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Melon, without a doubt, is one of the main delicacies of late summer and early autumn. Sweet, juicy pieces of pumpkin are just asking for your mouth, and melon jam will surely become the main sweetness of a long winter. However, before you can eat a melon, you need to plant and grow it. In some regions, melon seeds are planted directly in open ground, as the climate is suitable for this. But some regions cannot boast of mild weather, so you have to first grow seedlings and only then plant them in open ground. In this article, you will learn how to prepare seeds for planting melons, how to save them, and how to prepare seedlings for transplanting in open ground.
Choose seeds
First of all, you should choose seeds that can be grown in your area. Remember that the melon loves heat very much, which means you need to provide it with at least +25 ºС throughout the growing season. It is best to take early-ripening varieties, which, although they will give a slightly smaller yield, will definitely give it.
For such a planting, the Altai variety is suitable, the growing season of which takes only 80 days. Melon fruits are oval, rich yellow in color, the flesh is white and juicy. Pumpkins grow up to 1 kilogram in weight, are well stored and transported.
Another variety that is good to grow through seedlings is “Blondie”. Its vegetation lasts up to 85 days. Pumpkins of medium size, weighing up to 700 grams, when ripe, the peel becomes creamy, exuding a strong sweet smell.
You should not choose late-ripening melon varieties, especially in the middle lane. It is best to plant seeds that are already 2-3 years old, since peers mainly form male flowers. Seeds suitable for planting are selected by soaking in a 5% salt solution, where the seed is placed for 2-3 hours. Those seeds that float up should not be planted, because they will not sprout or give weak sprouts. And those that have safely settled to the bottom should be washed and laid out on a damp cloth for further preparation for planting.
When to plant
When growing melon seedlings, it is important to know when to plant the seeds and when it is time to plant in the ground in the garden. Melon is planted in greenhouses and open beds in early June, when the air temperature is already consistently high. So, planting seeds falls on the middle or end of April. It is important that the seedlings form a strong root system and stem – this will help the plant to adapt faster in the garden. The fact is that the melon does not tolerate transplants very well and can grow poorly or even die.
Seed and soil preparation
The first step is to prepare the seeds. After you have rejected the seeds, they need to be disinfected and hardened in order, firstly, to accelerate their growth, and secondly, to protect them from various infections.
Disinfection is carried out using a solution of potassium permanganate. Dilute 10 grams of potassium permanganate crystals in 1 liter of water, place the seed in it for 25 minutes. You can also use a soda solution, for this, 2 grams of baking soda is diluted in 1 glass of warm water. In this case, the seeds are soaked in it for 11 hours. This time is enough for them to swell and awaken the vegetative processes.
To charge future melons with useful microelements and speed up their ripening, you can use ash infusion. To do this, dilute 1 teaspoon of wood ash in 1 glass of water, put the seeds in a cloth bag and dip in the infusion for 12 hours. After that, rinse under running water and dry with paper towels.
Hardening of seeds helps well, increasing their resistance to weather conditions and immunity. You can do this in several ways:
- Gather snow (if it hasn’t melted yet) or take ice from the freezer. Put the seeds pre-treated with ash infusion on ice and leave for 10 hours. Alternatively, wrap the seed in a damp cloth and put it in the refrigerator, in a compartment where the temperature is about +2 °C.
- Fill the container with water at a temperature of about 35 ° C, put melon seeds in it for 12 hours. Then wrap them in a cloth and put them in a dry place at room temperature for a day. When they have settled down, put them in the refrigerator for 18-20 hours, and then place them again in a room with room temperature. The procedure must be repeated at least 3 times. After such preparation, seedlings will be easier to plant in the ground.
No less attention should be paid to the composition of the soil. Melon seedlings should be planted in a “cocktail” of humus, turf and peat, mixing them in equal proportions. This is the base to which you need to add 1 cup of ash, 1 teaspoon of carbamide, 1 tablespoon of superphosphate and 1 teaspoon of potassium. All ingredients must be thoroughly mixed and poured into a container for seeds.
Before adding fertilizer, take care to disinfect the soil. You can calcine the soil in the oven or use a solution of potassium permanganate or copper sulfate. It is in such soil that it is best to plant seeds.
Sowing technology
You can plant seeds in peat tablets or pots. This is a fairly easy option and is suitable if you are not growing a lot of seedlings. Otherwise, you will need quite a lot of space to store these pills.
It is quite convenient to grow seedlings in paper cups. This way, it will be easier for you to get the seedlings out of them when it’s time to plant them in the garden. It is best to choose a diameter of at least 10 centimeters. Fill each cup or any other container suitable for growing with previously prepared soil. Moisten the soil, and then deepen the seeds by 3-4 centimeters. Put a few seeds in one hole or cup to increase the likelihood of germination. Sprinkle the soil with a centimeter layer of sand on top.
Seedlings are grown for about 25-30 days.
The technology of growing seedlings of melon
From now on, make sure that the plant receives enough sunlight and heat. The air temperature must be at least 20 ºС. After about a week, with enough heat, the first shoots will appear. Leave in each cup only one sprout, the strongest. When the second leaf is formed on the sprout, pinch the seedlings to stimulate the development of lateral shoots.
Melon seedlings need to be fed twice during the growing period. For the first time, fertilizers are applied to the soil when the first leaf appears. Prepare a mixture of mineral components: superphosphate, saltpeter, potassium. Feed a second time after 2 weeks. This will be enough to grow healthy seedlings that will be easy to plant in the garden.
Despite the fact that plants from the gourd family are drought tolerant, keep an eye on watering so that the soil in the pots does not dry out. In the early stages of the growing season, sprouts need a large amount of resources. Once every two weeks, you can combine watering with top dressing. Use a yeast solution. To do this, mix 10 grams of dry yeast with 10 liters of water, and then dilute the solution 1:10.
Video “Seedlings of melon”
This video is about the intricacies of preparing seeds and planting them for seedlings.
