Contents:
- Watermelon - cultivation
- Watermelon - neighborhood
- Watermelon - fertilization
Due to the high thermal requirements for cultivation in Poland, the cultivars adapted to our climatic conditions are the best. They have a shorter growing season and are not so sensitive to temperature drops.
Watermelon - cultivation
In our conditions, watermelon is grown exclusively from seedlings. In the first half of April, seeds are sown in individual pots in a greenhouse, a heated inspection frame or a sunny window sill. The optimal temperature for seedling production is 22-25oC. After 5-6 weeks, the seedling is ready. Approximately 14 days before planting the plants permanently, start hardening them, making them accustomed to external conditions. Plants should be planted into the ground in the second half of the 5th or the beginning of June, keeping the distance between them about 100 cm.
Watermelon - neighborhood
A good vegetable neighborhood for a watermelon is melon, beetroot, cabbage, garlic, onion and celery. Due to the risk of disease transmission, avoid planting other cucurbits in the vicinity of the watermelon.
Watermelon prefers fertile, humus-rich soil, rich in nutrients, slightly acidic. It is grown in the first year after manure. It is a light-loving vegetable and requires a sufficiently high temperature of both the air and the substrate.The optimum temperature during the growing season is in the range of 28-30 ° C. When the temperature drops below 15 ° C, plant growth stops.
The temperature of the substrate is just as important as the air temperature. In order to properly warm the soil, it is worth mulching with black non-woven agrotextile or polyethylene film and covering the plants with white agrotextile. It should be noted that the litter we use is biodegradable. In cultivation without the use of mulches, we can grow plants on mounds or embankments, on which watermelons are planted from the south.
Watermelon - fertilization
Plants require top dressing, starting right after flowering. Every 3-4 weeks we feed them with multi-component mineral fertilizers, with particular emphasis on copper. The lack of this element causes the death of the watermelon shoots.
Regular watering and weeding are the main care treatments in melon cultivation. Plants should not be trimmed because they bloom and bear fruit at the ends of the shoots.
Watermelon ripens 30-40 days after pollinating the flowers. We recognize a ripe fruit by a dull sound when knocking on the fruit and by the drying of the stalk
