Features of growing melon in the country

How often do you need to water melons and what does it depend on?

The frequency and intensity of watering melons depends on what stage of growth the plant is in. Before the melons bloom, they do not need too much watering; approximately once every two days, about 3 liters of water should be poured under each bush. As soon as the period of active flowering begins, the plant requires another type of watering, in which its frequency is reduced to 2 times every 7 days, but the volume increases to 6 liters. After the flowers begin to transform into fruits, watering is carried out even less frequently, approximately once every 10 days, and more water will be required - from 10 to 12 liters for each planting. Before harvesting, watering stops altogether; this occurs within 10-14 days.

When to harvest?

Timely harvesting of fruits is an equally important and final stage. A fragrant and specific smell indicates that the fruits are ripe. Harvest time usually occurs at the end of summer. The maturity of the fruit can also be determined by its base. When pressed, it should be soft and leave indentations.

Ripe melons grown in a greenhouse are recommended to be eaten immediately. During long-term storage, harmful microorganisms may appear on the fruits. To prevent spoilage, melons should be stored in a dry place, away from dampness and cold.

By adhering to the above technology, you are guaranteed success in growing this delicious fruit in a greenhouse or in the country.

How to tell if melons need watering

There are several signs that indicate that a melon needs watering:

• seeds do not germinate;
• seedlings are weak, grow poorly and slowly;
• the bush looks stunted, the root system is weak and poorly developed;
• leaves wither, become deformed and fall off;
• too few ovaries are formed;
• The fruits are small and irregular in shape.

How to speed up the ripening of melons?

Summer residents often face this problem. The melon, it would seem, has grown a long time ago, but for some reason it does not ripen. Or it begins to turn yellow due to mechanical damage to the fruit, simultaneously ripening and rotting. How to speed up the natural ripening of juicy and aromatic fruits? Here are some practical tips.

To get an earlier harvest of melon, experienced gardeners recommend pruning it three times. The first should follow immediately after the appearance of four large leaves, the second should be the removal of new shoots formed under the third leaf, and the final one should be after the appearance of the first fruits. In this case, the shoots located above the second leaf and above each of the fruits are cut off. Shoots left without fruit are usually not removed.

So to speak, “bedsores” do not have the best effect on the ripening of fruits. In order for the formed fruits not only to ripen quickly, but also evenly on all sides, it is recommended to turn them over regularly. But only be careful not to damage the stalk. Well, as we have already mentioned, place a board under the ripening melons. Other material is also possible. The main thing is that this will save the melons from rotting.

And again about watering. It turns out that it is also a factor inhibiting fruit ripening if it is not stopped at the right time. At the same time, you need to remove excess ovaries and feed the fruits with superphosphate and potassium (exclude nitrogen fertilizers). The ripeness of fruits is indicated by their shriveled stalks, changes in the color scheme of the peel and its pattern. Fruits that do not have time to ripen are harvested along with ripe ones: they then have time to ripen during storage. Remember also that the ripening of melon is also affected by diseases that occur when growing conditions are not met: powdery mildew, anthracnose, and periwinkle blight. We also do not discount such pests as aphids, mites, melon fly larvae, and cutworms. Timely protective measures will save your harvest, and her majesty the queen of melons - the sweet and fragrant melon - will reign on your table.

General subtleties of watering melons

1. To water melons, you need to use warm water, the temperature of which is not lower than 22 degrees. This will help moisture not only remain in the soil longer, but also prevent the occurrence of various putrefactive diseases.
2. At each stage of plant development, the right amount of water is used, it varies from 3 to 10 liters.
3. With the appearance of flowers on the bush, the melon is watered more often, and a smaller volume of water is used. It is recommended to stop watering in the first week after the first flowers appear; this measure will help reduce the number of empty flowers and increase the number of female flowers.
4. You need to water the melon strictly into the ground, otherwise moisture that gets on the stem will cause rot.
5. Plant leaves do not like liquid getting on them. In addition, drops of moisture in hot weather can cause burns.
6. The area for watering plants should not be limited to the area near the root collar, since there are additional small roots on the vines that also need to be moistened.

Important! Melons do not need additional watering if the weather is rainy outside. Comfortable soil moisture for melon is 70%.

Preparing melon seeds for planting

For sowing, strong, well-formed seeds are used, while experts advise taking seed obtained from the harvest two or three years ago.

Watching how the melon grows in the photo, you can notice:

• powerful plants from fresh seeds produce male flowers in abundance, but there are very few ovaries on them;
• Melon vines made from older seeds are more productive.

To increase the germination of seeds, they are immersed for 12 hours in a solution of boric acid and zinc sulfate or another growth stimulant.

If you are going to grow melons in open ground in the middle zone, it is better to worry about hardening the seeds in advance, for which purpose:

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• first immerse in warm water with a temperature of about 30–35 °C;
• then leave for a day at room temperature;
• for stratification, they are transferred to the refrigerator for 18 hours, where the temperature is close to zero.

The swollen seeds are ready for sowing in open ground or for seedlings.

Water for irrigation: a little more detail

Gardeners use different sources of water for irrigation. The main condition is to maintain a temperature regime in which the liquid used should not be below 22 degrees. Therefore, water from a well or water supply without preheating is absolutely not suitable for moistening the soil. It is best to pour water into a suitable large container in advance so that it heats up. Otherwise, the plant may become overcooled, the root system will become weak, and the melons themselves may develop various types of rot.

Watering melons must be properly combined with fertilizing. These plants love fertilizers that are applied directly to the soil in the form of a solution. If the usual rate of liquid during a specific period of planting growth is 7 liters, then the amount of fertilizing that you plan to apply should be subtracted from it. As a rule, this volume is about 1 liter. It is added to the soil in the evening after the sun's activity has decreased, while it is advisable to carry out regular watering early in the morning. Such simple mathematical calculations are carried out every time before feeding the melon, which allows you to avoid waterlogging of the soil and ensure maximum absorption of nutrients from the ground.

Is unripe fruit harmful?

The maximum amount of nutrients is concentrated in the ripe product. Therefore, an unripe or overripe delicacy will not bring any benefit. In addition, eating green fruit can cause digestive problems. Especially if a person has gastrointestinal diseases, such as gastritis, stomach ulcers. In this category of people, unripe fruits can provoke an exacerbation of the disease.

Read also: When to pick Antonovka apples

Even healthy people may experience bloating or upset bowel movements.

On Internet forums, melon lovers quite often mention dishes made from unripe melons. Melon jam, candied fruits or pickled melons are especially popular. We advise you to treat such recipes with caution.

On a note. In order for the melon to bring maximum benefit and not cause harm, you need to follow some rules. It is better to eat it not on an empty stomach, but between meals. It is not recommended to drink water. It is not advisable to eat dairy or fermented milk products after or before melon - you may get an upset stomach.

Rules for watering melons in a greenhouse

Melons prefer to grow where the air is quite dry; they do not tolerate excess moisture. Therefore, the proximity of other crops in the greenhouse should take this condition into account. For example, it is almost impossible to grow cucumbers and melons due to their different requirements for air quality. But tomatoes, peppers or eggplants will be excellent neighbors. Once the melons are planted in the greenhouse, they do not need additional watering for several days.

In the first days after planting the seedlings in the greenhouse, they will not require watering. It should be especially intense during the period when the plant’s ovaries are forming, which is when the liquid is needed for the normal development of the future crop. But as soon as the fruits grow the size of an orange, stop watering. Otherwise, the melon will be tasteless and bland.

Important! The absence of watering during the fruit ripening phase will give the melon a subtle sweet aroma and prevent deformation of the fruit.

In a greenhouse, plants need to be watered with very warm water, the temperature of which should be in the range from 30 to 33 degrees. Only in this way will evaporation be less intense and the moisture in the soil will remain longer.

When watering melons in a greenhouse, you should carefully ensure that water does not fall directly on the plantings themselves. Overmoistening them can provoke the formation of rot. Gardeners recommend using furrow irrigation, which is dug a short distance parallel to the main row of plantings. After flowering begins, the intensity of watering should be reduced, and all containers containing water should be removed from the greenhouse so that the air is not too humidified due to strong evaporation.

Watering melons is best done in the morning or evening hours, when the sun is not so active. Gardeners consider drip irrigation the best method for moistening the soil under a melon.

Important! When growing melon in a greenhouse, you need to periodically ventilate the room so that condensation does not appear on the walls and roof.

For better growth and development of plantings, once every 7 days you need to combine watering with the application of fertilizers, which are added to the soil at the root.

If you want to get tasty and aromatic fruits, you need to maintain a clear balance in watering and fertilizing. Only the correct care procedures for these plants, regardless of the method of growing them, will allow you to reap an excellent harvest.

Features of melon care

When growing melons in open ground, the melon grower must pay attention to watering, loosening the soil, fertilizing and weeding the beds. In addition, you won’t get a good harvest if you don’t pinch off the vines that already have an ovary in time, and don’t remove empty shoots that take away the strength of the bush.

Loosening is carried out very carefully, to a depth of 10–12 cm, without damaging the roots. When the lashes grow, the melon is hilled. Weeding is carried out as needed.

Watering melons plays a special role in the success of growing melons in open ground. If plants do not receive enough moisture, they develop worse, bloom and set ovaries. Excessive watering leads to rotting of the vines and fruits, and the melons themselves lose their sugar content and become watery.

Observing how a melon grows will help you understand the needs of plants, and the photo shows a drip irrigation system that allows you to use moisture as efficiently as possible:

1. Usually, while there are no ovaries on the melon, the plants are limited in watering, preventing the formation of many side shoots.
2. When the ovaries are already formed and need to develop, watering becomes more intense.
3. A month before the approximate dates of ripening, the melons gradually stop watering so that the fruits gain sweetness and aroma.

Beginner melon growers often have a question: “Why does the melon in the garden crack and begin to rot? Obviously, the error lies in the watering schedule and its intensity.

Most often, fruits crack when, after a dry period, already formed ovaries receive an excessive amount of moisture at one time.

Fruit damage is also observed if the ripening melon lies on wet soil. Therefore, melon growers advise placing a shard or small plank under each ovary. You can avoid spoilage if you use trellises when growing melons in open ground and secure the heavy fruits with a net or fabric.

For the first time, the melon plant is pinched after the third or fourth leaf to induce branching and produce lateral shoots. When 5–6 ovaries are formed on the plant, the free tops of the vines are cut off, leaving 2–3 leaves until the last fruit. Further, as the plant grows, unnecessary flowers and empty shoots are torn off so that all the melon’s strength goes into filling and ripening the already formed fruits.

Regular feeding should help the plants with this, the first of which is carried out when the first true leaf appears. This time, fertilizers containing nitrogen and phosphorus are applied to the melons, and then fertilizing with minerals and organic matter is alternated. The feeding schedule can be adjusted. Most often, the frequency of watering with fertilizer solutions is 10–14 days.

During mass flowering, it is better to give plants potassium-phosphorus mixtures. And fertilizing is completed at the first signs of the melons beginning to ripen.

Do not forget that melons easily accumulate excess chemicals and, especially with a lack of light, can become a source of dangerous nitrates. Therefore, melon growers should be careful with nitrogen fertilizers.

Rules for watering melons in open ground

Beginning gardeners may mistakenly think that melon needs abundant watering, especially on hot days. But for them, excessive soil moisture is just as dangerous as drought. If the roots do not receive enough liquid, this will have a detrimental effect on the entire planting: the leaves will begin to wither, the flowers will fall off, and the fruits will crack and become deformed.

Important! Despite the fact that melon fruits contain the lion's share of moisture, there is no need to water the plants during their formation. Otherwise, it will have a detrimental effect on the taste of the crop.

When planting a melon, you need to prepare in advance for future watering. It is planted so that the bush is on a small hillock, around which a shallow ditch is dug. This is where liquid for watering or fertilizing will be poured. Plantings need to be moistened when there is no solar activity, for example, at dawn or after sunset. It is important to avoid dripping on the leaves and trunk, as well as on the base of the stem.

Important! If the weather outside is excessively hot, then the number of waterings should be increased to 2 times a day, dividing into morning and evening.

Plant roots go deep into the soil, so a dry surface layer of soil is not an indicator of the need for watering. Therefore, before watering, you need to dig up the soil a little and remove about 10 cm. If you find wet soil there, then watering can be postponed for a while. And if the soil does not stick together into a ball, then the bed needs to be moistened.

In the south of Russia, it is more advisable to use special irrigation systems; on an industrial scale, the water is not preheated, but due to the fact that the drops enter the soil one by one and are small in size, they heat up quickly enough and do not harm the roots.

In the central regions, it is better to use another method of irrigation - dig shallow grooves and pour warm water there.

In the table we have indicated the main watering parameters for different stages of plant development

Your data is for normal temperature conditions typical for the region. But when it gets colder, rains or heat, the amount of watering needs to be adjusted.

How to grow melon at home

If you put in a little effort and be patient, you can cut a sweet melon from a plant grown on your own windowsill or balcony. First of all, for the melon you will need to choose a pot or container of sufficient capacity, with a diameter of at least 20 cm. Drainage is required at the bottom of the pot, and the soil can be used the same as that used for planting the seedlings.

If in spacious beds the growing canes can lie quietly on the soil, then you can grow a melon at home only using a trellis. As it grows, lashes are attached to it, but since the plant is in a limited volume of soil, it would be reasonable to grow the melon in one stem.

We must not forget that melons are extremely demanding on lighting, so the main reason for the failure of growing this crop on balconies, window sills or terraces is the lack of light. It can be compensated by organizing additional LED lighting, which provides the needs of plants for 14–16 hours a day.

To conserve moisture, prevent weeds from germinating and provide the melon with a soil temperature of about 20–25 °C, the surface of the soil is lined with a special film or material. The supply of moisture can be entrusted to the drip irrigation system, adding or decreasing the amount of water supplied depending on how the melon grows.

When home-grown melons become the size of a fist, excess shoots, flowers and the top of the main vine are pinched off. At home, it is better to leave no more than three ovaries per plant, which are tied to a trellis using a net or soft cloth.

Proper watering of melons at different stages of development

Let's consider the features of watering a melon depending on the stage of its growth.

Melon in seedling stage

After emergence, seedlings of watermelons and melons should be watered frequently and sparingly. The main requirement is to prevent the soil in the pots from drying out without causing waterlogging.

The optimal soil moisture level should always be maintained within 50%. A week before transplanting into open ground, stop watering the seedlings.

Important! If it rains during the period after planting watermelon and melon seedlings, then watering is not carried out at all, and if cloudy weather without precipitation occurs, they are watered once a week.

Before transplanting into open ground, the area is moistened very generously. The humidity level should reach 90%. After 2 days, seedlings are planted.

After transplant

The first watering of plants is carried out 7 days after transplantation. It is carried out at the root using a watering can with a long “nose”. The frequency of adding water is every 2 days. Consumption per plant - 2 liters. If the soil is moist at the time of the next watering, reduce the frequency.

In the flowering stage

In the first days of flower formation, it is recommended to avoid watering. Then it is enough to irrigate the melons 1-2 times a week, pouring up to 7 liters of water under one plant. Attention! Gardeners often make the mistake during this period of watering watermelons and melons excessively. This leads to the formation of empty flowers and the falling of flowers.

Jpeg

During the formation of ovaries

Your crop has already grown and become a little stronger, but still requires additional care. At this stage, it is important to remember that you need not only to water the melon correctly, but also to carry out additional care measures. Watering rules remain unchanged compared to the previous stage. And additional care should consist of weeding weeds and loosening the soil to facilitate access of oxygen and water to the root system. As for weeds, they take away all the nutrients.

In the fruiting stage

At this stage, it is permissible to reduce watering. An already sufficiently developed root system will itself provide the plant with moisture, drawing it from the lower layers of the soil. It will be enough to water the melon once every 7 days, pouring at least 10 liters under one plant. It is very important to prevent water from getting on parts of the bush, especially the fruits, so that rot does not develop. When the fruits reach the desired size, it will be possible to stop moistening the soil altogether. Timely removal of weeds at this stage remains relevant.

Features of growing melon in the country

 Category: Growing garden crops

Melon, this aromatic melon crop, was brought to Russia from Central Asia back in the 15th-16th centuries and was immediately loved for its unique delicate taste.

Over time, its popularity among the people has only grown, especially since these days the enormous usefulness of melon for the human body has been proven: it contains vitamins, microelements iron, potassium, sodium, calcium and chlorine, and many enzymes.

Many Russians are happy to grow melon in their gardens and summer cottages, receiving good harvests.

Others are just planning to grow this crop with their own hands, so as not to buy it on the market, but do not know where to start or how to properly handle the melon during the process of its growth and ripening.

So, how to grow melon in the country? We will try to answer this question that worries many.

Melon needs good conditions

Despite the fact that melon is a southern crop, in our conditions it grows and ripens quite well. Some gardeners don’t even think about taking special care of it.

Their attitude towards melon is extremely simple: in the spring they throw the seeds into prepared holes, cover them with soil and, they say, let them grow. And they are really growing. Only the resulting harvest is not what was expected.

In order for the melon to live up to our expectations, its cultivation must be taken seriously and responsibly.

The first thing you need to remember is that melon needs good conditions. First you need to take care of protecting it from late frosts, which, no, no, can even come in the spring.

Then you definitely need to mold it and limit the number of fruits. Well, fertilizing: if you do not accelerate the growth of melon in open ground with its help, then it will be difficult to count on a good harvest in the fall.

Another indispensable condition for optimal growth of melons: fertile soil that is well drained.

It is undesirable to throw melon seeds directly into the soil - you need to grow seedlings and plant them in the ground. Melon seedlings, as well as many other crops, are grown in homemade containers made from plastic bottles (their main part is cut out).

Two melon seeds are placed in these improvised cups no earlier than April, the containers are covered with plastic wrap and put in a warm place. After germination, the film can be removed.

Weak sprouts should be removed immediately, and the cups with seedlings should be moved to a bright place.

Melon should be planted in a garden plot well heated by the sun. Moreover, it needs to be prepared in the fall. Dig deep, about 25-30 centimeters, and add well-rotted manure or humus to the soil. For one sq. There should be 5-7 kg of such “organic matter” per meter of land.

It is recommended to add phosphorus-potassium mineral fertilizers at the rate of 20-30 g per square meter. meter. However, this recommendation, given the distrust of many owners in inorganic feeding, is not mandatory. With the onset of spring, you need to loosen the soil twice, which will allow you to deal with weeds, retain moisture and remove the soil crust.

The first loosening is relatively deep (12-14 cm), the second is not very deep (4-6 cm).

Proper care of seedlings and ovaries

Many gardeners prefer to prepare the soil for melon in a more “sophisticated” way. Immediately after the first ten days of May, square holes are dug, each side is 80 cm and the depth is 20 cm. Each half must be filled with humus and covered with soil on top.

When there are five days left before planting (you determine the date yourself), cover the holes with slatted frames with a film covering stretched over them. The result will be a kind of “greenhouses”, the distance between which, by the way, should be at least a meter.

Seedlings are planted only after the soil has warmed up, but not in holes: holes are made in their corners, which means there will be four sprouts in each hole. Lower the sprouts into each hole so that their edges protrude at least 2 cm above the soil level (and preferably no more).

Water carefully, try not to wet the leaves of the seedlings.

Then place a container of water in the middle of each pit and cover the pits on top with a material that would transmit the sun's rays well and at the same time scatter them: this could be agril or lutrasil. The seedlings should be kept under this covering for about five days; the sprouts will be reliably protected from temperature changes, including heat.

When two weeks have passed since the appearance of the sprouts, it is necessary to select the strongest ones and remove the rest. The “greenhouse” can only be removed with the onset of truly warm days. The melon will continue to grow in open ground. After waiting for the ovaries to grow about the size of a plum, select one from each vine. Make sure that the ovaries are of the correct shape, and remove the remaining ones.

The next step is pinching: this procedure is performed with second-order side lashes. Behind the intended ovary at the level of two or three leaves. The growth point is also removed on the main shoots of the so-called first order. Lateral growths should be plucked off as they appear.

And another important thing: melon fruits should be protected from contact with the soil, which can cause them to rot, so a board should be placed under each of them.

Perhaps you live in a dry area and there is little hope for natural precipitation. Then you can’t do without watering. The melon needs to be watered into the hole, that is, at the root, and then let the moisture flow through the furrows.

The main thing is not to overdo it: one watering every two weeks is enough, but plenty, so that the soil is saturated to the plowing depth. The frequency of watering should be reduced or stopped altogether during the fruiting period.

This will preserve the taste of the fruit and its nutritional qualities.

To prevent pain and cracking

Melon, as we said, is a heat-loving plant that loves good soil and other conditions. If the crop experiences discomfort, this will immediately affect the yield. Melon does not like acidic soil, even if it is water- and air-tight.

Low temperatures are detrimental to it: at 12-150C, even if seeds germinate, it is with great difficulty. At temperatures below +200C, even adult plants do not feel well, especially if this temperature regime lasts for two weeks.

Night cold, when the temperature is below +170C, has an extremely negative effect not only on the fruits, but also on the roots of the melon. Then, of course, warm days come, but it is difficult for melon to recover from temperature shocks.

Remember that spring frosts - even short ones - are simply destructive for her.

The other extreme, that is, extreme heat, does not bring anything good either. An increase in temperature to +37-45 degrees results in pollen sterility and fertilization stops.

Since the root system of a melon, unlike a watermelon, has a two-fold reduction in moisture absorption and evaporation rates, the melon cannot withstand the “double attack” - dryness of both soil and air at the same time. The unfortunate result: the ovaries fall off.

Melon needs an optimal thermal regime, which would be accompanied by sufficient watering, as we have already said above. If you don’t give it enough moisture, the fruits will crack. Excessive watering causes root rot in melon: the plant, having lost its root system, dies.

The cracking of fruits is also caused by a lack of the microelement potassium in the soil, which the melon does not receive enough during its growth and ripening. Every responsible summer resident should prevent such troubles by taking care of proper feeding and timely watering.

How to speed up the ripening of melons?

Summer residents often face this problem. The melon, it would seem, has grown a long time ago, but for some reason it does not ripen. Or it begins to turn yellow due to mechanical damage to the fruit, simultaneously ripening and rotting. How to speed up the natural ripening of juicy and aromatic fruits? Here are some practical tips.

To get an earlier harvest of melon, experienced gardeners recommend pruning it three times.

The first should follow immediately after the appearance of four large leaves, the second should be the removal of new shoots formed under the third leaf, and the final one should be after the appearance of the first fruits.

In this case, the shoots located above the second leaf and above each of the fruits are cut off. Shoots left without fruit are usually not removed.

So to speak, “bedsores” do not have the best effect on the ripening of fruits.

In order for the formed fruits not only to ripen quickly, but also evenly on all sides, it is recommended to turn them over regularly. But only be careful not to damage the stalk.

Well, as we have already mentioned, place a board under the ripening melons. Other material is also possible. The main thing is that this will save the melons from rotting.

And again about watering. It turns out that it is also a factor inhibiting fruit ripening if it is not stopped at the right time. At the same time, you need to remove excess ovaries and feed the fruits with superphosphate and potassium (exclude nitrogen fertilizers).

The ripeness of fruits is indicated by their shriveled stalks, changes in the color scheme of the peel and its pattern. Fruits that do not have time to ripen are harvested along with ripe ones: they then have time to ripen during storage.

Remember also that the ripening of melon is also affected by diseases that occur when growing conditions are not met: powdery mildew, anthracnose, and periwinkle blight. We also do not discount such pests as aphids, mites, melon fly larvae, and cutworms.

Timely protective measures will save your harvest, and her majesty the queen of melons - the sweet and fragrant melon - will reign on your table.

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Source: https://www.xn--80acabqu3b5cza.xn--p1ai/vyrashhivanie-sadovyx-kultur/vyrashhivanie-dyni-na-dache

Frequency and intensity of watering melons for different irrigation methods

When growing the crops in question, you can use several irrigation methods:

• manual;
• into the rows from a hose;
• drip.

Important! After each watering, be sure to loosen the soil around the plants and between the rows to evenly distribute the liquid in its lower layers.

Manual

This method is suitable for those who grow very small quantities of fruit. This is done using a bucket or watering can. Water is poured under the root. The advantage of the method is the ability to control the amount of liquid entering the soil, as well as the complete elimination of the risk of moisture getting into the sinuses of the leaves. The disadvantage of such irrigation is the impossibility of its implementation over large areas.

When watering by hand - 2-3 liters per plant before flowering, then 7 liters during the flowering phase, then - 10-12 liters at intervals of once a week.

From the hose

Water is supplied from a hose into furrows 5 cm deep, made in the central part of the row spacing. The technique allows you to supply a large amount of water to a large area in a short time. The hose can be freely connected to any container that supplies water. In addition, this technique prevents water from entering the above-ground part of the plants.

When using a hose, add as much water at a time as is needed by all plants of a particular growing season growing in a row. For example, in a row there are 20 plants that have not yet entered the flowering phase. This means you need to supply 3 liters of water for each. Accordingly, 3×20=60 liters of water are needed for each row. The amount of water in subsequent phases of the growing season is calculated in the same way (see the amount for each plant in manual watering).

Drip

Recently, instead of manual watering (with a watering can or bucket under a bush) and from a hose, summer residents have been using the drip method of irrigating melons and melons. Its advantages: saving energy, time and water consumption; the soil does not erode under the bush; water does not get on parts of the plant; Fertilizers are applied simultaneously with watering. Such systems are bought in a store or built independently, connecting hoses to each bush. Irrigation is carried out as needed. Experienced gardeners turn on the system daily, in the morning or evening, for about an hour (regardless of the growing season). This gives each plant up to 1-2 liters of water.

Did you know? Melon peel, like watermelon peel, is used in cooking. It is used to make unique side dishes for various dishes and candied fruits.

Melon gazpacho

Typically the main ingredient in this Spanish cold soup is tomatoes. But imagine how surprised your friends will be when they see an unusual yellow-orange gazpacho on the table.

Ingredients

• 1 small melon (1–1.5 kg);
• 1 small fresh cucumber;
• 1 small red onion;
• 2 teaspoons salt;
• ½ cup olive oil;
• ⅓ glass of water;
• freshly ground black pepper to taste;
• a few sprigs of mint.

A little about melon

Melon is a popular herbaceous annual. It has powerful roots extending 40 cm into the soil. The stem of the plant is branching, creeping, about 4 m long. The fruit is a false berry, the size of which depends on the variety and growing conditions. Melon seeds germinate a week after planting. The plant produces flowers of different sexes. In greenhouse conditions it needs pinching. The fruits complete development approximately a month after setting.

It requires light and heat; the optimal air temperature for growing is 25°C during the day and 19°C at night.

Loves space. Does not tolerate damp, shaded areas and lowlands. The optimal soil for growing good melons is light loam, black soil.

Important! The crop also develops well on sandy loam soils, but it also requires more water. After all, the light structure of the soil allows moisture to evaporate quickly enough.

Thanks to its long root, the plant is able to obtain moisture from a fairly large depth, so excessive watering is not required and is even contraindicated.