliminated immediately. Large seeds are dipped into a glass container that contains a solution of sodium chloride. It is done like this: 5 g of salt per 0.1 l of water. Seeds that have sunk to the bottom must be removed, rinsed in water, and dried. It is these seeds that are needed for planting.

Then they are soaked in a solution of humate (0.5 g per 1 liter of water). This is done as follows: gauze is moistened, in which the seeds are left for a day. This will increase germination and reduce stress. You can also leave the seeds in gauze moistened with plain water until they begin to hatch.
Then the seeds should be planted in small plastic cups of 4-5 seeds each, the earth should be a little tamped in them.

Watering should be done in such a way that the soil is always moist. For seedlings to appear, the temperature must be about 25 ° C. Then the seedlings will appear after 1 week. If the temperature is below 13 ° C, then seedlings can not be expected.

Cups should be in a well-lit and warm place. No need to allow drafts. After 2-3 weeks, 1 seedling should be left in each glass.

Watermelon care

As soon as 3 leaves appear, the plants are moved into containers, the volume of which is from 5 to 15 liters. They should contain a mixture of seedling soil and perlite in a 2: 1 ratio. It is necessary to water the plant often, but not too much so that the water does not stagnate. Fertilize the soil every 2 weeks. Liquid vegetable fertilizers work well here. You need to add 1 tsp in 1 liter of water. fertilizers. This solution can only be used for 1 watering.

When 6 leaves grow, the plant is pinched over 4 leaves. The plant needs enough light. If there is not enough lighting, then additional LED or energy-saving lamps will be required.

Pollination of the plant and the appearance of fruits

In most cases, watermelons begin to bloom 30-50 days after germination.

Flowers require pollination to produce an ovary.

To do this, you first need to find male flowers that have a thin stalk. Such flowers will need to be carefully picked, they need to pollinate female flowers by touching the stamens to the pistils.

After a certain period of time, there will be noticeable wilting of the petals and an increase in the stalk, which over time will become a fruit. As the lashes grow, they will need to be pinched to stop their growth.

A few weeks before the fruit is fully ripe, watering should be minimized, stimulating the appearance of sugar in the berry. When the grown fruits are ripe, you can harvest.

How to grow watermelons in the country (video)

About the beneficial properties of watermelon

This berry contains a lot of sugar (about 12%). It is easily absorbed by the body and, unlike refined sugar, is beneficial.

Watermelon juice has a diuretic effect, so it is able to flush the kidneys and ureters well. Thanks to him, salts are dissolved and washed out of the body. Watermelon juice is considered beneficial for people with kidney disease. Watermelon juice is also useful for people who have diabetes mellitus, cystitis, atherosclerosis.

Now you know about growing watermelon at home. We wish good harvest!

We plant watermelon seedlings in open ground (video)

Gallery: watermelon at home (15 photos)

Increasingly, field and garden crops are settling at home on windowsills and balconies, because you really want to grow your favorite fruit, vegetable or berry on your own. No one is surprised by the desire to grow peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries and spicy-aromatic crops in an apartment, but you don't often come across a watermelon. However, it is quite possible to grow this giant berry at home from the bone. Moreover, the taste of such a watermelon can be at its best, although you should not expect a large size, because even with good feeding providing the required amount of nutrients is unrealistic.

Selecting a variety and sowing seeds

It is customary to grow watermelon from seed as an annual crop with a short growing season. If you plan to grow a watermelon at home, then special attention should be paid to the choice of a variety, taking into account the peculiarities of indoor growing.

Watermelon is a thermophilic and light-loving culture. If high temperature it is easy to provide in the house, then a sufficient level of lighting, especially if it is grown in the autumn-winter period, becomes a significant problem. Therefore, when choosing a variety, special attention should be paid to varieties and hybrids that are resistant to low light levels. In addition, you need to pay attention to the ripening timing. Best grown at home early varieties, in which the first fruits can be tasted after 3 months.

Advice! In winter, the watermelon will feel quite well on the windowsill near the central heating batteries, especially since low air humidity has a positive effect on growth.

The following varieties and hybrids are best grown on a windowsill or loggia:

• Volgar;
• A gift to the sun;
• Light;
• Rose of the South-East;
• Siberian;
• Stokes.

For sowing, it is necessary to select large bones without visible damage. All small and underdeveloped bones are best removed immediately. Selected seeds should be soaked in 5% sodium chloride solution to separate empty seeds. After that, be sure to rinse the seeds, dry them slightly and use for sowing. After good seeds selected it is worth thinking about how to grow a full-fledged watermelon at home from a stone.

Features of home care

A characteristic feature of the watermelon is its rapid growth and a powerful well-developed root system. Within 1-1.5 months, the bone will turn into flowering plant... To build up such a vegetative mass requires a large amount of nutrients. At home, it is almost impossible to fully meet all the needs of the plant, but in order to facilitate the task when choosing a container for planting, one should give preference to a spacious and capacious container.

Growing watermelon seedlings at home is not much different from other pumpkin crops. You can sow seeds in small pots or cassettes for seedlings of several pieces, and after the first true leaves appear, remove weaker plants. A strong seedling must be transplanted into a bucket or other container with a volume of at least 10 liters with a nutritious loose substrate. Watering should be done in moderation, but often. Several times a month, it is recommended to carry out fertilizing with fertilizers along with watering or immediately after it on wet soil.

Advice! In order not to mess with the seedling cassettes, you can immediately plant the seeds in a suitable container, but at first, until the root system masters the earthen ball, you need to carefully monitor the watering.

Light is an important factor for the successful cultivation of watermelon. Daylight hours should be at least 12 hours a day with a sufficiently high intensity so that the grown watermelon can accumulate enough sugars. It is best to place the pot of watermelon on a south window, but even with this location, you should not rely on sunlight alone, especially when grown in the fall / winter or early spring. At this time, not only short daylight hours, but also a large number of cloudy days. Therefore, it recommends providing the plant with additional lighting with fluorescent lamps.

Plants with six true leaves can be pinched to stimulate branching of the main stem. It is necessary to provide support for the whips, and prepare nets for future berries, in which they can be suspended from the trellis, but which will not interfere with the pouring of the fruit. If the space is limited, it is worth periodically pinching the lateral shoots to give the plant a compact shape.

Flowering and fruit formation

Long, well-developed lashes are not yet a guarantee of a good harvest. In most cases, it is impossible to grow a watermelon at home without artificial pollination. On the lashes, 2 types of flowers are formed - male and female. The latter can be distinguished by a rounded stalk, which, after pollination, grows into a berry. In the field, bees are engaged in the transfer of pollen from male flowers to female flowers. AT room conditionswhere the occasional bee is rare, you will have to transfer pollen with a brush or simply pick the male flower and attach it to the stigma of the female flower.

Watermelons grown indoors rarely exceed 600-800 g, but this does not detract from the merits of the berry. With a good level of lighting, such a fruit will be no less sweet than that brought from the southern regions, and in winter it will become a real exotic, designed to give bright and sweet memories of summer.

How to grow a good watermelon at home!

In the Non-Black Earth Region, in the Urals or in Siberia and the Northwest, watermelons can only be grown in greenhouses and on insulated soil. The first and most important condition is the RAPID GRADE. Others do not have enough warm time. From sprout to ripe fruit should not be more than 80 days. It is better to grow such varieties and hybrids in greenhouses, in which the weight of the fruit does not exceed 2-3 kg.

WHAT DOES A WATERMELON LOVE?

Good air access to the roots, so it is better to sow it on sandy loam, fertile soils, to prevent the formation of a surface crust. Watermelon is a thermophilic plant. For its germination, the soil must warm up to at least 15-16 degrees Celsius at a depth of 10 cm. The optimum temperature for sprouting is 25 degrees. At this temperature, the watermelon will rise in a week. For growth and development, the plant needs a temperature of 25-30 degrees. Watermelon needs good light and should only be grown in a sunny location.

WHAT DOES A WATERMELON NOT LOVE?

On acidic, dense or compact soils, do not plant watermelon on clay or loam. He does not like damp, waterlogged places, cold soils, stagnant cold air, watering with cold (below 20 degrees) water, fresh manure neither in the soil, nor as top dressing, excessive doses mineral fertilizers, prolonged cold snap, prolonged cloudy or rainy weather.

Growing watermelons in a greenhouse

In the spring, as soon as the soil permits, dig a trench in the garden bed on the bayonet of a shovel and add dry hay into it, return the soil from the trench to its place on top of the hay. Place a board on the soil and walk over it to compact the soil. Under a double film cover, the ground will quickly warm up to 15-16 degrees, even if the weather is cool. The hay will start to rot, giving off heat. After about 2 weeks, you can start sowing watermelon seeds.

Before planting, pour a bucket of humus or compost for each meter of the garden bed, add half a bucket of sand and a liter can of ash and mix lightly together with the surface layer of soil to a depth of about 10-12 cm.

Mark the holes 40-50 cm apart. Water the bed well with warm (at least 25 degrees) water and sow 2 seeds per hole at a distance of 5-6 cm.Cover the crops in halves on top plastic bottles... Seedlings will appear in about 10 days.

Before sowing, seeds can be germinated at a temperature of 25-30 degrees. Place them on a damp rag and hold until the seeds have hatched 1 to 2 mm. Longer roots often break and die.

Watermelon- climbing liana and requires a garter. He himself does not cling to the string. It needs to be tied to a horizontal trellis and from time to time twisted with twine counterclockwise because the watermelon itself does not cling to the string.

When the plants are about 60 days old, they will bloom. First, male flowers appear, and then (after 10-12 days) female flowers. At this moment, they SHOULD BE POLLINED MANUALLY, since there are no necessary pollinating insects in the northern regions. You can use the preparations "Ovary" and "Bud" for artificial insemination, as soon as the buds of female flowers appear (they have small watermelons).

But you can also work as a bee yourself. It is especially important not to miss the pollination of the first flowers. Take a mature male flower with stamens ("barren flower") and gently insert it into the female one, gently press and take out. On the day the flower opens, the pollen may turn out to be immature, pollination may fail, and the next day it is necessary to work with the bee again.

Whether pollination has occurred or not, this shows the direction of the ovary. An empty, untied flower stretches upward, and the growing ovary bends downward. And now the LINK OF START TO GROW. When it reaches the size of a plum, you need to quickly remove all unnecessary things so that all your strength is given to the fruit.

Each fruit needs about 10-12 leaves, so once the fruit has set, count 6-7 leaves over the fruit and TIP off the rest along with the crown. This will stop the further growth of the whip. If there are enough leaves, then it is possible and necessary to cut off all side shoots. If there is not enough leaves under the tied watermelon, then leave some of the leaves on the side shoots, but cut off the ends of the shoots.

In a greenhouse, only one fruit can be grown per plant. If you leave two fruits, they will fully ripen, but they will be small.

The leaves of watermelons are carved, so they do not shade the fruits and you do not need to cut them to thin out the plants. Stepchildren should be removed regularly.

The watermelon ripens after fertilization in about a month, the place where the stalk joins, and then the stalk itself, will begin to dry out. The rind of the watermelon should be glossy and shiny.

When the fruits are about the size of a tennis ball, they must be placed in nets and suspended from a horizontal trellis, otherwise they will break off under their own weight. If fertilization occurred on the lower flowers, then the watermelons can be laid on the soil by placing a plate under them, otherwise the fruits will rot.

An important addition: watermelons do not tolerate weeds, even a small amount reduces the yield!

FEEDING AND IRRIGATION

Watermelon is a drought-resistant plant, it should be watered sparingly. He loves not watering, but LOOSING. Therefore, it is necessary to loosen the soil under the watermelons weekly, but not deeply, so as not to damage the root system. The greatest need for MOISTURE is in him in the INITIAL PERIOD and at the moment of INITIAL GROWTH OF ADHESIVES.

As soon as fertilization occurs, the watermelon will begin to grow rapidly. From this moment on, they need to be watered and fed weekly (1 tbsp. A spoonful of azofoska and superphosphate, 1 tsp. Potassium sulfate and 2 tsp. Micronutrient fertilizers (for example, "Uniflor-micro")). First, the plants need to be watered with warm water (10 liters of watering can for a five-meter bed), and then feed, giving each plant 1 liter of top dressing. As soon as the watermelons reach the varietal size, watering and feeding should be STOPPED.

You can do differently: before planting, add 506 granules of AVA fertilizer to the hole, or even better, use the powder fraction of this fertilizer (0.5 tsp) and not feed the watermelons with anything all summer, but only water about 1-2 liters of water weekly under watermelon depending on the weather.

DISEASES AND PROBLEMS

In the Northwest, watermelons do not have pests other than melon aphids and spider mites, but they are extremely rare.

Of the diseases, the most dangerous is wilting of plants caused by the soil fungus Fusarium. FUSARIOSIS often infects plants during prolonged cold snap (below 12 degrees), prolonged rainy weather or excessive watering.

To prevent the disease, the soil should be watered with a solution of "Fitosporin" before sowing seeds. Repeat this watering every 2-3 weeks.

For the prevention of diseases, it is useful to spray watermelons with a mixture of "Zircon", "Epin-extra" and "Cytovita" (take 2 drops of each drug and dissolve everything together in 1 liter of water).

It is rare to meet a person who does not like the taste and aroma of striped melons and gourds. The watermelon season won't last long, and the next one won't be soon. Thanks to modern technologies, you can pamper yourself with your favorite delicacy at any time of the year directly from the windowsill. How to grow a watermelon at home so that it has the same quality and taste characteristics? To do this, you need to study all the intricacies of growing and caring for a plant.

General characteristics

Watermelon is a melon crop cultivated by the ancient Egyptians more than 4 thousand years ago. He came to the territory of our country during the times of Kievan Rus, and was especially popular with the tsars Alexei Mikhailovich, Peter the Great.

The pulp of watermelon is not only tasty, its consumption is recommended for people suffering from such diseases:

• gout;
• atherosclerosis;
• kidney and liver problems;
• cardiovascular diseases.

If you are overweight, watermelon is often included in the menu. diet food due to the diuretic effect, low calorie content. Potassium, magnesium, iron, vitamins, valuable amino acids will help normalize metabolic processes, improve the work of almost all systems.

How to grow a watermelon from a seed

Wherever you plan to grow a watermelon, the first thing to do is to choose a place that will fully satisfy all the needs of the plant. For a striped berry, a well-lit one is suitable, sunny placewarming up all day.

Important! A watermelon needs 12 hours of daylight, otherwise the fruits will not develop well and will not ripen.

An important factor is and temperature regime:

• daytime temperature should be 25-30 degrees Celsius;
• at night, 18-23 thermometer readings are enough.

Watering should be abundant until the ovary appears, then it is significantly reduced.

Growing a watermelon begins with the selection of seeds. They buy them in specialized stores, the bones collected with their own hands will not work, the berry grows in completely different conditions. There are hybrid varieties that grow well with a shortened daylight hours, are distinguished by early ripening of fruits, and are not picky about care.

The seeds from the bag are sorted out, small and damaged seeds are immediately thrown away. Then they are soaked. You can do this in plain water, or in a solution of salt or manganese. The hatched seeds are planted in 4-5 pieces. in plastic cups or in peat pots, so that you can then remove the sprout along with a lump of earth.

Important! Watermelons do not like transplants, so it is better to grow seedlings in individual containers.

Place the cups with seedlings in a place with good lighting and no drafts. Watering is carried out often so that the soil is always well moistened, but flooding is avoided. Favorable temperature conditions for watermelon seeds are 23 degrees during the day and at least 16 at night. If the air temperature does not rise above 13, then you can forget about the shoots. If all conditions are strictly observed, the seedlings will sprout within a week after planting.

1. After 20-25 days, one sprout is left in the glass, which in appearance will be the healthiest and strongest.
2. The appearance of the third full-fledged leaf indicates that the plant needs to be transplanted. If you plan to grow berries on the windowsill, then you will need containers of 5-15 liters.
3. At home, they prepare a mixture of universal soil and perlite in a 2: 1 ratio, fill prepared tubs with it and tamp it a little there.
4. If the further place of residence of watermelons is planned in the garden, then planting in open ground is carried out after all the frosts in your region have departed.
5. When planting seedlings, it is necessary to take into account the fact that each plant needs about a square meter of land.

Important! Avoid overcrowding of plants, this is bad for the size of the fruit.

Choosing varieties

In order to please yourself and your loved ones with a delicious berry with melon grown with your own hands, you need to know which varieties of watermelons can ripen in your region.

Important! When choosing seeds, pay attention not to the maximum weight of the fruit, but to the timing of its ripening.

There are many early ripening varieties of this plant, which become sugar-free after 60 days. They will be medium in size, but one such berry will be enough for a family of 4.

For middle band The most popular are the following varieties of watermelons:

• "Ogonyok";
• "Kaho";
• "Siberian";
• Volgar;
• "Gift of the Sun".

They have excellent germination, they tolerate the transportation and transplanting of seedlings, they have a sweet taste and a pleasant pulp aroma. It is these varieties that are ideal for growing a striped berry from a seed in winter.

Growing watermelons in a greenhouse

The technology for growing melons in a greenhouse is quite peculiar, it is worth taking all the advice seriously and adhering to the sequence of work.

To begin with, at the site of the proposed planting of the watermelon, you need to make a trench on the bayonet of the shovel, put hay there and sprinkle it with earth. Next, you need to compact the soil in this place and cover with a double layer of film.

The soil will quickly warm up to 15 degrees, even if it is cool outside, rotting hay will also contribute to this, which will also generate heat. After two weeks, you can start sowing seeds, the distance between them should be at least 50 cm.

Advice! Before that, it is advisable to fertilize the garden, for this they mix a bucket of sand, a bucket of humus, a liter of wood ash. The resulting mixture is distributed on square meter and lightly mixed with the topsoil.

First you need to water the garden bed, it is correct to do this from a garden watering can with water of about 25 degrees Celsius. Place 2-3 sprouted seeds in each hole, sprinkle with soil and cover with halves of plastic bottles.

Care and proper watering

In greenhouses and tubs on the balcony, under favorable conditions, watermelons will begin to bloom in 35-60 days, depending on the variety chosen. Immediately appear male flowers, the so-called barren flowers, and then female flowers with small watermelons after sepals. In order to ensure the yield, it is necessary to artificially pollinate the plant. To do this, carefully pick the "male" flower and touch the stamens and pistil to the female flower.

Advice! Experienced summer residents say that pollinated flowers tilt downwards, and not pollinated ones reach for the light.

A watermelon is a liana; for its normal development, a support is often erected on the balconies, to which the plant is tied.

It is important to pin the watermelon on time, this is done after the appearance of the sixth leaf. When the ovary begins to develop, no more than two or three berries are left on one plant. That is how much can grow as much as possible and gain the desired sweetness, the rest are simply torn off so that they do not pull juices from the plant.

It is necessary to water with warm water with the addition of vegetable dressings according to the recipe of the product.

Advice! Better to use mineral and organic fertilizers during the period of growth and potassium and phosphorus after the formation of the ovary.

Harvesting

Ripe berries have the following external indicators:

• dried stalk;
• rich fruit color and glossy surface;
• dull sound when tapped.

Depending on the variety, ripeness is determined by squeezing the fruit, it should crunch.

Watermelon can be grown in the country and on the balcony, it is worth choosing the right variety, and providing the plant with proper care.