Melon planting and care outdoors in the middle lane

Certainly the best melons grow in the countries of Central Asia, but tasty and aromatic fruits can be obtained in a large part of our country. Sometimes this is done in a greenhouse, but the melon is very fond of the sun, and the most delicious specimens grow in the open field. If the climatic conditions allow, then it is imperative to plant it on your site, and to grow it is as easy as shelling pears.

What kind of soil does melon like

Melon is a warm and light-loving plant that does not tolerate shading, so you need to choose the sunniest garden for it. The culture grows well in hot and even dry weather, and humidity above 70% is no longer very good for it. The melon has very powerful roots that penetrate up to a meter deep and get the necessary moisture from there. A plant that is not very large in appearance requires a large free space for a comfortable existence, so you cannot save on the beds. When choosing a location, it must be borne in mind that the plants must be protected from northerly winds. At the same time, it is better if it is a small hill where excess water does not accumulate. Moisture has a detrimental effect on melons, causing rot and fungal diseases.

Melons should be as exposed to sunlight

Melon is very demanding to the chemical and fractional composition of the soil. The plant loves light soils, best of all medium loams with an acidity close to neutral. If clay prevails on the site, when digging, it is necessary to add river sand (half a bucket per 1 m2). Acidic soils should be calcified in advance by adding dolomite flour, chalk or slaked lime. When choosing a place in the garden, you need to remember what crops grew on it before. The best predecessors are garlic, onions, legumes, cabbage, corn, cucumbers. Melon grows poorly after carrots and tomatoes. It should not be planted after repeated cultivation of melons. For a maximum of two years in a row, they can grow on the same bed, after which a five-year break must be provided.

As for most vegetable plants, it is better to cook the garden in the fall, although there will be time for this in the spring: the melon is not planted very early. The site must be dug onto a shovel bayonet, adding the necessary fertilizers. For 1 m2 of a garden, about a bucket of rotted manure or good compost is required.In the spring, you need to walk along the garden bed with a cultivator, having previously introduced superphosphate and wood ash (respectively 40 g and a half-liter jar per 1 m2). In order for the soil to mature and warm up sooner, immediately after the snow melts, you can cover the soil with plastic wrap.

Preparing seeds for planting

Melon can be planted through the seedling stage and by direct sowing in open ground, but the seed preparation is the same in both cases. They are not always specially bought in stores, sometimes they are chosen from the fruit you like, bought for food. The second case will not always lead to success. Firstly, like most crops, melons have hybrids (F1), and it is useless to take seeds from them: it is not clear what may grow. Secondly, the markets often sell crops grown in a different climate, and planting Central Asian varieties in the central lane is a completely unpromising business. Therefore, it is better to study the literature, find out which varieties are zoned, and buy reliable seeds in a specialized store. If you plant a melon not for the first time and take seeds from your harvest, you need to select the largest and sweetest fruits for this purpose.

Important! Don't plant fresh seeds. The best are between the ages of three and six. The fact is that young seeds give a huge amount of barren flowers: male flowers significantly predominate in quantity over female ones, and the harvest is scanty.

For disinfection, melon seeds are soaked for 20-30 minutes in a pink solution of potassium permanganate, and then washed with clean water. To increase germination, some gardeners soak seeds in solutions of growth stimulants or boric acid with the addition of zinc sulfate. Actually, if pickling in potassium permanganate is necessary, since it significantly reduces the risk of diseases, then growth stimulants are not needed. Good seeds in warm weather and so sprout beautifully.

Melon seeds are very similar to cucumber seeds and are easy to handle

When growing melons in central Russia, it is advisable to pre-harden them. To do this, they are soaked in warm water (30–35 ° C), after cooling, they are kept in water for another couple of hours, and then transferred to a damp cloth and sent to the refrigerator for 12–15 hours.

Do I need to soak melon seeds before planting

If you carry out preparatory operations, the question of the need for soaking is removed by itself. In fact, the seeds are no longer dry, but even slightly swollen. But many gardeners sow them already nailed, and for this, after hardening, they are again sent to water at room temperature. After 4 hours, take out and dry slightly. The operations of soaking and drying are alternated up to three times, after which the seeds are scattered on a damp cloth and monitored for biting. As soon as the shell bursts slightly and the rudiments of the roots appear, they begin to sow.

Soaking melon seeds is one of the conditions for obtaining a bountiful harvest.

The question of the need for soaking is not an idle one. We all know the theory called "Vegetable Garden for the Lazy." If everything is done "as written", for life, and even more so for work in production, there will be neither energy nor time. Therefore, we often neglect operations that seem superfluous to us. The author of these lines (who lives in the Middle Volga region) has never in his life pickled melon seeds or soaked them. This is not to say that the yields are always high and stable, but several beautiful fruits grow annually in a small garden without unnecessary trouble.

Sowing dates

The timing of planting a melon in open ground depends on whether it is planting seedlings or direct sowing of seeds in a garden bed. Sowing seeds directly into open ground is recommended only for southern regions. An attempt to do this in the middle lane and in the north of the country may lead to the fact that the fruits of even the earliest varieties will have time to set, but will not ripen. The best time to sow melons at home or in a greenhouse for seedlings is the end of April.

Planting seedlings in open ground is possible only when daytime temperatures are stable at 15–20 ° C, and at night they will not be below 6 ° C. In the middle zone, this does not occur until the end of May. Of course, at earlier times, there are also periods of warm weather lasting even up to two weeks, but usually they are replaced by cold snaps, so there is no need to rush to plant seedlings. In the north, the dates are shifted by another couple of weeks towards summer. If it gets colder, and the seedlings have already been planted, it should be covered with non-woven materials, and more solid shelters should be added at night.

Melon seedlings are recommended to be planted in open ground after the threat of return frosts has passed.

Sowing seeds directly into open ground is possible a week earlier. As a rule, the soil in mid-May, even in the middle lane, has already warmed up, the seeds will not die, and while they decide to sprout, the threat of frost will go away.

Is it possible to plant melons in June

It may seem that the timing of planting melons can be shifted even to June to avoid unnecessary risk. This is quite possible when it comes to planting strong, prepared seedlings, the seeds for which were sown no later than the beginning of May. Is it possible to sow in open ground in June? This question is rather subtle. Yes, the plants will have time to grow, bloom, give a crop, and early ripening varieties will pick up sugar and give quite edible fruits. But there is another side to the problem.

Melon is a short day plant... This means that for the timely onset of flowering, it does not need too long daylight hours, but in June in the middle lane it reaches 17 hours. Therefore, the sooner the seeds are lowered into the ground (albeit in seedling cups), the less time it takes to start flowering.

In addition, experience shows that melons sown from mid-May and later produce much fewer flowers than those that began their life cycle earlier, in February-April. An excess of sunshine is not very beneficial for young plants. Therefore, if there is such an opportunity, you should not delay sowing melons.

How to plant a melon

Melon can be sown in seedbed or planted with pre-grown seedlings. And if in the south no one is engaged in the cultivation of seedlings, then in the northern regions one cannot do without it.

Distance between seedlings

Regardless of the landing method, the layout is the same. It is based on the plant's requirements for growing conditions. And melons, in addition to the usual care, also require the formation of bushes (removal of excess lashes, pinching, etc.), without which the harvest is poor. This means that when planting plants, it is necessary to provide for the convenience of subsequent care for them.

There are various schemes for growing melons, but in any case, the plants should grow freely. The most popular is the lower landing, in which a minimum of 70, and preferably 90 cm, is left between the rows. In this case, the holes are made in a checkerboard pattern, but in each of the lines the distance between adjacent holes must be at least half a meter. With a denser plantation, plantation maintenance is more difficult, and the likelihood of diseases is increased.

Melons need a lot of free space, because they will soon completely occupy it.

There are those who like to make a flower bed out of melon plantings. It is performed in the form of a circle with a diameter of about one and a half meters. One hole is made in the center of the circle and 5-6 pieces are made around the circle.

Planting melon seeds in open ground

Planting melon seeds is as easy as planting most vegetable plants. To do this, you need to do the following:

1. In the places designated for planting, according to the chosen scheme, make shallow holes up to 5 cm.
2. Add half a glass of wood ash, a teaspoon of urea to each well and mix well.
3. Gently pour warm water over the holes from a bucket until moisture is absorbed into the soil.
4. Place several prepared seeds in each hole at a distance of 3-5 cm from each other.
5. Cover the seeds with earth and lightly tamp the earth.
6. If the weather forecast is unfavorable, cover the bed with spunbond or lutrasil.

Seedlings can be expected in 1–1.5 weeks, and when the strongest plants appear in each hole, the extra ones will need to be removed.

Video: sowing melon seeds in the garden

Planting seedlings in open ground

When sowing seeds at home or in a greenhouse for seedlings, it must be borne in mind that transplanting seedlings into open ground will take place no earlier than a month later. Only when sowing seeds in peat pots or tablets can this be done a little earlier, without disturbing the root system. Taking this into account, it is necessary to determine the timing of the start of work.

The optimum seedling potting mix consists of equal parts turf, sand, peat and humus. You can limit yourself to a peat-sand composition, but then peat should make up slightly more than half of the total volume. You can sow in a box, but transplanting melons from a common container into a garden bed will be very painful, and it is better to take a separate glass for each plant. Optimally - peat pots with a diameter of about 10 cm. Sowing is carried out to a depth of about 2 cm, 2-3 seeds per glass, a little clean sand is poured on top. Before sowing, the soil is slightly moistened. The optimum temperature for growing seedlings is 20 ° C during the day and 15 ° C at night, but immediately after the emergence of seedlings, it is lowered by 3-5 degrees for several days. Watering is needed moderate. After the seedlings grow back a few centimeters, one plant is left in the pot.

Each melon plant needs to take its own glass, it is not worth breaking the roots when transplanting into the ground

By the time of planting on the bed, the seedlings should have several pairs of true leaves. Planting seedlings has small features:

1. Seedlings must be well watered before planting in open ground.
2. From a reusable container, the seedling must be removed as accurately as possible, without destroying the earthen lump. The whole peat pot is planted in the hole.
3. In the designated places with a scoop, it is necessary to make holes in the size of an earthen coma and pour them with warm water.
4. Carefully lower the seedlings into the holes so that they are 1–2 cm above the ground. Deepening is strictly not allowed.
5. Gently water the seedlings in the garden with warm water from a ladle so that the earthen lump falls no lower than the soil level. Top up the soil without covering the root collar.
6. Spread a thin layer of clean sand around the plants.
7. For the first few days, cover the seedling bed with non-woven material.

Is it possible to plant a melon in a barrel

In recent years, it has become fashionable to plant various vegetables and even strawberries in old unusable barrels. This saves space in the country and makes it easier to care for the plantings. Some gardeners plant melons in this way.

To do this, the old barrel is painted with light paint (the roots do not need overheating) and half filled with hay, straw, mown grass, sawdust and other debris. Several buckets of fertile soil are poured on top, adding a couple of cans of wood ash. The soil is spilled with a solution of potassium permanganate and seeds are sown in a barrel. In a standard barrel, it is possible to make only two holes, they put several seeds in them, just like in a regular garden bed. For the first time, the crops are covered with non-woven material or simply cut halves of plastic bottles.

Melons are thermophilic, so they feel good in the barrel. Watering is carried out with warm water, and fertilizers will ripen by the right time, since there is grass below. Melon whips can hang freely from the sides of the barrel, but at first they try not to let them. Only when a really warm summer comes, they can behave as they like.

You can plant any vegetables in the barrel: cucumbers, pumpkins, melons

If you try, a similar structure can be built on the balcony and melons can be grown right in an apartment building.Of course, there is no need to drag a huge barrel there, but in a bucket of soil it is quite possible to grow one instance of a melon and get several fruits from it.

Neighborhood with other cultures

Our summer resident cannot allow the place on the site to be empty, and rightly so. If you can't plant anything next to some plants, then the melon is not one of them. The best neighbors for melons are radishes, beans, corn, and herbs. Unwanted neighbors are cucumbers and potatoes. Potatoes release substances that cause wilting of melon plants, and cucumbers are so related to melon that in some cases they can become over-pollinated, which spoils the quality of the crop. And, of course, there should be no trees next to the melon, since shading is contraindicated for this culture.

Often the question arises about joint planting of melon and watermelon. It turns out that they perfectly coexist with each other, especially since their growing conditions are practically the same. True, it must be borne in mind that both crops grow very strongly, therefore, when planting, considerable distances must be left between them.

Melon care

Melon care includes the most common agronomic activities. Watering is needed infrequently, only in a clearly dry time, but before the fruits appear, it is still advisable to carry out it weekly: under the root and with water necessarily warmed up in the sun. When fruits appear, watering is reduced, and then completely stopped. Loosening with simultaneous destruction of weeds is possible until the melons have grown and filled the entire space. When side lashes appear, the melon is slightly spud. Top dressing is needed three times:

• 2 weeks after disembarkation;
• at the beginning of flowering;
• at the beginning of fruit growth.

It is not necessary to give a lot of fertilizers, it is best to limit yourself to a diluted mullein.

As soon as the seedlings continue to grow in a new place, their main stem is pinched so that the plant spends all its resources on the formation and growth of fruits. Ultimately, one main stem and two side ones should be left on each bush. (In hybrids, on the contrary: after the third leaf, the lateral stems are pinched, their main female flowers are formed on the main shoot).

The maximum number of fruits that one bush can bear is 6–7 pieces. Often, trellises are installed for the melon. In this case, tying is required - these plants are not inclined to climb up on their own. If the trellises are not installed, care must be taken that the fruits do not lie on the bare ground and do not rot. A piece of board or plywood is placed under each melon.

Growing melons on trellises saves space and protects the fruit from damage

Features of planting melons in the regions

The main difference in climatic conditions between regions for breeding melons is the number of warm summer days. This is what leaves an imprint not only on the conditions for caring for plants, but also on the way they are planted in the beds. Melons are extremely difficult to grow only in regions with a harsh climate, for example, in Siberia.

Middle zone of Russia

In central Russia, a few varieties of melons are grown. The most traditional are Altai and Kolkhoznitsa. Reaping a good harvest is not easy here, and direct sowing of seeds in open ground is almost never used. First, seedlings are grown at home. Work on growing seedlings begins after April 20, and at the end of May they are transferred under film shelters. Hardening of seeds before sowing is mandatory. It is possible to transplant seedlings into open ground no earlier than tenths of June.

Melon variety Kolkhoznitsa is one of the most popular in central Russia

The success of the entire event depends on the current weather. In other years, the harvest has time to ripen and is very decent. But there are very rainy and cold seasons, and then the melon in the open field may not even set, limiting itself to building up abundant green mass. Melons in good years are successfully grown in the Bryansk, Novgorod, Vladimir, Kaluga regions.New varieties appear, so soon this culture will move even further north.

Moscow region

The Moscow region also belongs to the middle lane, and this is an area in which it is risky to grow melons. You can get a normal harvest in the Moscow region only using seedlings. Seeds should be sown no earlier than mid-April, daylight hours at this time are already quite enough... Seedlings are planted in early summer on small mounds. Often they arrange a "smart bed" for this: the soil, well filled with organic fertilizers, is covered with a black film, and melon seedlings are planted in holes cut in it. And even on such a bed, for the first time, young sprouts are covered with spunbond for the night. As soon as flowers begin to appear, the coating is removed: by this time real warmth has already come.

Historical fact. In the suburbs of Moscow, melon was planted on warm manure ridges already in the 16th century. True, they did this using greenhouses that were opened only on the sunniest days. Used for growing melons "biofuel" - sheep or horse manure, which slowly decomposes and heats the greenhouse. And now they try to plant melons in greenhouses, but sometimes good results are obtained in the open field.

Melon planting in Belarus

The Belarusian climate is similar to that of Moscow, but milder: in winter there is no sharp alternation of frost and thaw, and spring comes a little earlier. Melons here, as in the Moscow region, are grown through seedlings, which are planted in a permanent place at the beginning of summer. Not all varieties in Belarus can give a good harvest of tasty fruits, most often hybrids are sown: Aikido F1, Caramel F1, Petra F1, etc. Seedlings are planted on ridges with a distance of more than a meter between them. Landing on the plain is used less often.

Many people try to sow melons directly into the ground, sometimes this option leads to success, especially in the southern regions: Minsk, Gomel. But even there it is not possible to sow in the ground until the end of May, and the crops for the first time have to be covered with a film. Cultivation of melons through seedlings allows for two weeks to bring the harvest closer, and the use of film shelters gives an advance in terms of almost a month.

Melon variety Caramel F1 is characterized by stable fruit formation under stress conditions

Ural region

Summer in the Urals is short and cold, so melons often do not have time to ripen. Here it is imperative to use the seedling method, and often seedlings are planted not in a garden bed, but in a greenhouse. There are only a few suitable varieties, the most popular are Dream of Sybarite and Cinderella.

Planting seedlings in open ground is possible only in mid-June, and even at this time for the first couple of weeks it is covered with foil or cut plastic bottles. Most often, you have to stretch the film on a high frame and not remove it for the first one and a half to two weeks. Getting good yields is not guaranteed in this case either, but most often it is possible to get quite tasty and fully ripe fruits.

Melon variety Dream sybarita has a sweet pulp with a delicate aroma

Video: melons in the Urals

Melon is a southern plant, but enthusiasts try to plant it in most regions of our country. In harsh regions, seedlings cannot be dispensed with, in the middle lane it is sometimes possible to sow a melon directly into open ground, and in the south it grows freely after a simple sowing of seeds. Often you have to take risks, but the Russian summer resident respects the risk and tries to promote this culture further and further north.

Graduated from the Chemistry Department of Moscow State University in 1981. Candidate of Chemical Sciences, Associate Professor. Rate the article:

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Melon is a popular culture that is successfully cultivated all over the world. Therefore, having your own plot and the desire to create with your own hands, attention should be paid to the cultivation and planting rules in the open field of this favorite summer-autumn delicacy so that it can look healthy and with a wonderful taste.

In different regions, you can sow the melon directly with seeds, or plant it first for seedlings. Cultivation and care must be carried out regardless of the terrain; it may also be necessary to form and, feed or tie to a trellis.

Is it possible to grow melons in the open field in the country

Melon is a thermophilic plant that need a lot of light... She does well in hot weather and even drought. The maximum moisture content for this culture is 60-70%.

The culture has a massive root system that is capable of extracting moisture up to one meter deep. This plant requires a lot of free space for intensive development and comfortable growth.

Although the melon is southern, it can be grown almost anywhere, the main thing is to know how to do it. Now a sufficient number of varieties have been bred that take root well and bear fruit in moderately warm and cold climates.

The most popular varieties of melon to plant in the Middle Lane and Ukraine

There are many varieties of melons with different characteristics for outdoor use. It is important, when choosing a variety for planting, to take into account the peculiarities of the local climate.

According to the reviews of experienced gardeners, the best varieties to plant in a country house in central Russia or Ukraine, in the climatic conditions of the Moscow region are Altai and Kolkhoznitsa.

Altai

Altai

Early maturity, allows you to harvest after 70 days growth of culture from the period of seedling formation. A medium-sized plant forms a moderate length of a whip.

The fruits are golden in color and are oval-shaped. The ability to achieve 1.5KG... The delicate pulp is colored in a light orange color, characterized by sleepiness, sweetness and graininess.

Of the positive characteristics: adaptability to adverse weather conditions, excellent transportability and keeping quality.

Collective farmer

Melon belongs to the early maturing variety. The first crop can be harvested after 75 days after disembarkation.

The plant forms small orange-yellow round fruits with a convex stalk attachment. On average, the weight of one fruit is 1.5 kg. The dense pulp and strong crust makes it easy to transport the crop, which can be stored after harvest for a week.

Collective farmer

Growing a heat-loving vegetable is difficult in areas with a harsh climate, such as Siberia.

In such conditions, only certain varieties can grow, which include Rannyaya 133 and Yantarnaya.

Early 133

Early ripe variety, growing season - 60-70 days... The fruit is oval-shaped and has a yellow skin. Has a white, dense, tender, sweet pulp of excellent taste and aroma. The weight of one fruit is approximately 1.5KG.

It is appreciated for its excellent commercial qualities, good transportability and high immunity to major crop diseases.

Early 133

Amber

Variety of mid-early ripening period. The growing season from germination to ripening of melons 70-85 days... A plant with long strands of medium vigor. Juicy spherical fruits with juicy, fairly thick pulp and weight up to 2.5 kg.

Amber

What varieties are suitable for sowing in Bashkiria and the Urals

Vegetable growers of the Urals and Bashkiria wishing to grow melons on their plots should choose a more suitable variety for the Ural region. The optimal seed material for melons is the Dream of Sybarite and Cinderella.

Sybarite's dream

An early variety that reaches technical ripeness in 50-55 days... The fruits have an original elongated shape and a green striped peel. The mass of one fruit is 400 g.

Juicy crispy flesh of a whitish shade with a specific honey aroma and taste. The main advantages are increased productivity, continuous fruiting until frost, good disease resistance.

Sybarite's dream

Cinderella

The variety belongs to early ripening crops, since the growing season is 60 days, for which the fruits are gaining up to 1.5 kg weight.

Melons are yellow with a raised mesh pattern. The pulp is white in color and is characterized by juiciness and sweetness. Due to its rich aroma, it is appreciated in the culinary business.

The advantages include high resistance to temperature extremes, various diseases and pest attacks. The disadvantages are short storage and poor transportability from the rather thin crust of melons.

Cinderella

Planting rules

There are several ways to plant a crop:

• sowing seeds;
• seedling method;
• with the help of grafted seedlings.

The simplest available method for any gardener is seed planting in open ground. Other options are considered more difficult and not everyone can do.

Preparation for planting with seeds

To obtain a high-quality harvest, competent preparation of seeds for sowing is important. You can buy planting material in special stores or collect it yourself from the fruit grown in your own garden and germinate it at home.

When collecting seeds at home, you must follow the basic rule: harvest only from large sweet melons.

Seeds should only be harvested from large sweet melons.

One more nuance is important: only in the third year after collection you can use seeds as planting material. Since fresh specimens develop a plant with the absence of female inflorescences, as a result of which they do not have the ability to bear fruit.

In order for the seedlings to be friendly, and the plants to develop strong, seed material is needed pickle in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for an hour. Then soak at 20-25̊ degrees in a thick layer of gauze cloth, which is immersed in a container so that the water only slightly covers the seeds.

Every 4-6 hours, the seeds must be ventilated and immersed in water again. The total soaking time is 12 hours. Then sprinkle the seeds in a thin layer on a damp cloth and keep until the first shoots appear.

Site selection and soil preparation for planting seedlings

Melon is a light-loving plant that hates shading... Therefore, for this culture, areas well-lit by the sun, as much as possible protected from cold winds, are suitable.

Melon does not tolerate shading when grown

When planning the planting of a melon beauty in the garden, you need to take into account what crops grew in the garden last year and the neighboring influence of different plants on the melon. The predecessors can be garlic, onion, cabbage, peas, beans, winter cereals.

Good neighbors that will repel pests, improve taste and promote growth are considered turnip, basil, radish.

It does not get along well with potatoes, which can cause them to wilt and cucumbers, since the plants can be mutually dusty and become bitter in taste.

The plant is not recommended to be planted in one place. more than two years... It will be possible to return it to its previous place of growth without sacrificing yield for 5 years.

Melon is very demanding on the soil, so a light, organic medium loamy soil with neutral acidity is suitable for it.

The plant cultivation area must be properly prepared:

• autumn land dig a shovel on a bayonet and add humus, in the presence of heavy soil, saturate it with river sand;
• with the onset of spring, sprinkle the bed, using peat or ash to accelerate the melting of snow, then cover it with a film to ensure maximum heating of the soil;
• when the surface layer of the soil warms up to a temperature of +13 degrees, conduct deep loosening with the addition of potash and phosphate minerals, strictly observing the amount of fertilizers applied, which the manufacturers indicate on the packages;
• before starting the planting process, re-dig the site, refueling with fertilizers that contain nitrogen.

Conditions for proper cultivation and care

Gardeners are recommended to plant a melon in the ground only in the southern regions. In the northern latitudes and in the middle lane, it is better to grow only using mature seedlings, because the melon can have time to emerge from the seeds, but will not bear fruit before the cold weather.Favorable time for disembarkation - last days of April.

To do this, you need to perform the following procedure, care and love the plant properly:

1. Make holes, 5-6 cm deep. Planting scheme - 1 m between rows, distance in a row 0.7 m.
2. Equip each hole with humus and irrigate with warm water.
3. Place 3-4 seeds in each well.
4. Water the planted seed material and cover it with dry soil.

It is better to carry out the planting process after rain in moist soil, then the seedlings will form earlier. If a cold snap is expected, cover the beds with foil before sprouting at night.

Planting melon seedlings in the ground

The fruits are ripening late July - early August... When ripe, the vegetable acquires its characteristic color, the pattern is clearly revealed and the characteristic aroma inherent in melon appears. Full maturity is signaled by easy separation from the peduncle.

According to the gardener's lunar calendar in 2018, the melon planting process can be started on March 27,28, from April 20 to April 24 and in May any day from the 19th to the 23rd.

The key to the successful cultivation of melons and gourds is sunny warm weather, when pollination and the development of sugary juicy fruits are actively taking place. It is important to choose a suitable variety and follow simple agricultural techniques, dive and pinch seedlings if necessary, and then a rich increase in the yield of melons is ensured.

An indigenous inhabitant of Central and Central Asia, the melon is gradually assimilating more northern territories. Thanks to the success of breeders, honey fruits can be grown not only in the southern regions of the country, but also in the middle lane. Moreover, fruits with excellent taste do not ripen even in greenhouses, but in the open ground and on the balcony.

Of course, the melon is more capricious and more demanding in terms of keeping conditions than the closest relatives - cucumbers and pumpkins, but with proper care, this species also obeys the diligent gardener. What are the features of growing melons in the open field? What difficulties can you face, and how to achieve fruiting plants at home?

Preparing melon seeds for planting

For sowing, strong, well-formed seeds are used, while experts advise taking the seed obtained from the harvest two or three years ago. Watching how, in the photo, the melon grows, you can notice:

• powerful plants from fresh seeds in abundance give flowers of the male type, and there are very few ovaries on them;
• melon whips from older seeds are more productive.

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

If you have to grow melons outdoors in the middle lane, it is better to worry about hardening the seeds in advance, for which they:

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

The swollen seeds are ready to be sown outdoors or for seedlings.

How to grow melon seedlings at home?

Since all members of the pumpkin family, due to the risk of root damage, do not like transplanting, and the culture is very thermophilic, it should be borne in mind that:

• the soil on the plot intended for melon for sowing should warm up to 12-13 ° C;
• sowing in peat tablets or small cups is carried out no earlier than two weeks before planting in the ground;
• in containers of a larger volume, seedlings can be kept for up to 30 days.

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

Using peat pots avoids the pain of replanting and saves up to three weeks when growing melons outdoors.

For growing seedlings, make a soil mixture of equal parts:

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

Before sowing, the soil is moistened and enriched with a complex fertilizer containing trace elements for melon growth. Two seeds are planted in each pot, 10–11 cm in diameter, so that, looking at 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 rotting of young stems, the surface of the soil in seedling pots is sprinkled with a layer of clean sand.

For melon cultivation at home, the daytime temperature is kept around 20 ° C, while the air can be cooled down to 15 ° C at night. Watering for melons, including melons, needs moderate watering as the topsoil dries up.

Choosing and preparing a site

For a southern culture that loves warmth and sunlight in the open field, the most illuminated areas, but closed from drafts and cold winds, are chosen.

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

At the same time, for growing melons in the open field, the soil is prepared in advance. In the fall, the future melon:

• dug over at least a shovel bayonet;
• fertilized with organic matter, introducing 4–6 kg of humus or rotted manure per square meter.

Melon loves loose soils, therefore, on loamy soils, it is recommended to add river sand to the beds. In the spring, potash and phosphate fertilizers are introduced into the melon for digging.

We plant a melon in the ground

The basic rules for growing melons outdoors are very simple:

• Young plants need protection from rain and cold.
• The quantity and quality of the crop depends on the correct formation of plants, removal of the tops of the whips and excessive ovary.
• A well-established watering schedule will help you get sweet, full-bodied fruits without cracks.
• Melon requires regular, competent feeding.

Planting 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 in the seedling method, 2-3 seeds are placed in the hole. An additional teaspoon of nitrophoska or other nitrogen-containing fertilizer is added to the hole both under the seeds and under the seedlings.

If plants are planted on melons in peat pots, the earthen lump cannot be buried. After sprinkling with earth, it should rise slightly above the general level, only after that the plants are watered and the already wet soil is mulched with dry soil.

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

Melon care features

When growing melons in the open field, the melon grower should pay attention to watering, loosening the soil, feeding and weeding the beds. In addition, you cannot wait for a good harvest if you do not pinch the whips on time, which already have an ovary, and do not remove empty shoots that take away strength from the bush.

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

Watering melons plays a special role in the success of melon cultivation in the open field. If the plants receive less moisture, they develop worse, bloom and give an ovary. Excessive watering leads to decay of the whips and fruits, and the melons themselves lose their sugar content and become watery. Observing how the melon grows will help to understand the needs of plants, and the photo shows a drip irrigation system that allows you to use moisture as efficiently as possible:

• Usually, while there are no ovaries on the melon, the plants are limited in watering, preventing the formation of many lateral shoots.
• When the ovaries are already formed and should develop, watering becomes more intensive.
• A month before the approximate ripening time, the melons are gradually stopped to water, so that the fruits gain sweetness and aroma.

Often, beginner melon growers have a question: “Why does the melon crack and start to rot in the garden? Obviously, the error lies in the irrigation schedule and its intensity.

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

Fruit damage is also observed if the ripening melon is lying on moist soil. Therefore, melon growers are advised to substitute a crock or a small plate under each ovary. Damage can be avoided by using trellises when growing melons in the open field and fixing heavy fruits with a net or cloth.

The first time, the melon plant is pinched after the third or fourth leaf to induce branching and get lateral lashes. When 5-6 ovaries are formed on the plant, the free tops of the lashes are cut off, leaving 2-3 leaves until the last fruit. Further, as it grows, unnecessary flowers and empty shoots are cut off from the plant, so that all the forces of the melon go to the filling and ripening of the already formed fruits.

Plants should be helped in this by regular feeding, the first of which is carried out even when the first true leaf appears. This time, fertilizers containing nitrogen and phosphorus are applied under the melons, and then fertilizing with minerals and organic matter is alternated. 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 a potassium-phosphorus mixture. And the feeding is completed at the first signs of the beginning of ripening of melons.

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

How to grow a melon at home

With a little effort and patience, the sweet melon can be cut from a plant that has grown on its 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 used for planting seedlings.

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

We must not forget that melons are extremely demanding on lighting, so the main reason for failing to grow this crop on balconies, window sills or terraces is a lack of light. It can be compensated for by arranging additional LED lighting that meets the needs of plants for 14-16 hours a day.

To preserve 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 moisture supply can be entrusted to a drip irrigation system by adding or decreasing the amount of water supplied depending on how the melon grows.

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

Video about the formation of melons in the open field

Many people love melon, but it remains expensive even in season. It's good that now global warming, and even in central Russia, sweet and aromatic melons can be grown. Summer residents and those living in villages have long been raising them in their gardens, and let the newcomers listen to the advice of experienced gardeners.

How to plant melon outdoors?

Melon likes a sunny and warm place, protected from strong winds. It is best to organize the plantation on the southern slope.In the sun it clings to melons less than in a shaded place and they ripen faster.

The plant thrives best when the soil is light. This means that it has a neutral pH. These melons can withstand summer drought and grow on fairly salty soils, but acidic soil and excess water are contraindicated for them.

Those who have a slightly acidic soil and they know about it should reduce its acidity in a folk way. It is enough to add a little ash to each hole where seeds are thrown or saplings are planted and it will even out the acidity of the soil.

If the owner wants to get an excellent harvest in the season, he must take care of fertilizing that site in the fall. At that time, future beds are dug up, adding compost, with humus, mineral fertilizing (double superphosphate) to them.

Experienced gardeners say that when fresh pus is introduced into the soil, the melons grow especially large on it. All fertilizers are useful, they mineralize the soil.

Those who live in the middle zone of the Russian Federation sow seeds of melon from March 15 or April 25. They only need to be dug in to a depth of 1.2 cm. Therefore, they can be thrown into the ground dug up and leveled with a rake and re-leveled with a rake.

Some gardeners buy special soil in flower, pour it on top and sow seeds into it. When the owner makes the mixture on his own, it should include: peat, with sod soil, humus + mineral fertilizing, ash. Take a little more humus, and the rest of the ingredients in equal amounts.

If the gardener decided to first grow seedlings, and then plant them in open ground, what will be needed: large plastic cups, cut plastic bottles or pots, the diameter of which is at least 10 cm.After the sprouts hatch, 40 days will pass and the grown seedlings can be planted into open ground.

Melon seedlings are placed on the windowsill. It is best if he is facing south.

Ideal when the air temperature is from +20 ºС to +25 ºС. At night, it can drop from +18 ºС to +20 ºC. If it is raining or clouds and cold weather outside, then the temperature in the room where the plants also need to be reduced, otherwise, the seedlings will stretch upward and grow weakened.

During the period when the seedlings are developing, they need to be fertilized:

1. When 1 leaf appears, superphosphate is introduced into the soil, with potassium chloride (you need to read the instructions), ammonium nitrate.
2. After 1 feeding, 14 days will pass and 2 are required.

From May 10, when the plants will have 5 or even 7 leaves, it is time to transfer the seedlings to the site. The owner pours a lot of water into each of the containers. Then he can cut them and stretch the plant along with a lump of earth, so it is best to plant seedlings in the holes.

From one seedling to another, you need to retreat about 55 cm. The necks of the roots do not need to be deeply buried in the ground. With high humidity, fungus can attack them.

To avoid fungal diseases, the soil around the plants is mulched. You can use sawdust, straw mixed with sawdust and other materials. Plants are weakened, they are watered daily with warm liquid, and when they get stronger, they are stopped and then watered less often.

How to care for melon plantings?

The most famous way of growing melons is in the spread or when the whips twine along the ground and they are tied, juicy melons grow. This is the simplest and most natural way of propagation for plants.

When the main shoot has 4 leaves, pinch its top. The plant will throw out 2 shoots on the sides. They will be strong and can be tied to the ground. This method is good in that the juices and strength of the plant will not be spent on the development of green tops, but will be directed to flowering, the formation and development of fruits.

If the owner wants to grow melons on trellises, then he makes a 2 m frame in advance. It takes only 4 days and the plants can be tied to trellises with ropes. Some time will pass and the melon will curl along these ropes.

Soon the side shoots will develop well and they will need to be tied with ropes to the trellis frame. The fact that the melons will hang above the ground is good. They do not rot, and with an abundance of sun they will ripen faster.

Melons, while they are actively growing, are watered daily. But when the fruits grow, if it rains, additional watering is not needed. At this time, the melons gain sugar, become sweet.

The plant loves moisture, but it does not need to be poured. Roots may rot.

Top dressing for melons is needed when lateral shoots are actively growing, then when buds are tied. It is necessary to select mineral and natural fertilizers in liquid form and alternate them.

"Important! The gardener should know the rate of nitrogen fertilizers and not feed the melons in excess of it. Otherwise, they will develop and mature longer. "

The video explains how to grow melons outdoors:

How to protect melons from disease and insects?

It happens that gardeners, and even more so on large farms, handle tools poorly and they transfer them from contaminated soils to healthy fungi. This is detrimental to the harvest.

When the owner notices the first signs of disease, so as not to lose the crop, he must immediately take action and treat that disease. They are of varying severity and infectiousness.

In melons, you need to fight with such basic diseases:

• Powdery mildew. It's a fungus. Spots appear on the plant. They are gray-whitish, with brown. If the plant is not treated, then they will grow on the leaves, with the stem. Then the leaves will dry out, and the fruits will develop much more slowly, gain weight. You need to process the tops with sulfur powder. Take it g / m2. 20 days before harvesting, the tops are not processed.
• Peronosporosis. Yellow and green spots are formed on the leaves. They need to be sprayed with an aqueous solution of urea. 1 g of urea is required for 1 liter of water.
• Fusarium wilting. Melon leaves become lighter, then gray spots form on them. Further, the foliage dries up. A particularly dangerous disease when the buds have just set on the plants. It is necessary to spray the entire plantation with potassium chloride dissolved in water. A concentrated solution is required. Spots appear on the leaves. They are bright pink with brown. The scourge becomes brittle. Melons become deformed and start to rot.
• Anthracnose. The main symptoms of this disease are that spots appear on the leaves. They are bright pink with brown, and then holes will form in those places and the leaves will wither. The whips will become brittle. The melons will begin to change shape and rot. To save the plantation, it must be sprayed with Bordeaux liquid. This procedure is repeated 3 or 4 times in a row.

"Important! If the owner wants to protect the melons from fungus, he must treat the seeds with a special antifungal agent before planting. "

Plants that get sick with cucumber or watermelon mosaics are removed from the beds and burned. There is no cure for these diseases.

In addition to viral diseases, insects infect melons. Their larvae, actively eating foliage, are also harmful. The main pests:

• spider mites;
• wireworms;
• aphid;
• scoops that gnaw plants.

When the seedlings are young, in the developmental stage, insecticides can be used against parasites. If the plants are already aging, then contact preparations are used.

About collecting melons

When is the harvest? When the fruits are perfectly ripe. Signs that melons can be harvested are their easy separation from the whip attached to them, when they are the same color as the melons of this variety, and there is a net of cracks along the skin and they are one next to another.

The most mature melons are stored for only 30 to 40 days. Those melons in which the net occupies 50% of the area are stored for a long time. In a cellar or basement, where they are cool, they can be stored for up to 6 months.

There are varieties of melons that do not have a characteristic mesh. They are harvested if they see that the peel has acquired a bright hue of honey with yellow.

Now even a novice gardener understands how to grow melons from seeds, planting them in the ground or pre-grow seedlings and transplant them to the site. Care for melons is simple, the main thing is to feed them in a timely manner, treat them from diseases and parasites, and water them.