How and when to properly plant watermelon seeds in open ground in 2022

Author: Elena N. https://floristics.info/ru/index.php?option=com_contact&view=contact&id=19 Category: Garden plants Published: February 24, 2016Last edits: January 06, 2021

plant (lat. Citrullus lanatus) is a herbaceous annual, a species of the Watermelon genus of the Cucurbitaceae family. Watermelon is a melon crop. The homeland of watermelon is southern Africa - Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa. The colocynth species, related to the watermelon, is still found here and is considered the ancestor of the cultivated watermelon. This crop was cultivated in Ancient Egypt, in the 20th century BC: watermelon seeds were discovered in the tomb of Tutankhamun. Evidence that watermelon was known to the ancient Romans, who ate it fresh and salted and also made honey from it, can be found in the poems of Virgil. The watermelon fruit was also grown in China, where it was called the “melon of the West,” and by the Arabs, who consumed it before meals to cleanse the body. The crusaders brought watermelon to Europe, and on the territory of modern Russia it appeared in the 13th-14th centuries AD. Today, the champion in growing watermelons is China, followed closely by Turkey, Iran, Egypt, the American states, as well as Uzbekistan and Russia. Watermelons grow best in climates with long, hot, dry summers and short, cool winters.

Planting and caring for watermelon

• Planting: watermelon seeds are sown in open ground when the soil at a depth of 10 cm warms up to 15-16 ˚C. Sowing seeds for seedlings - at the end of April or early May, planting seedlings in the ground - at the end of May or early June.
• Lighting: bright sunlight.
• Soil: sand or sandy loam with pH 6.5-7.0.
• Watering: once a week, using 3 buckets of water per 1 m² of area. In hot weather, they water twice as often, and the row spacing is also moistened. After fruit formation, watering is gradually reduced, and 2 weeks before harvest it is stopped completely.
• Top dressing: 2 weeks after planting in the ground, seedlings are fertilized with a solution of ammonium nitrate (20 g per 10 l), spending 2 l for each bush. You can replace saltpeter with a solution of mullein (1:10) or chicken manure (1:20), adding 30 g of superphosphate and 15 g of potassium chloride to a bucket. Another feeding is done during the budding period: per plant there should be 6 g of superphosphate, 4 g of ammonium nitrate and the same amount of calcium chloride.
• Reproduction: seed, seedlings and non-seedlings.
• Pests: melon aphids, wireworms, gnawing cutworms.
• Diseases: root, white and black rot, powdery mildew, downy mildew, anthracnose, olive and angular spot, viral mosaic.

Read more about growing watermelons below.

Timing for sowing watermelon seeds

The timing of sowing seeds depends on whether it is growing seedlings or directly sowing seeds in a garden bed. Planting seeds in open ground is recommended only for southern regions. An attempt to do this in the Non-Black Earth Region, and even more so in the Urals or Siberia, can lead to the fact that the fruits of even the earliest varieties will have time to set, but will not ripen. The time for planting watermelon seeds for seedlings is 30–35 days before planting in open ground or a greenhouse. In most regions, sowing occurs in mid- or late April. Many varieties have time to ripen even when seeds are sown in the first half of May. Watermelon seeds have a dense shell, so it can take up to ten days for plants to emerge from unprepared seeds.

Watermelon berry - description

Watermelon has thin branched stems, climbing or creeping, most often smoothed-pentagonal, reaching a length of 4 m. At a young age, the stems are covered with dense pubescence. The leaves of watermelon are petiolate, alternate, pubescent, harsh, rough on both sides, triangular-ovate, heart-shaped at the base, from 8 to 22 cm long, from 5 to 18 cm wide. Watermelon flowers that bloom in summer are female, male and hermaphroditic, with boat-shaped bracts. The fruit is a watermelon berry, a multi-seeded juicy pumpkin with a smooth surface and juicy, sweet pink or red flesh, although there are varieties with yellowish pulp and a rough rind.

Site selection and soil preparation

I approach the choice of watermelon plantation very carefully: the plant develops well only in a cultivated area. Abandoned and overgrown with weeds is not suitable here.

The ridge should be illuminated by the sun during the day - a place for it is sought on a hill, on a southern slope. It is a mistaken belief that the culture loves partial shade.

Watermelons develop slowly and rot in lowlands and areas flooded with groundwater. This is another reason why the coming ones are planned for higher ground.

The culture prefers light sandy or sandy loam soils. The roots of watermelons are very long - the deeper they penetrate into the soil, the juicier and sweeter the “berry” will be. If your site has a heavy substrate, you can improve the situation by adding sand, peat, and timely loosening. Excellent soil acidity indicators - within pH 6.5-7.

The best predecessors for watermelons are grains and green manure. You should not grow the crop after nightshade, pumpkin or other melons.

In the fall, the area for watermelons is fertilized with last year's manure - 4-5 kg ​​per 1 m2. I do not recommend fresh mullein - it provokes the development of fungal diseases. After applying the fertilizer, the area is dug up on the bayonet of a shovel.

No special spring preparation of the watermelon ridge is required - if there were no preparatory procedures in the fall, last year's compost is added for digging. Fertilizer consumption – 2 kg per bush. The area is dug up and leveled with a rake.

Watermelon seedlings are planted in a checkerboard pattern:

1. A distance of 2 m is maintained between rows.
2. Between individual plants in one line - at least 1 m.

Watermelons are planted in holes on the ridges, depending on the size of the bushes, according to one of the following schemes:

• 140x140 cm;
• 140x70 cm.

Once the ridge is formed, you can immediately begin replanting.

Growing watermelons from seeds

Sowing watermelon seeds

Cultivation of watermelons in open ground is carried out by seed method, seedlings and non-seedlings. In warm areas, seeds can be sown directly into soil that has been prepared in advance and warmed up to 12-14 ºC. Before sowing, the seeds are kept in a thermos with water at a temperature of 50 ºC until the sprouts hatch. In holes about 8 cm deep, located at a distance of 1 meter from each other, place a tablespoon of ash, a teaspoon of ammophoska, a kilogram of humus and thoroughly mix the additives with the soil. Then they pour 2 liters of water into the hole, wait for it to be absorbed, place two or three seeds flat in the hole at a distance from each other, cover them with soil and trample it down. After sowing, the bed is not watered.

The first shoots may appear in a little over a week. If you sow seeds in cold soil, you will have to wait longer for the seedlings to appear, and they may even die. To prevent this from happening, sow the seeds in the ground no earlier than the third ten days of May. The emerging shoots in the development phase of 3-4 true leaves are thinned out, that is, weak shoots are removed by cutting them off just above the surface of the bed.

• Pansies

Growing watermelon seedlings

In areas with short summers, it is better to grow watermelons using seedlings. Growing watermelon seedlings begins in May by sowing seeds in separate containers of at least 0.3 liters in order to avoid intermediate transplanting or picking, which pumpkin plants do not tolerate so well. Planting watermelons for seedlings is carried out in soil, which should consist of peat, turf soil and sand in equal parts. For five liters of this soil mixture, you need to add 50 g of potassium sulfate, ammonium nitrate and dolomite flour, as well as 100 g of double superphosphate.

A few days before planting a watermelon, the seeds are heated for half an hour in water at a temperature of 55 ºC, and then germinated in wet sand at a temperature of 25 ºC. Only after the seeds have tiny shoots, they are sown 2-3 pieces in separate pots on the surface of the soil mixture described earlier, sprinkled with sand on top, covered with film or glass and transferred to a warm place where the temperature is not lower than 30 ºC. When shoots appear after a week, the film is removed and the temperature is lowered to 16-18 ºC for nine days.

Caring for watermelon seedlings involves fertilizing, watering and, if necessary, organizing additional artificial lighting, since watermelon needs a twelve-hour day of light. Water the seedlings in several stages, allowing the water to be absorbed, but make sure that the water does not get on the leaves of the seedlings. In the development phase of 3 true leaves, seedlings are fed with a solution of complex mineral fertilizers or liquid mullein.

About 10 days before planting the seedlings in the garden, the seedlings begin to harden off: they are taken out to the balcony or terrace for an hour or two, daily increasing the time spent in the fresh air until it reaches 24 hours.

Watermelon pick

How to pick watermelons? As already mentioned, pumpkin seedlings are not planted for fear of damaging their root system. They don't even pinch them.

Features of growing watermelons in different regions

The easiest way to grow watermelons is in the southern regions with a warm climate. In other cases, the cultivation of a plant requires the creation of favorable conditions:

Planting watermelon in open ground

When to plant watermelon in the ground

When to plant watermelon seedlings in the garden? Watermelons are planted in the ground four weeks after sowing the seeds in the development phase of the fifth or sixth true leaf - at the end of May or the first ten days of June. For watermelons, choose a site protected from the wind, well-warmed and illuminated on the south or south-east side, on which perennial grasses (alfalfa, sweet clover, sainfoin), winter wheat, cabbage, onions or annual legumes were grown before the watermelons.

It is not recommended to grow watermelons after plants such as nightshades (potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, peppers) and pumpkin plants (melon, zucchini, squash, and watermelon). After you harvest the watermelons, it will be possible to grow pumpkins in this area only after 6-8 years.

Soil for watermelon

The soil for watermelon is preferably sandy or sandy loam with a pH value of 6.5-7 units. Site preparation is carried out in the fall: 4-5 kg ​​of rotted manure per m² is added for digging, as well as 40-45 g of superphosphate, 15-25 g of potassium salt and 24-35 g of ammonium sulfate per the same unit of area. In heavy soils add one or two buckets of sand per m². Fresh manure is not used to fertilize the soil.

How to plant watermelons in open ground

Make holes in the bed at a distance of 1-1.5 m from each other in a checkerboard pattern, leaving row spacing 2 meters wide, and pour 1.5-2 liters of water into each hole. The seedlings are buried in the holes up to the cotyledon leaves, the soil is compacted after planting, and then the surface of the area around the seedlings is sprinkled with sand within a radius of 10 cm in order to prevent root rot. Water the seedlings with warm water and protect them from sunlight until the seedling leaves restore turgor.

Growing watermelon in a greenhouse

In areas with cold and short summers, watermelons are grown in greenhouses, since the vegetative period of the crop sometimes lasts about 150 days, and there are much fewer truly warm days in northern areas. To speed up the process, first, watermelon seedlings are grown at home, and then they are planted in a bed in a greenhouse under a double film covering. You already know how to grow watermelon seedlings.

You need to start growing it in the third ten days of April, and planting watermelons in a greenhouse is carried out when the soil in it warms up to 12-14 ºC. The soil in the beds is prepared in advance: a week before planting the seedlings, a layer of soil as deep as a spade is removed from the beds, hay with humus is placed in the resulting trench, which is sprinkled with nitrogen fertilizer on top and watered with hot water. The removed layer of soil is placed on the hay bed and the bed is covered with black covering material, which can be removed just before planting.

Seedlings are planted to a depth of 10 cm in holes located in one row at a distance of 70 cm from one another. As the lashes develop, they are tied to a trellis installed in advance. For normal fruiting, you need to let several bees into the greenhouse. But since male flowers only live for a few hours, don’t risk the future harvest; do the pollination yourself: pick a few male flowers, carefully remove the petals from them and apply their anthers to the stigmas of the female flowers. It is desirable that each female flower be pollinated by several male flowers.

Artificial pollination should be done in the morning, when the air temperature in the greenhouse is 18-20 ºC. It is very important that the night temperature on the eve of this important event is not lower than 12 ºC.

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In order to speed up the growth of the vines, pinch them so that there are no more than 3-5 leaves above the fruit, and remove weak shoots altogether. Leave no more than 5 ovaries on each bush, remove the rest. The first time watermelon fertilizer is applied to grooves dug at a distance of 20 cm from the bush, when the lashes reach a length of 25-50 cm, and it would be best at this time to feed the plant with a mullein solution (1:10) or liquid fermented chicken droppings (1:20 ). The second feeding is applied before the start of the budding process, and the third after the formation of the ovaries, but both times the grooves are made at a distance of 40 cm from the bush. Just like the first time, watermelons are fed with mullein or liquid chicken droppings, since organic matter is the best fertilizer for watermelon.

As the fruits begin to increase in size, turn them over from time to time to ensure they ripen evenly. Don't forget to ventilate the greenhouse.

Growing methods

There are several ways to grow watermelons. The appropriate one is chosen based on the climate of the region and the area of ​​the site.

In the greenhouse

In cold climates, growing watermelons is only possible in greenhouse conditions.

In the greenhouse, the soil is first dug up, beds are formed, and the soil is fertilized with humus and mineral fertilizers. Transplantation of seedlings is carried out when the air temperature inside the greenhouse at night reaches at least +6°C. In the Central regions, this time falls at the end of April.

Due to limited space, in order to save space, watermelons are planted densely (the distance between plants is 50 cm, between rows - 70 cm), and trellises are used to guide the lashes.

In containers (barrels, buckets, boxes)

This method allows you to grow watermelons at home. To do this, prepare a container (a bucket or barrel with a volume of 16 liters or a box measuring 50 x 50 x 30 cm) and fill it with the prepared substrate with the addition of perlite to prevent moisture stagnation.

Seedlings with three true leaves are removed from the container in which they grew, along with a lump of earth, and transplanted into a bucket or box.

Plants are kept at an air temperature of +25+30°C during the day and +18+20°C at night, moderately watered with warm, settled water and fed with potassium- and phosphorus-containing fertilizers 2 times a month.

During flowering, watermelons are artificially pollinated : the petals and male flowers with stamens are removed, and the female flowers are pollinated by touching the pistils with the stamens.

When the fruits set, all but two berries are removed from the plant.

Under covering material

There are several ways to grow watermelons under covering material :

1. Every 1.5 m, make beds 10-15 cm high, dig a ditch 40 cm deep in the center, bury straw in it and water it with urea solution. Lay the grass on top and compact it, cover everything with a 10 cm thick layer of humus mixed with soil. Water everything with water so that the soil is moistened to a depth of 25-30 cm, cover with black polyethylene, make slots in it in a checkerboard pattern every 90 cm, plant there are seedlings in them.
2. Install arcs on the site and stretch polyethylene over them. The size of the structure should be about 70 cm in width and height. In hot weather, the cover is removed.
3. Lay agrofibre along one side of the bed and cover the plants if necessary, for example, during frosts.

This method helps protect plantings from weeds, reduce temperature fluctuations, retain moisture in the soil and reduce the time for fruit ripening by about a week.

On the trellis

Algorithm of actions:

1. Dig supports at least 1.5 m high on both sides of the bed.
2. Stretch ropes between them.
3. Tie other ropes to them, which will support the stems and determine the direction of growth.
4. Secure the end of the lowered rope to the ground.
5. Tie the main stem vertically, remove side shoots.

Reference. This method is relevant in northern regions and in insufficiently lit areas.

Hanging fruits in nets

When growing watermelons on trellises, the fruits may fall to the ground. To avoid this, berries that have grown to the size of an apple are placed in nets and tied to a trellis. It also helps protect the watermelons from rotting and provides them with even light.

In a barrel

In this case, plant debris is placed at the bottom of the barrel for drainage, covered with grass, humus and fertile soil. Depending on the climate of the region, seeds are sown in a barrel or watermelon seedlings are planted, and the plantings are covered with non-woven material.

Under the film

This method promotes faster emergence of seedlings due to the creation of a greenhouse effect. To do this, the crops are covered with polyethylene, and after germination, holes are made in it.

Important! Prolonged exposure of watermelons under the film provokes rotting of the root system.

Watermelon care

How to grow a watermelon

Watermelons in open ground do not require intrusive care, however, there are agrotechnical measures that should not be neglected. These include thinning seedlings, watering, weeding, loosening the soil, and pinching out the vines. In the development phase of 3-4 true leaves, thin out the seedlings, leave one or two in the hole, and cut the rest just above the surface of the soil. Although some gardeners successfully plant extra seedlings, they take root well and bear fruit.

When the ovaries appear, leave no more than 6 fruits on the bush, and under those that lie on the ground, place some kind of non-rotting material - roofing felt, a piece of plastic or foil.

Watering a watermelon

Watermelons are watered once a week, but generously, at the rate of 3 buckets per m² of land. When the heat comes or the time of flowering, it is necessary to carry out 2 such abundant waterings per week, moistening not only the soil around the bushes, but also the aisles - the entire area of ​​the site. When fruits form, watering is gradually reduced until it stops completely two weeks before harvesting. In total, watermelons are watered 3-4 times during the summer: when 5-7 leaves develop, during the flowering period and at the beginning of fruit formation.

A day or two after watering at the beginning of the growing season, loosen the soil in the area to a depth of 6 cm and at the same time remove weeds from it. When the watermelons close in rows, the weeds will no longer harm them, so loosening and weeding can be stopped, especially since the plant’s root system, which extends in different directions, is very easy to damage with a hoe.

Feeding watermelon

Two weeks after planting the seedlings, they need to be fed. How to fertilize watermelons in open ground? The first time it is best to apply ammonium nitrate by dissolving 20 g of fertilizer in a bucket of water, using 2 liters of solution for each bush. You can replace saltpeter with a solution of mullein (1:10) or chicken manure (1:20), adding 30 g of superphosphate and 15 g of calcium chloride to a bucket of solution. The next feeding is applied during the budding period, and it consists of 4 g of calcium chloride, 4 g of ammonium nitrate and 6 g of superphosphate per plant. If you apply fertilizers dry, water the area before and after applying them.

Harvesting watermelons

The watermelon harvest begins 35-50 days after planting the seedlings in open ground. But you should also look at the appearance of the fruit. The peel becomes hard and glossy (in unripe watermelons it is matte), the stalk begins to dry out, and a yellow spot appears where the watermelon lay on the ground. When you knock on a watermelon, you hear a muffled sound. If you cut a watermelon, then the seeds of a ripe watermelon become dark brown or even black, but the pulp should speak for itself, everyone will understand this.

Watermelons are cut with the stem (4-5 cm), they should be stored in a cool room (temperature 6-8°C, humidity 80-85%) separately from each other. It is advisable to lay straw under each watermelon. Even watermelons that have just begun to spoil must be removed immediately, otherwise the rot will quickly spread to nearby watermelons.

Currently, watermelons are already grown everywhere, and not just in the southern regions of the country. This became possible thanks to the work of breeders, but the perseverance of gardeners also helps them grow such delicious berries. Of course, in order to grow watermelons, you also need to know the agricultural techniques for growing them.

And anyone who has tried to successfully grow a watermelon on their own plot will no longer refuse this pleasure.

Pests and diseases of watermelon

What are the diseases of watermelons? Most often they are affected by white, gray, black and root rot, powdery mildew - real and downy, anthracnose, angular and olive spots and mosaic. With careful preparation of seed and soil for planting and proper care of melons, watermelons, as a rule, are not affected by diseases or pests. But it doesn’t change from year to year, and anything can happen, so the best way to protect your melon is to be able to quickly identify the disease and know how to treat watermelons against a particular disease.

Powdery mildew is caused by a fungus. The leaves of the plants are covered with a grayish-white coating, under which the leaves die, and the fruits become tasteless, unsweetened, deformed and rot.

Downy mildew, or downy mildew, is also caused by the fungus, but only old leaves are affected first and only then young ones. Angular light yellow spots appear on them, and a grayish-purple coating forms on the underside. The fruits take on an ugly shape and stop developing.

Olive spot looks like irregularly shaped spots covering all above-ground parts of the plant, causing the leaves to become corrugated, and olive-colored ulcers appear on the stems and petioles of the leaves. The ovaries dry out and fall off.

Angular spot, or bacteriosis, is carried by insects and appears as whitish oily spots on the above-ground parts of the plant, causing holes to appear in the leaves and they fall off, the stems wither, the fruits become soft, transparent and stop growing.

Anthracnose, or copperhead, is also a fungal disease that causes brown or yellow spots with yellowish-pink pads to appear on watermelon leaves, and in humid weather the spots become covered with a pink coating. If the damage is severe, the watermelon dries out and dies.

White, gray, black and root rot are also fungal diseases, each of which can destroy both an individual bush and the crop as a whole. White, black and gray rot destroy the leaves, stems and fruits of watermelon, and root rot destroys the roots of the plant.

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Cucumber mosaic, unlike all the diseases described above, is a viral disease that is impossible to cope with. It manifests itself by the appearance of a mosaic pattern in green and light green tones on the leaves. The plant is stunted, swellings, bumps and dots appear on the fruits.

Of the pests, the most harmful to watermelons are melon aphids, cutworms and wireworms.

Wireworms are the larvae of click beetles that resemble tough pieces of wire and feed on watermelon seeds and shoots.

The melon aphid is dangerous in itself, since it feeds on the cell sap of the ground parts of the watermelon, and as a carrier of such a dangerous disease as mosaic, because there is no cure for it.

Gnawing and winter cutworms lay eggs on the plant, and the caterpillars that emerge from them feed on the watermelon, gnawing its roots, causing the watermelon to turn yellow and die.

Watermelon processing

The fight against watermelon diseases is carried out using fungicides - Fundazol, Bordeaux mixture, Skor, Decis and others. It is better to find out what kind of fungicide you will need in a specialized store, where you can purchase chemicals to destroy any fungus and find out how to treat watermelons with this drug. However, it will be better for both your melon plant and your health, instead of using fungicides, to observe crop rotation, follow the agrotechnical conditions for growing the crop and provide proper care for ripening watermelons.

If you follow all the rules, the plants will not get fungal disease.

As for harmful insects, aphids are destroyed by dusting plants sprinkled with water with a mixture of ash and tobacco dust in equal proportions, and 20 minutes after treatment, the soil in the area is loosened, thereby destroying fallen insects. Cutworm caterpillars are lured onto pieces of cake or plant remains with a sweetish taste and collected, in the same way as wireworms. To do this, make depressions of 50 cm in the soil, throw in cake and pieces of sweet root vegetables and cover these traps with shields, which are removed after a day or two, and the insects gathered there are destroyed. We remind you that usually, like diseases, pests attack weakened and unkempt plants.

Detailed step-by-step instructions for pre-sowing preparation

Before planting watermelon seeds in open ground, you must carefully select a site, carry out pre-sowing soil cultivation, select suitable varieties, and carefully prepare the seed material. Only in this case can you count on a good harvest.

Variety selection

Planting and growing watermelons from seeds yourself is not difficult. Success depends, first of all, on the successful matching of the variety to the planting area and weather conditions in each particular year. A variety that failed last year may produce an excellent harvest in the future. The choice of varieties and hybrids on the market now is huge.

Russian varieties are intended for growing in dry, hot places with minimal watering. European varieties need better care. Asian watermelons grow well in humid climates. American varieties are resistant to the most common diseases. There are large-seeded, small-seeded and seedless varieties. The technologies for planting and growing them are different.

When choosing a variety, beginners should pay attention to reliable large-seeded varieties. They are easiest to grow in open ground. It is worth taking a closer look at the first generation hybrids. The disadvantage of heterotic varieties is that they cannot be reproduced in collected seeds. You'll have to buy new ones every year.

On a note! Watermelon seeds remain viable for 6-8 years. It is believed that sowing "old" seeds increases the number of female flowers. This can lead to the formation of small fruits. Although the plant still sheds the excess number of ovaries. The best seeds for germination are those collected from last year's ripe fruits.

Preparing watermelon seeds for planting

In order for the seeds to have good germination and germination energy, it is necessary to prepare them for planting. The best seeds should be selected, after they are heated and processed.

Calibration

Watermelon seeds for planting need to be assessed for the presence of nutrient reserves. It is difficult to determine the mass and density of seeds by eye. You can calibrate a watermelon at home. The seeds are dipped in a solution of table salt, at the rate of 2 tablespoons per liter of water. Good seeds will settle to the bottom, empty and small ones will remain floating on the surface. The solution and seeds are drained from the surface. The remaining seeds are washed with running water and dried.

Warming up and soaking

Before germinating watermelon seeds, they must be warmed before planting. In this case, most pathogenic fungi die and the germination rate increases. This can be done in two ways:

1. Dry method

Can be done in the sun or under an ultraviolet lamp, wrapping the seeds in a plastic bag. Warm-up time 3-4 hours. It’s even easier, just from February, leave the seeds in a fabric bag near the central heating radiator or near the stove at a temperature of 30 degrees.

Important! Dry seeds are heated at a temperature no higher than 50 degrees, and wet seeds – no higher than 36 degrees.

1. Wet method

It is carried out in any container filled with water heated to 50 degrees. The procedure is carried out for 20 minutes, periodically adding hot water. It is convenient to use a thermos for this.

Proper soaking of seeds is necessary for disinfection immediately before germination. You can use an infusion of wood ash, a solution of potassium permanganate, and various biological products. The procedure lasts about 20 minutes. Now the seeds are ready for germination.

On a note! If the purchased seeds have undergone pre-sowing treatment with various disinfectants, this is indicated on the packaging. Such seed material should be planted immediately without soaking.

Hardening

The procedure is mandatory for growing melons and melons in the middle zone. It increases the cold resistance of heat-loving plants. To do this, the germinated seeds are left on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator for several nights.

Collection and storage of watermelons

Before harvesting watermelons, you need to make sure that they have reached the first stage of removable ripeness - this usually occurs 5 days before full ripeness. If you skip this point and remove the watermelon later, it will not be stored for long, and if you store an unripe watermelon, it is unlikely to ripen in storage. The state of first ripeness can be determined by the color of the pulp and seeds, characteristic of each variety of watermelon. If you remove the watermelons in time, when the flesh in them is pink, then during storage it will gradually turn red - the watermelon will ripen in storage without losing its sweetness.

Watermelons of late varieties, which have a denser and thicker peel, and the pulp has a rougher structure, last the longest. Early and mid-ripening watermelons are removed as they ripen and eaten or processed - jam is made from them, salted or pickled, and the fruits of late-ripening varieties intended for storage are cut with pruners or a sharp knife along with a peduncle 5 cm long just before frost. Do not tear the berry from the stem, as rotting often begins at the point of separation.

For storage, choose medium-sized watermelons with a thick rind, shiny and intact - there should be no dents, cracks, soft areas or scratches on it. When transporting, do not throw or place watermelons on a hard surface; do all work with gloves. When laying watermelons, make sure that they do not touch each other - this measure will help avoid infection of the fruits with rot.

Optimal conditions for storing watermelons: temperature 1-4 ºC with air humidity 75-85%, as well as good ventilation. We offer you the following storage methods:

• Collect dry moss in the forest in sunny weather, lay it in a thick layer on the bottom of a wooden box, put a watermelon on top and cover it on all sides with moss, then put other watermelons, covering each of them with moss;
• Wood ash can be used instead of moss. Watermelons sprinkled with ashes in a box or barrel are lowered into the cellar and stored there under a tightly closed lid;
• dip each watermelon into a clay or alabaster mash with the consistency of thick sour cream, let the coating dry and lower the fruits into the cellar;
• instead of clay or alabaster, you can use wax or paraffin: melt them in a water bath, cover each fruit with a layer about five millimeters thick and lower the treated watermelons into the cellar;
• wrap each watermelon in thick natural fabric, place it in a net and hang it in the cellar from the ceiling;
• make racks in the cellar, put a thick layer of straw on their shelves and place watermelons on top so that they are shrouded in straw;
• Find a dark, cool place in your apartment where no light can penetrate, place the watermelons there and turn them over daily.

How and wherever you store watermelons, make it a rule to check what condition they are in at least once a week in order to notice a spoiled fruit in time and not allow it to infect other watermelons with rot. With the right variety, place and storage method, you can enjoy watermelons until spring.

Types and varieties of watermelons

Actually, the common watermelon, which we grow and buy in markets and stores, is a species of the Watermelon genus, in which there are two varieties:

African tsamma melon (Citrullus lanatus var. citroides) , which grows in Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho and South Africa, and the familiar woolly watermelon (Citrullus lanatus var. lanatus) , which is found only in cultivated form. Moreover, Asian, European and American breeders had a hand in creating many varieties of this variety that exist today. We will introduce you to the varieties of this watermelon.

Varieties of watermelons for open ground are divided into early, mid-season and late, suitable only for areas with long, warm summers. When choosing a variety, it is necessary to take into account its resistance not only to cold, but also to drought, diseases and pests, as well as the need for fertilizers and the ability to grow. So, early varieties of watermelons:

• American hybrid Victoria, ripening in 62 days or a little more, with a round fruit weighing up to 10 kg;
• variety Skorik with small light green fruits weighing up to 4 kg with scalloped stripes blurred along the edges with delicate, sweet red pulp of high taste and thick skin;
• Jenny is an ultra-early American hybrid, ripening from 54 days and forming on each bush 4-6 standard-sized white-green fruits weighing up to one and a half kilograms, with thin dark stripes, very thin peel, seeds no larger than grape seeds and bright, very tasty pulp ;
• Stabolite is the best of the seedless hybrids, ripening from 62 days, with powerful and large elongated fruits with very tasty pulp. Pollinated with the help of Lady and Trophy varieties from the Nunems variety series;
• Ogonyok is a variety of Russian selection with small fruits weighing up to 2 kg with thin skin and tasty pulp;
• Dalby is an American large-fruited, productive and stress-resistant hybrid that ripens after 60 days.

Mid-season varieties:

• Lazyboka - the ripening period of this variety is from 75 to 90 days. It is drought-resistant and rarely affected by diseases and pests. Medium-sized, light green fruits with prickly stripes weighing up to 5 kg with a thin skin and a medium-density, red-pink, pleasant-tasting pulp;
• Top Gun is one of the most popular productive American varieties, ripening in 70-75 days with large round fruits weighing up to 10 kg and crispy dark red pulp with small seeds. Watermelons of this variety are perfectly stored and resistant to anthracnose;
• Dumara is a productive hybrid, ripening from day 75, with oval-cuboidal fruits with sweet, tender pulp and very tender seeds;
• Antaeus is a hybrid with delicate and record-breakingly sweet pulp of oval-cuboid fruits. Prefers organic fertilizers;
• Ataman is a disease-resistant variety of domestic selection, ripening in 66-86 days, with round, prickly fruits weighing up to 10 kg with red tasty pulp of medium density.

Late varieties of watermelons for open ground:

• Spring - this variety can be grown not only in melon fields, but also in a greenhouse. Elongated, spherical, smooth fruits weighing up to 3 kg with a thick, barely noticeable green mesh against an olive-colored background contain granular, tender and sweet dark red pulp. This variety ripens in 105 days;
• Icarus is a productive, drought-resistant variety that ripens in 88-110 days. The fruits, weighing from 3 to 16 kg, are dark green in color with faint stripes and very strong bark. The pulp is red-raspberry, very sweet. The variety is perfectly stored and can be stored until March;
• Kholodok is the most common late-ripening variety, ripening in 100 days, with large, 15 to 25 kg, elliptical, weakly segmented fruits with a strong green bark with an almost black stripe, hiding a very sweet, bright red with a pink tinge of flesh. Fruit shelf life is 3 months;
• Melania is a hybrid of the Early variety, ripening after 80 days, with oval fruits weighing up to 12 kg. The bark is green with wide dark green stripes, the flesh is crisp, dark red, with small seeds.

We invite lovers of unusual plants to try their luck in growing a rare Japanese variety of watermelon from the island of Hokkaido, Densuke, with almost black bark, or the gigantic American hybrid California Cross. The smallest watermelons are the Pepkinos variety, which can be thrown whole into your mouth. And for those who are irritated by the seeds in watermelon berries, we offer the seedless variety Red King. Seekers of new gastronomic sensations will certainly enjoy the nutmeg-flavored watermelon of the Vector variety, bred by a breeder from Astrakhan, who also boasts of creating the Lunny variety - a watermelon with yellow flesh and a lemon flavor.

Choosing a watermelon variety for growing in Russia

When choosing a variety, you should pay attention to the region where watermelons are grown.

1. For Siberia, the varieties “Siberian Lights”, “Kholodok”, and “Photon” are recommended.
2. Cold-resistant early-ripening varieties “Ogonyok”, “Podarok Severu”, “Skorik” are suitable for the Urals. The fruits of these varieties grow large and very sweet.
3. Recommended varieties for growing watermelons at the dacha in the middle zone and the Moscow region are “Karistan F1”, “Turbo F1”, “Honey Giant”.

If you follow the rules for caring for watermelons, you can count on a rich harvest in any region.