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How tall do watermelon plants grow


How to Plant and Grow Watermelons

Citrullus lanatus

They’re big. They’re delicious. And they’re not as difficult to grow as you’d expect!

I’m talking about watermelons, the diverse and sweet melons that come in as many different varieties as there are ways to enjoy the ripe fruit.

I’ve had the pleasure of growing a few different cultivars of this melon over the years, and I can tell you that nothing beats the flavor of a sun-ripened watermelon fresh from your own garden!

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Growing watermelons is not the enormous undertaking you might think it’s bound to be, though a little garden planning will help.

I’ll cover everything you need to know about growing these juicy fruits in your own garden, and before you know it, you’ll be eating homegrown watermelon by the slice at breakfast, at your summer picnics, and blended into cocktails.

Here’s what’s ahead:

What You’ll Learn

Cultivation and History

Watermelon is known for being not only sweet and juicy, but also incredibly refreshing, perhaps more so than any other fruit.

Several years ago, when I was living through a heat wave with no air conditioning, a large serving of watermelon every afternoon was what pulled me through the worst of it.

Watermelons are 92% water – which should help explain why they are so darn refreshing on a hot day.

And believe it or not, this fruit’s ability to hydrate us is an important part of its history, leading us all the way back to its first use by humans.

Watermelons are native to Africa, where they were first used not so much as a food source, but as a source of water.

The thick rind allowed people to store these melons for long periods of time, and transport them without damage, using them as a water source in hot desert climates.

There are many different types of wild melons growing in Africa that have been considered to be the possible ancestor of our cherished cultivated watermelon. These include the citron melon, from the Kalahari, and the egusi melon, native to West Africa.

However, evidence points to northeastern Africa as the place of origin for modern watermelons, with its ancestor most likely being Citrullus lanatus var. colocynthoides.

In parts of north Africa, these hydrating fruits still grow wild on drought-tolerant, vining plants.

This fruit has been cultivated for over 4,000 years. Watermelon seeds and paintings of watermelons were found in King Tut’s tomb, as well as in those of other ancient Egyptian nobility.

This fruit eventually spread from Africa to the Mediterranean region, and was known in ancient Greece as the pepon.

Watermelons continued their journey into the rest of Europe, and were eventually introduced to the Americas by European colonists and enslaved African people.

In the US, it’s primarily the flesh of watermelons that is consumed, but the seeds are a popular snack in other parts of the world, and the rind is also edible. Pickled watermelon rind, anyone?

Watermelons grow on sprawling vines – just like their relatives, honeydew and cantaloupe melons, squash, gourds, and cucumbers.

While for most of us these fruits may conjure up visions of something hefty and oblong with light and dark green stripes, watermelons come in a wide range of skin patterns and sizes.

When you grow your own at home, you open up your options to a stunning array of varieties. I’ll get to those a little later.

First let’s talk about best growing practices. Now that we know a bit about where these melons come from, this knowledge should help us in deciding how and where to grow them.

Propagation

Before you run out to your garden with your seed packet in hand, make sure to check the number of days required for your variety to reach maturity.

Depending on how this number compares to the number of days in your growing season, you may want to start your plants indoors instead of direct sowing.

These melons are most successful when sown directly in the garden since their roots are fairly sensitive – however, direct sowing may not work for all varieties and certainly doesn’t work for all climates.

Some varieties can take 100 days or more to produce ripe fruit.

There’s nothing more disappointing than watching a healthy, vigorous plant run out of time to bring its fruit to maturity because of an early fall frost.

Choose a variety that will mature within your growing season or consider starting your seeds indoors and setting out transplants after your last spring frost.

I’ll cover both methods of propagation – but let’s start with direct sowing.

Direct Sowing

Watermelons are warm-season plants that do not tolerate cold weather and will succumb to late frosts.

So make sure you exercise a little patience – the best time to plant your seeds is at least two weeks after your average last spring frost date.

For watermelon seeds to germinate, the soil needs to be a minimum of 60°F. If you can wait for your soil to heat up to the 70-95°F range, germination will be more successful and faster.

The ideal soil temperature for watermelon seed germination is 95°F.

Once you have prepared your melon patch (as described below) and the soil is warm enough, you’re ready to sow your seeds.

Soil that is moist but not soggy is ideal, so either water your planting area a few hours ahead of time, or wait a few hours after rainfall.

You’ll want to plan on planting these seeds about 3/4 to 1 inch deep, so scrape about an inch of soil to the side of your planting area.

Next, smooth the surface of the soil in your planting area so that it’s even, then press three or four seeds flat into the surface of the soil.

Now use the soil you scraped to the side to cover the seeds. Pat the soil gently to ensure good contact with the seeds.

Gently water the seeds in with a watering wand or a watering can.

In my dry climate, I water my freshly planted seeds once a day until the seedlings have sprouted and have grown a couple of sets of true leaves.

You may not need to water quite so often if your soil is not prone to drying out, and if you get regular rain showers.

Within five to ten days, your seedlings should germinate.

When your seedlings are a few inches tall, with two or more sets of true leaves, thin your plants.

Choose the two best looking seedlings and snip the other ones off with a pair of scissors, leaving two plants per hill or crater. (Not sure what hills and craters are? We’ll get to that a little later, so keep reading!)

From Transplants

If your growing season is shorter than the number of days required to grow your preferred watermelon variety, you’ll want to start these seeds indoors and set out seedlings when daytime temperatures are at least 70°F.

These plants have delicate roots and don’t like to be transplanted.

I recommend that you start seedlings in biodegradable, preferably peat-free, pots such as these CowPots that are available from Arbico Organics, which are made from composted cow manure.

CowPots, Biodegradable Seed Trays

This way you’ll be able to plant your seedlings directly into the soil, pots and all, without upsetting their root systems.

A three-inch pot is the ideal size, since these young seedlings are fairly large.

Check your seed packet to calculate the best time to start your seedlings – usually this is about two to four weeks before your last frost.

If you’ve never started your own transplants before or want a refresher, check out our guide to starting annuals indoors.

Here are the basic steps to follow:

  1. Be sure to use a sterile seed starting mix to germinate your seeds. Fill your pots with starting mix to about an inch below the rim.
  2. Plant three seeds per pot, cover with 1/2 inch of potting mix, and then water gently.
  3. Set the seed trays next to a warm, sunny south-facing window, or under a grow light, and water daily with a spray bottle.
  4. To help your seedlings germinate more quickly and successfully, you may also need to use a heat mat.
  5. When seedlings are around two inches tall, with a couple of sets of true leaves, it’s time to thin them.
  6. Choose the best looking seedling in each pot to keep, and snip the stems of the other ones off with a pair of scissors right above the surface of the soil.
  7. Around a week or so after your last frost, when daytime temperatures are at least in the 70s, start to harden off your seedlings. To do this, place them outside in a protected location for an hour or so. Each day, increase the amount of time they spend and the amount of direct sunlight they are exposed to outdoors.
  8. About two weeks after your last frost, if daytime temperatures are at least in the 70s, you should be ready to transplant your seedlings. Plan on planting two seedlings per hill or crater.
  9. To do this, trim the top rims of your biodegradable pots so that they are even with the soil level inside.
  10. Dig a hole in the hill or crater that will accommodate the pot – you want the rim of the biodegradable pot to be at the soil level.
  11. Backfill with soil, and gently water your transplants in. Continue to water daily for the next several days to help prevent transplant shock.

How to Grow

To grow your own watermelons at home, you’ll want to make sure you provide your plants with the best possible growing conditions for a delicious and generous harvest.

But first of all, you’ll have to select a good site for your plants, one that has the best possible soil, copious sun exposure, and plenty of room.

Site Selection

Watermelons are like any other veggie or fruit vine, in that they spread out and take up as much space as you’ll give them.

Like pumpkins, they can also go outside of their boundaries, looping over fences and even wrapping around other plants.

You’ll want to take this tendency to sprawl into account when you prepare your watermelon patch.

To make sure your melons have plenty of room to grow (and to prevent them from disturbing neighboring plants), you may want to pick a planting area far away from the rest of your garden.

If your garden space is limited and creating a separate melon patch isn’t feasible for you, consider planting them at the edge of your garden and train the vines to grow where they aren’t in the way.

Or you can even go vertical and try your hand at growing your melons on a trellis – though the fruit will need support and the trellis will need to be very sturdy.

One more caveat to consider is that it’s best not to plant watermelons where you grew cucurbits – squash, cucumbers, gourds, or melons – in the past three years, to reduce the risk of pest and disease issues.

Keeping track of crop rotations is fairly easy when you are gardening in raised beds – especially with the help of your garden journal.

Sun

Once you have a potential growing site picked out that provides enough room for 10-foot vines, you’ll want to make sure it also gets plenty of sun.

These plants require a full sun location, which means eight to 10 hours a day – or more – of direct sunlight.

You’ll also need plenty of heat, so if you live somewhere where you have to put on a sweater during the day in midsummer, your best bet would be to grow these fruits in a greenhouse or cold frame.

When preparing your garden beds, make sure to look around and identify any trees that might shade your garden once they fully leaf out, and site your melon patch away from any potential shade.

Remember, at their origins these were desert plants that grew under direct sun with only the shade of their own leaves for protection.

On the other hand, it’s also wise to consider that these plants are descendants of those desert plants and have lost some of their natural resilience to heat through selective breeding.

The fruits of some varieties are prone to sunburn.

If you’re concerned about this risk, pick a sunburn-resistant variety such as ‘Charleston Grey,’ ‘Klondike Blue Ribbon Striped,’ or ‘Sugar Baby.’

Soil

Watermelons grow best in loose, well drained, sandy soil. If you’re unsure what type of soil you have, it’s a good idea to conduct a soil test.

This will give you an understanding of your soil, its pH, and what type of fertilizer, if any, you’ll need.

If you get your soil test results back and learn that you have sandy loam, you’re good to go. If not, you’ll want to mix some sand into your garden soil when you prepare your melon patch.

There is an exception to this – if you are working with clay soil, adding sand can cause the soil to turn into a cement-like substance.

For gardeners with clay, first work on creating a lighter texture by amending it with compost.

In the meantime, your best bet may be to grow your melons in raised beds with a mixture of garden soil and sand.

Your soil test will also provide information about the soil pH. Watermelons grow best in soil with a pH between 6.0-7.5.

Whether you plant in raised beds or in the ground, work compost into the soil at the rate of 50-100 pounds per 1000 square feet to improve soil structure – and be sure to fertilize.

I’ll get to that part shortly.

To keep your soil loose, avoid walking on or otherwise compacting your planting area.

You may want to consider no-till style gardening, but do make sure you loosen up the soil before planting.

Creating Your Melon Patch

Unless you live in an arid climate like I do, you’ll need to mound up small hills to plant your melons on.

This provides a little extra room for the vines to sprawl over and also prevents water from pooling around the main stem.

For those of us in arid climates, I recommend a shallow “crater” rather than a hill to conserve moisture.

To create such a crater, dig a hole about two to three feet across and six inches deep. Take the soil you remove and mound it around the rim.

The depth of these “craters” will help to prevent water from evaporating, and the higher rims will provide your vines with a little extra room to meander down.

A good rule of thumb is to create your mounds or craters about three to six feet apart in rows that are six to 18 feet apart.

These measurements are flexible – just be aware that the vines can easily reach 10 feet in length, and plan accordingly.

In humid climates you may want to opt for the more generous spacing, to help with air circulation and reduce the risk of disease.

Smaller varieties can be planted closer together. Check the spread of your chosen cultivar on your seed packet.

Fertilizer

Once you have prepared your melon patch and before planting, add some fertilizer to your soil.

Before deciding on what type of fertilizer to use and how much, it’s best to refer to the results of your soil test.

These results will alert you to any nutrient deficiencies and provide recommendations for the appropriate type and amount of fertilizer to use for your particular garden soil.

Whatever the results of the soil test, the compost you work into your soil will be a good form of slow-release fertilizer.

Well-rotted manure is an excellent natural fertilizer – just be sure that it comes from a trusted source.

If livestock have been eating feed sprayed with herbicides, chemicals can sometimes pass through in the manure and cause problems when used as a garden amendment.

Personally, I add both well-rotted manure and compost every spring as I am prepping my soil.

If you decide to skip the soil test and don’t want to deal with manure, you can use an all-purpose, balanced fertilizer such as Down to Earth’s 4-4-4 (NPK) vegetable garden fertilizer.

Down to Earth Vegetable Garden 4-4-4 Fertilizer

It’s approved for organic growers, and is available for purchase from Arbico Organics. Apply it according to the instructions on the package.

Once plants are established, feed them with a monthly side dressing of all-purpose fertilizer, a foliar spray of comfrey tea, or some worm compost.

Care and Maintenance

While your watermelons grow, there are a few ways you’ll need to care for them to ensure the best possible harvest.

Watering

Water is key for the growth and development of watermelon plants, so you’ll want to make sure you provide your plants with enough water – but not too much.

While seeds are germinating and when seedlings are young, in my arid climate, I like to make sure to water every day if the soil has dried about.

I stick my finger in the soil about an inch deep to test it. If it’s dry, I give the plants a drink.

Once plants are established, water deeply and consistently, but less frequently – these plants require one to two inches of water a week, so you may not need to irrigate on weeks when you get rain.

As fruits ripen, even watering is important, to prevent fruits from cracking. Since watermelons hold so much water, they can split or crack while ripening if watering is erratic.

Some varieties are resistant to cracking, such as ‘Sugar Baby,’ ‘Mini Love,’ and ‘Gold in Gold.’

When the fruit are a week or so from maturity – you’ll be able to calculate this based on your planting date and the variety’s average number of days to maturity – withhold water to ensure that your fruits are as sweet as possible.

A little less water will create more concentrated sugars in your melons.

And one more thing to remember when you irrigate: try to water at ground level to avoid splashing water on the foliage, which can spread disease.

Mulch

So that all your careful watering doesn’t go to waste, mulch around your plants to prevent the soil from drying out and to keep weeds down.

If weeds do pop up around your seedlings, remove them, but take care not to disturb the seedlings’ roots.

Another advantage of mulching is that when placed under ripening fruits, mulch will help prevent the fruits from rotting.

You can also use mulch to control the temperature around your plants.

As mentioned, watermelons are warm season plants, and they grow best in hot weather.

Once seeds sprout, plants prefer temperatures ranging from 70-90°F during the day and 60-70°F at night.

So if temperatures in your area are hotter than that, try using straw mulch under your plants to keep the soil cool.

The light color will stay cooler than darker colored mulch.

And if your temperatures are on the cooler side? Instead of straw, use a dark colored mulch.

I use dark compost as a mulch in my high-altitude location where the nights are cool. The dark mulch absorbs heat during the day and releases it at night, keeping the soil warmer.

Growing Tips

Cultivars to Select

Big, juicy watermelons with red or bright pink flesh are delicious, but there are many different cultivars to choose from when growing these fruits in the home garden.

Do you like the large, oval shaped fruits best? In that case, go with a picnic type.

Do you prefer the smaller round ones that will easily fit in the fridge? Then you’ll want an icebox variety.

Or are you the adventurous type, looking for surprising features such as yellow flesh or golden skin? There are options in a variety of colors as well!

You’ll discover a wide range of delicious watermelon varieties in our roundup, but to get you started, here are a few of my favorite cultivars:

Congo

A picnic variety large enough to feed a crowd, ‘Congo’ won the All-America Selections award in 1950.

This variety has firm, red flesh with a high sugar content, and is deliciously sweet.

These oblong melons have medium-green rinds with dark green striping and max out at 30-40 pounds when fully ripe.

After you’ve enjoyed the succulent red flesh, don’t throw out the rind! The thick rinds on these fruits are great for pickling.

‘Congo’

Plants grow to 15-24 inches tall with vines spreading 72-96 inches, and they have some resistance to fusarium wilt and good resistance to three races of anthracnose.

Are you ready to give ‘Congo’ a go at your summer gatherings?

If so, you can find seeds in an assortment of packet sizes available at Eden Brothers.

Sugar Baby

‘Sugar Baby’ is a compact icebox type, a heavy producer that thrives in smaller gardens. Fruits are small, round, and perfectly sweet.

This cultivar is a favorite among novice and expert gardeners alike, thanks to its sturdy rind that can resist cracking. Plants are also resistant to blight.

‘Sugar Baby’

‘Sugar Baby’ produces melons with dark green rinds and red flesh that weigh in at around 12 pounds.

Plants mature to 15-24 inches tall with 6 to 8-foot vines that are resistant to both cool weather and drought. Fruits resist cracking and have good sunburn resistance.

This is an early maturing variety – you’ll be harvesting watermelons in just 75 days.

You can find ‘Sugar Baby’ seeds in a variety of packet sizes available at Eden Brothers.

Moon and Stars

‘Moon and Stars’ may just be one of the most beautiful, fascinating varieties to look at.

Its dark green rind displays bright yellow spots, reminiscent of a dark sky twinkling with a large moon and tiny stars.

These unique-looking fruits average 25 pounds at full ripeness and contain sweet, red flesh.

‘Moon and Stars’

Plants grow 15-24 inches tall with vines spreading 72-96 inches and will be ready to harvest in around 100 days.

You can find ‘Moon and Stars’ seeds for purchase in an assortment of packet sizes at Eden Brothers.

Managing Pests and Disease

Once you’ve selected your varieties, planted your seeds, and are patiently waiting to harvest your crop, you’ll need to be on the lookout for damage caused by pests and disease.

This part of gardening is part and parcel of the process – and can even be quite satisfying once you’ve gained a bit of experience with it.

Make sure to practice integrated pest management, a method that takes a longer-term approach to the health of your garden.

Herbivores

It seems everyone’s a fan of watermelons – and that includes some of our neighboring wildlife.

Deer are fond of this fruit and will wreck your ripening crop if you haven’t deer-proofed your garden.

To keep these four-legged friends out of your melon patch, fencing is key.

Check out our article on the best deer fencing to learn more.

Perhaps surprisingly, coyotes also love this tasty and refreshing backyard fruit.

Fencing is a good strategy to keep coyotes out of your garden, but you will require a slightly different style than what you would use for deer.

Russel Link, wildlife biologist with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, explains that coyotes don’t jump over tall fences in a single bound. Instead, they climb them.

To prevent coyotes from getting into your garden, you’ll need to build a fence they can’t climb over – or dig under.

Link recommends starting with five-foot-tall fencing. Then he suggests adding outward-tilting 15-inch extenders to the top of the fence to prevent the canines from climbing over.

And to prevent them from digging under, extend the fence underground about eight inches, using wire mesh.

Alternatively, create an “apron” on the ground that extends 15 inches on the outside of the fence.

Insects

For many gardeners, insects may be more problematic than the furry, four-legged type of garden pest.

To prevent damage, it’s helpful to know which types of insects plague your garden, what they look like, and how to prevent them from destroying your crop.

Keeping insects under control is important not only because these pests can chew up your plants, but because they can also spread disease.

Melon aphids and spider mites can colonize leaf undersides and leaf tips, interfering with photosynthesis. If you notice either of these on your plants, remove them with a strong jet of water from your hose.

Another pest to be on the lookout for is the striped cucumber beetle. Prevent damage from these cucurbit pests by using floating row covers up until flowering – and with regular inspection of your plants.

If you notice pests, pick them off and destroy them.

Learn more about these and other insects that can bug your crops in our article on watermelon pests. (coming soon!)

Disease

Just like other garden plants, watermelons too can succumb to disease from time to time.

Prevention is your best line of defense. Here are some good preventive measures to take:

Now that you’ve familiarized yourself with these effective strategies for watermelon disease prevention, keep an eye out for brown lesions and holes in plant leaves, a sign of anthracnose.

If you notice vine tips wilting, fusarium wilt may be the culprit. There are resistant varieties to each of these fungal diseases, and starting off with these will give your plants an advantage over other cultivars.

Also be on the lookout for blossom-end rot, a nutrient deficiency which also affects tomatoes.

Learn more about these and other common problems in our guide to fighting watermelon disease. (coming soon!)

Harvesting

It’s important to wait until your watermelons are fully ripe before you pick them. This is one fruit, unlike apricots or avocados, that will not continue to ripen after harvest.

However, watermelons can go from unripe to spoiled in just a few days, so be vigilant about checking them as they approach maturity.

When you see the fruit starting to grow large, it’s time to check daily for ripeness.

When you plant your seeds, it’s a good idea to count ahead the number of days to maturity and mark this date on your calendar or in your gardening journal.

That way, when your fruit is approaching full ripeness, you can start keeping an eye on it and will soon be ready to indulge in a sweet, juicy slice of watermelon.

If the fruit has separated from the vine, or the vine is dead, go ahead and pick the fruit. It won’t ripen any further once it’s off the vine.

If the fruit is still attached to the vine, and the vine is alive, there are several different tricks you can use to decide whether a watermelon is ripe or not.

You may want to try out each – or all – of these methods and decide what seems to work best for you:

What? No thumping?

“Thumping” is also a common way to judge whether a watermelon is ripe, but unfortunately this method is unreliable.

A dull thud is supposed to indicate that the fruit is ripe, but it’s not the case with all varieties.

In the case of some cultivars, a dull thud can even indicate that the fruit is overripe.

Another questionable testing method is the fingernail test, in which you scratch the rind with a fingernail to determine whether the fruit is ripe.

The problem with this method is that any damage to the rind serves as a channel for bacteria to enter, which can speed up the rotting process.

If you scratch your melon and decide it’s not ripe, you’re opening the fruit up to the possibility of disease.

To harvest a ripe watermelon, use a sharp knife to cut the fruit off of the vine, leaving a two-inch-long piece of stem on the fruit.

You may have other melons continuing to ripen on that same vine, so be gentle as you cut.

Once the fruit is removed from the vine, handle it gently to avoid bruising or damage to the rind.

Find more tips on determining watermelon ripeness here.

Storage

After you have picked your melons, check to see if any have split or cracked during harvest – if so, these fruits should be used immediately.

Intact fruits can handle some storage. Freshly harvested melons will last seven to ten days when stored indoors at room temperature in the 68-72°F range.

According to Jim Shrefler and colleagues at the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension, watermelons can actually improve in flavor and color when kept at room temperature for up to a week.

Watermelons will keep for two to three weeks in a location with a temperature of 52-60°F and 85-90 percent relative humidity. This could be your basement or root cellar.

What about the refrigerator? Chilling injury can take place when the fruit is stored at temperatures below 50°F.

Once the fruit has been cut, it will keep in the refrigerator for up to five days in an airtight container.

Of course, you may prefer to eat your melon as soon as you harvest it.

Some people prefer it fresh from the garden, while others (this writer included) enjoy it more after it has been chilled in the fridge.

However you prefer your melon, just make sure you thoroughly clean the rind before slicing it open, since bacteria such as E. coli can be transferred from unwashed rinds to the flesh when it’s sliced.

Preserving

There are several ways to preserve this wonderful summer fruit so that you can enjoy it even in the depths of winter.

Drying

Drying or dehydrating is one way to save this fruit for later enjoyment.

Dried watermelon isn’t exactly commonplace in North America, but perhaps it’s ready to become the next big thing.

This dried treat is also called “watermelon jerky,” which should give you an idea of its leathery texture.

Drying fruit results in a more concentrated package of sugars and flavor, and watermelon is no different.

If you are using a dehydrator, refer to the manufacturer’s recommendations on how long to dry the fruit.

For watermelon, cutting it into 1/2-inch-thick slices and drying for around 20 hours at 135°F is a good rule of thumb.

If you’d like to learn more about the process in greater detail, check out this guide to dehydrating fruits and veggies on our sister site, Foodal.

In Asia, watermelon seeds are eaten much like sunflower seeds.

You can try making your own savory seeds for a healthy snack. Prepare them like you would pumpkin seeds – you can learn how to do it on Foodal.

Freezing

If you prefer your watermelon fresh but have a bumper crop that you can’t eat all at once, you can freeze some of it.

You can learn about the best techniques for freezing fruit on our sister site, Foodal.

Freezing does change the texture a bit, so it’s best used where the flavor can shine but the texture no longer matters, such as in smoothies or slushies.

Or instead of freezing it in chunks, you could work some culinary magic on it first. Doesn’t watermelon sorbet sound delicious?

You can learn how to make sorbet out of any type of fruit on Foodal.

Canning

Watermelon can be canned in the form of pickles, jam, juice, or wine.

Since this fruit is a low-acid food, you’ll need to pickle it if you want to can it with a hot water bath, or use a pressure canner for non-acidic preparations.

Ready to be guided through the canning process? There’s a complete guide to canning foods at home also on Foodal.

Recipes and Cooking Ideas

Watermelon is so good to eat by the slice that many of us probably don’t think about adding it as an ingredient to our meals.

But if your thumbs are both bright green and you end up with a giant crop of homegrown watermelons, you might be open to some new ideas.

Here’s a thought – try using it as a salad ingredient. Personally, I love how the flavor of watermelon mixes with feta cheese and fresh mint leaves.

Watermelon provides flavor and texture in fruit salads, but to shake things up a bit, how about using a cookie cutter to cut shapes out of watermelon slices instead of going with standard chunks or balls?

And while star-shaped watermelon pieces might thrill the kids (or your inner child), how about something for the adults?

This delicious recipe for watermelon daiquiris over at Foodal mixes light rum with sweet, frozen watermelon and fresh squeezed lime juice for a drink that is doubly refreshing.

Photo by Nikki Cervone.

Or leave the rum out and make virgin daiquiris instead.

Quick Reference Growing Guide

Plant Type:Annual fruitMaintenance:Moderate
Native to:AfricaTolerance:Heat
Hardiness (USDA Zone):3-9Soil Type:Sandy loam
Season:SummerSoil pH:6. 0-7.0
Exposure:Full sunSoil Drainage:Well-draining
Time to Maturity:70-100 daysCompanion Planting:Buckwheat, cowpeas, nasturtium, radish, rice, scallions, soybeans, sweet clover, tansy, wheat
Spacing:3-6 feet, in rows 6-18 feet apartAvoid Planting With:Corn, sunflowers
Planting Depth:1 inchOrder:Cucurbitales
Height:15-24 inchesFamily:Cucurbitaceae
Spread:10 feet or moreGenus:Citrullus
Water Needs:ModerateSpecies:lanatus
Common Pests:Aphids, cucumber beetles, cutworms, flea beetles, mites, pickle worms, rind worms, squash bugs, squash vine borer, thripsCommon Diseases:Anthracnose, bacterial wilt, cucumber mosaic virus, damping off, downy mildew, fungal leaf spot, fusarium wilt, gummy stem blight, papaya ringspot virus, phytophthora, powdery mildew, root knot nematode, scab, watermelon mosaic virus, zucchini yellow mosaic virus

To Grow Watermelon Is to Love It!

How ’bout it, gardener? Are you ready to grow your own?

Once you’ve put a successful season of watermelon growing behind you, your appreciation for these fruits is sure to grow.

Are you growing watermelons in your garden? Let us know in the comments below!

While we’re on the subject of melons, why not hone your cantaloupe-growing skills too? We have just the articles you’ll need right here:

Watermelon Planting | How to Grow Watermelons – Bonnie Plants

Sweet, juicy homegrown watermelons capture the magic of summer with explosive taste that puts store-bought melons to shame. Like their cantaloupe cousins, watermelons demand 2 to 3 months of heat to produce ripe fruit, which makes growing watermelons in northern regions challenging, but not impossible. By using plastic mulch to warm soil and floating row covers to trap warm air near plants, gardeners in any part of the country can experience the homegrown goodness of watermelons. It also helps to skip the seeds and start with strong watermelon plants from Bonnie Plants®, so you'll already be weeks closer to harvest. (Don't settle for just any plants, either—look for the Bonnie logo.)

Nutritionists have found that watermelon should be in most people's diets because of all the health-promoting vitamin C and antioxidants—including beta-carotene and lycopene—in every bite. These fruits combine great taste with excellent nutrition, with no cholesterol and nearly no fat—in other words, the perfect dessert.

Quick Guide to Growing Watermelon

Soil, Planting, and Care

Growing watermelons requires warm soil. Don't tuck plants into the garden until soil temperature is above 70 degrees F, which typically occurs about the time peonies bloom in northern zones. To be safe, wait until at least 2 weeks past your area's last frost date. Prior to planting, cover soil with black plastic to hasten soil warming. Because watermelons are heavy feeders, prepare your planting bed by adding seaweed, compost, or rotted manure, or amend the soil with aged compost-enriched Miracle-Gro® Performance Organics® All Purpose In-Ground Soil to improve soil texture and nutrition. For best nutrient uptake, the soil pH should be between 6 and 6. 8, although the plants will tolerate a pH as low as 5.

Give watermelon vines plenty of room to roam, which usually means spacing plants 3 to 5 feet apart. After planting, cover seedlings with floating row covers to keep out insects and trap warm air near plants.

Watermelon vines bear male and female flowers. Don't be alarmed when some of the male flowers, which appear first, fall off shortly after they open; they are followed by female blossoms about a week later. The female flowers, which have a small swelling at the base of the flower, stay on the vine to bear fruit. When vines start to bear both male and female flowers, remove row covers.

Tackle weeds before vines start to run because it will be difficult to move among vines at a later stage without crushing them. Mulching soil under the vines helps suppress weeds and slows moisture evaporation.

Water plays an important role in keeping vines healthy and producing delicious fruit. Vines are most sensitive to drought during the time from planting to when fruits start to form. Avoid overhead watering. Soaker hoses or drip irrigation deliver water directly to soil, helping prevent possible spread of fungal diseases among wet foliage. Keep soil consistently moist, but not waterlogged, which will kill plants. It's typical for leaves to wilt under midday sun, but they shouldn't remain wilted into evening. Water vines early in the morning so leaves can dry before sunset, which will further help prevent fungal diseases.

Watermelons take a long time to mature, so be sure your plants are getting a steady source of nutrition throughout the growing season. Starting with nutrient-rich soil is the first step, but then you'll also want to feed them regularly with a premium quality continuous-release fertilizer such as Miracle-Gro® Performance Organics® Edibles Plant Nutrition Granules allowing label directions.

Keep ripening watermelon from direct contact with soil to prevent rot and protect fruit from pests and rodents. When fruit is about the size of a softball, place it on a bed of straw or cardboard. Setting fruit on a light-reflecting surface, such as aluminum foil, will concentrate heat and speed up ripening. If large critters, such as groundhogs, discover your melons, protect ripening fruits by covering them with laundry baskets weighted down with a few bricks.

Some gardeners like to switch fertilizer during the course of the growing season. To do this, use a fertilizer with more nitrogen than phosphorus and potassium during the period between planting and when the first flowers open. Once flowering begins, use a fertilizer with less nitrogen and more phosphorus and potassium, such as African violet food or liquid seaweed.

Some believe that pinching off a vine's growing shoots as watermelons start to ripen will cause the plant to divert all its energies to fruit ripening. Recent research has shown this to be false. It's a vine's leaves that produce the sugars that sweeten fruit, so anything that reduces the total number of leaves available for sugar production actually lessens the sweetness of the melon.

In colder regions, remove any blossoms that start to develop within 50 days of your area's first average frost date. This will help ensure that remaining, larger fruits will ripen before frost.

Troubleshooting

Watermelons are in the same plant family as squash and cucumbers, but they do not cross-pollinate successfully. Your garden will depend on bees to pollinate the flowers, so cool, cloudy weather in the spring will slow down their development, as bees are less active in such conditions. Be patient until the weather warms.

Fungal diseases can multiple rapidly on melon leaves. Alternaria leaf spot, anthracnose, and gummy stem blight produce spots on leaves, while stem blight also forms bleached or tan sections on stems and rot on fruit. Downy mildew causes yellow or pale green leaf spots, while powdery mildew produces white spots on leaves. Treat fungal diseases with fungicides. Check with your local garden center or Extension Service to learn which fungicides are approved in your state for the disease you're fighting.

Also be on the lookout for pests. Melon aphids, for example, can quickly colonize a vine, so inspect leaf undersides daily. If you spot aphids, treat them with insecticidal soap. Spotted and striped cucumber beetles can attack vines, transmitting bacterial wilt disease, which causes vines to collapse without chance of recovery. Treat adult beetles with rotenone or a pyrethrum-based insecticide; apply at dusk to avoid harming honey bees.

For advice on how to control pests and diseases in your garden, contact your regional Extension service.

Harvest and Storage

Watermelons typically ripen over two weeks. As soon as one melon is ripe, the others won't be far behind. About a week before a melon is ripe, water only as necessary to keep vines from wilting. Withholding water causes sugars to concentrate in the fruit. Too much water reduces sweetness.You can judge a watermelon's ripeness by its skin colour. The rind changes from a bright to a dull green, and the part that touches the soil shifts from greenish white or straw yellow to rich, creamy yellow. Gardeners also judge a watermelon's ripeness by rapping on the skin and listening for a low-pitched thud. Tune your ear to the incorrect sound by rapping on a few fruits that aren't ripe. Underripe fruits resonate with a high-pitched, tinny sound.

Watermelons will keep 2 to 3 weeks unrefrigerated. Place them in a cool basement to increase their holding time. After cutting, refrigerate unused portions. If you have extra melon on hand, dice or cut the flesh into balls and freeze for slushies.

Give watermelon vines plenty of room to roam.Crimson Sweet is long-time favorite for its sweet and juicy crimson flesh.Wheat straw is an effective, inexpensive way to keep growing melons from coming in contact with the soil.The color of a ripe watermelon is a little dull compared to one still on the vine, and the underbelly where it was lying on the ground will be yellow.

FAQs

How do you know when a watermelon is ready to be picked?

Ripe watermelons break easily from the vine when twisted. If you try to pick a melon and it fails to twist off easily, it probably isn't ripe yet. Another sign of ripeness is when the underside changes from white to rich yellow.

Will a watermelon turn sweeter the longer you wait after harvest to eat it?

No. Watermelons stop ripening once they are removed from the vine. They should be picked at their desired ripeness.

How do you know if a watermelon is going to be sweet?

If you thump a watermelon and it sounds hollow, then you know it is going to be sweet and delicious.

How do you store watermelons?

Store whole watermelons in a cool place. When a refrigerator is not handy, you can cool watermelons down in a clean creek or ice chest.

Watermelon cultivation technology - Agropakgroup

Climatic conditions

The Ethiopian (Abyssinian) autonomous world center of cultivated plants in the vicinity of the Ethiopian highlands, which is characterized by year-round vegetation, very high temperatures and insufficient moisture, is considered the birthplace of watermelon.

Light

Watermelon requires a lot of light and is a short daylight plant. It is not able to develop normally and give high yields in shading conditions. In gloomy weather, photosynthesis is poor, and few dry substances and sugars accumulate in the fruits. Compaction of crops leads to a lengthening of the ripening period and a decrease in yield. It is most sensitive to light in the phase of 4-5 true leaves. Daily lighting should be at least 10,000 lux. nine0005

Temperature

Watermelon is a heat-loving, heat-resistant and drought-resistant plant that does not tolerate frost. The required sum of active temperatures is 2000-3000 °C. Seeds begin to germinate at a soil temperature of 12-15 °C. The optimum temperature for plant growth and development is 30-45°C. When the temperature drops below 15 °C, the growth and development of plants is delayed, and prolonged exposure to a temperature of 5 ... 10 °C affects them detrimentally. In the early stages, it exhibits resistance to low temperatures. In mini-tunnels in conditions of high humidity, young watermelon plants can withstand significant temperature fluctuations (from 2 to 50 ° C). Seedlings die at -10 °C. For good setting, the average daily temperature should be above 18 ° C. nine0005

Moisture

The formation of the watermelon root system begins before the cotyledons reach the soil surface. The roots reach their maximum total length by the flowering phase. Watermelon has a taproot that penetrates the soil to a depth of 1 m. 15, and sometimes more lateral roots depart from the main root, which also branch into thinner roots. Thus, in the arable layer of soil at a depth of 15-30 cm, a powerful root system is formed, which covers up to 7-10 m3 of soil. A feature of the watermelon root system is a large suction power, which is able to use moisture at a soil moisture content of 6%. The suction force reaches 1 MPa (10 atmospheres), which explains the drought resistance of the plant, however, watermelon requires irrigation to obtain high yields. To accumulate 1 kg of dry matter, he needs 300-350 liters of water. To get 5 kg of fruits from 1 m2, watermelon requires 160 liters of available water per 1 m2 with optimal mineral nutrition. The need for watermelon in soil moisture depends on the phase of crop development. Depending on the phase of development, plants are characterized by different transpiration coefficients (Table 1). nine0005


Tab. 1. Transpiration coefficient of watermelon plants depending on the phase of development

The plant needs the most water during flowering and fruit formation, however, watermelon reacts negatively to excessive soil and air moisture, which causes:
• Growth retardation
• Vegetation lengthening sugar content

Excess or lack of water during the formation of fruits greatly affects their size and quality. The optimal moisture content of the arable soil layer for watermelon is 75-80% HB, air - 50-60%. nine0019

Soil

Usually the soil is not a limiting factor influencing the productivity of watermelon, which is not too demanding on fertility, but high yields are formed in well-cultivated warm areas. It can grow both on poor sandy, heavy and stony soils, and on fertile chernozems. It is only necessary to avoid cold clay areas with excess moisture. The soil should not swim and should be well aerated. Watermelon grows best in sandy soils. Prefers light or well-cultivated virgin lands. nine0019
The acidity of the area where the watermelon will grow should be determined, as too high (> 9) or low (< 4) pH is toxic to plant roots. Within these values, pH determines the behavior of certain nutrients, their settling or transition into forms inaccessible to the plant. On acidic soils (pH 4.0-5.5), iron, aluminum and manganese are in a form available to the plant, but their concentration reaches a toxic level. At the same time, the entry of phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, calcium, magnesium, and molybdenum into the plant is hindered. On acidic soils, increased loss of plants without external causes, the development of diseases and pests can be observed. On alkaline (pH 7.5-8.5) iron, manganese, phosphorus, copper, zinc, boron, and most trace elements become less available to plants. This can lead to a number of diseases and cause deterioration in the quality of the fruit. nine0019
The most accurate method for determining acidity is soil analysis (see P. Soil Analysis).

Watermelon is moderately sensitive to soil salinity. On fig. 1 shows yield losses depending on soil salinity.


Crop rotation

The alternation of crops on the field with a frequency of 3-4 years makes it possible to reduce the accumulation of pests, diseases and weeds that are most harmful to watermelon. Watermelon should not be grown in the same field for more than two years in a row. This contributes to the mass development of diseases, an increase in the number of pests, a decrease in yield and quality of fruits. The best predecessors for watermelon are winter wheat after black fertilized fallow, perennial grasses, corn for green fodder. In a vegetable crop rotation, watermelon can be grown after root crops, onions, cabbage. nine0005


SOIL TILLAGE
Soil analysis

Soil analysis is one of the key factors in growing watermelon. This event provides an opportunity to understand whether a given field is suitable for cultivation, as well as to draw up a crop nutrition scheme. Samples from the field where the watermelon will grow should be taken in early spring. First, the area must be examined in terms of the degree of uniformity. Soil uniformity indicators in the field are:
• Color
• Structure
• Surface topography
• Infestation

The maximum size of the area for sampling should not exceed 25 ha. For a field of 100-200 ha, sampling can be carried out every 50 ha, but on condition that the surface is even. In the case of landscape unevenness of the field, samples should be taken every 25 ha and it should be clearly recorded which sample belongs to which unevenness. The weighted average sample is formed from 10-20 samples, depending on the area of ​​the site that is being investigated. Samples are taken with a drill from a depth of 20-25 cm, following the principle of randomization. The collected samples are mixed in a clean paper bag or cardboard box. Such a sample should be signed and sent to the laboratory as soon as possible. nine0019
The soil sample should not be placed in a plastic bag or sealed box, as the lack of oxygen can cause chemical reactions, making the chemical test more difficult. The sample must be able to lose moisture while waiting for analysis. It is a good idea to dry the sample with dry air, the temperature of which does not exceed 30°C, as the high temperature may destroy some constituents.

The soil sample must not be contaminated with pesticides or fertilizers prior to analysis, which must determine the acidity, mechanical and chemical composition of the soil, and also include the following indicators:
• Particle size distribution
• Acidity (pH)
• Organic material
• Salinity (es)
• Exchangeable cations (soil-absorbing complex)
• Macroelements (n, p, k) 9002 Basic tillage

5 90 The field begins to be prepared at the end of summer.

After collecting the predecessor, the soil is disked, the weeds are given time to grow. If perennial weeds are present on the field, spraying with continuous herbicides is carried out. When using herbicides of this group, the following tips should be followed:
• Let the weeds grow to a height of 10-15 cm
• Do not apply the product if drought or frost has affected more than 40% of the green mass of the weeds
• Application rate is 3-4 l / ha

The next mechanical tillage should be carried out after 12- 14 days after drug use.

After the end of the herbicide action, plowing is carried out to a depth of 25-30 cm. Cultivation is carried out as the weeds germinate. Semi-fallow soil preparation makes it possible to sow winter wheat or rye for backstage. nine0005
Pre-sowing tillage

In the spring, as soon as the weather and the maturity of the soil allow, moisture is closed by harrowing. In the future, before sowing watermelon, all measures are aimed at the destruction of weeds. For this, harrowing or cultivation or spraying with herbicides of continuous action is systematically carried out, but not later than 10-15 days before sowing. The last measure allows not only to destroy weeds, but also to keep moisture in the soil, since any mechanical processing of the field leads to a loss of moisture. nine0019
When using mulch (see paragraph "Mulching"), one month before sowing, insert a mulching film.


Inter-row tillage

The first cultivation of to a depth of 12-15 cm is carried out as soon as the rows are marked. When using mulch, row spacing can be cultivated earlier. Cultivation destroys all threads and shoots of weeds. At the same time, the weeds in the holes should be destroyed to provide a strong start for seedlings. When mulching, especially thorough weeding in the holes is necessary, since under favorable conditions created by the film, weeds germinate more intensively than in the aisle. nine0019
Second cultivation - after 8-10 days to a depth of 10 cm.

Third cultivation - when the stems reach a length of 60-100 cm. It should be carried out as late as possible. The cultivation depth is 5 cm, since the root has already grown and should not be injured.


MULCHING

Growing vegetables using plastic sheeting to cover the soil surface is becoming increasingly popular. Watermelon gives very good results with this technology. nine0005

Benefits of mulching

Despite the additional costs for the film, this technology pays off due to the following advantages:
• Protection of watermelon plants from weeds in the early stages of growth in lines
• Heat accumulation and reduction of soil temperature fluctuations in the day and night periods
• Accumulation and preservation of moisture (table. 2)
• Receipt of products 7-10 days earlier


Tab. 2. Changes in the water balance of plants when using polyethylene film for mulching

Mulch film types

There are several types of mulching films of different colors. Each of them has its own properties (Table 3).


Tab. 3. Types of polyethylene films for mulching

When using a mulching film, remember that it creates a favorable temperature regime under it and retains moisture longer. This leads to the movement from row spacing to rows of soil pests (primarily larvae of Kovalik (wireworm), sandy midlyak (false wireworm), sprout fly (see p. "Pests"). Therefore, sowing seeds must be combined with the use of soil insecticides. nine0019

SEEDS

The main indicators that characterize the suitability of seeds for sowing are:
• Similarity - the number of normally germinated seeds for a certain period under optimal germination conditions.
• Germination energy - the speed and friendliness of the appearance of sprouts in a relatively short period of time.
• Varietal purity - the content in the seed material of seeds with all the characteristics inherent in this variety.

In addition to the high seed quality of Syngenta, it has a number of economic advantages:
• calibrated. The same seed size when using precision seeders allows you to get a given crop density.
• Seed treated with fungicide. Seed treatment protects seedlings in the early stages of development from pathogens that are in the soil.

SEV

Only high quality seeds treated with fungicides should be sown. Direct seeding is the cheapest way to grow watermelons. Plants obtained by direct seeding are more resistant to drought and other stresses, but the harvest will always ripen later compared to seedlings. Direct seeding requires perfect soil preparation, the main task of which is:
• Retaining moisture for uniform seedlings
• Creating the perfect soil structure for uniform seeding depth

Planting Timing

Sowing should begin when the temperature of the soil at the depth of seed wrapping reaches 12 °C. Seedlings usually appear on the 8-10th day. If the soil temperature is lower, the seeds will germinate very slowly, which will affect the uniformity of plants and lead to economic losses, since heterogeneous crops are difficult to care for, harvest, and heterogeneous products are difficult to sell. nine0005

Seed depth

The seeding depth ranges from 3 to 6 cm and depends on its size (the shallower, the shallower the depth), soil type (deeper on light soils, finer on heavy soils), soil moisture (seeds should be placed on a wet bed).

Seeding patterns

There are many different seeding schemes (Table 4). The choice of the optimal scheme is influenced by:
• Method of cultivation (direct sowing or seedling, watering or rainfed)
• Type of watermelon (early or late, seeded or seedless)
• Desired fruit size (weight) (more than 8 kg or 3-5 kg)


Tab. 4. Watermelon sowing scheme and plant density

Seedlings

The technology of the seedling growing method has been known for several centuries, it has its advantages and disadvantages:

Growing seedlings is based on four basic points:
• The substrate for seedlings must be free from weeds, pests and diseases
• Adequate temperature and humidity conditions
• Intense and high-quality lighting
• Temperature and water hardening before planting in open ground

Cassettes and growing conditions

Young watermelon plants experience shock if the roots are disturbed even minimally during transplantation. In this regard, watermelon is sown directly in cassettes, which are then transported to the field. Usually the size of the cassette is more important than its type (Table 5). Large cell cassettes are used to grow seedlings to adulthood, or they are used when planting dates are difficult to predict. If planting needs to be delayed due to weather conditions, in a 68x68 mm cell, the roots of the seedlings will not be stressed, since the volume of the substrate is larger. Sowing seeds is carried out in a wet substrate, one seed per cell. After sowing, the cassettes are watered with a small amount of water. The next watering is carried out after the emergence of shoots. During the growth of seedlings, watering is carried out when the substrate dries. Daily watering may become necessary when the seedlings are suitable for transplanting. Cassettes are watered until water begins to flow out through the lower holes in the cells. Watering is best done in the morning so that the leaves dry out by night. nine0005


Tab. 5. Characteristics of cassettes for growing seedlings of watermelon


Tab. 6. Optimal conditions for growing seedlings

Hardening

Hardening of watermelon seedlings should begin 3-4 days before planting in the ground. Hardening occurs by lowering the temperature in the greenhouse and reducing the amount of watering. Hardened plants are more resistant to low temperatures, droughts, dry winds, they develop new roots much faster than non-hardened ones, however, plants that are too hardened grow more slowly and in some cases never fully recover. nine0005

Disembarkation

Watermelon seedlings should be planted slightly deeper than they grew in the greenhouse. This avoids damage to the root collar by winds. None of the parts of the peat cup should protrude onto the surface of the soil. Thus, the peat begins to work as a tampon that absorbs moisture from the soil, and can cause water stress for seedlings. After planting, seedlings should be watered as soon as possible to destroy air pockets formed during planting and moisten the soil. This will contribute to the rapid development of the root system. nine0005

Backstage

Wind stress slows down the development of the plant, due to which the growing season of watermelon increases. The plant itself is experiencing mechanical damage. Backstage is an effective method of reducing the influence of wind and accelerating plant development. Preservation of the wings before the flowering period improves fruit set by reducing moisture loss during the critical period. Backstage is sown in advance before sowing watermelon, so that when a crop appears on the field, they have already acquired a sufficient size and are able to significantly reduce wind speed. Wind protection is needed when the plant is young and vulnerable. Therefore, at the same time, sowing backstage with watermelon does not give a significant protective effect. The best backstage is winter wheat or winter rye sown in autumn. This event is possible subject to the preparation of the soil by the semi-fallow method. nine0019

Width and distance between backstage can be different, from 7 to 15 m. In the future, the wings can be used as technological paths during harvesting. By the time the lashes reach the wings, they can be destroyed mechanically or with an appropriate herbicide.

THERMOS (MINI-TUNNELS)

Widely used technology for early production in the world, which makes it possible to start harvesting 1-2 weeks earlier. Temporary cover should be applied with mulching films. The double use of the film (one as a mulch, the other as a shelter) was called the "thermos". nine0019
To create a tunnel above the lines, metal arcs 150-160 cm long are installed at a distance of 1.5-2.0 m from each other. The arcs are covered with a film 140 cm wide, and the edges are sprinkled with earth (Fig. 2).

POLLINATION

Watermelon is pollinated by insects, so the use of pollinating insects or the creation of favorable conditions for their development in the field during flowering is an important measure of agricultural technology in the cultivation of watermelon. Efficient pollination increases yield, early maturity and product quality. nine0019
Male and female flowers are separated on plants. Male flowers are smaller than female ones, they have 5 stamens, 4 of which fuse in pairs, and 1 remains free (Fig. 3). Female flowers have a pubescent ovary with a five-pointed stigma (Fig. 4).



Male flowers produce pollen, which is carried by insects (mainly bees) to female flowers. For full pollination to occur, the bee must visit the female flower 8 or more times. Wind dispersal of pollen is inefficient. nine0005

There are a number of factors that affect pollination:

• Weather: Cloudy, temperatures below 15°C. Wind speed over 15 km/h. reduce bee activity. If such weather is maintained during the period of flowering and formation of the ovary, then full pollination can ensure the placement of additional hives on the field.

• Competitive flowering: Watermelon flowers are not very attractive to bees compared to flowers from other crops or weeds. The neighborhood of watermelon with honey plants should be avoided, and honey weeds should be destroyed during the flowering period of watermelon. nine0019
• Watermelon flowers open for one day . Male flowers appear first, produce pollen and fall off. Female flowers, if not dusty, also fall off. Therefore, hives should be placed around the field (if its area is less than 20 ha) or on the field itself, as soon as the first flowers appear. Bees are most active in the morning (during summer) and collect mainly pollen, and nectar in the afternoon.

• Placement of hives: bees usually fly to flowers that are closest to the hive, up to 90 m.

• Pesticides: Pesticides, especially insecticides, can kill both wild and domestic bees. Therefore, the application of herbicides, insecticides and fungicides should be completed before flowering. If there is a need to use plant protection products during the flowering period, then they should be sprayed in the evening, when the flowers are closed and the activity of bees is minimal.

• Irrigation: Sprinkling may reduce pollination. Watermelon flowers fill with water and attract bees less. Sprinkler irrigation should be avoided during the period of active flowering of watermelon. nine0019
For full pollination, 500 to 1000 pollen grains must fall on the stigma of the pistil. If the stigma receives less pollen, twisted (malformed) fruits may form. In elongated watermelons, the fruits will be narrowed due to the formation of seeds in one part of the fruit and the lack of formation in the other.

During flowering, a survey should be carried out to determine the activity of cross-pollination of flowers by bees. To do this, between the 8th and 10th o'clock in the morning, 100 flowers are examined for the presence of bees. To obtain early production, hives should be placed on the field no later than a week after the appearance of male flowers. The stay of bee colonies on the field should last no more than a month. A longer stay does not give a significant increase in yield, but only increases the risk of bees getting under chemical treatment. nine0005

NUTRITION

Watermelon is very sensitive to the application of mineral fertilizers, the use of which can increase yield by 25-50% and sugar content by 2-3%. When growing watermelon on irrigated lands with the application of fertilizers, an increase in yield and sugar content is possible, while irrigation without fertilizer reduces the sugar content of fruits.

1.83 kg of nitrogen, 0.75 kg of phosphorus and 3.17 kg of potassium are removed from 1 ton of watermelon products. As for trace elements, watermelon is most sensitive to a lack of boron, manganese, iron and zinc. The dose of fertilizer application depends on the analysis of the soil, climate, sowing time, characteristics of the variety or hybrid. Some growers increase yields by increasing the size of the fruit by overfeeding with nitrogen. This leads to an increase in the size of the cells themselves, and not their number. Such enlarged cells accumulate a large amount of water, the walls become thin, which leads to a decrease in plant immunity, loss of taste, keeping quality and transportability of fruits. nine0019
Therefore, proper and balanced watermelon nutrition allows you to get not only high, but also high-quality yields.

Main feed

The feed system is developed based on soil analysis. When growing rainfed watermelon, mineral fertilizers are applied under autumn plowing or under early spring cultivation. The approximate norm is N60 P90 K60. Phosphorus and potash fertilizers (2/3 of the norm) are applied for plowing, 2/3 of nitrogen fertilizers for early spring cultivation. The last thirds of NPK are added as top dressings, since watermelon consumes 70% of the nutrients in the last 3-4 weeks before ripening. Feeding after fruit set by fertigation is the most effective, but requires additional investment in drip irrigation. nine0005

Fertigation

Fertigation is the application of soluble mineral fertilizers simultaneously with irrigation water through drip irrigation systems.

The advantages of this method are:
• Application of a balanced ratio of npk
• Timely provision of plants with the necessary nutrients
• Application of fertilizers in small doses
• Higher fertilizer absorption rate
• Ability to grow crops on poor soils
• Saving labor and energy costs for fertilization (Table 7)


Tab. 7. Fertilizer consumption with different application methods

The use of such a feeding system requires a high level of knowledge and skills.

Foliar nutrition

Foliar nutrition allows you to provide the plant with the necessary trace elements in the most vulnerable phases of their development. This type of nutrition is carried out by spraying plants with special mineral fertilizers with trace elements. nine0019
The most critical development phases for watermelon plants are:
• Beginning of flowering
• Beginning of ovary formation
• Fruit formation (one month before harvest)

Stimulants (amino acids) should be used to overcome stress caused by adverse weather conditions or the use of herbicides . They can be used both before flowering and during fruit formation. Stimulants of this type can be applied simultaneously with foliar top dressings and fungicides. This, in turn, also improves the penetration of nutrients and pesticide active ingredients into the leaf tissue. nine0019
They consist of nucleotides, stimulate the division of essential amino acids and vitamins in cells. As a result, the most important metabolic reactions are activated and the adaptability of cells to various types of stress increases.

IRRIGATION

Despite the crop's low moisture requirements, watermelon requires irrigation to produce high yields of high quality. A slight restriction in irrigation does not greatly affect the number of fruits on a watermelon plant, but it does affect their size, shape, weight and quality. nine0019
THERE ARE THREE BASIC IRRIGATION METHODS FOR WATERMELON:

1. Furrow irrigation

Widely used in the past. Now it is applied only in the absence of restrictions in water resources. The efficiency of furrow irrigation is low and depends on soil structure, which can vary significantly even within the same field. In addition, this method requires a significant amount of human labor.

2. Drip irrigation

Recently, it has become more and more widespread. Allows more efficient use of water resources, as well as fertilizers and plant protection products. When using mulching, drip irrigation is the optimal method, especially in those conditions where the natural water resource is limited during the growing season. However, for the maximum efficiency of the application of this irrigation system, it is necessary to know the characteristics of each individual field. Particular attention should be paid to the quality of the water, in particular the salt content, the structure of the soil, whether the irrigation tape will be buried in the soil. It is known, for example, that burying the tube to a depth of 5-10 cm achieves the best results. nine0005

3. Irrigation

Also used if there are no restrictions on water resources. When irrigating by this method, rows of sprinklers, water pistols, mobile sprinklers - "Fregat", "DDA", "Volzhanka" and others are used. This method allows you to evenly distribute irrigation water over the surface of the field.

Time of irrigation

Water stress is most harmful before emergence, at the beginning of flowering and in the last 10 days before harvest. Insufficient moisture during sowing will negatively affect planting density and uniformity of seedlings. Lack of water during flowering will result in reduced set and increased fruit distortion. Inadequate watering during the ripening period of the fruit can provoke subsidence of the tops, which leads to a decrease in the size of the fruit. Lack of moisture during this period can also cause cracking and distortion of the fruit. On the other hand, excessive watering during ripening can lead to porosity and fibrous pulp, a decrease in sugar content, and a negative impact on taste. nine0019
To obtain high quality yields, the main tasks for watering are:
• Start watering after the formation of the ovary
• Regular watering (periodicity from 1 to 5 days)
• Stop watering 7-10 days before harvest
• On sandy soils watering should be continued until harvest

HARVEST

Field maturity

By the beginning of harvest, the watermelon should be ripe in the field. Fruits plucked earlier will never get the required color and full taste. Watermelon reaches its optimum for consumption when the flesh acquires a sweet taste, crisp texture and bright red color (there are some varieties and hybrids that have light red and even yellow flesh). Without cutting the fruit and tasting it, it is rather difficult to determine ripeness. nine0019
External maturity indicators are as follows:
• Dry tendril at the stem
• Discoloration or waxy coating on the skin
• Intense yellow soil stain
• A "hollow" sound when tapped is not always an indicator that the taste of the watermelon has received your maximum.

Because consumers prefer sweet watermelon, total sugar content is an important quality indicator. To determine ripeness, a few fruits in the field should be randomly selected, an organoleptic evaluation carried out, and the sugar content determined using a refractometer (Fig. 5). The suitability of watermelons for mass consumption is determined by the sugar level of 10% or more in the pulp from the center of the fruit. If the selected samples are ripe, then the rest of the watermelons are also ripe. nine0005

Harvest

Harvest the fruit in the field carefully to avoid breaking or damaging the skin. It is better to cut watermelons from the stem, and not to tear off or unscrew. During separation, there is a possibility of bacteria and fungi entering the fruit, which will cause the pulp to rot. After cutting off the fruit, it is carefully transferred to the vehicle and taken out of the field. If it is necessary to temporarily store watermelons in the field before being loaded onto vehicles, two points should be taken into account:
• Burts should be placed in the shade near forest belts or covered with a layer of tops
• Cut fruits are placed upside down as this surface area is more prone to sunburn

Storage

The period between harvest and consumption of watermelons is a critical factor in determining when to harvest. For the most distant markets, watermelon is harvested when it is not fully ripe, in order to avoid the destruction of the pulp of the fruit during transportation. Watermelon should be consumed within 2-3 weeks of picking. Otherwise, it loses the crunchiness of the pulp. The optimum temperature for storing watermelons is 10-15°C with a relative humidity of 85-90%.

Information provided by "Syngenta"

Planting watermelons in a greenhouse, including polycarbonate, as well as plant placement

Sun and heat are the main factors necessary for the active growth and maturation of watermelons. Therefore, they grow especially well in the sunny south. But this does not mean that watermelons can only grow there. The cultivation of melons and gourds is successfully carried out in central Russia, in the northern regions and Siberia. Getting a crop of watermelons in a cold climate is not as difficult as it seems at first glance. In greenhouse conditions, they grow in any climate, and every summer resident can master the process of preparing seedlings and planting. nine0005

Preparing for planting

Preliminary steps before planting watermelon seedlings in the greenhouse include:

Greenhouse and seed selection

First, you need a greenhouse. It can be anything: film, glass, polycarbonate. The main condition is that its height should be about 2 meters. Watermelons are powerful plants, in the greenhouse they climb up the trellis to a great height, reaching two meters. nine0005

The greenhouse should be prepared in early spring, as soon as the snow melts.

Preparing the greenhouse for watermelons in early spring

Secondly, you need to choose the right seeds. They must match the climate zone. Let the fruits not be as large as we would like, but they will have time to ripen and be sweet and tasty.

For starters, you can grow an early ripening and unpretentious variety Ogonyok. Its fruits are small, up to one and a half kilograms, black-green, but very sweet and sugary. nine0005

Early maturing variety of watermelon Ogonyok is ideal for growing in a greenhouse

When planting watermelons

Watermelon does not tolerate cold, so do not rush to plant it in a greenhouse without additional heating until it warms up and the danger of frost has passed. In the central region, watermelons are usually planted in the second decade of May, in the northern regions - in the third decade, in the southern regions they can be planted from the end of April. These are approximate dates. With a long spring, the planting time may increase by a week, with an early spring it can be reduced. nine0005

Important! The soil temperature when planting watermelons should be at least 12–14 ºC.

Growing seedlings

25-30 days before planting in the greenhouse, sow watermelon seeds for seedlings. To do this, you need a soil mixture in the composition:

Seeds are sorted in a salt solution (1 teaspoon of salt per glass of water). Floating seeds are not used. The rest are washed in warm water, disinfected in a 1% potassium permanganate solution for 30 minutes, washed again and soaked in warm water or in an immunostimulant solution (Epin).

After 3 days, the seeds hatch, they are immediately placed in pots with soil mixture to a depth of 2-3 cm, covered with foil and put in a warm place. When sprouts appear, the film is removed, and the air temperature is reduced to 18–20 ºC. nine0005

Note. For normal growth of seedlings, it is necessary to provide good lighting for 12-14 hours a day.

After 10 days, the seedlings are fed for the first time with a complex mineral fertilizer. In total, you need to feed 2 times.

After 3-4 weeks the seedlings have 3-5 true leaves and are ready to plant out.

Good seedlings are a necessary condition for getting a crop of watermelons in a greenhouse

How to plant watermelons in a greenhouse

The technology for planting watermelons in a greenhouse is as follows:

  1. To plant watermelons, you need to prepare the ground in advance. The beds, the width of which must be at least 1 meter, are formed along the entire length of the greenhouse.
  2. A week before planting, they dig up the soil on a spade bayonet, remove the top earth, then fill the beds with rotted manure and hay instead. The soil should be light and loose. You can add one bucket of sand per 1 square meter.
  3. After that, nitrogen fertilizers are scattered over the beds and watered well with hot water. nine0393
  4. The bed is then sprinkled with earth 2–3 cm thick and covered with black covering material. This is done to warm the earth.

Instead of digging the entire bed, prepare holes 50 cm in diameter, staggered . The distance between the holes should also be 50 cm. It should not be deepened, otherwise the plant may rot in case of overflow.

For your information. Two plants can be placed in one hole, then spread them apart.

Planting schemes

Watermelons are planted in different ways, but the best option is this: on a ridge 90 cm wide and 20 cm high, make a comb 50 cm wide and 18–20 cm high . For single row planting, leave a distance of 40–50 cm between plants.

Single row planting of watermelons is suitable for a compact greenhouse

For double row planting, plants are planted in a checkerboard pattern. The distance between plants in a row is 70 cm.

Two-line planting of watermelons in a greenhouse is used more often

Video: the secrets of planting watermelons

Distance between watermelons in a polycarbonate greenhouse

Polycarbonate has high light transmission and strength. Greenhouses from it are becoming more common among summer residents.

When growing gourds in such greenhouses, the main condition is the height, as well as for any other greenhouses. It must be at least 1.7 meters. nine0005

Planting watermelons is no different from other greenhouses. The distance between watermelon seedlings can be different, ranging from 0.5 to 1 meter. The recommended average distance is 70 cm .

The neighborhood of watermelons with other crops

Other plants can be planted with watermelons. This is, first of all, a melon, also belonging to the gourd family. Gourds grow well next to tomatoes, eggplants, bell peppers and other drought-resistant plants .

Important! It is better not to grow moisture-loving crops nearby. Melons do not like high humidity and drafts. They begin to rot at a moisture content of more than 60%.

Cucumbers, for example, are very fond of water and need regular ventilation. This does not mean that they cannot be planted in the same greenhouse with watermelons at all. It is possible, but only on condition that a windless dry corner is allocated to the watermelons, and the cucumbers at the other end are provided with the necessary watering and ventilation.

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