Cultivation techniques and management methods of melon
1. Select tenacious varieties suitable for local climate. Melon, also known as cantaloupe, can bear fruit on many cultivated and genetic varieties. It grows best in hot weather, which requires at least 2-3 months of warm weather. Melons like sandy and fertile soil, which has good drainage and pH around 6. The varieties with cooler climate and better growth are pearl melon, Sarah's choice and Eden's gem. Melons famous for their taste include golden heart melon, nectar melon, Athena melon and candied melon.
Pay special attention to the maturity indicated on the seed package. In most cases, you don't need to buy seedlings, you can start planting by buying seeds. Seed packaging is marked with planting suggestions and information to ensure safety, especially the maturity time.
If you want to preserve the sweet melon seeds for planting, scoop them out from the fresh melons with a small spoon, soak them in cold water for two days, and then dry them thoroughly with paper towels. Store them in clean glass jars and keep them in a dark and cool environment until you are ready to start planting. Although you can sow in two years, it is best to sow in the same year within one year.
2. Choose a place suitable for planting. The most important thing for planting and cultivating melons is warm soil and enough space. Whether you are going to build a frame or let the melon mature on the ground, the vines of the melon need space to stretch, so you need a fairly wide flower bed, depending on how big the plant is to be planted. Melon will cross with other plants of the same species, such as cucumber, other melons, zucchini and pumpkin, which is a common misunderstanding and unnecessary worry. They won't. Don't be afraid to plant vines in the same corner of the garden. The melon with the strangest or bland taste is not the result of accidental hybridization, but caused by environmental or other problems.
3. Prepare the soil. Spread humus or rotten organic matter evenly on the planting bed to create a nutritious environment for melon. Adding fertilizer, 15-20 cm well-cultivated soil is very suitable. When you start farming the soil, you must plow at least 30 cm deep to allow the rough soil to be fully mixed and ventilated, and throw away stones, branches or other lumps. Place a thick layer of organic matter and a thin layer of compost on the soil to replace the dug soil. Melons grow best on mounds, which are slightly higher than the surrounding soil, so if you create a big mound, don't worry.
4. Consider indoor planting. If you know the exact time of the last frost, growing melons is a piece of cake. It is ideal to plant melons about 10 days before the last frost, that is, before the weather gets warmer. Because this time is difficult to determine, the process of growing melons indoors is more friendly to melons. If you live in a cool place, you can plant seeds indoors one month before transplantation, or you can plant them in biodegradable planting pots filled with nutritious planting soil. In order to avoid disturbing the soft roots produced during germination, it is best to use biodegradable flowerpots instead of ceramic flowerpots. Moisten the soil as much as possible, but don't keep it moist. Plants should have some mature leaves before transplanting.
5. You can pile up mounds at the planting site. Melons should be planted on rows of high mounds with a spacing of about 30.5 cm. The distance between columns should be at least1.2m. Some growers prefer to build a shelf for melons and let vines climb on the poles or lines of the shelf, so that melons will not stick to the ground. This method is only suitable for small melons. If you want to build a shelf for the planted melons, be sure to leave room for the shelf. See the following method.
6. grow melons. When the soil temperature reaches at least 20℃, that is, after the last frost. According to different regions, the planting time may be early or late. If you start indoors, put the biodegradable flowerpot in the center of the mound, as close to the center as possible. When planting, thoroughly wet the soil. If the seeds are sown directly, five melon seeds are planted at a depth of 2.5 cm, the spacing between each seed is 0.45 m, and the spacing between mounds is 1 m. ..
Take good care of melon 1 and water it thoroughly regularly. The soil around the young melon should be kept moist, but it should not be soaked in water. The weekly watering depth is 2.5 or 5 cm. Melon is very sensitive during drought and may need extra watering, so use your judgment and pay close attention to the plant to make sure it is growing and looks healthy. It takes some time for melon to solidify on vines, but most of the sugar in melon can be determined by leaves. Just because you haven't seen a melon doesn't mean you don't know what it will taste like. Pay attention to the quality and momentum of leaves: leaves should be dark green, strong in structure and healthy in color. Yellow or spotted leaves may be a symbol of drought or disease. It is normal for melon leaves to wither obviously at noon. They will remain withered in extremely hot environment until evening. However, this does not mean that you need to continue watering the melon, so check the quality of the leaves, not the softness.
Remember to protect the fruits when they start to grow. Whether you are planting new plants or transplanting, covering each row of plants with a loose cover can keep the plants warm and avoid pests and diseases. You can build a passage with a small chicken coop and then cover the row with a net. It is important to remove the mat when the melon is about to bloom after there is no frost threat, so that pollinators can touch the flowers.
3. When the vines begin to grow, pull out the grass completely. Walking in the dense climbing nets is challenging, let alone weeding. In order to make melon vines grow better, try to weed in the first few weeks of growth, let melons show their heads, and then compete with other weeds when the plants are mature.
The hardest thing about planting melons directly from seeds is that the sprouted melons look like clover, which is one of the weeds you want to remove. If you pull out the sprouted melon, it will be a great tragedy, so try to mark your planting place with a plant card, or wait until it is distinguished from other clovers before pulling out weeds.
4. Consider building a shelf for melons. According to your melon growth pattern, it may be appropriate to build a frame for melons and let them leave the ground. Putting melons in lowland soil, such as fences, is the most effective way to grow melons. Train climbing vines and plant1.3-2m-high bamboo poles on each mound of melon rows. Steel wires, boards, thick hemp ropes or other available facilities can be used to connect bamboo poles to provide support for melon and fruit climbing. Exercise vines grow along the shelf. Support the fruit, give the melon a pillar to rely on, and reduce the load on the vine. Put the fruit on an elevated covered bed or base, such as an upside-down pot or basin. If the fruit is threatened by animals, such as marmots, cover it with fruit. When vines begin to bear fruit, melons are more likely to rot directly on the surface and be eaten by animals. If the weather is wet, especially in the second half of the growing season, vines are a good way to protect melons from threats, but they are not necessary. In any case, you should consider keeping melons away from the ground to protect the vines when they are ripe.
5. Fertilize melon regularly. During the growth process, the melons that have not yet blossomed or grow slowly are generally fertilized with nitrogen fertilizer. Sprinkling some coffee beans around the roots is an effective way to wake up plants. Although the long-term degradation of phosphate fertilizer is a threat to the environment, it is also common to fertilize melons with fertilizers with high phosphorus and potassium, which usually occurs after flowering. Try to avoid herbicides and other chemical additives. If the growth is slow, organic matter such as compost or organic matter can be added around the roots.
6. When the melon is almost completely ripe, water it less. Too much water will dilute the sugar of ripe melon and affect the fruit taste. The usual practice is to water less one week before harvest. When the melon can be picked, the stem will break slightly. When it is fully mature, the melon will fall by itself. As you approach maturity, you usually smell the unusual musk smell of ripe melons. If you smell the fragrance, you can pick it. Most melons take four weeks to grow and mature on vines, but you should also pay attention to the detailed description of melon varieties and find more detailed guidance.