Watermelon is a thermophilic melon crop, which, in the conditions of the Siberian climate, can easily bear fruit and give a decent harvest, if all growing conditions are observed. Breeders have bred zoned varieties and hybrid forms of melons, which are capable of producing crops not only in greenhouses, but also on the open soil of the Siberian region.

To understand how to grow watermelons in Siberia in the open field, you need to familiarize yourself with the rules of agricultural technology, caring for plants, choose suitable varieties of watermelons and melons.

Features of growing melons

Summer in the Siberian region is short, and melons and gourds need about 100 days of warm weather (up to 25-28 degrees Celsius) to ripen. Cultivars should be early ripening, resistant to cold nights and rainy days.

Watermelon harvest

Watermelon harvest

How to grow delicious watermelons in Siberia:

  • choose the right moment for landing. The temperature for seed germination should be at least 15 degrees. For flowering and ovaries - not less than 18-22 heat, at night - up to 15 *. For rhizome development, the ambient temperature should be 24-28 degrees;
  • to ensure the duration of daylight hours is about 12-14 hours, it is important that there are enough sunny days.

To create such conditions in Siberian regions, melons and watermelons must be planted through seedlings.

Variety selection

When choosing a variety, the frost resistance of the fruit, the weight of the berries (up to 5 kg), and the ripening time are taken into account. Zoned hybrids for the Siberian region and Altai:

  • Siberian;
  • Lazybone Honey;
Slowback Honey

Slowback Honey

  • Emperor's Hat;
  • Siberian giant;
  • Ultra early;
  • Ultra-ripe;
  • Siberian lights;
Siberian lights

Siberian lights

  • Superearly Dyutina;
  • Photon;
  • Charleston Gray;
Charleston gray

Charleston gray

  • Chill;
  • Sugar baby;
  • Beijing joy.

The Ogonyok variety can be noted separately. Watermelon differs from other hybrids in a short growing season - 70-80 days. The berries are juicy, sweet, the variety is cold-resistant, not demanding in care. Fruits 1.5-2.5 kg weight.

Growing melons in Siberia

When to plant watermelons and melons for seedlings in Siberia? Seeds should be sown in mid-April. Usually after 15-20, before May 10-15.

Leave the seed in a weak manganese solution for 20 minutes. Rinse, transfer to water with a growth stimulant for 2 days. Then harden: place the seeds in the refrigerator for several hours, repeat for 7-8 days.

planting of rabuz

planting of rabuz

How to plant watermelons for seedlings in Siberia

  1. Sow the treated seeds in a container with a fertile mixture: soil from the garden, sand, humus and peat (2: 1: 1: 1). For 10 kg of earthen mixture, add a 0.5 liter can of ash.
  2. Fertilize with ammonium nitrate, potassium (all 20 g per 10 kg of the mixture) and 20 g of superphosphate. Deepen the seed by 3 cm, 2 pieces in each container, water and cover with foil until sprouts appear. Saplings need warmth (+ 17 ... 20 *) and a bright place, a southern window sill will do.

For growing melon seedlings, peat cups are used. They are planted in the ground along with the seedlings. In this case, the roots of the young growth are not damaged. Peat pots are suitable for planting all melons and gourds.

Seedling care:

  • she needs about 14 hours of daylight hours, if necessary, it is worth turning on additional lamps;
  • moistening the soil substrate, excess water should drain into the drainage holes;
  • when leaves appear on seedlings, add mineral additives to the soil;
  • harden seedlings 2 weeks before planting in the beds, take them outside for 3 hours a day.

How to grow watermelon Ogonyok and other varieties in Siberia in the open field

When the temperature reaches 15 degrees Celsius, the seedlings can be planted in the garden. Favorable days for planting watermelons are at the end of May, early days of June.

light

light

Preparing a place in the garden for planting seedlings:

  • for melons, sandy loam soil with an alkaline or neutral medium is suitable. It is necessary to scatter up to 6 kg of humus per meter on the beds in the fall, dig up the ground. The soil should be loose, without stagnant water, choose a sunny plot of the garden;
  • before planting seedlings, water the beds with plenty of warm water;
  • add sand, peat to heavy soil;
  • make 1 sq. meter: 40 g superphosphate, 20 g potassium, 25 g ammonium sulfate;
  • make a strip in the garden 3 meters wide;
  • dig up only the central part of the garden up to 1.5 m wide.

Fortified seedlings with 5-6 leaves, together with the ground in which they grew, plant in prepared holes. The planting depth corresponds to the length of the seedlings' roots, deepening them to the lower leaves. Planting pattern 60 cm by 80 cm, 1 m distance between rows. Compact the earth, water it, sprinkle it with sand on top.

Important! Before the seedlings take root on hot days, they need to be covered with newspapers or a shed should be placed.

Vegetable growers practice sowing seeds on beds without a film coating. They do this in June, when the earth warms up. In one hole you need to sow at least 8-10 seeds, there is no guarantee that everyone will sprout, so they are insured. With abundant sprouting, the beds are thinned out.

When to plant watermelons in open ground with seeds according to the lunar calendar? In May, from the 4th to the 9th, the 17th-23rd, as well as the 27th, 28th. In June, the 15th-19th of the month, and the 23rd, 24th. It is better not to plant seedlings on May 7-8, 12-13, 20-21. In June: 3-5, 8-9, 16-17, 30th.

Growing in a greenhouse

In June, after the 10th, you can plant seedlings in the greenhouse. The greenhouse can be made of a film, it is transparent, it transmits the sun's rays well. Plants do not like the wind, the greenhouse protects them.

Watermelon in greenhouse

Watermelon in greenhouse

Important! The greenhouse should be regularly ventilated.

For growing melons and watermelons, a tomato greenhouse is suitable, two crops can be planted side by side. Plant 4 plants on 1 square. Leave a gap of 70 cm between the pits.

Tie the whips to the twine, it is fixed to the bars on the roof. As they grow, the stems twine around the twine. For pollination, you need to attract bees to the greenhouse or pollinate yourself with a brush. When the ovary becomes the size of an apple, it is placed in a net, 2-3 watermelons are left on one lash. From the moment of formation of the fetus to its full maturation, 40-45 days pass.

Care for melons in the Siberian climate

In the last days of June, plants begin to bloom. Pollination by bees is not always enough for the formation of the ovary; this can be done independently. The male flower is plucked, the female inflorescence is touched. You need to repeat several times until the berry is tied.

Note! It is necessary to get rid of weak shoots, leave one large central stem.

Formed ovaries are left 5-6 pieces, the rest are removed. There are about 8 leaves on one bush. The first berries appear 25-30 days after the formation of the ovary.

Important! In the Siberian region, frosts are possible in August, in order to preserve the harvest, the beds are covered with non-woven fabric.

Water the bushes abundantly. In the heat, watering is necessary every three days. The rhizome grows strongly, the entire melon area should be watered. During the formation of berries, watering is stopped. In the rainy season, fruits can rot, they must be covered with foil. Watering stops two weeks before the berries are fully ripe.

Weeding must be done before the watermelons are tied. Then the weeds are not removed, the weed protects the berries from the sun's rays.

It is necessary to feed the bushes 15 days after planting with chicken droppings (25 g of droppings per bucket of water). Calcium chloride is also added there - 20 g, superphosphate - 25 g. During the formation of ovaries, mineral fertilizers are needed.One bush contains 5 g of ammonium nitrate, potassium chloride, superphosphate. The whole mixture must be spread around the bushes, then water the ground.

Interesting! The seeds of 3-5 years of age are dominated by female flowers, the yield is guaranteed.

Tips for gardeners

  • In cold regions, the roots of the plant should be in warm ground; for this, it is better to cover the area with a black film. Make cuts at the site of the pits, plant seedlings in the holes. On sunny days, the material will heat up and give off heat to the plant and roots.
  • The stems, so as not to interfere with each other, must be directed in different directions.
  • During the ripening period, turn the berries, they will ripen evenly.
  • A board and hay should be placed under the berries so that they do not rot in rainy weather.
  • To get large watermelons, you need to leave one powerful stem with 2-3 ovaries. A large number of ovaries will give medium-sized fruits.
  • Three handfuls of sand are poured at the root collar.
  • There should be no trees near the melons, they can shade the plants.
  • In the northern regions, groundwater is located close to the surface. Long roots that go deep into the interior can rot. The task is to make the rhizome grow in breadth.
  • The bushes are watered not at the root, but along the furrows, which are made between the rows. Abundant watering is needed only in the heat.
  • After sowing the seeds directly into the open soil, cover the wells with a cut-off liter plastic bottle. Pour sand around, watering through the neck of the bottle. A 5 liter bottle with a cut bottom is placed on top. You need to remove the plastic on June 15-20.
  • For artificial "aging" of seeds, they are warmed up before sowing: pour hot water (50-60 degrees), drain after 30 minutes. This method softens the hard shell of the seed.

Growing watermelons in Siberia is troublesome, but worth it. If done correctly, delicious berries can be enjoyed at the end of August. When the tails begin to dry out, ripe delicious watermelons are harvested.