How to grow melons in open ground in the middle zone? Growing melon in open ground Caring for melon in the middle zone

Melon– annual herbaceous plant, the Pumpkin family, which came to Europe from Central or Asia Minor. There are practically no wild melons left in nature. All were cultivated even BC. e., and only a few grow in natural conditions.

The fragrant melon fruits are very popular. They are consumed raw, dried and dried, and used to make honey and jam. Melons grow almost everywhere, but for normal growth they need special conditions.

Description of melon

The common melon is a plant creeping along the ground with rounded-faceted stems and tendrils extending from them. The leaves are green, large, round or palmate, alternate, without stipules. Melon blooms in mid-June - early July (it all depends on the climate), the flowers are pale yellow, divided into male and female.

Melons grow in lighted areas. For getting good harvest Melons are planted in sunny, wind-protected places.

The plant is extremely heat-loving; seeds are sown in open ground at the dacha after the soil has warmed up and the temperature has reached above zero at night. Bakhcha (the field where melon and watermelon grow) needs regular but moderate watering. When favorable conditions are created, melons grow well in middle lane, including in the Urals and even in Siberia.

Growing seedlings

All melons are quite fragile, which is why many vegetable growers do not plant them in advance, which is fundamentally wrong.

In order to get sweet melon fruits at the beginning of August, it is better to plant the seeds in special peat tablets or small glasses. In this case, it will be possible to avoid death due to a sudden drop in ground temperature. Melons grow in cups the same way as in open ground.

Seed preparation

For planting, select seeds collected 2 or 3 years ago. From last year's seeds grow plants with powerful stems, but a minimal number of ovaries (flowers are mainly male type). It is unlikely that you will be able to get a good harvest of melons.

Before planting you need to:

• check the quality of seeds;
• carry out hardening;
• stimulate growth rate.

To check the quality, the seeds are dipped in a solution of table salt and kept in it for at least 25 minutes. Floated seeds are considered unsuitable for planting.

To protect future seedlings from weather changes and to ensure better germination and growth rate, the seeds are hardened.

For this:

• heat the water to a temperature of 35 degrees and fill the container with the seeds with it;
• leave in this position for a day in a warm room;
• after 24 hours, the seeds are removed from the water and placed in the refrigerator for another 18 hours.

If the weather outside is warm or the seeds are planted in a greenhouse, then hardening is not necessary.

It is enough to fill it with zinc sulfate (or use another growth stimulant) 12 hours before the planned planting.

To protect the seeds from rotting during the growth process, they are placed for 15-20 minutes in a 2% solution of potassium permanganate (1 teaspoon per 0.3 liter of water).

Planting seeds

Technology for planting seeds at home:

It is important to remember that melon is heat-loving; until the first shoots appear, the room temperature must be maintained at 27-30 degrees. Seeds do not grow well in the cold.

When planting seeds in containers, particular importance is attached to the quality of the soil mixture.

Seedlings grow best in soils consisting of the following elements:

• humus;
• garden soil;
• sand;
• purified peat.

Everything is taken in equal quantities and must be enriched with mineral fertilizers designed specifically for melons.

Seedling care

Care includes the following:

• The first shoots will appear after 10-15 days, but seedlings are planted in open ground no earlier than after 30-35 days.
• After seed germination, the air temperature in the room is reduced to 20-25 degrees.
• The seedlings are watered with warm water. Do not flood the pots; water should not get on the leaves.
• About a week before planting in open ground, melons begin to harden, for which the air temperature is reduced. This is done gradually, during the day the air in the room is heated to 17 degrees, at night only to 12-14.
• The room is regularly ventilated.
• No earlier than 10 days before planting, complex fertilizers are applied to the soil.

How to grow more crops?

Any gardener and summer resident is pleased to receive a large harvest with large fruits. Unfortunately, it is not always possible to obtain the desired result.

Plants often lack nutrition and useful minerals

It has the following properties:

• Allows increase productivity by 50% in just a few weeks of use.
• You can get a good one harvest even on low-fertility soils and in unfavorable climatic conditions
• Absolutely safe

How do melons grow in open ground?

Seedlings from cups are planted in open ground after 3 to 5 leaves appear on each plant. The soil for planting is prepared in the fall by digging it up and fertilizing it with humus. In spring, the soil layer is saturated with calcium, phosphorus and potassium.

In order for the seedlings to grow well and not get sick, “steam” beds are set up, for this:

• At least 30 centimeters of the top layer of soil is removed and horse manure is placed in its place.
• The collected soil is poured on top of the manure.

Melons grown in a warm bed will not lack warmth, which will have a beneficial effect on their growth and the formation of the largest possible number of ovaries.

Choosing a landing site

For heat-loving melons, choose a well-lit place, sheltered from wind and drafts. Seedlings do not like a lot of moisture; it is preferable to plant them on a small hill where water will not stagnate. Melons grow best on loamy and suspended soils.

Melons are extremely picky about their neighbors in the garden. To grow juicy and sweet fruits, you cannot plant it next to cucumbers and zucchini. Good neighbors will become and .

Melon should also be planted exclusively after crops:

• Solanaceae;
• roots;
• legumes;
• greenery;
• leafy and bulbous vegetables;
• salad.

Melon and watermelon do not get along well; their close proximity is for good growth undesirable, the harvest of both will be small.

If desired, you can plant melons next to the pumpkin. In this case, additional grafting of plants will be required, but the result of the effort will be pleasing. Both melon and yam will have an unusual taste and aroma.

Planting seedlings in open ground

Let's consider the features of transplanting seedlings into the ground:

Planting seeds in open ground

Seed planting scheme:

1. The bottom of the holes prepared in advance is filled with nitrogen fertilizer. For 1 hole, up to 5 centimeters deep, 1 teaspoon of nitrophoska is enough.
2. Place 2-3 seeds in each hole and sprinkle with dry soil.
3. The distance between holes should not be less than 0.5 meters, and between ridges - 0.8 meters. Otherwise, the plants will interfere with each other's growth.
4. The planted seeds are sprinkled with soil, watered, and the soil is mulched.
5. Planting is done when the ground warms up to 12 degrees, otherwise the seeds will die.

Caring for melons on the site

Melon needs constant care.

After the seeds germinate, the beds are thinned out, leaving 1-2 of the strongest stems in each hole.

To reduce the area occupied by melons and protect the fruits from rotting when they come into contact with the ground, trellises are used:

1. They are installed in the garden bed after the first elongated stems have sprouted., which are attached to the trellis using ropes.
2. The fruits are also tied up so that, being in limbo, they do not break off.
3. For this purpose, you can use regular gauze (mesh), attached to a trellis, or special stands.

Vertically located melon lashes are illuminated better, which promotes the formation of more fruiting ovaries.

Options for arranging vertical beds

General rules of care

Melons love light, lack of lighting - common reason poor growth, falling ovaries and lack of sweetness in the fruits. In order for melons to grow better, receiving maximum heat and moisture, the soil around them is regularly loosened. This is done carefully so as not to damage the roots located close to the surface.

Weeds that deplete the soil are also removed regularly. Plants tolerate drought well. With proper care, you can get a good harvest even from a small bed of 3-4 holes.

Watering and fertilizing

Pinching and shaping

After pinching the tops on the trellises, the melons begin to branch heavily. To form a bush, the 2 most developed shoots are selected, the rest are cut off. The remaining shoots are tied to the trellis. As a result, the plant takes on a beautiful shape.

Stories from our readers!
“I am a summer resident with many years of experience, and I started using this fertilizer only last year. I tested it on the most capricious vegetable in my garden - tomatoes. The bushes grew and bloomed together, they yielded more than usual. And they did not suffer from late blight, this is the main thing.

Fertilizer really gives more intensive growth to garden plants, and they bear fruit much better. Nowadays you can’t grow a normal harvest without fertilizer, and this fertilizing increases the amount of vegetables, so I’m very pleased with the result.”

Diseases and pests

Like all melons, melons are not resistant to diseases and pests. Often, a well-growing crop dies due to damage to plantings by bacterial, viral or fungal infections; spider mite and other pests.

Pests and their control

Lack of attention to planted seedlings can lead to the death of all plantings due to the attack of pests dangerous to melon crops.

Diseases and treatment

Not receiving necessary care melons often get sick. Not enough strong plants are affected by powdery mildew, fusarium, anthracnose and downy mildew.

Disease	Description
Powdery mildew	It affects the leaves of the plant, they become covered with small white spots, turn brown and dry out on the stem. Infection occurs directly from the soil. The disease is transmitted by weed residues and cultivated plants, grown in the garden last year. What to do: Sick melons are treated with a solution of colloidal sulfur throughout their growth. The last spraying is done no later than 20 days before harvest.
Fusarium wilt	The bacterium infects seedlings and plants with fruits that are ready to ripen. Leaves and stems appear unnaturally light shade, are covered with a gray coating. The plant dies within a week. What to do: To prevent this from happening, the seeds must be disinfected and the melons must be grown in high beds. When buds appear, plants are sprayed with potassium chloride.
Anthracnose	The leaves become covered with gradually growing brown or pink spots. Over time, holes appear in place of the spots, the leaves curl and dry out. The stems become thinner, the fruits affected by the bacterium shrink and rot. What to do: To protect the plantings, the soil is regularly loosened. During active growth Melons are sprayed using a 1% boric acid solution or sulfur powder is sprayed over them. Treatment is carried out every 2 weeks.
Downy mildew	The bacterium has a detrimental effect on young leaves. The disease is signaled by the appearance of yellow-green spots that are constantly increasing in size. At high humidity Bottom part the leaf becomes covered with a gray coating. What to do: To protect the plants, melon seeds are disinfected before planting. Sick plantings are treated with urea solution, Topaz or Oxyx.

Features of growing melon in a greenhouse

Around the 10th of May, they begin to prepare the greenhouse or greenhouse for planting seedlings. For this:

1. Holes are formed in the ground, up to 0.7 meters deep. Up to 1.5 kilograms of compost is placed in each hole.
2. Sprinkle the compost on top with a layer of soil. 2-3 centimeters.
3. The holes are watered with warm water and seedlings are planted. after establishing the air temperature in the greenhouse during the day at 15-20 and at night at 5 degrees.
4. An earthen ball with roots is buried shallowly(1.5-2 centimeters above the surface of the bed).
5. After a week, the rooted seedlings are watered with a solution of nitrogen fertilizer. Up to 2 liters of warm water are poured into each well at the rate of 10 liters per 20 grams of saltpeter). Feeding is done every week.
6. If the night air temperature fluctuates downward, the greenhouse is covered with polycarbonate. You can make special shields from polycarbonate and cover young seedlings with them also in case of bad weather.

How do melons grow at home?

Melons can also grow in an apartment:

1. To do this, it is enough to have a spacious window sill or balcony. To ensure that the fruits grown in such spartan conditions are juicy and ripe, only 1 shoot is left, which is tied to a trellis.
2. A support is also placed under the fruit itself. Water the plants only after the soil layer has completely dried.
3. Melons grown on window sills and terraces provide additional lighting.
4. To prevent plant death due to pests and diseases, you need to carefully ensure that they do not get into the house along with indoor flowers and vegetables brought from the market.
5. Pollination is carried out independently. To do this, use an ordinary brush, with the help of which pollen is transferred from male flowers to female flowers (at the base of female flowers there are ovaries, but male flowers do not have such ovaries).

When choosing a melon variety, consider climatic conditions, soil quality, presence of plant neighbors in the garden bed, growth rate.

For greenhouses, you can choose any variety, but in the Moscow region climate the following varieties feel best:

• Kuban collective farmer;
• Torpedo;
• A sybarite's dream;
• Altai;
• Titovka;
• Ethiopian;
• Krinichanka;
• Lada;
• Dina;
• Kasaba (Kassaba);
• Caramel;
• Aikido f1;
• Chamoe;
• Vietnamese;
• Cantaloupe (cantaloupe).

"Aikido"

Vietnamese melon

Cantaloupe

"Kuban Collective Farm Girl"

"Torpedo"

"The Dream of a Sybarite"

Altai melon

"Ethiopian"

"Krinichanka"

"Lada"

"Kassaba"

Harvesting and storage

The ripening of melons begins in mid-August and continues until the first days of September.

The shelf life of melons differs for different varieties:

• Early ripening varieties are stored for no more than a week,
• mid-early varieties do not lose their taste for 2-3 weeks.
• Mid-ripening and late-ripening melons retain their visual appeal and taste for six months.

The collected melons are left in the beds for 2 weeks, turning over every 4-5 days. This harvesting method allows for safe transportation and longer storage of ripe fruits.

Video: How to grow watermelons and melons in the country?

Summarizing

Melon - delicious and useful plant, growing not only in the garden and in the greenhouse, but also in the apartment on an ordinary windowsill. She loves warmth and light. To get a good harvest, the soil needs to be loosened and the plant needs to be fed.

The soil layer should not become waterlogged. Ripe fruits are mostly consumed fresh. Their shelf life depends on the degree of ripeness, collection method and variety.

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Melon is one of the most popular and beloved melon crops by many. It can be planted and grown in open ground, both in the southern regions and in the middle zone. To get a good harvest of such a fragrant South Asian fruit, you need to carefully approach not only planting seeds, but also caring for the plant during the ripening period. We’ll look into all the intricacies of planting and growing melons further.

Selecting a seed variety

• Collective farmer. This is a mid-season variety, which was bred by the Biryuchekutsk experimental station. Great for the middle zone. The fruits are orange or dark green color, sweet white pulp and weight about 1-2 kg. During the season, up to 100 centners (centners) of crop can be harvested from one hectare.
• Alushta. Created at the Crimean experimental station. An early ripening variety that ripens in 70 days. The fruits are large, oval and weighing up to 1.3-1.5 kg. They have an orange- yellow with rare dark orange streaks. The pulp is white, very sweet and juicy. You can collect 145-175 centners of crop per hectare.
• Golden. Like the previous variety, it was bred by the Krasnodar Research Institute. Among all mid-season varieties, it is the most popular. Ripens in 80-90 days. The fruits have a roundish shape, yellow color with an orange tint and a weakly defined network. They weigh up to 1.3-1.6 kg. The pulp is juicy and white. You can collect 120 centners of crop per hectare. The variety is resistant to diseases.
• F1 Blondie. This is a mid-season hybrid that matures in 80-90 days. The fruits have a slightly flattened shape and a thin skin with gray-green stripes. The pulp is sweet with high content carotene. Melons grow small - each weighs about 600 g.

Regardless of the variety, you should choose large seeds that were obtained 4-5 years ago. The fact is that fresh seeds produce strong plants that only grow male flowers, not forming ovaries and fruits.

Location

Melon cannot be planted in areas where tomatoes, carrots, and pumpkins previously grew. Its best predecessors are the following crops:

• cucumbers;
• Sweet pepper;
• legumes;
• winter wheat;
• barley;
• turnip;
• sorrel;
• radish.

Soil preparation

The soil is prepared in this order:

• In the fall, dig up the soil to the depth of a spade and add 4-5 kg ​​of humus or manure. IN clay soil you can also add another 1/2 bucket of sand per 1 square meter. m.
• In the spring, dig up the area again and add 15-25 g of potassium salt and 35-45 g of superphosphate per 1 sq. m. m. of soil.
• Before planting melons in open ground, dig up the area, but adding nitrogen fertilizers at the rate of 25 g per 1 sq. m. m.

Seed preparation

• soak for 20 minutes in a 2% solution of potassium permanganate, for the preparation of which 1 tsp. dissolve potassium permanganate in 1.5 glasses of water;
• soak for 12 hours in a 5% solution of boric acid and zinc sulfate, then rinse and dry.

• Pour 30 degrees water into a thermos, place the seeds in it and leave for 2 hours.
• Cover the container with damp gauze and keep at a temperature of 15-20 degrees for 24 hours.
• Transfer the thermos to the refrigerator and keep for 18 hours at a temperature of up to 2 degrees.
• Remove the thermos from the refrigerator and leave for 6 hours at a temperature of 15-20 degrees.

How to plant a melon?

Seedling method

After planting, it is necessary to provide competent care for the seedlings:

• Temperature. Pots with seeds should be kept at a temperature of 20-25 degrees during the daytime, and no higher than 18 at night.
• Lighting. When the first shoots appear, keep the pots on a southern windowsill, but if this is not possible, you need to provide the plant artificial lighting lamps daylight. Exposure time is 10-12 hours a day.
• Trimming and pinching. About a week after planting the seedlings, shoots will appear. You need to leave the strongest sprout in the pot, and not pull out the rest, but cut them off at the level of the soil surface, otherwise you can damage the root system of the remaining seedling. When 3 pairs of true leaves appear, pinch the seedlings to stimulate the development of side shoots.
• . Moisten the soil for the first time after sowing the seeds, when the seedlings have one true leaf. When watering, you need to ensure that water does not get on the stems and leaves of the seedlings.
• Feeding and hardening. When growing seedlings, apply 2 subcortical applications with a solution of complex mineral fertilizers, and a week before transplanting into open ground, carry out hardening - keep the seedlings at a temperature of 15-17 degrees during the day, and 12-15 degrees at night. Gradually, ventilation sessions need to be extended.

To prevent damage to seedlings by blackleg, it is recommended to sprinkle the surface of the soil in pots with dry sand.

• Dig holes at a distance of 60 cm from each other, and the distance between rows is about 70 cm.
• Place the seedlings in the holes so that their root collar is above the surface level, otherwise the melon may become infected with fungal diseases or rot. After planting, the bush appears to be on a hillock.
• Sprinkle the soil with river sand to protect the melon from fungal diseases.
• Protect the seedlings from the sun with wet paper. Remove it after 2 days.

Seedless method

The holes should be dug at a distance of 1-1.5 cm from each other, based on the climbing ability of the variety. The distance between rows is 70-80 cm. Optimal depth holes - 4-6 cm. You need to throw 3-5 seeds into a moistened hole, and then fill it with soil.

In central Russia, only the seedling method is used due to the shorter warm period.

Caring for planted melon

• Topping. To obtain a full harvest, it is necessary to prevent the development of the vegetative mass of the bush. To do this, you need to pinch the main lash on the bush again and leave 2-3 side ones. In hybrids, the main lash does not need to be pinched, since they grow female flowers, but the side ones need to be pinched at the level of the 2nd pair of leaves. In the case of growing melons with large fruits, it is necessary to remove part of the fruit ovaries. For 1 bush you need to leave from 2 to 6 pieces, based on the growth of the wattle. To prevent fruit rotting, use a substrate in the form of roofing felt or other material.
• . Melon does not tolerate well high humidity. When the soil begins to dry out, it should be watered with warm water (20-25 degrees) by 5-6 cm or 3-4 fingers. Only irrigation is used in ditches, and not by sprinkling. When the ovaries begin to grow, you need to gradually reduce watering and stop completely by the ripening phase. This will allow the melon to accumulate as much sugar as possible, otherwise it will be tasteless, and the root system may be affected by fungal diseases.

• Top dressing. It is combined with watering. 2 weeks after planting in the ground, it is worth treating the plant with a solution of ammonium nitrate (20 g per bucket of water) at the rate of 2 liters per 1 bush. When the buds begin to develop, a second feeding is introduced. The same solution of ammonium nitrate or mullein (1:10) is used. After 2-3 weeks, the soil is fertilized with a solution obtained by dissolving 30 g of ammonium sulfate, 50 g of superphosphate and 20 g of potassium salt in 10 liters of water.
• Loosening, heaping. To ensure free access of oxygen to the roots, the soil must be constantly loosened: the first two times - to a depth of 10-15 cm, then - to 8-10 cm. Superficial and extremely careful loosening is carried out between rows. As soon as the first side shoots appear, the seedlings need to be hilled up by raking a roll of earth to their stems.

Closing foliage signals that you need to stop machining soil.

Diseases and pests

• Powdery mildew. This fungal disease, in which the stems and leaves become covered with whitish spots, eventually becoming brown. At the same time, the leaves begin to wither and curl, and the development of shoots and fruits slows down. For powdery mildew, it is necessary to treat the area with 80% sulfur powder at the rate of 4 g per 1 square meter. m. The procedure is carried out every 20 days, and the last of them should take place 20 days before harvest.
• Downy mildew (peronospora). Yellow-green spots form on the leaves, which quickly increase and occupy the entire plate. In case of high humidity, a gray-purple coating with fungal spores can be seen on the underside of the leaves. For prevention, before planting, melon seeds are soaked for 2 hours in a thermos with water at a temperature of 45 degrees, and after 20 minutes in a 1% solution of potassium permanganate. If a disease is suspected, the beds should be treated with a urea solution (1 g per 1 liter of water). If this measure does not help, you need to use a solution of Topaz or Oxychoma.
• Fusarium wilt. This is a fungal disease that develops when pathogens from the soil enter plant residues and melon seeds. It appears with the appearance of 2-3 leaves or during the period of fruit ripening. The leaves of the plant begin to lighten and become covered with gray spots, and then wither and the plant dies within 10 days. In this case, the beds need to be treated with a solution of potassium chloride, which is done during the period of bud formation. As a preventive measure, before planting in the ground, seeds should be kept in a 40% formaldehyde solution for 5 minutes.
• Anthracnose or copperhead. Brown or pink spots, which gradually increase and cause the plate to twist. The plant itself dries out, the fruits become deformed and rot. It is necessary to spray the plant with 1% Bordeaux mixture 3-4 times. Carry out the procedure every 10 days. Another treatment option is to dust the area with sulfur powder.
• Root rot. It causes weakening of the bushes, and young stems and roots begin to turn brown, and then become thinner, and the plant withers. As a preventive measure, seeds should be soaked in a 40% formaldehyde solution before planting.
• Viral diseases. These include the cucumber and watermelon mosaic virus, as well as a virus with a narrow specialization. They are carried by aphids, so it is necessary to destroy the carrier. Affected plants cannot be saved, so they need to be removed from the garden.

• melon aphid. It collects on the underside of the leaves and feeds on their juice, so the plates begin to curl and dry, and the flowers fall off without opening. In addition, aphids transmit viral diseases. To destroy it, you need to spray the melon with a 10% Karbofos solution or a 13% Actellik solution.
• Spider mites. They cause the same harm to the melon as aphids. To destroy them, summer residents use Fitoverm, Bicol or Bitoxibacillin.
• Wireworms. These are the larvae of click beetles that chew underground part plant, which causes its death. To prevent this, the soil must be dug deeply in late autumn and crop rotation must be observed.
• Scoops. Their caterpillars gnaw the stem of the plant, causing the melon to die. To get rid of the pest, you need to dig the area deeply after harvesting, and also adhere to crop rotation.

Collection and storage of melon

• there is a fine mesh on the fruits, and they have begun to change color (if the variety does not imply the formation of a mesh on the peel, you need to proceed only from the yellowing of the fruit);
• when pressed, a small mark remains and the peel becomes slightly soft;
• Melon has a pleasant aroma.

There is a special scale for keeping melons:

• low – shelf life less than 2 weeks;
• short-lived - from 15 to 20 days;
• average – from 1 to 2 months;
• recumbent – ​​up to 3 months;
• very durable - longer than 3 months.

Late-ripening melons that are subject to long-term storage, need to be collected selectively as the fruits ripen. They should not be cut, but picked with a stalk up to 3 cm long. Harvest in the early morning before it gets hot or in the evening, when it is already cool.

The collected fruits should be left on the melon bed for 3-4 days, turning them over every 5-6 hours. Afterwards they need to be transferred to a dry and cool storage facility, previously disinfected. To do this, the room needs to be sprayed bleach or use smoke bombs. After disinfection, the room must be locked for 2-3 days, and then the wooden structures must be ventilated and whitened using freshly slaked lime.

Melons should be placed on racks that are first sprinkled with sawdust or chaff. There is another storage method - immerse each melon in a coarse mesh and hang it on a rack with crossbars.

The humidity in the room should be about 80%, and the temperature should be 2-3 degrees. Potatoes should not be kept next to melons, as this will cause the fruit to have an unpleasant taste and begin to rot. In addition, there is no need to keep apples nearby, since they produce ethylene, which provokes rapid ripening and overripening of the melon.

Video: growing melon in open ground

An indigenous inhabitant of Central and Central Asia, the melon is gradually expanding into more northern territories. Thanks to the successes of breeders, honey fruits can be grown not only in the southern regions of the country, but also in the middle zone. Moreover, the fruits with beautiful taste qualities They ripen not even in greenhouses, but in open ground and on the balcony.

Of course, the melon is more capricious and more demanding in terms of living conditions than its closest relatives - cucumbers and pumpkins, but with proper care, this species is also submissive to the diligent gardener. What are the features of growing melon in open ground? What difficulties can you encounter, and how can you get plants to bear fruit at home?

Preparing melon seeds for planting

For sowing, strong, well-formed seeds are used, while experts advise taking seed obtained from the harvest two or three years ago.

Watching how the melon grows in the photo, you can notice:

• powerful plants from fresh seeds produce male flowers in abundance, but there are very few ovaries on them;
• Melon vines made from older seeds are more productive.

To increase the germination of seeds, they are immersed for 12 hours in a solution of boric acid and zinc sulfate or another growth stimulant.

If you are going to grow melons in open ground in the middle zone, it is better to worry about hardening the seeds in advance, for which purpose:

• first immerse in warm water with a temperature of about 30–35 °C;
• then leave for a day at room temperature;
• for stratification, they are transferred to the refrigerator for 18 hours, where the temperature is close to zero.

The swollen seeds are ready for sowing in open ground or for seedlings.

How to grow melon seedlings at home?

Since all members of the pumpkin family do not like replanting due to the risk of damage to the roots, and the crop is very heat-loving, you need to consider that:

• the soil in the area intended for melons should warm up to 12–13 °C before sowing;
• or small-volume cups is carried out no earlier than two weeks before planting in the ground;
• In larger containers, seedlings can last up to 30 days.

For example, for the middle zone, it is acceptable to sow seeds for seedlings in late April, then by June the young plants should move to a permanent place.

Using peat pots allows you to avoid the pain of transplantation and save up to three weeks when growing melon in open ground.

To grow seedlings, make a soil mixture of equal parts:

• humus;
• cleared of impurities;
• sand;
• garden soil.

Before sowing, the soil is moistened and enriched with complex fertilizer containing microelements for melon growth. Two seeds are planted in each pot with a diameter of 10–11 cm, so that, depending on how the melon grows, in the photo, you can choose a stronger sprout and cut off the weak one without damaging the root system.

To prevent rot of young stems, the surface of the soil in seedling pots is sprinkled with a layer of clean sand.

To grow melon at home, maintain a daytime temperature of about 20 °C, but at night the air can cool to 15 °C. Watering for melons, including melons, needs moderate watering as it dries out. upper layer soil.

Selecting and preparing a site

For a southern culture that loves warmth and sunlight in open ground, they choose areas that are maximally illuminated, but protected from drafts and cold winds.

It is important that moisture does not stagnate in the melon plot, otherwise rot and fungal diseases of the plants cannot be avoided.

At the same time, for growing melon in open ground, the soil is prepared in advance. In the fall, I'll plant the future melons:

• dig no less than a spade's length;
• fertilize with organic matter, adding 4–6 kg of humus or rotted manure per meter of area.

Melon loves loose soils, so on loamy soils it is recommended to add river sand to the beds. In the spring, they bring into the melon field for digging

Planting a melon in the ground

The basic rules for growing melon in open ground are very simple:

1. Young plants need protection from rain and cold.
2. The quantity and quality of the harvest depends on the correct formation of the plants, removal of the tops of the lashes and excess ovary.
3. A well-established watering schedule will help you get sweet, full-bodied fruits without cracks.
4. Melon requires regular, competent feeding.

Planting of seedlings and seeds is carried out at a distance of at least 60 cm from each other.

The seeds are buried 5 cm, and, as with seedling method, place 2-3 seeds in a hole. An additional teaspoon of nitrophoska or other nitrogen-containing fertilizer is added to the hole for both seeds and seedlings.

If plants are planted on the melon in peat pots, the earthen ball should not be buried. After sprinkling with soil, it should rise slightly above the general level, only after this the plants are watered and the already moist soil is mulched with dry soil.

In the future, it is better to protect melon seedlings from the sun, rain and possible cold snap for the first time, while acclimatization is underway. As they get used to it, the greenhouse is removed during the daytime, and at night the plants are again hidden under the covering material.

Features of melon care

When growing melons in open ground, the melon grower must pay attention to loosening the soil, fertilizing and weeding the beds. In addition, you won’t get a good harvest if you don’t pinch off the vines that already have an ovary in time, and don’t remove empty shoots that take away the strength of the bush.

Loosening is carried out very carefully, to a depth of 10–12 cm, without damaging the roots. When the lashes grow, the melon is hilled. Weeding is carried out as needed.

Watering melons plays a special role in the success of growing melons in open ground. If plants do not receive enough moisture, they develop worse, bloom and set ovaries. Excessive watering leads to rotting of the vines and fruits, and the melons themselves lose their sugar content and become watery.

Observing how a melon grows will help you understand the needs of plants, and the photo shows a drip irrigation system that allows you to use moisture as efficiently as possible:

1. Usually, while there are no ovaries on the melon, the plants are limited in watering, preventing the formation of many side shoots.
2. When the ovaries are already formed and need to develop, watering becomes more intense.
3. A month before the approximate dates of ripening, the melons gradually stop watering so that the fruits gain sweetness and aroma.

Beginner melon growers often have a question: “Why does the melon in the garden crack and begin to rot? Obviously, the error lies in the watering schedule and its intensity.

Most often, fruits crack when, after a dry period, already formed ovaries receive an excessive amount of moisture at one time.

Fruit damage is also observed if the ripening melon lies on wet soil. Therefore, melon growers advise placing a shard or small plank under each ovary. You can avoid spoilage if you use trellises when growing melons in open ground and secure the heavy fruits with a net or fabric.

For the first time, the melon plant is pinched after the third or fourth leaf to induce branching and produce lateral shoots. When 5–6 ovaries are formed on the plant, the free tops of the vines are cut off, leaving 2–3 leaves until the last fruit. Further, as the plant grows, unnecessary flowers and empty shoots are torn off so that all the melon’s strength goes into filling and ripening the already formed fruits.

Regular feeding should help the plants with this, the first of which is carried out when the first true leaf appears. This time, fertilizers containing nitrogen and phosphorus are applied to the melons, and then fertilizing minerals and alternate with organic matter. The feeding schedule can be adjusted. Most often, the frequency of watering with fertilizer solutions is 10–14 days.

During mass flowering, it is better to give plants potassium-phosphorus mixtures. And fertilizing is completed at the first signs of the melons beginning to ripen.

Do not forget that melons easily accumulate excess chemicals and, especially with a lack of light, can become a source of dangerous nitrates. Therefore, with nitrogen fertilizers The melon grower should be careful.

How to grow melon at home

If you put in a little effort and be patient, then sweet melon can be cut from a plant grown on own windowsill or balcony. First of all, for the melon you will need to choose a pot or container of sufficient capacity, with a diameter of at least 20 cm. Drainage is required at the bottom of the pot, and the soil can be used the same as that used for planting the seedlings.

If in spacious beds the growing canes can lie quietly on the soil, then you can grow a melon at home only using a trellis. As it grows, lashes are attached to it, but since the plant is in a limited volume of soil, it would be reasonable to grow the melon in one stem.

We must not forget that melons are extremely demanding on lighting, so the main reason for the failure of growing this crop on balconies, window sills or terraces is the lack of light. You can compensate for it by organizing additional equipment that provides the needs of plants for 14–16 hours a day.

To conserve moisture, prevent weeds from germinating and provide the melon with a soil temperature of about 20–25 °C, the surface of the soil is lined with a special film or material. The supply of moisture can be entrusted to the drip irrigation system, adding or decreasing the amount of water supplied depending on how the melon grows.

When home-grown melons become the size of a fist, excess shoots, flowers and the top of the main vine are pinched off. At home, it is better to leave no more than three ovaries per plant, which are tied to a trellis using a net or soft cloth.

Video about forming a melon in open ground