Melon Torpedo: how to choose and how to grow

Melon Torpedo is one of the most popular representatives of sweet gourds on domestic shelves. In the homeland of the variety, in Uzbekistan, it is called Mirzachulskaya, where the melon is cultivated in private farmsteads and in large areas for commercial purposes. The aroma and sweetness that the fruits receive from the generous, southern sun are combined with the high nutritional value and health benefits of melon. Yellow, fragrant fruits can be grown in temperate climates, but for this Torpeda will have to create some conditions.

Description of the Uzbek melon Torpedo

An annual melon culture originating from Asia appeared in Our Country more than 300 years ago. Excellent transportability allowed the fruits of the Torpedo melon to withstand long-term transportation, up to the territory of modern Europe. Today, the variety is not only imported for sale, but also grown in regions with a warm and temperate climate.

Due to the characteristic oblong shape and large size, the sweet vegetable got its modern name Torpedo. The official name of the variety is “Rainbow Melon”. The weight of imported fruits of the Torpedo reaches 15 kg. The temperate climate of the middle lane allows you to grow individual samples of about 5 kg.

The maximum length of the Torpedo melon shoots reaches 2 m. The young stems of the plant are strong and powerful. This allows you to grow a variety on supports to prevent contact of lashes and fruits with the soil. This technique provides ventilation of the plant, disease prevention, and accelerates ripening.

Melon Torpedo has the following varietal characteristics:

• oval fruits of the correct form grow from 0,3 to 0,5 m in length;
• the yellow peel is covered with a network of silvery veins;
• milky pulp, about 6 cm thick;
• juicy, oily texture;
• a large number of seeds.

The taste of Torpeda melon with enough sun and hot summers is rated as excellent. In the middle lane, the sugar content of fruits can decrease significantly. Under favorable conditions, the melon acquires a bright smell, rich taste with notes of pineapple, vanilla and duchesse.

Torpedo belongs to the late varieties of gourds. The term for reaching technical maturity in Central Asia is at least 60 days. Therefore, you should not expect a high-quality ripe product of this variety on the shelves before August.

Pros and cons of the variety

Melon Torpedo, judging by the photos and reviews of domestic gardeners, is able to bear excellent fruit in a temperate climate. Their mass is smaller, the smell and taste are somewhat inferior to the product from Asia, which is considered a relative disadvantage of the variety. Sometimes the melon lacks warm days, and it does not have time to fully ripen.

Comparable in popularity with the European variety “Kolkhoz Woman”, Torpedo has the following advantages:

• excellent commercial and taste qualities;
• transportability and keeping quality of fruits;
• health benefits of pulp and seeds.

Torpedo is one of the few gourds that can be stored for a long time under certain conditions. In a cellar or cool room, melons stay fresh until spring. To do this, choose the fruits at the stage of technical maturity and store, hanging on supports.

What is useful melon Torpedo for the body

The rich chemical composition of fruits, the abundance of vitamins, microelements, biologically active compounds make it possible to classify melon as a health-improving product. The most useful substances in the composition of the Torpedo pulp:

• vitamins E, C, A, PP representatives of the entire group B;
• potassium, chlorine, sodium are contained in high concentrations;
• less, but therapeutically significant presence of potassium, magnesium, iron, fluorine, iodine;
• organic acids: pantothenic, malic, citric;
• vegetable fiber.

The sweet taste and unique balance of substances produce the following effects on the body:

• production of the hormone of happiness, reduction of anxiety;
• increase in general tone, decrease in apathy;
• improvement of the blood formula;
• immunity strengthening.

How to choose a ripe melon Torpedo

Among the wide variety of gourds offered at the end of summer and autumn, I would like to choose the most ripe product. Melon Torpedo fully reveals its varietal qualities only fully ripened, harvested at the natural time for the variety, without ripening with the help of chemical dressings.

Signs of a ripe, quality melon:

1. The surface of the fruit is dry and clean, without spots, cuts, breaks.
2. The color is uniform, yellow, without green streaks, brown areas.
3. The melon is firm but not hard. The peel is springy, does not squeeze through when pressed with a finger.
4. The smell is honey, rich, without sour notes.
5. The tail is dry but strong.

Independently ripened melons of the Torpedo variety appear on sale no earlier than the end of August. Too early fruits may contain substances that accelerate the ripening and will not benefit the body.

How many calories are in melon Torpedo

The calorie content of melon Torpedo is one of the highest among melons, but its nutritional value does not exceed the limits of a dietary product. A sweet vegetable is allowed to eat even if you are overweight. The composition of the melon is 90% water, in which useful substances and sugars are dissolved. Therefore, ripe pulp easily quenches thirst.

Variety Torpedo – the sweetest of melons. The calorie content of 100 g of its pulp exceeds 35 kcal. Carbohydrates occupy the largest share in the composition – up to 7,5 g. Fats and proteins are present minimally, in total not exceeding 1 g.

Melon Glycemic Index Torpedo

The high content of carbohydrates in Torpedo is compensated by their rapid absorption. “Fast sugar” is easily converted into energy, and, therefore, is completely consumed by the body. On this basis, Torpedo melon can be called a natural energy drink.

Easily digestible carbohydrates have the property of spikes in blood sugar levels, which then go down on their own. This effect should be remembered by people suffering from diabetes. The glycemic index of Torpedo melon is quite high at 65 units, which is 10 points less than that of ripe watermelons.

Rules for the use of melon varieties Torpedo for diabetics:

1. With type 1 diabetes, it is allowed to include a sweet vegetable in the diet on general principles.
2. In type 2 diabetes with concomitant obesity, fruit consumption is beneficial for weight loss. When using melon, you should carefully monitor your blood sugar levels.
3. The main rule is the full compensation of consumed carbohydrates with preparative insulin and regular physical activity.

Melon Torpedo contains few calories, can be used for dietary nutrition. Due to the energy and vitamin composition, the Torpedo variety is indicated for recovery from serious illnesses, as a useful product for athletes or for rapid physical fatigue.

How to grow torpedo melons

The heat-loving melon Torpedo is a southern plant, its cultivation in the middle lane is fraught with difficulties. Due to the lack of light and heat, the ripening time of melons is stretched, and the fruits do not have time to ripen. Therefore, in a temperate climate, the Torpedo variety is recommended to be grown in greenhouses or greenhouses.

It is permissible to plant the Torpedo variety with seeds immediately in open ground in areas with warm summers.

Basic landing rules:

1. The temperature of the soil during work should not be lower than + 14 ° C, otherwise shoots will be rare and weak.
2. Before planting, melon seeds are soaked to swell and discard unsimilar specimens.
3. The hatched seeds are buried in the ground by 5-6 cm, placing 4-5 seeds in each hole.
4. The sowing scheme for the Torpedo melon is chosen arbitrarily, maintaining the distance between the holes from 60 to 100 cm.

In most of Our Country, the climate does not allow you to get a full crop of Torpedo melon without shelter. To ensure a full cycle of vegetation, the variety is grown through seedlings.

Preparation of seedlings

Before planting seeds for seedlings, they are sorted, pickled in a slightly pink solution of potassium permanganate, and wait for sprouts to appear. The sunken seeds are ready for planting in the ground.

The choice of containers for planting is dictated by some conditions:

1. The fragile root system of the sprouts is easily damaged during transplantation, so peat tablets or glasses are used for melons.
2. The size of the planting containers is chosen based on the expected planting time: in peat tablets, plants can develop up to 14 days, in glasses, seedlings can wait a month for planting.
3. In pots with a depth of more than 10 cm, it is permissible to plant several seeds. Grown plants are evaluated by strength, height and leave one, cutting off excess stems.
4. In the middle lane, Torpedo seeds are sown from the end of April, and they are taken out to the beds by June.

You can prepare the soil mixture for melons yourself by mixing garden soil, peat, sand and humus in equal parts.

The process of growing seedlings of melon Torpedo:

• the soil is moistened by adding complex fertilizers suitable for pumpkin crops to the water;
• seeds are buried in the substrate by 1-2 cm;
• sprinkle the surface of the soil with sand to prevent rot and black leg;
• contain pots at a temperature not lower than + 20 ° C (night fluctuations up to + 15 ° C are acceptable);
• watering is carried out moderately, focusing on the drying of the topsoil.

After waiting for favorable weather conditions, they take the Torpedo seedlings outside and harden them for several days.

Selection and preparation of the landing site

Gray forest, sandy loamy soils and black earth are the best soils for melon Torpedo. Any other types of substrates will have to be adjusted to the needs of melons. In any case, the acidity of the soil in the beds should be neutral.

Melons need an abundance of light and heat, so places open to the sun are allocated for them. Night temperature should not fall below + 15 °C. It is advisable to protect the site from winds and drafts with tall plants or a small fence. On beds with melons of the southern variety Torpedo, moisture stagnation, which provokes rot and fungal infections, is unacceptable.

Additional illumination in the greenhouse is carried out with an intensity of 5000-6000 lux. For melon Torpedo in protected ground, it is enough to create a layer of fertile soil up to 15 cm thick. The substrate is mixed based on the ratio: 1 part of peat and sand to 2 parts of humus.

It is advisable to prepare open beds for melons in the fall:

1. Dig up the soil to a depth in the bayonet of a shovel.
2. Organics are introduced: 5 kg of mature manure or humus per 1 sq. m.
3. Sand is added to loamy soils, providing looseness of the substrate.

In the spring, the area for melons is fertilized with potassium-phosphorus complex compounds. On the prepared beds, future holes are planned and they wait for the soil to warm up.

Rules of landing

Adult seedlings of melon Torpedo are ready for transplanting 35 days after the first shoots appear. The best specimens by this time are growing 6-7 true leaves.

The standard hole layout suggests leaving 60 cm between plants, 80 cm between rows, about 1 m in the aisles.

The earth in the beds is abundantly moistened, young plants are placed in holes, sprinkled with soil with a root ball. At the same time, the neck of the melon should not be buried more than that of the seedlings before planting. It is useful to mulch the surface of the soil with river sand. When the weather is unstable, they arrange film shelters for the beds.

Watering and top dressing

After planting seedlings of the Torpedo, until its rooting, moisturizing is carried out with heated water. When the plants begin to grow, the number of waterings is reduced until they stop completely. Before the formation of ovaries, Torpedo melons are rarely watered, only when the soil is very dry, preventing excess tops from growing.

Irrigation is increased after the formation of fruits, when melons gain weight. About 4 weeks before the expected collection, watering is reduced again. This technique provides the Torpedo variety with a set of sugars and the appearance of a typical melon aroma.

Even in well-prepared beds, melons need abundant fertilizer. At least 3 top dressings will be required per season:

1. 15 days after planting, 2 liters of ammonium nitrate solution are applied per bush (20 g of the drug per 10 liters of water).
2. The same technique is repeated during the flowering of the melon.
3. The last top dressing is carried out 20 days after budding: 25 g of phosphorus and potassium fertilizers are diluted with 10 liters of water and 2 liters of liquid are added under 1 bush.

After closing the tops, feeding is stopped. Fertilization is unacceptable if less than 20 days remain before the fruit is harvested.

Formation

There are two popular methods for forming bushes of the Torpedo variety: trellis and spreading. Under the open sky, most often, they allow the plant to freely spread along the ground. For this method, the central shoot of the Torpedo should be pinched over another 4 leaf and allowed to develop lateral processes, which are left no more than 3 pieces.

Long shoots are pinned to the soil to form additional roots. This technique provides increased nutrition to the fruits of the Torpedo.

In greenhouse conditions or to save space on the plot, melons are formed vertically:

• arrange two horizontal trellises at a height of 2 m above the beds;
• a week after planting, the seedlings are tied up with one shoot to each of the trellises;
• as the central stem and lateral lashes grow, adjust their length by pinching, remove processes without ovaries;
• after the first fruits of the Torpedo reach a diameter of 5 cm, they remove excess ovaries throughout the bush;
• 6-7 melons can grow and ripen at the same time on one bush, the rest of the ovaries will weaken the bush, which will affect the quality of the crop.

With the method of formation by spreading under the fruits and part of the lashes, roofing material, slate, and garden non-woven material are underlain. This will keep the melons and stems from getting too hot.

Harvesting

For transportation and subsequent sale, the fruits of the Torpedo are harvested at the stage of technical ripeness. When growing for personal use, it is important to choose a ripe melon in the garden, and leave the remaining fruits to ripen naturally.

The level of ripeness of melon variety Torpedo is determined by the following criteria:

1. The fruit is separated from the stem easily, without twisting movements.
2. The color of the peel is bright, uniform on all sides.
3. Rings are clearly visible around the stem.
4. Melon exudes a bright, honey aroma.

Diseases and pests

The main cause of gourd diseases in a temperate climate is high air and soil humidity, which is unusual for southern crops. Fungal, bacterial, viral types of infection of leaves and fruits are common with excessive watering or excess rainfall. Against the background of waterlogging, the Torpedo variety quickly develops root rot.

Typical diseases of melons:

• anthracnose;
• downy mildew;
• powdery mildew;
• fusarium wilt.

To prevent these diseases, disinfection of seeds and soil is mandatory, and crop rotation is observed. Weeds in the beds contribute to the infection of melons, so the soil on the melon should be kept clean until the leaves close.

With early detection of infections, spraying plantings of melon Torpedo with a 1% solution of copper sulfate helps. In case of inefficiency, treatment with specialized preparations will be required.

In the middle lane, the landings of the Torpedo are threatened by the following insects:

• melon fly, which spoils ripe fruits;
• spider mite – affects the leaves;
• nibbling scoops – suck out the juice of the stems.

On weed-free beds without excess moisture and with proper soil preparation from autumn, the risk of insect attacks on Torpedo plantings is noticeably reduced. If infection could not be avoided, a special insecticide is selected from a specific type of pest.

Using Melon Torpedo

The benefits and harms of Torpedo melon are determined by its rich composition, which ensures the widespread use of juicy pulp, seeds and even peel. The fruits are eaten, used for skin, hair and included in the treatment of certain diseases.

In cooking

Melon Torpedo is eaten fresh, jam and compotes are made from it, juice is squeezed out, aromatic substances are extracted to enrich many dishes and drinks. Candied fruits are prepared from the peel of the vegetable.

Nutritionists recommend including a seasonal vegetable in wellness diets along with fruits. There are special “melon” diets that make it easy to get rid of excess weight. Unloading days using only the pulp of the Torpedo are allowed to be carried out twice a week.

In cosmetology

Torpedo melon seeds contain significant concentrations of zinc. This substance has a beneficial effect on the condition of the skin, strengthens the hair. In addition to this effect, the internal intake of Torpedo seeds with honey contributes to the healing of the whole organism, strengthens the immune system, and increases sexual desire.

As part of professional cosmetic products, the Torpeda melon variety exhibits the following properties:

• prevents early skin aging;
• whitens, evens out complexion;
• provides nourishment and hydration to cells.

At home, it is easy to use all these properties of a melon by simply applying a slurry of Torpedo pulp to problem areas of the skin, nail plates, and hair. Mashed fruits are also used to whiten age spots, remove freckles.

A mixture of melon and olive oil perfectly nourishes and moisturizes tired skin of the face and hands for a long time. Take 1 tbsp. l. oil for 4 tbsp. l. pulp, mixed and applied as a mask. After the procedure, the skin becomes velvety, smooth, toned.

To restore damaged hair, you can use this homemade recipe:

• ground pulp of melon Torpedo – 100 g;
• burdock oil – 1 Art. l .;
• yolk of one egg.

All ingredients are combined and whipped until smooth. Apply to the scalp, distribute over the strands. Leave to act for at least 15 minutes. Wash off with warm water and a gentle shampoo. 4 procedures are enough with a frequency of once a week to restore brittle, dry or damaged hair.

In folk medicine

Useful properties of Torpedo fruits are used as an additional remedy for such conditions:

• anemia;
• excess of cholesterol in the blood;
• hypertension;
• toxicosis and poisoning;
• kidney stones and sand.

The presence of a large amount of vegetable fiber in combination with other beneficial substances contributes to the gentle cleansing of the intestines, binds and removes toxins, improves peristalsis.

In case of violations in the work of the heart, Torpedo melon is a source of valuable compounds that feed the myocardium. In the absence of contraindications, the vegetable can be used in dietary nutrition for angina pectoris, endocarditis, coronary artery disease, atherosclerosis and other pathological conditions.

Противопоказания

The use of melon Torpedo is contraindicated in such diseases:

• severe form of diabetes;
• the presence of ulcers in the gastrointestinal tract;
• intestinal dysbiosis;
• dysentery.

With caution, melon is used in the preparation of the diet of nursing mothers. Substances that enter breast milk can cause flatulence and colic in an infant.

Melon Torpedo does not go well with dairy products, alcohol, chilled drinks. With any deviations in the work of the stomach, the fruits are not recommended to be eaten on an empty stomach.

Conclusion

Melon Torpedo is a southern, sweet vegetable that has long ceased to be exotic even for residents of the northern regions. The geography of cultivation of the variety is shifting to the north every season. Special agricultural practices, the use of fertilizers, modern greenhouses and hotbeds make it possible to obtain sunny melons in an atypical climate for them.