How to grow melons and gourds

Melon crops are annual plants belonging to the family of pumpkin. A distinctive feature of them are long stems with antennae. In the event that next to these cultures will be put up pillars, the whips will begin to "climb" on them. In order to correctly apply the technology of cultivation, which will be set forth below in the article, you need to know exactly which crops are melons. This melon, pumpkin, watermelon, squash, squash and some others.

Two-year seeds are considered to be the most suitable for sowing. If there is no possibility to obtain such a planting material, you can use one-year ones. However, in this case, they need to be heated to 60 degrees within 2 hours. In order for shoots to be more amicable, the seeds of melons and gourds are also germinated. To do this, they are wrapped in gauze and dipped in warm water for four hours. Then put in a wet burlap and stand so for a day or two.

Melon plants mostly prefer sunny places, warm weather and are resistant to a long absence of moisture. The thing is that the birthlands of all these cultures are the hot regions of the planet. Watermelons, for example, grow in the wild in South Africa, and melons and pumpkins - in Asia. Melons not only tolerate the dryness of the air, but they also provide tasty and sweet fruits in such conditions.

Plant seeds in the ground only when the summer weather becomes stable, that is, in early June. In order to obtain a crop a little earlier, melons can be grown in seedlings. To do this, use peat cups, because these plants do not tolerate transplantation. In the ground, melons are planted either in nesting or in rows. Each such plant requires a lot of space. First, they have long lashes, which need space for development, and secondly, large fruits, because of what they need a huge number of nutritional elements.

Melon crops are planted on 2-3 pieces. Melons and watermelons - to a depth of 4 cm, pumpkins - 6 cm. When the weather is warm, the shoots appear on the tenth day of sowing, and the first real leaf - a week later. Depending on the variety, the main shoot can begin to form after 15-40 days. Then shoots of the second order, the third, etc., branch off from it. The flowers of these plants are of different sexes - both female and male specimens bloom on the same plant.

As for feeding, during the season melon crops in the early stages of development can be fertilized with infusion of mullein. In the fall, when harvesting is collected, potash and phosphorus fertilizers are introduced for digging, and in the spring - when preparing beds - nitrogen. Although the plants of this family are characterized by drought resistance, they still give a higher yield during watering. For a season the soil under them is well humidified 9-12 times. However, during the ripening of the fruit, the plants should be watered as little as possible. Otherwise, the fruits will grow watery and not too sweet.

Cultivation of melons is a complicated matter, because the climate in Russia is not very suitable for them. Often, even with proper harvesting, the gardener does not receive it. The result in many respects depends on the weather conditions. If you still want to grow watermelons or melons on your site, then it's worth trying to do it. If you're lucky, you can diversify your diet with delicious and unusually useful fruits.