Growing watermelons in Belarus: features of planting and care

Growing conditions

Watermelon is a rather heat-loving cultivated plant. Many gardeners grow it and get a good harvest. But it cannot be said that this statement is typical for Belarus. Usually planting this berry here is a very troublesome business, which does not always end in an excellent harvest.

To get sweet and big fruits, you need a combination of the following parameters:

• warm climate;
• good lighting;
• moderate humidity.

Therefore, watermelons are often grown in the southern regions of our country. But Belarus in this regard was not very lucky, because it is located to the north, therefore, its climate is not very suitable for growing this crop. Geographical location in the latitudes to the north than Our Country and Ukraine caused a more severe climate on the territory of Belarus. As a result, out of ten years, only two years have the weather conditions that are necessary in order to grow a high-quality and tasty crop of watermelons. Therefore, here with these plants there are difficulties in growing.

But there is a way out here too, since the necessary conditions for the growth of a high-quality and large crop can be quite recreated in greenhouses and greenhouses. Such structures can be easily built with your own hands, and using their various modifications, you can grow a wide variety of cultivated plants with their help, not only heat-loving watermelons. It can be either an ordinary summer greenhouse or a heated winter greenhouse. As a result, even in Belarus it is possible to grow watermelons and other heat-loving cultivated plants without any problems.

In addition, the use of special modern technologies by farmers can, to a certain extent, simplify plant care. For example, here you can use the method of sheltering landings. You can also use varieties for seedlings that are more adapted to these growing conditions and have a shortened growing season.

On the territory of Belarus, the cultivation of watermelons is possible in the central and southern parts of the country. The use of the above agricultural methods will allow you to get a quality crop, while avoiding many problems. Thanks to the necessary techniques, planting berries is possible even in the Vitebsk region, which is located in the north of the country.

We select a variety

If you decide to grow watermelons in Belarus, you should start by choosing the most suitable variety. Choosing the right variety will allow you to simplify the care of plants in the process of fruit ripening.

Experts recommend choosing early-ripening varieties for seedlings. Close attention should be paid to how many days pass from fruit set to full ripening. In this situation, the fewer days between setting and ripening, the more likely it is to get a high-quality and sweet harvest.

Of the varieties that can give excellent results on the territory of Belarus, professional gardeners recommend choosing “Gift to the North” and “Pink Champagne”. Moreover, it is necessary to buy seeds of the Garden series.

Also, from mid-season and early-ripening varieties, Garny, Borchansky, Knyazhich, Zoryany, Legin, etc. will show themselves well. In addition to these varieties, hybrid varieties with a growing season of 70-75 days are suitable for cultivation on the territory of Belarus. This parameter can be read on the back of the seed package. Here you should be aware that plants with a growing season of more than 80 days in this region will not have time to mature.

Of the hybrids for growing on the territory of this country, Romanza F1, Spark, Trophy F1, Garny, Eureka F1, Farao F1 and Top Gun F1 are suitable.

It is worth noting that you can use the seeds of those varieties that gave a good harvest the previous year. However, in this situation, planting them can result in slightly smaller watermelons than their predecessors. At the same time, their taste qualities are preserved. Therefore, if you want to get not small fruits, but large watermelons, you must give preference to planting branded purchased seeds.

Using the above varieties for seedlings and growing in a greenhouse, you will definitely get a bountiful harvest of large and very tasty watermelons.

We grow seedlings

The seedling method of growing watermelons is used for the northern regions of our country. Therefore, it is perfect for Belarus, because its location falls just on the northern latitudes. The use of seedlings allows you to get an earlier harvest, and when growing early-ripening varieties, the harvest will be even earlier.

The time for planting seeds for seedlings must be calculated in such a way that its planting occurs at the end of May (beginning of June is allowed).

Watermelon seedlings are grown in special cassettes or pots. To obtain strong seedlings, a specially prepared soil mixture should be used, which consists of woody soil (50%), river sand (20%) and humus (30%). When the soil mixture is ready, you need to add wood ash to it, based on the proportion of one glass per bucket of prepared soil.

Also, as a soil, you can use a mixture of humus, sod land and peat in equal proportions. After preparing the soil mixture, 30 g of superphosphate and 10 g of wood ash are added to it (the calculation is given for 1 kg). After preparation, the repair mixture is thoroughly mixed and scattered in pots or cassettes. The container for seedlings should be 3-4 cm deep and 8-10 cm in diameter.

Many experts recommend germinating seeds before sowing seedlings. To do this, they need to be soaked in warm water (its temperature should be about 50 ° C). Soaking lasts 10 minutes. Then immerse the seeds in water until sprouts appear. When the first shoots appear, they are placed in the prepared soil mixture. Planting seeds is carried out at a depth of 4-6 cm. After planting, the seeds need to be watered. Then the sown seeds should be kept in a dark place for ten days. In this case, the temperature of a dark place should not be lower than + 25–30 ° С. Some gardeners advise additionally covering the pots with seeds with a film.

At the end of the ten-day period of the seeds in the dark, they are transferred to a well-lit place for 20 days. During this period, the film is removed from the pots, and the temperature drops to 16-18 ° C (for the first 10 days, otherwise the seedlings will stretch out a lot). Then 10 days it is grown at a temperature of 20-25°C. After that, they are hardened for five days.

Growing watermelon seedlings in pots occurs within 25-30 days after the appearance of the first shoots. In cassettes, seedlings are grown for 15 days.

It must be remembered that seedlings after the shadow period should be in a well-lit place and watered abundantly (but not often) only with warm water. Experts note that, to a certain extent, it is possible to improve the development of plants by grafting it onto a pumpkin.

Before planting, especially for the territory of Belarus, it is necessary to harden the seedlings. To do this, it is placed in a greenhouse for 10 days. During this period, the greenhouse is opened for ventilation for 1-2 hours, in the middle of hardening – for 5-6 hours, and before direct planting – for a day.

Disembarkation and care

After hardening, watermelon seedlings are planted in greenhouse soil. The best landing time is the end of May. It is during this period that the threat of night cooling completely disappears.

Soil preparation is best done in the fall. During this period, it is well fertilized with mowed grass and manure. The site itself should be well protected from cold winds. Therefore, avoid the northeastern and northern parts of your backyard or garden plot. Of the soils, sandy, sandy or loamy soils are better suited for growing watermelons, but with a sufficient content of humus. In this case, the pH of the soil should be in the range of 5,5-7,0. Waterlogged and clayey soils are unsuitable for cultivation.

Annual legumes (beans, peas, vetch), corn, perennial grasses, winter wheat are suitable as predecessors for watermelons. The worst predecessors will also be pumpkins, zucchini, cucumbers. For a permanent place of growth, we choose the most illuminated place and plant seedlings. Here it is necessary to ensure that the root neck is not too deep. Otherwise, in the future, the plant may be subject to various diseases.

Planting is carried out according to the scheme 140×60 (70) cm (for open ground) and 100×50 (60) cm (for a greenhouse).

After landing, we provide the following care:

• watering;
• loosening;
• weed removal;
• top dressing. The first – after the appearance of the 4th leaf, and the second – when the ovary appears.

Guided by these recommendations, you can grow watermelons without any problems even in Belarus.

Video “Secrets of growing watermelons”

After watching the video, you will learn about the basic principles of caring for watermelons and learn how to grow them yourself.