My parents cultivated melons in the open field. We have 9 acres of no man's land near the dacha, we plow it every year, plant potatoes, pumpkins, corn, sunflower, and even a small melon has a place. I still remember how proud my father felt when he brought small melons from the Kolkhoznitsa variety from the dacha. I have no experience. But I really want to try the melon grown by myself. Therefore, by publishing this article, I begin to accumulate experience that will help me decide to grow melons in the garden.
Who will not like a slice of sweet, fragrant and juicy melon? Especially on a hot summer day? Melon is a southern resident, it is very demanding on heat, therefore, it melts on melons only in the southern regions of the country.
The beneficial properties of melon
Melon is an annual herbaceous plant. The fruits are large, with many seeds. They are very sweet due to the high sucrose content. By the way, melon contains much more vitamins than watermelon. And there is still much iron in it.
For medicinal purposes, only ripe fruits are used. Melon is useful for obesity, in violation of fat and cholesterol metabolism. Melon juice, despite its sweetness, is useful for diabetes, arthritis, and gastrointestinal problems.
Folic acid, which is contained in large quantities in melon, helps prevent fragility, fragility of blood vessels, and normalizes blood pressure. High calcium strengthens bones and teeth. Silicon in melon has a beneficial effect on the skin and hair.
Melon seeds have a beneficial effect on increasing potency in men at any age. For this purpose, melon milk is prepared and drunk from them.
The benefits of melon are great, which is probably why its cultivation is progressing north and north.
Melon Growing Experience
Below I will describe the experience of growing melons Lyubov Andreevna Zaitseva from s. Krasnogvardeiskoe Krasnodar Territory.
“I have ten years of experience growing melons on our land, although old-timers claimed that in the garden melons will not grow full-fledged. only in the field.
Grew up! Under the melons took 6 acres. Sown seeds in three terms - after 10 days.
There was no knowledge, so I turned in advance to the agronomist and vegetable grower for advice, who not only shared knowledge, but also made it possible to read the necessary literature.
The land under the melons was plowed twice: in autumn and spring. In the autumn they plowed deeply and did not level out so that the snow would not blow off. In the spring there was shallow plowing, and shallow grooves were zarboned and cut. Melon requires a large area for growth and branching of lashes. Therefore, grooves are rarely located - at a distance of 3 m from each other. Melon seeds were sown dry, not soaked. The distance between each seed is 12-15 cm. Then the grooves were trampled. After the emergence of seedlings, they began to thin out them. Thinning was several. After the first, the distance between seedlings was left 50-70 cm, then we increase so that after the third weeding the distance is 1.8-2 m.
There is another way to plant melons. Prepare wells 2 m apart from one another. Sow a few seeds in each. Then, thinning, leave the best plants.
At the time of sowing seeds, the temperature of the earth is very important. To do this, the thermometer is immersed in the ground by 10 cm and as soon as the earth shows 18 ′ early in the morning, one must proceed to sowing.
Seeds are planted in the soil to a depth of 3 cm. A handful of wood ash is introduced into each well.
Of great importance for obtaining a good harvest of melons is the formation of plants - pinching shoots. You can’t do without it. This is one of the most important melon care operations.
As soon as the fifth leaf grows on the main lash, pinch it. After this, side shoots appear. They are usually 3-4. You should wait for the fifth sheet to appear on each of them and also pinch each.
Now we are waiting for the ovaries to appear. As soon as the small melons reach the size of a walnut, inspect each plant. The time has come to form the future crop. No more than five or ten ovaries are left on each lash. Five - if the melon is large-fruited, and ten - if small-fruited.
You should cut off all the flowers on the whips of the second order. And if lashes without ovaries are found, then it is better to remove them so that they do not take food from the future crop. If the weather is wet, you can put a piece of glass, tile under each ovary. This will protect them from decay. Plywood, the plank are not suitable, as they retain moisture and do not protect the ovaries from rot.
Yellowing, ripening, melons emit a pleasant aroma. It is recommended to keep the ripened melons in the fresh air - their aroma will become richer, stronger. It is advisable to remove the crop from the melon before the first night frost. ”
The materials of the newspaper "Niva Kuban" from September 5, 2014