When to plant watermelons for seedlings and what you need to know

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To grow watermelons in Siberia and the Moscow region in 2021, a special technology is needed. Working with open ground will not work, since the soil warms up late in these parts and the melons simply do not have time to ripen. Therefore, we plant ready-made seedlings in warm, prepared soil - watermelon bushes with several leaves. The earth warms up enough only in mid-May. The seedlings must be at least a month old. So the time for sowing seeds for seedlings is the beginning of April.

For seeds, prepare cups or pots measuring 10x10 cm, 3-5 seeds are sown 3-4 cm deep. To retain moisture, the crops are covered with oilcloth. Until the seeds germinate in the room, the temperature should be kept around 18-25 ° C.

When shoots appear, the pots are placed in a lighted place, preferably on a windowsill, and the air temperature is reduced by several degrees. Compliance with the temperature regime is the main trick when growing watermelon seedlings, at night it should not fall below 16 degrees, during the day it does not need more than 25 ° C.

If you are afraid that the seedlings will stretch, try to arrange additional lighting. Watering is also important: only with warm water, water infrequently under the root, and not on the leaves. When the seedlings are placed in pots, after 10 days they will need special stimulation with a mullein solution, water after feeding. It is equally important to harden the seedlings by taking them to the balcony and airing them. Planting watermelon bushes in the holes is carried out with a lump of earth, up to the level of cotyledon leaves. It is necessary to plant seedlings when it has a strong root system and 3-4 full-fledged leaves.

The place of the future beds with watermelons should be chosen on a sunny southern plain. If the land is virgin and other crops did not grow on it, you can do without fertilizers, but if your site has been cultivated for many years, for a good harvest, you will need to add pus (or compost) to the beds about 8-10 kg per 1 sq. m. The best time for composting will be autumn, before digging. In the spring, mineral fertilizers are added to the furrows and holes.

Seedlings should be planted at the rate of 2-3 bushes per 1-1.5 m, leave 1.5-2 meters between rows. Melons love space. With dense planting of seedlings, the fruits will be small. Since watermelons do not like any damage to the root system, it is necessary to provide for planting seeds in peat tablets or in containers with a large amount of soil, so that later all this land, together with a sprout, can be planted in a hole.

It is best to fill the hole with a mixture of sand, ash, compost or humus. To warm the soil, you can close the wells with glass or foil. When we plant seedlings in the holes, do not deeply deepen it, there is a possibility of decay. On summer cottages near trees, you do not need to plant bastans, the crowns of trees will shade them.

Watering should be organized twice a week, preferably with warm water (about 23-30 ° C). In the amount of 8-10 liters per 1 sq. m. For the entire period of growth and ripening of the fruits of watermelons in Siberia, you will have to water the beds five to six times. Watermelons are stopped 10-15 days before ripening. In order for melons in Siberia to grow as large as the Astrakhan ones, it does not interfere with pinching the main stem and side shoots of the plant, as well as small non-fruiting branches.

Choosing the right seeds

With a strong desire to grow watermelons at home, it is important to select varieties that are suitable for your region.

The main criterion for the selection of watermelon seeds is their ripening period. There are three types of seeds:

1. early (early maturing). Generally indoor planting is recommended. They are unpretentious to climate conditions. Fruits appear by mid-July. The crust is rather thin, which determines their early ripening. The size of the fruit is not very large, weighing up to 3 kg, but no less tasty than other types of watermelons;

2. mid-season. The most productive. Seeds are intended for planting in open warm ground. Fruits ripen by the end of July. The mass of watermelon berries is about 6 kg. They can be stored for 1.5 months and are well transported;

3. late. Watermelon seeds are also planted in open ground, giving a good harvest. Fruit weight depends on the variety, it can reach up to 25 kg. They are perfectly stored until the new year, without losing their taste.

For planting watermelons in the Moscow region in 2021, you need to select special varieties. Traditional watermelons (Farmer F1, Delicatessen F1), which have a rounded-oval shape, with characteristic dark and light stripes, will grow well.

The most successful was the Beijing Joy F1 series. Watermelons are quite early and very sweet. On the beds in the Moscow region, they gain weight up to 4-6 kg. For example, dark green Coral has a very sweet taste and a thin crust, with no light stripes, matures in 77 days.

The Krestyanin variety, on the other hand, with a dense and thick bark, typical color and unusual elongated shape, is well stored, transported, does not burst or crack. An excellent result (up to 25-30 kg of fruits) gives an early ripe Honey giant, with elongated fruits and an unusual gray-green "marble" color on the bark.

A special place among the common varieties in the Moscow region is occupied by the Prince series: Prince Hamlet F1, Prince Arthur F1, Prince Charles F1, Prince Harry F1, Prince Albert F1. It is also a group of early ripening and rather sweet watermelons, unrivaled for growing in areas of unsustainable farming, even outdoors.

In the regions of Siberia, early early ripening varieties are suitable for 2021. For example, an unpretentious and cold-resistant variety "Ogonyok", which yields a crop with a dark green, shiny crust and a weight of about 2 kg. Very sweet fruits, juicy, with rich red pulp.

The Sibiryak variety is specially bred for Siberia, capable of withstanding temperature changes. Fruits can reach 5 kg in weight, have juicy and sweet pulp. "Ultra-early" and "Crimson Sweet" - convenient for processing, not weaving variety. Fruit weight reaches 4 kg. The pulp is red, juicy and sweet. The mid-season Astrakhansky variety is good for growing seedlings. Fruits grow up to 5-6 kg, round in shape, with dense sweet pulp.

Planting seedlings for 2021 in the ground should be carried out when she turns 20-25 days, in a greenhouse - 30-35 days. For the regions of Siberia and in the Moscow region, it is important to wait for such a time of the year when there is no danger of the last spring frosts, and the soil warms up to 14-15 ° С. These are not all recommendations for growing seedlings. As you know, you need to take into account the dates of the lunar sowing calendar for a year.

So, in 2021, watermelons are sown for seedlings in tunnel shelters and under film in early May. The most favorable days when you should plant bastans in open ground are May 16-20. In the southern districts of the Voronezh and Tambov regions, melon can be sown directly into the ground with watermelon seeds.

For northern latitudes in 2021 Siberia and in the Moscow region, watermelons should be planted only with seedlings, which must be sown in the first decade of April. When the plants are 25-30 days old from germination, we move the bushes to greenhouses, under film shelters or into open ground.

Video "We plant early watermelons"

Sowing preparation

The process of preparing for sowing seeds is very responsible. They need to be carefully sorted out, removing the defective ones. Good seeds need to be heated for two to three hours at a temperature of 50-60 degrees. After warming up, leave in a special solution of potassium permanganate for an hour, rinse with a 2% soda solution and dry. To harden the seeds of watermelon after these procedures, you need to leave at a temperature of zero degrees. Then your seedlings will grow faster and become more resistant to cold. Already before sowing, the seeds are soaked again overnight. In 2021, we plant seeds for seedlings on April 14-15 or April 19-21.

In the process of preparing the garden bed at home, you need to loosen the soil well, which means that in a week or 2 you need to select a bed with a width of at least 120 cm.Further, we prepare a manure cushion, leave it for a week to warm up, make holes with plain earth. Or we prepare a mixture of earth, fertilizer and sand. The roots of watermelon penetrate deep into the soil, are very developed - they must supply the whole plant and fruits with nutrients. In addition to organic fertilizers at home, you can prepare a mixture of mineral fertilizers. The recipe is as follows: for 1 sq. m about 30-40 g of ammonium nitrate, 30 g of superphosphate and 20 g of potash fertilizers. You do not need to be zealous with fertilizers, the plant should not overgrow with leaves. And you don't need excess nitrates.

What else is important to know

Hybrids have such advantages - early maturity, increased resistance to diseases and different climatic conditions. In Siberian conditions, seeds for seedlings planted before April can outgrow, and will take root for a long time after planting. After soaking for a day, you do not need to wait for pecking, but sow immediately, because the best conditions for germination are in the soil.

The soil mixture in an individual pot must be loose, breathableth, with the addition of humus and coarse sand. The seedling pot must have a capacity of at least 0.6-0.8 liters. Seedlings should not be fed concentratedth organic. It is not necessary to water the seedlings often, but abundantly, with warm water. The top layer of the soil should be loosened.

For the maximum amount of light in May, the seedlings are transferred to a greenhouse, greenhouse or to a glazed loggia. If at first after germination the seedlings are stretched out, you can gently bend the stalk in a half ring and sprinkle it with soil. If you turn the watermelons under the sun once a week, they will ripen evenly. The article discusses the main points that you need to remember when growing watermelons from seedlings at home.

Video “Watermelons. Seedlings and agricultural technology "

How to grow watermelon seedlings? Do not know? Then the following video will help you solve this problem. Don't miss out on this visual guide from the experts.