The juicy and tasty watermelon berry has long been a regular in Russian gardens. It can be grown in open ground only in the southern regions.
In the middle zone and northern regions, it is suitable for greenhouse and hothouse cultivation, provided that climate-resistant hybrid varieties are chosen.
Seed preparation
The hard and dense shell of watermelon seeds is an obstacle to their germination. You can help them in this process with special preparation. Before planting, it is recommended to soak the seeds for an hour in warm water. The seeds that float to the surface of the water are empty and can be thrown away without wasting your time. After the water has cooled, the container with it and the planting material should be covered with film and left until hatching.
Planting in containers in soil
Swollen and hatched seeds can be transplanted into a mixture consisting of humus, universal soil and mineral fertilizers.
The soil should be laid out in individual cups with drainage holes, the seeds should be buried 4 cm deep and you should wait for the seedlings, which can be transplanted into the greenhouse on the 3rd sheet. Until then, you just need to water it and keep it in a sunny place.
Choosing a site for watermelons
The crop does not like heavy soil, dense and poorly conducting oxygen, fertilizers, moisture. It is advisable to select sandy loam soil with predecessors in the form of potatoes, carrots, legumes, onions or cabbage.
Planting should take place at the end of May, when there is no danger of recurrent frosts and the soil has warmed up sufficiently.
Preparing the soil
Before planting young watermelons, you need to prepare the soil. First of all, you need to add compost as a favorite watermelon fertilizer and the easiest way to loosen the soil structure.
It is important to dig the soil well, about a shovel deep, to renew the oxygen exchange and deepen the humus. After this, you can plant seedlings in the holes, separating each specimen from each other at a distance of 25 cm.
Greenhouse conditions for young animals
Immediately after transplantation, the seedlings should be in ideal conditions for themselves, namely, greenhouse conditions. If the crop is planted in open ground, then a temporary greenhouse made of sticks and film should be created over the planting.
In a greenhouse, it should not be left open for a long time to avoid temperature changes. It is best to maintain greenhouse conditions until the end of the first summer month, so as not to provoke the death of seedlings, including from scorching sun rays.
Watermelon watering conditions
The plant needs active watering only after planting. As soon as the flowers appear, you need to reduce the water supply by 2 times. Frequent watering will make the fruits tasteless. A week after planting, you can add ammonium nitrate along with the water.
After that, once a week, add mineral fertilizers to the soil, also added with water. After each watering, the soil must be loosened, otherwise the crust will ruin the harvest.
You can grow watermelons even in northern regions. To do this, you need to follow all the recommendations above, which are available to every summer resident.
