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Watermelon is a thermophilic vegetable. In order for it to ripen and become truly sweet, it needs a lot of sun. Traditionally, this crop is grown in the Volga region, in the Krasnodar Territory and in the Stavropol Territory. It successfully ripens on poor sandy soils, on which most crops and crops will not give. In the middle lane, and even more to the north, not all gardeners want to grow it. Summer is too unpredictable. However, there are varieties of watermelon that can not deceive expectations. They will have time to keep up and collect enough sugars in just 2-3 warm months. And if they are grown through seedlings, the result will be guaranteed.
Seed companies now sell a lot of early and ultra early watermelon seeds, but most of them are of foreign origin. They are not too adapted to the realities of our harsh climate, so they do not always meet the expectations of the gardener. Even in Soviet times, many good domestic varieties with different ripening periods were bred. Their distinguishing feature is their high sugar content. They were so sweet that when eating from the juice, the fingers stuck together. One of them is the watermelon Spark, it is shown in the photo.
Let’s make a description of it and figure out what are the features of growing watermelon Ogonyok in such different regions as the Moscow region and Siberia. What needs to be done in order to get ripe sweet fruits in any of them.
Description
Watermelon Spark has been represented in the State Register of Breeding Achievements for almost 60 years. It was bred at the Institute of Vegetable and Melon Growing, located in the city of Merefa, Kharkov region. Despite the fact that many new varieties and hybrids have been obtained during this time, the Ogonyok variety does not give up its positions. Reviews of gardeners speak of its early ripeness and good taste, and, most importantly, excellent adaptation to growing conditions in the climate. Initially, the watermelon variety Ogonyok was intended for cultivation in the Central Black Earth and North Caucasian regions, where summers are warm. At the same time, it was also recommended for Eastern Siberia and the Far East. In these regions, the climate is not so unambiguous, however, the test results of the watermelon Spark were good.
Enthusiast gardeners have expanded the list of favorable regions for growing gourds Ogonyok, they collect ripe fruits in Central Our Country and even to the north. This is facilitated by the following varietal features:
- the Ogonek variety belongs to the early ripe ones, the first watermelons will ripen already 80 days after the appearance of the first sprouts, and in hot summer a week earlier. This variety of watermelon ripens very easily; it is impossible to overexpose it in the garden.
- the weight of watermelons is not too large – up to 2,5 kg, such fruits are called portioned, this is an advantage, not a disadvantage: you don’t have to puzzle over where to put the uneaten part of the sweet treat;
- the taste of the vegetable is very good, the sugar content is high;
- the shape of watermelons of the Ogonyok variety is round, the skin color is dark green, almost black with barely visible dark stripes, the color of the pulp is red-orange, it is grainy, juicy, the seeds of the watermelon Spark are small, dark brown;
Of the other features of this variety, a short shelf life should be noted. Collected watermelons must be eaten in a week and a half, otherwise they will deteriorate.
In order for the watermelon Spark to please with sugar content and ripen in time, you need to follow the basic rules for growing this melon crop.
How to grow
Watermelon Spark is intended for cultivation in open ground. In the south, he will give a good harvest without much trouble. In the middle lane, and even more so in Siberia, it is better to sow it for seedlings and plant it after the end of the cold weather.
We grow seedlings
You need to sow only prepared seeds of watermelon Spark.
- select full-weight without damage watermelon seeds;
- warm them for 2 hours in hot water, the temperature of which should be about 50 degrees;
- disinfect the seeds of watermelon Spark in a solution of potassium permanganate with a concentration of 1% for 60 minutes;
- soaked in a damp cloth in warmth until they hatch.
For sowing, you will need loose fertile soil: a mixture of peat, humus and sand in equal parts. You can sow the seeds of the watermelon Spark in any containers with a volume of at least 0,6 liters, the main thing is that the plant can be easily removed from them for planting without damaging the earthen clod and roots.
Sowing depth – 4 cm. In order for seedlings to appear faster, pots with sown watermelon seeds are kept at a temperature of 25-30 degrees. The shoots that have appeared are in great need of good lighting – they choose a place for them on a sunny windowsill.
We create comfortable conditions for sprouts:
- a lot of light;
- daytime temperature is about 25 degrees, and at night – not lower than 14;
- watering with warm water as the soil dries in pots, complete drying should not be allowed, but overflow is also harmful;
- 2 fertilizing with mineral fertilizer of full composition in soluble form – the first time a decade after germination and after the same time again;
- hardening a week before planting, we gradually accustom seedlings to fresh air.
Usually thirty-day seedlings are planted in the ground. This can only be done when the weather is warm. The most important thing for a watermelon is a well-heated soil, if its temperature is below 18 degrees, the roots of the plant do not absorb nutrients well, their growth will slow down. Before the earth warms up well, it makes no sense to plant seedlings. In each region, this happens at its own time.
How to plant seedlings
Seedlings are planted in prepared soil. It has been prepared for this melon culture since autumn.
Preparing the beds and choosing a place for planting
The bed is chosen so that it is fully illuminated by the sun throughout the day. It should not have grown vegetables from the cucurbit family in the previous 3 years. Not suitable as a predecessor and nightshade. The earth should be light in texture and have a neutral or slightly alkaline reaction, warm up quickly in the spring. Stagnation of water is detrimental to the root system of the watermelon of the Ogonyok variety, so damp beds are not suitable for it.
In autumn, for each sq. m of soil for digging contribute up to 40 kg of peat-manure compost, 35 g of superphosphate and 40 g of potassium salt in the form of sulfate. In the spring, when harrowing, nitrogen fertilizer is applied in the amount of 40 g to the same area and a 0,5-liter jar of ash.
We plant seedlings
In order for the bed to warm up faster in the spring, immediately after the snow melts, it is covered with a black film or non-woven material of the same color. Watermelons are best planted in one row. This culture needs a large feeding area, so the distance between the plants of the watermelon Spark should not be less than 80 cm. To keep its roots warmer, the covering material is not removed, but simply cut cross-shaped holes in it, bend the ends and form a hole. 2 handfuls of humus and a pinch of complete mineral fertilizer are added to it, 2 liters of warm water are poured out and seedlings are carefully planted without deepening it.
If the weather is unstable, it is better to install arcs over the bed and cover them with a film or non-woven covering material. When it’s hot, you have to take them off.
Seed sowing
It is carried out in the prepared and heated ground to a depth of about 6-8 cm at the same distance as when planting seedlings. To make seedlings appear faster, the bed is covered with non-woven material.
Outdoor care
Growing watermelon variety Spark in the open field is impossible without watering, fertilizing and loosening, if the bed is not mulched with a film or organic matter.
Watering
Despite the fact that watermelon is a drought-resistant crop, it consumes more moisture than all moisture-loving plants. The reason for this is the strong evaporation of water from the leaves – this is how the watermelon escapes from the heat. It is rarely necessary to water the Light, but plentifully and only with water heated to 25 degrees and above. Most of all, it needs moisture during the flowering period and the beginning of fruit formation. A month before harvest, that is, about 10 days after the formation of the ovaries, watering is stopped so that the watermelons gain more sugar. The exception is extreme heat – plantings will have to be watered, but with less water. Plants must be protected from rain with a film.
Feeding
Watermelons are fed Spark twice:
- a decade after the relocation of seedlings of watermelon Spark in open ground with a solution of urea in the amount of 30 g per ten-liter bucket of water;
- after another 2 weeks, complete mineral fertilizer in the amount of 40 g per ten-liter bucket of water.
Formation
It is in the warm southern sun that all the fruits that have set will ripen, and when growing watermelon Ogonyok in other regions, such as the Moscow region, the Urals or Siberia, the plant needs to be formed and the crop normalized.
- fruit formation in a watermelon Spark goes only on the main lash, so all the side ones are pinched off once a week. It is permissible to leave one ovary on the side lash and pinch it after 5 sheets;
- more than 2-3 watermelons on one lash simply will not have time to ripen, as soon as they are tied up, pinch the lashes, counting 6 leaves after the fruit;
- no more than 2 main lashes are left on one watermelon.
You can see more about the formation of watermelon in the video:
If everything is done correctly, already at the end of July, the first ripe watermelons of the Spark variety can be served at the table. How do you know if they are ripe?
Watermelon ripeness criteria:
- when tapping on the fetus, a ringing sound is heard due to the voids that it contains;
- the tendril at the stalk or the existing stipule dries up;
- the color becomes brighter and a wax coating appears;
- a light spot appears at the point of contact with the soil.