Melons in the garden: how to pinch a melon

When growing in the greenhouse and in the open ground of the middle band, you need to know how to pinch a melon and when. The production of sweet and juicy fruits depends not only on the fertility of the soil, strong seedlings and the necessary fertilizing, but also on the knowledge of the agrotechnics of the formation of a stumpy plant.

Principles of pinching: why it is necessary

In conditions of a cold enough (by the standards of a melon - heat-loving Asian plant) summer, when cold nights begin in August, the plants should not only form fruits, but also have time to ripen.

The reception of the primary pinching of the plant in the right place allows the plant to concentrate on the main thing - to form fruits, secondary pinching does not allow the melon to waste its energy on unnecessary fruit bearing.

How to properly pinch a melon in a greenhouse

After the melon seedling has taken root, new leaves began to grow, it is necessary to watch when the main stem appears. In conditions of good illumination, warm night temperatures and fertile land this should happen in mid-June.

A thick stalk with dense leaves should preferably be tied to a trellis (or to a rope support). While it does not have four or five leaves, it should not be plucked.

As soon as the fifth or sixth sheet appears, you need to arm yourself with a tool. Suitable garden shears (clean), pruners, in the extreme case, you can just plant the plant. Since you need to pinch a melon, you can not do without this process.

The very tip of the stem must be cut (pinch), thereby stopping the growth of the main shoot. In the event that the leaves grew larger, it is necessary to count down from five to six and to cut off the apical part without regret.

Within the next week the plant will release shoots (you can call the stepchildren) the first order from the lateral sinuses of the remaining five leaves. Usually it's two on one side and two or three on the other.

Side shoots need to be tied to stimulate them to grow up. They will bloom mostly female flowers, from which the fruits will develop.

Until the middle of July, work with melon will consist of fertilizing and watering, it is possible to carry out measures for disease prevention.

Pinching of lateral shoots

In the middle of July (if the summer is hot, then in early July), it is necessary to check the presence and quality of the ovaries on the melon. Since pinching a melon during this period is much more difficult (it has already grown), you need to stock up with tools (scissors or pruners) and patience.

By this time the melon had shoots not only of the first, but also of the second order. They all creep up, they have already formed a lot of ovaries. In conditions of the middle band, the melon can only "nourish" five or six fruits, unfortunately.

It is necessary to find out on which whips the biggest melons are poured. With them, the plant must remain until the end of the growing period.

Usually the first begin to fill (grow larger) fruits on shoots of the first order, although there are exceptions. It is necessary to count five or six leaves above the ovary, the rest of the shoot cut off (it is already quite dense, it's difficult to pinch it with your fingers). You do not need to regret if you leave extra parts, melons simply will not ripen. Check all the whips, leaving six with fruit.

If the melon does not have six good ovaries (only three or four), then you need to cut those on which they are, the rest to check for the presence of female flowers. Leave these scraps without pruning and return to them in a week. If the fruit (at least two more) are tied up, you need to trim these shoots, leaving five or six sheets over the ovaries.

When pinching side shoots, you need to see how the fruits develop. If they lie on the ground, they urgently need to put pieces of linoleum or tiles under them. It is necessary that the fruit does not lie on the damp earth, since it can corrupt.
Fruits that are formed high on the shoot, you need to put in a grid, tied it.

How to pinch melons in the open ground

In conditions of the middle band under the open ground for melons it is necessary to mean that the plants are under film shelters. Cold nights late May and early June, and most importantly, dropping at night temperatures in August to 7-8 degrees will not let the melon grow strong without disease.

In these conditions, plants simply lie on the ground, so it is important to know when and how to pinch melons under film shelters.

If the shelter is organized well, melons feel very comfortable there (provided fertile soil). In the afternoon, the shelter removed provides an excellent opportunity for pollination by bees and bumblebees, which is sometimes not enough in the conditions of greenhouses.

Mid-end of June (depending on weather conditions) - the time of the first pinches. It is carried out in the same way as for greenhouses: the main shoot is shortened to five or six leaves.

A week or two after flowering of the lateral shoots, it is necessary to follow the formation of the ovaries. You need to choose five or six of the largest fruits, cutting the whips five to six sheets above them. Under the melons must necessarily put pieces of plastic or tiles.