Watermelons and Melons - LANDING AND CARING FOR THEM: THE BEST TIPS

CULTIVATION OF ROCKS IN THE ORENBURG REGION

I must admit that gardeners also rarely tell about gardeners in their letters. But this is a very curious culture, which is not by chance so named.

"Sweet" season

I have been growing watermelons and melons in my country house for several years. Crops are stable, fruits grow weighing about 2-2,5 kg. Too small? For me and for my loved ones - no. The main thing is that they be sweet. And last season I tried to grow also a cucumber. And what? Let there be a full "melon" set of three cultures with delicious fruits. I got three seeds for testing from one proven summer resident and sowed them for seedlings in plastic cups. Everyone has risen. When the plants grew and got stronger, landed them in May in a cropped iron barrel (about 50 cm high), filled with a mixture of humus and fertile soil, which was tightly tightened with thick covering material.

When the threat of freezing frost has completely passed, she removed the non-fabric into the barn, and she plucked the plants over every fourth sheet of the first order. A little later I repeated this procedure on the same leaves of the second order. And soon after that, a lot of female flowers appeared, and then ovaries formed. Then the fruitlets began to form. They were oval in shape and had a light green color with dark stripes. In appearance - neither give nor take real watermelons.

By this time the whips began to branch and descend, being outweighed over the edges of the barrel. When the fruits became larger in size and began to pour, I planted old tiles under them to protect their bark from contact with damp earth and moisture. In general, she took care of these plants as cucumbers: she made several fertilizers with mullein and bird droppings and watered abundantly on a regular basis.

And when the fruits began to turn yellow, so that they do not crack, watering reduced by half.

When I watched my newcomers, I still could not get rid of the strange impression: I spend the agrotechnical plant "cucumber", and on the plants the leaves, like a melon, are only smaller. Miracles. However, these wonders were also very tasty. The first cucumber was picked off on July 20 and called to her granddaughter for a tasting. She was delighted! Ogdrynka grew very sweet and fragrant. It was no worse than even the famous Uzbek melons. It is a pity that all the fruit was not weighing more than 200 g, but by the time I took them off, watermelons and melons were already ripe in the garden.

The general conclusion is this: ogdurina can and should be grown even in those places where summer does not indulge in special warmth. Of course, they should be planted for shelter, but the presence of a greenhouse is not at all necessary. What is more good is this culture, because it allows to extend the “sweet” season, because it ripens earlier than its relatives in melon seed. By the way, not fully ripened cucumber fruits have the taste of cucumber, and therefore they can be let in vitamin salads.

© Author: L. Bakhmetyeva Orenburg

SIMPLE RULES OF CULTIVATION OF NOVOSIBIRSK WATERS

I grow watermelons through seedlings, planting two seeds in small pots. If both sprout, I leave only the strongest shoots of them. Then I put the pots in the greenhouse, and since it is not heated for me, I cover them

woven material until the return freeze. I plant in an open ground when stable heat is established.

Until autumn, the soil under the watermelon plot is planted with sideratami. I do not make beds on it, but I just dig holes in it in one line, which I fill with humus, sand and ashes. Transfer the seedlings into the wells and mulch with compost. On each planted root put on a five-liter bottle with a cut off bottom. I remove traffic jams on them during the day and twist them back for the night. After 10 June, watermelons are not harboring anything.

I water the plantings only in the morning, only with warm water and only at a temperature not lower than 18-20 °.

In case of mass flowering, foliar feeding is done with a growth stimulant solution. And when the watermelons start to tie up, I sprinkle a pinch of ash under each plant, which I shallowly fill. I do not form bushes, except for pinching lashes, when they begin to climb into the territory of their neighbors.

In the photo - a torpedo watermelon hybrid.

© Author: Valentina V. GONCHARENKO, p. Krasnozerskoye, Novosibirsk region

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Avoski, stand and beautiful greens

It turns out that in order to make the watermelons grow tasty and big, some supplements, even if they were compiled according to the correct recipes and carried out in a timely manner, are indispensable.

I have more years of experience in 30 for years, but I started to grow melon crops only three years ago, literally “getting sick” with them. Now, coming to seed shops, I am primarily interested in watermelon seeds. In May, I wrap them in wet thin rags (each grade separately), sign and fold them in a warm place. As soon as the seeds begin to spit, I plant them in milk packages filled with humus, with peat and ash mixed with it (before sowing seeds, we wet this mixture with a warm and very weak solution of potassium permanganate).

I place all the bags in plastic bags with handles, tie them up and put everything in the greenhouse - it turns out that future watermelons are under the double greenhouse effect. After 5-6 days, I check to see if shoots have appeared, and put the bags where the sprouts got out, put them under arcs and cover them with non-woven material. Seedlings are warm there, and it grows strong and stocky. I used to try to grow it at home on the windowsill, but it turned out to be weak, thin and very elongated there.

Then in the greenhouse I prepare holes the size of 50x50x40 cm, put the compost, peat, ash, a handful of phosphorus-potassium fertilizer, mix everything, spill hot water and plant seedlings:

I cut the milk packets from the side and gently roll the plants along with the clods of soil. I grow watermelons in one stalk, but sometimes on some particularly strong “individuals” I leave one lower stepson for each, and then it turns out two stalks, on which I leave to ripen by one fruit. I water only once a week.

To attract bees, I plant Basilisk basil along the path (it is stunted and does not obscure other plants) and on the street, at the doors of the greenhouse - anise lofant on one side, and oregano and thyme on the other.

When watermelons grow to the size of an average apple, I place them in nets and tie them up to a wire stretched from above. But after one day a part of these “avosek” broke through under the weight of fruits, it began to install coasters of thick old cuttings, with plywood nailed to their upper ends.

During the growing season I am doing 4 top dressing. The first - two weeks after planting (2 tbsp. L. Mineral fertilizers in a bucket of water), the second - when lashes (mullein or sodium humate) begin to form, the third - when the ovaries form (fill with hot water 1 tbsp. L. Superphosphate, leave for 2 days for better dissolution, then add 1 tbsp. l. potassium sulfate, mix and dilute in 10 l. of warm water). And after 10-12 days I feed watermelons with an ash-grass infusion. I make all top dressing after watering (I have water in a greenhouse in five-liter bottles and therefore always warm).

But in order for watermelons to gain sugar content, I stop all watering two weeks before their maturation begins. Mulch the ground in the greenhouse with dry hay, so it does not dry out.

I planted different varieties, but most of all I liked Skorik, Gift to the North, Crimson Sweet, Anniversary of NK and Gift of the Sun. The latter is a very unusual variety: its bark is yellow, like a melon, and the flesh is red, crisp, with small seeds. I advise everyone who still doubts to plant watermelons without fail. It is so exciting and interesting to see each time, coming to the site, as their fruits increase in size. And in August they already had enough to feast on them, grown by their own hands and much tastier than any imported ones.

Valentina Zakharovna LAPTEVA, the city of Glazov. Udmurtia

MELONS IN VOLOGDA

I will share my experience of growing melons. Last year, I bought seeds of the Early Sweet and Slovostranitsa F1 varieties at the store, planted them on seedlings in plastic glasses filled with purchased soil for tomatoes mixed with compost from the poultry farm and ground from the beds, to which I added a little more ash. Handled the planted seeds of melons in the same way as with the seed of the same tomatoes - set in heat, covered with a film. And germination was very good. In total, I got 11 plants.

From planting the seedlings grown in open ground refused, giving her half of the film greenhouse. All saplings took root well and quickly went into growth. Extra stepchildren broke off, but, apparently, not quite right, because the whips grew to 2 m long. Constantly broke off and extra leaves, and even shoots with flowers. By the way, there were a lot of flowers and ovaries, and they appeared in whole armfuls, so which of them bloomed earlier, and which later (the “sentence”) depended on it, I was not always able to determine. All mixed up, in short. Actually, I confess, I am a poor gardener, but don’t feed him with bread, give me some trouble in the garden. Especially if we are talking about those crops that were not grown before. Here and with melons the same story.

And they, oddly enough, developed well, and the fruits quickly formed. When they became the size of two men's fists, I began to hang them in plastic containers, because the use of nets was uncomfortable. With an increase in the size of the melons, the volume of the container also changed. For example, I started with cut plastic bottles, and finished with all sorts of old plastic buckets. And under those fruits that grew below, I enclosed the boards.

Watering the plants carefully, trying not to spray on the leaves. In this case, he took only heated water. Every two weeks he fed plantings with infusions of mullein and chicken compost (alternating them). As a result of my inept actions, melons grew steadily. The first fully ripened fruit was removed on August 20. It was 130 cm in diameter and 16 cm long. Its flesh turned out to be soft, tender, sweet, and the crust was thin. He weighed 1,5 kg. He ripped the second ripened melon on the 27th. The dimensions are the same, and the weight is 1,4 kg. Total removed 10 full melons. The largest pulled 1,6 kg.

© Author: Nikolay VETROV. Vologda

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CULTIVATION OF THE MALON IN THE YAROSLAVL REGION

Any instructions are good because they allow you to navigate (especially in the new case) and understand which direction to go.

But they do not guarantee a great result. Why? Yes, because the key to success is only personal experience.

What a company!

I want to talk about the experience of growing melon and ogurdina, obtained last summer. And the cause of all curiosity. Our region is not at all “melon”, but the climate is quietly changing for the better, and I had the seductive idea to try to grow this tasty food with my own hands. What if it works out? I did not dare plant these crops in open ground, so I decided to attach them to the greenhouse, displacing it to ordinary residents. With whom did they end up in the same company? I'll tell you now. In the greenhouse I have two beds, separated by a passage. So, the one that looks to the north, I planted cucumbers, but not completely, but moving them closer to the wall.

I sowed melons in one row near the path itself - they also need more sun and heat, which means they must "see" the south well.

And between them and cucumbers planted cucumbers. The southern half of the greenhouse, as always, gave to the peppers, sunberry and tomatoes. And with this bed of problems there were no problems, because everything on it grew as it should and how I got used to it. Therefore, all my attention was riveted to the northern garden.

“Sweet” cultures on it developed much more slowly than cucumbers, although I planted very early varieties such as Twenty-Day, Honeycombs, Fairy Tale, Honey Tale, Sympathy (melons) and Surprise, Banana Funtikova, Papaya North (Ogurdynia). There were still small melons Dream of lazy and fun, but they were too close to the cucumbers, being in their shadows, developed poorly and did not produce fruit. The rest grew quite vigorously. When the melons were formed on 3-4 of real sheets, I made a coinage, i.e. pinched the main stalks. And in ogurdyn, according to the advice drawn from the special literature, pinching over the 4-5 leaves. When after this operation I compared the development of both cultures, I got the impression that, probably, I should have done the same with melons. At least this year I will try to do that.

Fruit orders

Some gardeners believe. that nip is important only when it comes to large plantings melons. This is mistake. After all, thanks to this procedure, there is an accelerated growth of side lashes of the first order, (and here it does not matter, one melon you grow or ten). At the same time, only the two most developed ones should be left, pointing them in different directions and pinching them again, but already above the 5 list.

Due to the second pinching from the leaf axils on the lashes of the first order, the lateral lashes of the second order grow. And it is precisely on the side lashes of these two orders that there are female flowers, which form the main crop of fruits.

I cut all the excess whips that would have burdened the plants with scissors: it is easier to work, and the sections are smoother, and therefore they heal faster. The next important operation for the maintenance of melons, which I have mastered, was fruit normalization. When they reached the size of a walnut, I left 4-5 stuff on each bush and removed the rest.

It may be objected that ideally there should be two or three fruits on each plant. I agree. But this rule only works if the varieties are large-fruited, and I have just the opposite. In this case, all the fruits tried to put closer to the sun, removing all the shading leaves. Under those that touched the ground, put plywood and planks in order to protect them from rot and fungal diseases. And all the fruit turned from time to time with different sides to the light.

Especially say about watering. Melons require a lot of moisture in the period of their active growth before flowering, while at the same time setting fruit, watering reduces and strengthens them again only when the fruit reaches the size of the plum. But, as soon as they are formed and begin to ripen (well, if the weather is sunny and hot at this time), water procedures should be completely stopped so that the melons do not grow watery and unsweetened. I did just that, but the result was not exactly what I expected. I will do a concrete summing up a little later, but in the meantime I will try to analyze the causes of disappointment.

First of all, the weather that established during the ripening of the fruits played its negative role here - it was cool and cloudy. There’s already at least something to do, but you won’t reverse the situation. But this can happen all the time, and now what not to grow melons? No, folding hands is not our method. Probably, I would have to prepare seedlings at home in order to have a head start in time for the development of plants, and not to sow seeds immediately in the greenhouse. But at my place there is very little space on the windowsills (and the sun does not look at the windows for a very short time), and there are a lot of different seedlings. And then I decided that warming and subsequent soaking of the seeds for half an hour in a solution of potassium permanganate (at the rate of 5 g per half liter of water) will help me.

These procedures, in addition to disinfection and increased germination, also stimulate the increased development of female flowers, thus accelerating fruiting.

This year, things do not work out with melons due to some circumstances, but next season I will do just that with seeds - and I will write about the results. Among the reasons for last year’s modest harvest, I should also note the fact that I did not treat my melons to anything, and as it turned out, they really need two or three root and one extra top dressings during the season. Well, that I also chopped into my nose.

Invisible "mesh"

Now I will talk about how to determine the ripeness of the fruit. If you believe the recommendations specified in the specialized literature, there are a number of characteristic signs. For example, the fruits lose almost all their “down”, the color of their bark acquires a saturated color, the pattern on it and the “grid” become clear, and it loses its rigidity, and even with light pressure, bends under the fingers. Fruit should be removed in a dry place in the evening or in the morning and never on a hot afternoon (respectively, and you can not keep ripe melons in the sun).

I tried to follow these instructions, but, to be honest, I still couldn’t understand if it was time to clean my melons and ogurdy, which had been mohnatky for a long time. In the end, the biggest melon, the one that remained the most “fluffy”, with the bark without any hints of a “grid” and having a milky light green color, turned out to be the most ripe, tasty and sweet of all the fruits removed.

But I didn’t have enough riddles, or rather, only Surprise pleased me with them. On his plants were several sweet, rounded fruits the size of a large beet. Outside, they were light green with dark longitudinal stripes, as if dividing them into segments, and their flesh turned out to be pinkish-orange in color with a purely orange seed chamber. And on Banana Funtikova and Papaya North, the fruits that had not set in had not had time to finally form before the onset of frost and died. If we talk about what tastes better, melons or pickles, then I find it difficult to answer this question. Probably ... the fruits of both cultures came to my taste.

In principle, I achieved the main goals: I proved to myself that melons with cucumbers can be grown not only in the cloudless southern regions, and most importantly - I can do it. Relatives and gardeners' friends initially denied and mistrusted this idea, but when they saw and tried the results of the experiment, they said, they exchanged anger for mercy. Although still no, no and let’s say that, they say, these treats are much easier and cheaper to buy in the store. What can I say? In theory, this is so, but what an indescribable joy - to grow unusual, sweet and healthy fruits with your own hands! In addition, this is a valuable experience that awakens imagination and ingenuity.

By the way, among the critics of my experiment there were those who did not like the small size of the fruit grown. But that’s what I wanted! I wanted not large, not too small, but at the same time sweet melons and cucumbers. Do you understand the difference? And I, in general, succeeded. But there is still something to work on. For example, there is still a final decision on what varieties will fit me and adapt to our conditions better.

I noticed, writing out the seeds of new varieties (this applies to all cultures), one feature: the plants that grow out of planting material obtained from regions not too distant from us manifest themselves best. Say, seeds from Sarov and Morshansk are better than from Krasnodar Territory. Even the same varieties of tomatoes differ with the height of the bushes and the size of the fruit. Although, of course, it is very difficult not to sow a huge number of varieties, regardless of whether they are zoned or not. And only with experience you begin to understand that not all of them, being in my garden, have the opportunity to show their best qualities.

Gardening reflections

And now I would like to touch on other topics, since I took up my pen. Well, for example, something a long time ago nobody told about such an interesting culture as Pepino. There were once and notes about her, and questions, but for some reason, now everything is quiet. Although about any other exotic talk does not stop. Maybe gardeners who are busy with pepino feel free to talk about it? In vain! I now declare without any hesitation that I have long wanted to grow pepino in a greenhouse, but all my attempts so far end in failure, although I used different techniques. Among them there was even such as sprouting seeds in a Petri dish with a further picking of the seedlings in pots, shaded with the help of special homemade screens. I learned about this method from the instructions that were attached to the bag of seeds. I did everything as it was indicated, but I did not achieve the result. And I do not know why.

Perhaps among the gardeners there are still knowledgeable people who will share their secrets of growing pepino? Otherwise, they seldom sell their seeds in the shops (and if they are found, then most often Consuelo, because there must be someone else or someone else), and they are expensive at the same time. Therefore, one does not want such a seed to disappear during purposeless experiments.

Well, it's time to go to pests. Many summer residents complain, for example, of ants. And I am not particularly angry with them, although they interfere with the seedlings to grow, and for me it is to weed the plants. But the ants well loosen the top layer of the soil, rarely spoiling the vegetables themselves (of course, I won’t argue with the flowers, I get more from them). My objection is that ants carry aphids. Yes, but not always and not everywhere. Moreover, aphids can appear in the garden without them.

And you can easily cope with it by spraying landings infusion of horse sorrel. I use fresh, finely chopped raw materials (for 10 l of water 200 g of roots or 400 g of greens), which I insist for 24 hours.

It is possible, of course, to simply tear off the affected leaves and destroy them, but this should be done only in the first half of the summer, because then the aphids come down from the bushes to lay eggs in the soil.

I know what else they do with infusions of tobacco, onions, dandelion, chamomile, garlic, yarrow, potatoes. A solution of laundry soap (250-300 g per 10 liters of water) is also used. I think that in special cases tar can also be used. But to use, as some readers advise, a bleach solution, it seems unreasonable to me. This is real chemistry! If you don’t feel sorry for your plants and yourself, it’s better to buy specialized “vigorous” preparations in a gardening shop - also chemistry, but at least designed for a specific result.

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Growing Watermelons And Melon - VIDEO

© Author: Maria ANATIYCHUK. d Karaganovo Yaroslavl region.

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