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Gulyabi melon comes from Central Asia. At home – in Turkmenistan, the plant is called Charjouz melon. Five main varieties of culture have been developed: all fruits are sweet, juicy, soft, with a lot of vitamins. It is useful for children from the first months of life. It is stored for a long time, retaining useful properties.
Description of melon Gulyabi
The external color of the fruit depends on the Gulyabi variety: from even yellow to green with roughness. The pulp is white, soft, dense, juicy. Long-term storage of the culture contributes to the accumulation of sugar (about 9%) – the melon becomes juicier, the taste is preserved, the aroma is enhanced. By the amount of sugar, the fruits are compared with sugar cane.
For the full ripening of Gulyabi fruits, an average of 4,5 months is required (up to 133 days after germination). The standard weight of the fruits of the plant is up to 5 kg, in Our Country it ripens up to 3 kg.
For the first time, culture was brought to Our Country in the XNUMXth century. Hybrid varieties were resistant to the natural conditions of the middle zone of the country. For different regions, breeders bred their own varieties of culture:
- Variety Orange. Differs in bright color of pulp (from light, almost white to juicy orange). The fruit is juicy, the ripening time is 2,5 months, after being removed from the bush, it should lie down in a dark place for up to 6 weeks.
- Variety Bosvaldi. The shelf life is short, outwardly the fruits are wrinkled, green with brown stripes.
- Variety Sary-Gulyabi. Has a rough surface, mesh pattern, dense juicy pulp.
- Variety Chardzhouzskaya Gulyabi. With a peel of even yellow-orange color, juicy, sweet fruit. It is called the “queen” among melons.
- Gulyaba-803 variety. The skin is bright yellow. The pulp is crispy, juicy, honey. The shape is like an egg.
All varieties of Gulyabi are considered late-ripening.
Gardeners argue: is melon a vegetable, berry or fruit? In relation to melons, this crop is considered a vegetable. Scientists call the melon a “false berry”. Cooks are accustomed to classify the plant as a fruit.
Calorie melon Gulyabi
The pulp of the fruit of the plant is low in calories. There are 100 kcal or 33 kJ per 138 grams. The value is average. May change. The final indicator depends on the growing conditions of the crop, the frequency of watering, the ripening period.
Pros and cons of the variety
Like any species, Gulyabi melon has certain advantages and disadvantages. The first, most significant plus is the high content of vitamins, minerals, various salts, fiber, starch. Among gourds Gulyabi is the most useful. Sugar is easily digested. The general effect on the body is therapeutic: regular use improves immunity.
The second plus is the long shelf life of the fruit. Some varieties of Gulyabi retain their properties until the next season, until May: this allows you to get vitamins from a natural fruit throughout the winter.
An additional advantage of culture: a variety of dishes are prepared from the Gulyabi melon. Desserts, sweets, hot dishes (soups, mashed potatoes, etc.) are tasty, healthy, and are often used in baby food.
Cons:
- Difficulties in growing crops. In the regions of Our Country in the middle zone, the probability of freezing seedlings is high. In greenhouse conditions, the plant is not grown: the lack of sunlight, heat, ultraviolet affects. Artificially created lighting does not give the desired effect.
- The likelihood of an allergy. Melon Gulyabi is also contraindicated in patients with diabetes mellitus, in case of violation of lipid processing and the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.
Growing melon Gulyabi
Gulyabi melon requires a hot dry climate. The plant does not tolerate high humidity. Growing requires care, you need to take into account the characteristics of the culture when planting and caring.
Preparation of seedlings
There are two options – buy ready-made plant seedlings or grow your own from unsprouted crop seeds. The first method is more expensive, but less troublesome. Seeds take three years. The early ones will not form fruits, they form an empty flower.
It is necessary to make sure that the seeds are suitable for planting. 5 grams of salt is diluted in 100 ml of pure water. The good ones will sink to the bottom: they are collected, dried. Those that float to the surface are unusable, corrupted, or empty.
Ready plant seeds are soaked in advance – to accelerate the appearance of sprouts. It is necessary to wrap it with wet gauze, place it in a plastic bag, hang it in a warm place (for example, near a battery). Or use warm wet sand. A novelty in the arsenal of gardeners – hydrogel.
Planting plant seeds for seedlings depends on the climate of the area and the desired age of the crop when sent to the ground. In the central zone of the country, sowing is carried out from the end of March to the beginning of April. In the Urals and Siberia – the second half-end of April. Gulyabi melon is transplanted onto the ground after 35 – 40 days.
It is advisable to use an individual container for Gulyabi seedlings, with a diameter of 10 cm. It is not recommended to do a pick. For the soil, peat, humus and sod are mixed in equal proportions. To feed the plants, add one small spoonful of ash, superphosphate, potassium sulfate.
After the emergence of seedlings of the culture, weak sprouts are removed, providing maximum light. In cloudy weather, the light of phytolamps is added. Direct rays should be softened – paper, cloth are put on the windows.
Watering no more than three times in seven days. It’s important not to overdo it. Use settled water at room temperature.
Before planting in the ground, Gulyabi melon seedlings need to be prepared. The container is taken out to the balcony, loggia. Start with one hour, gradually adding time. Hardening seedlings begin at least a week in advance.
Selection and preparation of the landing site
Melon Gulyabi is thermophilic. The site should be located from the southern, southwestern part of the site. Wind protection needs to be considered. For example, some gardeners plant high crops (sunflowers, legumes, corn) around the perimeter. Others place the plant between rows of young garden trees. Two years in a row, a crop is not grown in one place.
The site begins to be prepared in the fall: they choose a place, arrange the beds. Before winter, the soil is dug up, mixed with humus (an approximate calculation is 3,5 kg per square meter). At the beginning of spring, fertilizers are added – nitrogen, potash, phosphorus.
Rules of landing
Gulyabi melon is planted after the following crops: onions, legumes, cabbage, sweet clover, corn, wheat. It is forbidden to plant after nightshade, pumpkin, carrots. If there is no other option, all the remains of the old plants are burned, the soil is treated with a solution of manganese (5%). Such crops have similar pests, diseases that can pass to a new plant.
Holes for seedlings are dug to a depth of 5 – 7 cm, the distance between them is 1,5 m (less is impossible: the melon plant, it spreads well). A loose clod of earth can form a small hill, no more than 5 cm high. Before planting, the soil should be watered with warm water.
Watering and top dressing
Plants are watered next to seedlings. Make a special small ditch. The water is heated (temperature about 25 ° C). A new watering of the culture begins when the earth has dried to a depth of 5 cm. During the formation of fruit ovaries, they are watered less frequently. Watering is completely stopped during the ripening of Gulyabi melon fruits. This increases the level of sugar in the pulp, and the root and aerial parts avoid rotting.
Feed the plants according to the schedule:
- after the appearance of culture sprouts on the seventh day – ammonium nitrate, “Kemira”;
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- during the active formation of plant buds – a solution of mullein, rotted bird droppings (ratio 1:15);
- when fruit ovaries appear – phosphorus, potassium complementary foods (for one bucket of water 50 grams of the first, 20 grams of the second).
Feeding plants is carried out strictly in the specified periods. The culture becomes vulnerable, weakened, therefore, additional nutrition of melon seedlings is required.
Formation
The artificial formation of the Gulyabi melon bush will save the plant’s strength for budding, ovary, fruit ripening. A maximum of 5 lateral shoots of the plant are left, and the main stem of the culture is also pinched. The number of fruit ovaries for one bush of culture should not exceed 4 – 5 pieces.
Harvesting
Melon Gulyabi refers to late-ripening crops. Fruit picking begins in late August – early September. The ripeness of the fruits of a plant is determined by some features:
- dry tail;
- from the side of the flower, the melon fruit remains soft, but without squeezing;
- uniform saturated color corresponding to the variety;
- the aroma is pleasant, when hitting the peel, a muffled echo is heard.
Long-term storage of crop fruits allows you to harvest a large crop. The exception is the Gulyabi Bosvaldi variety. Its fruits have a thin peel, they cannot be transported over long distances, therefore they are consumed during the first month.
Diseases and pests
The laborious process of planting and caring for the plant allows you to collect a good harvest of melon fruits. Pests, various diseases of the crop become an obstacle. The fight against harmful consequences does not always give a result: it is more effective to take measures to prevent the development of infection.
Gulyabi melon pests include:
- melon aphid – appears on the inside of the leaves of the culture: they are treated with karbofos, soapy water, actellik;
- wireworm;
- melon fly – a rarity in Our Country, it destroys up to half of the fruits of the plant;
- spider mite – stops the growth of the plant, weakens the culture: they are treated with acaricides, agents with phosphorus, sulfur;
- infected (parasitic plant) – instead of sucker roots, the seeds are stored for several seasons in a row: the soil is kept clean, crop rotation is carried out, deep plowing of the soil;
- scoops (butterfly caterpillars): you should more often loosen the ground between the rows, chemicals strictly according to the instructions.
Cultural diseases are varied. Often transferred from neighboring plants, from infected seeds or soil. The most common are fusarium, powdery mildew, gray mold, white and angular spotting, ascochitosis, copperhead.
Conclusion
Melon Gulyabi is a useful low-calorie product. The complexity of the growing process compensates for the shelf life of fruits and taste. Gardeners consider the melon to be a rewarding, fascinating crop. Even a novice summer resident can grow a Gulyabi melon.
