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We all love fruits and vegetables. Therefore, many in our country are engaged in independent cultivation of them in their gardens and household plots. But in winter, we can only feast on supermarket products. Watermelon becomes a special delicacy in winter. However, growing it hydroponically will allow you to eat it all year round.
Features of the method
Many farmers today actively use such a method of growing many fruit and vegetable crops (tomatoes, cucumbers, pumpkin, watermelon, etc.) as hydroponics. Underneath, hydroponics is a range of diverse methods developed for growing crop plants without soil. These methods involve the use of an artificial substrate of various origins.
In hydroponics, all the necessary plant substances are obtained from specially prepared nutrient media. It is worth noting that when growing watermelons or any other plants, the required nutrient solutions will have a variety of nutrients.
Depending on the method, plant roots can obtain the necessary substances from nutrient solutions by various methods. It is the nutrient solution in hydroponics that plays the main role. The normal and effective development of the shoots (especially watermelons and other melons), as well as the optimal crop parameters, depends on how correctly it is selected.
Thus, hydroponics, when compared with conventional soil cultivation, has the following advantages:
- minimizing the costs of plants searching for nutrients. In hydroponics, watermelons immediately receive the necessary set of nutrients that are fed directly to the roots;
- simplification of the growth process of overgrowth;
- the yield of watermelons increases;
- you can harvest throughout the year;
- ease of maintaining cleanliness and order in the room with grown plants.
In addition, during soil cultivation, watermelons are at risk of infection with various diseases, as well as attacks by harmful insects. This is due to the fact that pathogenic microorganisms actively multiply in the soil. Hydroponics, on the other hand, completely eliminates infection of sprouts or damage by insects.
Separately, it is worth noting that all the main agricultural practices in this situation are practically no different from those used in the standard soil method.
As you can see, growing watermelons using hydroponics at home is very profitable and effective. So you can protect them from negative environmental factors, because the method involves the growth of plants in specially equipped rooms for this – greenhouses. In addition, hydroponics can significantly increase the volume and quality of the crop. Watermelons grown by this method have excellent taste and large (depending on the variety, of course) size.
Video “How to assemble hydroponics at home”
Growing conditions
Growing watermelon and other melons using hydroponics is no more difficult than other garden plants. This is due to the fact that almost all cultivated plants in our country have similar technological processes:
- seed preparation;
- growing seedlings;
- planting in the ground;
- further care and watering.
It is worth noting that in hydroponic greenhouses, watermelons are often grown as tomato compactors. But there are cases when watermelon grows as an independent crop. The following varieties of watermelons are suitable for the hydroponics method: Skvirsky early ripening, Early ripening Kharkiv, Spark, Stokes, Rose of the South-East, Hybrid 1783, Luch. Obtaining watermelon seedlings occurs in the same way as tomatoes. In hydroponic greenhouses, plant seeds are sown at 0,4 g/m2. In this case, the finished seedlings should have 4-5 true leaves.
For culture, one of the main conditions for proper cultivation is the presence of a warm substrate (20-24 ° C). In this regard, it is rather problematic to grow watermelons and other melons in greenhouses without proper technical heating of the existing substrate. In addition, you need to know that watermelons are demanding of heat throughout the entire period of their growth. Therefore, in a hydroponic greenhouse, the air temperature should be about 3-4 degrees higher than for cucumbers and tomatoes.
When the air temperature inside the greenhouse rises above 30°C, the room must be ventilated. This is especially true on sunny days. As for the need for growth factors, watermelons in this matter are similar to greenhouse cucumbers. But at the same time they are more demanding of light. For watermelons, high adaptability to air drought was noted.
The exactingness of this culture to the relative humidity of the air and the substrate is different in different periods of its development. These parameters are more important during the flowering period, as well as the formation of fruits. During these periods, the substrate must be moistened 1-2 times a day. Otherwise, instead of fruits, leaves and stems will begin to form, thereby delaying the fruiting period.
Relative humidity for watermelon and other melons (especially melons) should be approximately 65-70%. When the flowering period begins, this figure should be reduced to 60-65%. Such air humidity will create optimal and comfortable conditions for pollination of plants.
During the watering of watermelons, the substrate on which they are grown must be moistened with a nutrient solution 3-4 times a day. Further, during the ripening period, the substrate is moistened 2-3 times a day. Thus, moderate, proper watering and moistening of the substrate will eventually produce sweeter watermelons.
As for the composition of the nutrient solution, it may vary slightly depending on what kind of plant you plan to grow. Coconut can be used as a substrate. The list of micro and macro elements for watermelons practically coincides with those needed for the growth of cucumbers and tomatoes.
Hydroponics, if you follow all the basic conditions necessary for the normal growth and development of watermelons, will allow you to have this delicious fruit on your table almost all year round. At the same time, the taste and size of the crop harvested from the greenhouse will be excellent.
What place does hydroponics play
Hydroponics in the modern world plays an important role in the process of growing many crops, including watermelons, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc. This method is a new milestone in horticulture, allowing you to move from horizontal to vertical farming.
In addition, using this method allows you to:
- grow plants in places where traditional agriculture cannot guarantee a quality result. In addition, the influence of climatic conditions on the growth and development of plants is minimized. In hydroponic greenhouses, you can create optimal conditions for heat-loving watermelon, and for pumpkin and cucumber;
- with an established cultivation technology, it is possible to increase and expand the volume of the crop obtained at times;
- engage in the cultivation of watermelons, even within the city walls;
- minimize the amount of soil from which you can get many times more yield than with the traditional soil method;
- rational use of water and nutrients, the calculation of which is based on the type and variety of plants;
- recycling and reuse of water, which can significantly reduce its consumption;
- minimize the risk of plant infection by pathogens and insect pests.
As you can see, hydroponics is the future, and growing watermelons in this way will provide you with a full and high-quality harvest.
Video “Growing watermelons in a greenhouse”
In this video you will learn how to quickly and efficiently grow any variety of gourds in hydroponics. This simple method is able to give a good harvest of watermelons.
