Summer is the time for holidays, the sea, fresh fruits and ripe berries, including a popular watermelon. The whole winter, we are looking forward to the time when it will come time to eat juicy sugar flesh. In addition to its taste qualities, watermelon is characterized by a high content of vitamins and microelements, which heals the body.
But every year, with the onset of the season, when melons start to keep up, the number of people who try the first watermelons, get on a hospital bed. Producers, chasing a large harvest, exceed all the permissible norms for the use of pesticides and nitrates , and as a result, consumers, including small children, suffer. How to be? For ever abandon the beloved from childhood summer treats? The only way out is to grow watermelons on your own or buy from trusted sellers.
Planting watermelons in the open ground
Even the inhabitants of the Urals and Siberia manages to grow watermelons, despite the completely inappropriate climate. Of course, they can not do without shelter, like greenhouses and hotbeds. What then to speak about those who live in the middle band or in the south. They were told by God himself to try to grow watermelons on their own plot. So how to grow watermelons in the open ground?
There are no difficulties in this matter. It's enough to follow a few simple rules and the result will not deceive you. First of all, to get a quality product, you need to have a quality planting material. You should choose seeds that are suitable for a specific locality.
The soil for watermelons should be light, sandy, water-permeable. Watermelons should not be stagnant at the watering place. On heavy soils the plant will not have the opportunity to develop a strong root system and the harvest will not be what it wants. If the soil is heavy and clay, then the situation can be tried to correct by adding a few buckets of sand and humus. It is advisable that wheat or lucerne grow on the site of the water-melon planting in the past. But the nightshade predecessors are undesirable.
Under the winter, fresh cow or chicken manure will be introduced, which for the winter will perepreet and will not harm the young plant, as fresh. But do not zealous with fertilizers, the ideal acidity of the soil - up to 7.0, on a more acid harvest can not be seen.
When to plant watermelons in the open ground?
With the onset of May, when the soil warms up to 10-15 degrees, you can start seeding the seeds. Some truck farmers leave the seeds dry, but there are those who pre-soak them to get a sprout. In this case, the non-exclusive material is immediately rejected. At an earlier planting, when the soil has not yet warmed up, sprouts may die from nighttime temperature changes. Plants are planted in a well method, first putting a little ash in each well.
The scheme of planting watermelons in the open ground is quite simple. One square meter is not more than one plant, because the watermelon is very light-loving and can not tolerate shading. 5 to 10 seeds are sown in the hole, since germination
Caring for watermelons in the open ground is reduced to watering, loosening and weeding of weeds, which the watermelon does not like. As soon as the fruits begin to form and watermelon form in the open ground, watering should be stopped.
As you can see, there are no difficulties in how to plant watermelons in the open ground. It's not a difficult thing, but it's so interesting when you can grow a healthy treat for the whole family from a small seed yourself.