How to grow melon at home

Originally from North and Asia Minor, melon, due to its sweetness and aroma, has long become popular in our area. In greenhouse conditions, melon can be grown in almost any region of the country without much effort. However, it is not necessary to have a dacha for this: the culture feels good on the balcony and even on the windowsill! Melon at home, photos, vegetable growing conditions and instructions are presented in detail in the article.

Varieties of melons for growing at home

Growing a melon at home is not as difficult as it seems at first glance. This culture does not require special care, and its fruits grown on a balcony are in no way inferior in taste to those obtained on an open land plot. The most common melon varieties for growing at home:

• Collective farmer. It has spherical, medium-sized fruits of orange-yellow color with hard skin. White thin flesh sometimes contains a greenish layer closer to the peel. The taste of the fruit is very sweet and fragrant. The sugar content is 11,3%;

  

• Altai. Fruits are oval, lemon-colored with yellowish or white dense pulp, viscous consistency. Sugar content 5 – 6,5%;

  

• Ice. Spherical or oval fruits of yellow (orange) color have a characteristic large mesh. They are distinguished by a thin skin, sweet and juicy pulp with a sugar content of 8,4%;

  

• Lemon yellow. The fruits of the lemon-yellow melon are slightly flattened, segmented, with small yellow spots. The flesh is very sweet and grainy. In terms of sugar content (10 – 12%), this variety is in the lead.

  

All varieties are early-ripening and ripen 80-85 days after planting, except for Frost, which is a mid-ripening variety and ripens in 90-92 days.

How melon grows at home

Culture does not impose special requirements, therefore everyone can grow it at home. The melon feels great in home growing conditions: it is enough to have a spacious balcony or a wide window sill on the sunny side of the apartment. The only thing she needs to provide is the temperature regime, regular watering and good lighting. Since this is a southern culture, it is possible to grow a melon on a balcony only if the temperature at night drops below 17 – 19 ° C.

At home, early and mid-ripening melon varieties with medium-sized fruits are usually grown. To ensure the light and temperature conditions, the loggia must be equipped with special lamps. With a lack of lighting, the melon produces long shoots, and this is reflected in the number of ovaries and the level of sugar in the fruit.

In the natural environment, melon shoots lie on the ground, but at home, you can’t do without a trellis. Growing more than 4 – 5 bushes is not recommended, because even this is enough to cover the entire balcony with shoots. If you plant more than five bushes, melons will simply be crowded and there will not be enough lighting.

You can also pollinate with an ordinary brush, transferring pollen from male melon flowers to female ones. Male inflorescences differ from female inflorescences by the presence of a small embryo at the base of the ovary.

How to plant a melon at home

Not all varieties are suitable for growing this crop at home on the windowsill, but only medium-sized small-fruited hybrids, for example:

• Delicious;

  

• Cinderella;

  

• Honey.

  

Growing melons on a windowsill begins with the germination of seeds. For this purpose, a small container with a soil mixture (for example, a plastic or special peat cup) is enough. After germination, melon seedlings are transplanted into separate pots with a capacity of 5 liters. To get more ovaries (that is, female inflorescences), seeds two to three years old are suitable. Last year’s planting material usually produces more male inflorescences, that is, empty flowers.

When to plant

Usually, melon seeds are planted in the soil mixture in late April – early May, when the temperature at night does not fall below +17 ° C. You can sow both dry seeds and pre-soaked in a germination stimulator (Bio Master or Energen Aqua).

Soil and tank preparation

Melon loves slightly alkaline, airtight, moderately moist soil, which can be achieved at home without much difficulty. The soil will be optimal in composition: two parts of soddy soil, one part of peat and one part of humus. The planting container must have a drainage hole.

Landing algorithm

To speed up germination, the container with the planted seeds is covered with a film. On the fourth or fifth day, when shoots appear, the film must be removed.

Seed planting algorithm:

1. Fill the peat cup with earth mixture, without adding 2-3 cm to the edge.
2. Pour boiling water over and let the excess drain into the drain hole.
3. Wait until the earth in the cup becomes room temperature, and put the seed in the center.
4. Top up with earth mixture and pour warm water over it.
5. Tighten the container with a film (you can cover it with glass) and rearrange it in a warm place until germination.

Since the melon does not tolerate transplanting well, it is recommended that the hatched seeds be immediately moved to a permanent pot. This simple technique of growing melon at home will allow you to get fragrant fruits already 2,5 months after the first shoots appear.

Growing melons on a balcony or windowsill

Any city dweller can grow a melon on a balcony at home, adhering to the rules of agricultural technology for this crop. Compliance with the light regime and irrigation schedule is not particularly difficult. And the process itself brings great pleasure to fans of growing plants on the windowsill, especially when the first fruits ripen.

Light mode

Melon is a light-loving plant, therefore loggias and balconies on the sunny side of the house are suitable for growing it. If there is not enough sunlight, it is necessary to provide additional illumination by turning on the LED lamp for 14 – 16 hours a day. With a lack of light, the melon grows poorly, gets sick, and the fruits are small and unsweetened.

Watering Schedule

Watering the melon should not be very often: on average, once every 4 to 5 days or in case of complete drying of the soil. This should be done in the early morning or late afternoon with warm settled water (approximately 30 – 32 ° C). At the same time, make sure that moisture does not get on the leaves, inflorescences and fruits. In order not to harm the plant, it is recommended to water it by drip or into specially dug grooves around the root collar.

To make melon fruits more sugary, watering during the ripening period is reduced up to complete exclusion by the time of ripening, otherwise the fruits will be watery and tasteless.

Do I need to feed

The first feeding of a melon grown on a balcony is carried out with mineral fertilizers as soon as the plant has cotyledon leaves. The next time they feed in seven days. Then, as the plant grows, it is fertilized 2 to 3 more times. Since melon, like all melons, is potassium-loving, the first two top dressings are carried out with azophos. To do this, dilute 10 tbsp in 3 liters of water. l. fertilizers. From the beginning of the flowering period, the melon is fertilized with universal preparations, for example, Fertika Lux (20 g is added to a bucket of water).

Garter

A home-grown melon must be tied up, since there is not enough space for the natural placement of its lashes. To do this, use twine or trellis. Due to the fact that this plant does not weave on its own, it must be wrapped around a support and secured with a rope. The fruits also need to be tied up: each is placed in a special mesh and attached to the twine.

Shrub formation

In order for the melon grown on the windowsill to be juicy and sweet, you should leave only one shoot tied to the trellis. The rest of the shoots are removed. Usually no more than 3 ovaries are left, and when the fruits become the size of a fist, pinch the top of the main lash. This is done so that the plant directs all its forces to the fruits, and does not spend them on the growth of green mass.

Diseases and pests

Melons are prone to infectious fungal diseases. Most common:

• Fusarium wilt is a common fungal infection caused by the Fusarium fungus. Outwardly, it is difficult to recognize the problem, since the affected stems look healthy. A diseased plant quickly dries out, because as a result of the disease, root hairs disappear on the roots. Melons affected by the fungus completely lose their taste value;
• Antraknoz The causative agent of this disease is the fungus Colletotrichum orbiculare. Affected leaves become covered with brown or whitish spots, and the stems become very brittle and break at the slightest gust of wind;
• Mučnistaâ rosa – a fungal disease caused by microscopic fungi Sphaerotheca fuliginea Poll living in the soil. In the people, this powdery mildew is also called linen or ashtray. The external manifestations of the disease look like a grayish-white coating on the shoots and leaves. Diseased leaves dry and die off, which delays the development of fruits, which on diseased shoots turn out to be small and tasteless.

The spread of diseases is facilitated by excessive soil moisture and high temperatures (above 28 – 30 ° C). In addition, the lack of potassium and phosphorus fertilizers weakens the culture and increases the risk of infection. Therefore, at home on the loggia where melons are grown, it is not recommended to store vegetables brought from the market.

In addition to fungal infections, melons grown on the balcony have their own pests. The most common are:

• melon aphid;
• spider mite;
• nibbling owl;
• melon fly.

To prevent the appearance of pests, it is necessary to loosen the soil and weed out weeds, on the roots of which parasites like to live. In addition, it is recommended to spray the melon with special disinfectants (Formalin, Fundazol), infusion on onion peel or decoction of herbs (calendula, celandine, dandelion, wormwood).

Conclusion

Melon at home, the photo and description of which are given above, is a very real opportunity to enjoy a fruit grown by oneself, outside the land. With proper care, compliance with the light and temperature conditions, as well as timely feeding, there are no special difficulties in the conditions of the apartment. After all, it is much more pleasant to eat a piece of melon grown personally than bought on the market.