Content

• Steps
• Advice
• Warning
• What you need

Watermelon (scientific name Citrullus lanatus) is a vines with large, wrinkled leaves. They are hot-loving species, once the sapling stage is over, it will easily grow without much care. This article will guide you on how to grow and care for a watermelon plant.

Steps

Part 1 of 3: Planting Preparation

1. 

   Choose the variety of melons you want to grow. Watermelon comes in a wide variety of sizes, from about 1.3 kg to 32 kg, and can be red or yellow in color. The Jubilee, Charleston Gray, and Congo melon varieties produce large, oval-shaped pods, while Sugar Baby and Ice Box produce smaller, spherical fruit varieties.
   • Decide if you are going to plant seeds or grafting buds. Watermelon seeds can only germinate where temperatures are above 21 degrees Celsius. If you live in a cold climate, it is better to keep the seeds indoors for a few weeks before the end of the frost season. seeds can germinate into seedlings in time for the planting season. If not, sow the seeds straight into the ground after the cold season has passed, by a time when the temperature has stabilized above 21 degrees Celsius.
   • Watermelon seeds and shoots are available at nurseries in early spring.

2. 

   
   
   Choose a planting location. Watermelon plants need at least 6 hours of sun exposure per day. They grow into large overgrown vines and take up a lot of space; Plan to plant each tree in an area with side dimensions of 1.2 m and 1.8 m, unless you want to plant a tiny melon.

3. 

   Plow. Use a plow to plow the entire layer of soil and crush large blocks of soil. Get rid of the weeds or bury them deep in the ground.
   • Watermelon plants prefer humus, fertile, and easily drained soil. To see if your soil is well drained, watch the soil after a heavy rain. If you see puddles of water on the surface, the soil is not draining well enough.
   • To enrich the soil, fertilize the topsoil.
   • Watermelons grow best when grown in soils with a pH between 6.0 and 6.8. Test the pH of your soil and see if this is suitable for growing watermelons. If this is not the case, you can change the concentration by adding compounds available at the nursery.
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Part 2 of 3: Growing Watermelon Trees

1. 

   
   
   Create soil tissue. Using a tractor or pickaxe, create s tissue soil (like a hill) to sow seeds. The distance between the plots is from 1.2 m to 1.8 m, depending on the amount of land you have. Raising each mound of soil will ensure the soil is loose enough to help the roots grow, provide enough oxygen for each plant, and prevent water from flooding the roots. This will also help retain moisture in dry weather.

2. 

   
   
   Drills. Create a flat, slightly concave surface on top of the mound, using your finger or a tool to poke three to four holes into the soil, each about 2.5 cm deep. Sow one to four seeds in each hole, then cover with soil, and gently press the ground so that the seeds are well wrapped and moisture escapes around the seeds.

3. 

   Watch for sprouting melon sprout. Seeds will usually germinate and reach young plants within 7-10 days, depending on the soil temperature and the depth of seeding. Keep the soil around seeds moist during germination; water it so that it penetrates the small growing roots.
   • Once the seedlings have grown, keep only the two strongest plants, allowing the healthy ones to have room to grow.
   • Don't let the soil dry out; You should water at least once a day.

4. 

   Make up each mound of soil with appropriate material when the sapling has reached a height of about 10 cm. You can choose pine straw, linen, or fertilizers. Try to cover as close to the trunk as possible to prevent weeds, keep moisture, and prevent the soil around the young roots from overheating in the sun.

5. 

   Reduce watering when plants flower. Once the flowers are in place, water the plant every three days if it dries out. However, do not over-water, as watermelon plants have a low water requirement.
   • Keep the leaves and pods dry. You can place the watermelon on a clean piece of wood, slippery rock, brick, etc.
   • On hot days, leaves can become chlorotic even though the soil is still damp. If you find your leaves wilt in the evening after a hot day, water them deeply into the ground.
   • Sweeten melons by not watering for a week before harvest. However, do not do so if the vines are wilting. Once you have harvested the fruit, return to the original watering amount for a good second crop.

6. 

   Clear the grass regularly. Be careful to remove grass around the base of the tree, along and in front of the vines. advertisement

Part 3 of 3: Harvesting Watermelon

1. 

   Make sure the melon is ripe. Under perfect growing conditions, the watermelon will grow to absolute sweetness within four months in warm weather.Harvesting the melon before ripe will make the melon less delicious.
   • To see how ripe a melon is, tap. The deep, dull sound means the melon is ripe. Also, flip the skin underneath - ripe melon when the bottom has turned white or light yellow.
   • Dried twisted tassel near the stem is also a sign that the melon is ready for harvest.

2. 

   Cut the watermelon from the vine of the vine. Use a sharp knife or garden scissors to cut the melons from the vine near the fruit. Freshly harvested melons will be stored for about 10 days. advertisement

Advice

• Each vine will produce two to five melons.

Warning

• Watch out for melon beetles; This insect loves melons. Other harmful insects include aphids and ticks.
• Don't delay harvesting the melons for too long as the melons will overcook.
• Apricot blight and powdery mildew can harm watermelon. Note that melon beetles often carry the bacteria that cause bacterial wilt, keep everything under control.
• Watermelon plants are very susceptible to cold frost damage.
• Do not sow seeds until temperature stabilizes at a minimum of 15.5 ° C. Suitable soil temperature is about 24ºC. You can sow the seeds in the pot first if needed.
• Watermelon is very sensitive to fertilizer fires; Please mix chemical fertilizers carefully before fertilizing and use only in moderate amounts.

What you need

• Equiment to doing garden
• Watermelon seeds or seedlings if sowing indoors