Experienced gardeners have long come up with a technique that will help grow watermelon in Siberia. The main thing is to properly prepare the soil for planting, process the seeds and provide them with quality care.
Features of growing watermelons in Siberia
Feature - summer is too short. You need to grow a plant in a small period of time. That is why varieties are selected early, and the method of planting is seedling. The period between spring frosts and autumn cold is about 90 days. This time is enough for the early species.
Seeds are sown in mid-spring, seedlings are planted in early summer, and fruits can be harvested in the middle or end of the summer period. The summer in Siberia is hot; the temperature was also noted at +35 degrees Celsius. Also, the season can be rainy. Even if the gardener acquired the seeds of early watermelon, then with abundant rainfall the berries will not have time to ripen.
In Siberia, the years for growing melons are different: productive and lean. However, in bad years, the inhabitants of Siberia find a way out - they salt or unripe berries with sugar. They make jam or make candied fruit.
The best varieties for growing in Siberia
In this area, you can grow a large berry weighing about 15 kg only in the conservatory. Since the plant will have time to start green tops in a short summer, but as soon as the cold comes, everything will die, and you will not get the crop. Small watermelons weighing 4 kg will ripen perfectly, especially with proper care.
When choosing a variety, pay attention to such signs:
- berry mass (not more than 4 kg);
- precocity
- homeland (place of selection).
Light
Each gourd lover grew on his site a variety of watermelon Ogonyok. Brought him back in the 50s of the 20th century. Today, new varieties of culture are becoming popular, and this is gradually being supplanted.
Characteristics of a grade Spark:
- lash 1.7 m long;
- leaves are small;
- berries in the form of a bowl of green;
- the mass of one fetus is about 2 kg;
- pulp of orange-red color, sweet;
- the seeds are small.
If you do not monitor the number of ovaries on one plant, then watermelons will grow very small - about an apple, but this will not change the taste, it will still remain sweet and juicy. The skin is thin, not suitable for transportation at all. Fruits of Flame are stored for about a week. The first fruit can be picked 2.5 months after the formation of seedlings.
In the video below, see an overview of the watermelon varieties "Spark" grown in Siberia:
Sugar baby
The variety has another name - Suga Baby. Bred by French breeders many years ago. Now known in many states. In appearance, it is very similar to Spark, the only difference is the size of the berries, they can reach 5 kg. The pulp of a ripe Sugar baby is red, maybe pink. The skin is thin, ripens 2.5 months after the formation of the ovaries. Scourge does not dissolve, grows compactly.
Siberian giant
It is a hybrid of gourds, self-pollinated. It grows in a greenhouse and in open soil. As a result, a rich harvest grows, plants withstand cold and drought. The mass of one berry can reach 6 kg. The pulp is tasty, fragrant, red. Seeds are small.
The variety was bred relatively recently, so there is little information about it. There are also dissatisfied reviews of gardeners. The main mistake of Siberian summer residents is not rationing the crop. This variety needs to keep no more than 3 ovaries on the plant.
Beijing joy peasant
This hybrid variety, the first crop can be obtained 100 days after the formation of the ovaries. It has excellent transportability, fruits elongated with stripes. The mass of one reaches 8 kg.
Due to the large berries, more than 2 fruits cannot be left on one plant. The skin is thick, sugar flesh. Small seeds in small quantities. Can be grown in open soil, but better planted in a greenhouse. After harvesting, the berry does not deteriorate, but ripens.
Gift to the North
Ripens in 80 days after the formation of the ovaries. Grows in an open area, protected from drafts. One fruit under good conditions and care reaches 10 kg. The pulp is sugar, of excellent taste. The hybrid variety is stored for a long time and perfectly tolerates transportation. Covering material should always be kept at hand to protect the variety from rain and cold snap. Harvest is mandatory standardized.
Growing conditions
It is not easy to grow melon culture in Siberia, but if you approach business with responsibility, then every summer resident will be able to get a big and tasty crop.
Ideal seed planting dates
If you decide to place the planting material directly in open ground, then you need to do this in the last days of spring. Seeds germinate for about 7 days, so the sprouts will form by the time it gets warmer in Siberia. If you start to use covering material, you can sow in mid-May.
As for seedlings, it is planted in open soil or in a greenhouse from June 10 to 15, and the seeds themselves for seedlings from April 23 to May 1.
Planting seeds for seedlings: a step-by-step scheme
By the seedling method, large varieties with a long ripening period or early ripening are grown to get the crop as early as possible.
To grow gourds, you need a special nutrient soil, you can buy it in a store or make it yourself. In the garden you need to take biohumus (the result of decaying of organic residues). It is a substance of red color, located under the leaves, tops and other residues.
Biohumus is popularly called humus or compost.
It will take 1 part chopped straw and 3 parts humus. Nutrient for growing seedlings is ready. In Siberia, there is no way to wait until the seedlings get used to the soil after transplanting, so you need to grow it without picking - directly in large tanks.
Watermelon has a root in the form of a long stem, which cannot be damaged during transplantation. Tanks must be large, thanks to this, the seedlings are well developed. The roots of gourds grow much faster than the aerial parts. At the age of the 1st month, they reach 0.2 m. Such a depth should take a pot.
Algorithm for sowing seeds for seedlings:
- Prepare planting material. For a couple of days, determine the seeds for germination: wrap in gauze moistened with water, and place in a warm place (about +30 degrees Celsius). Soak the seed in hot water for a couple of minutes before doing this. Thanks to these procedures, the seeds are disinfected and softened, respectively, sprouts appear much faster.
- Fill the container with prepared nutrient soil, leave 50 mm to the top.
- Pour. If the soil sags a bit, add more mixture.
- In each container place 2 seeds, remove a weak shoot.
- Sprinkle another 30 mm of soil on top, do not water.
- Add mulch in the form of dried grass or straw.
- Place the containers in a warm place (up to +30 degrees Celsius).
Seedling care and preparation for planting
Pots with emerging shoots are placed on the windowsill facing the south side. If there is little sun and heat, then phytolamps are used. Watermelons take up a lot of space, so really evaluate the territory that you have. 5 plants grown in good conditions are much better than 20 specimens living in thickening and inconvenience.
It is necessary to water the seedlings as soon as the soil dries. If you used a nutrient mixture with humus, then additionally fertilize seedlings is not worth it. 7 days before planting, plants need to be hardened: daily take out pots to the street. Begin from 1 hour, then increase the time.
At the time of transplantation, watermelon seedlings should have 4 leaves.
Transplanting seedlings in open ground
Melons occupy a large territory. Watermelons are planted from each other at a distance of 1 m. Shadow from bushes or trees should not fall on the site. In thickening areas, yields are declining.
An ideal place for growing watermelons is an open raised area. Siberian summer residents know that it is better to use boxes or warm beds. In this case, watermelons are lifted above the soil, laying dry tops, branches, logs or grass under them.
Do not use manure, droppings or other organic matter to create warm beds.
The soil for melons and gourds needs loose, so that the root system is well fed with fertilizers and water. Do not make a large amount of sand. Instead, you can use sawdust, bark, straw, etc. Various materials are suitable, which quickly rot and turn into fertilizing.
Soil for planting seedlings of gourds in Siberia is prepared as follows:
- scatter natural baking powder on the soil;
- for every 1 square. m add 1 tbsp. l urea, 1 tbsp. superphosphate, 1 tbsp. potassium.
This should be done 7 days before landing. To keep the earth loose after top dressing, cover it with agrofibre or hay.
The algorithm for planting seedlings in open ground:
- Dig a hole to fit the tank.
- Fill the pot with water, and let the earth soak in it.
- Carefully with a lump of soil, remove the seedlings from the container. If the pot is made of plastic, then it can be cut.
- Place the seedling in the pit and sprinkle with soil.
- Add water. If the soil has subsided, then add a little more.
- Add the mulch. Read about mulching the soil here.
Experienced summer residents cut pots of plastic into several parts even before sowing planting material in them, and then fasten the parts together with tape. It is easy to remove during planting. The main thing is not to violate the root system of melons, the summer in Siberia is short, and there is no time to wait until the seedlings recover and again begin to grow.
Outdoor Watermelon Care
If the soil is with mulch, then watermelons should be watered no more than 2 times in 30 days, with the exception of too hot days. Fertilizers are introduced with water, you can use a solution of mullein or mineral fertilizing. Spraying is done in calm weather.
Pinching is a must. Almost always leave 2 lashes, all stepchildren destroy them. This procedure should be done every week. Gardeners monitor the appearance of extra shoots and remove them in time. 2-3 ovaries should remain on the central lash, so that the watermelons are not too large, and by the end of the summer they have ripened.
As soon as the ovaries reach 50 mm, it is necessary to pinch off the top of their shoot. After the last green leaves, 5 leaves are left. Berries are placed on boards so that they do not touch the ground.
Summer residents always need to remember that watermelon is a southern berry, so growing it in Siberian conditions, you must follow the basic rules:
Weeds do harm, as they feed on all the useful elements that were intended for watermelons. Weed grass is torn out along with the roots. In the last period of vegetation, the loosening of the earth ceases.
In the middle of summer, feeding with phosphorus and potassium will not hurt. Experienced Siberian summer residents stop watering a week before harvesting, but many descriptions say that the plant does not need water a month before harvesting. This is a misconception, plants need to be watered, especially on hot days. Without water, the berries become tasteless and small.
The peculiarity of Siberia is that watering depends on the weather, sometimes rains cope with everything and the summer resident does not have to water the plants at all.
How to grow a watermelon in a greenhouse?
The planting time of watermelons depends on how warm the room is. The optimum temperature is +25 degrees Celsius. Similar conditions are reached at different times due to various greenhouses (from film, polycarbonate, etc.).
In film and glass greenhouses, seedlings in Siberia are planted at the same time as in open ground. Polycarbonate greenhouses are especially common; plants are planted in them after May 20th. Gourds are grown in greenhouses not in order to get a rich harvest, but in order that the seedlings are protected from winds, cold and rain.
The only drawback of this method of planting watermelons is that the minimum number of insects flies into the greenhouse, so pollination will have to be done independently.
Two methods of growing watermelons are suitable: seeds and seedlings. Soil for planting is prepared in the same way as when grown in open soil. The layout of seedlings is more compact: 0.7x0.7 m. Watermelons are grown on trellises.
If you have planted seedlings at a time when frost can still occur, then provide young plants with additional protection. You can use boxes, agrofibre, paper, etc.
Excellent heat sources are plastic water bottles, they are laid out in the greenhouse. During the day they heat up from the sun, and at night they give off heat to plants. A similar technology can be used during the cultivation of gourds in open soil.
Diseases and Pests
Watermelons grown in Siberia are also vulnerable to diseases and harmful insects. The most dangerous enemies of gourds:
- Powdery Mildew Symptoms: the appearance of white spots on the foliage and stems, leading to the death of the plant. If you do not fight the disease, then the problem will go to the berries. Powdery mildew control: treatment of plants with colloidal sulfur or with Topaz, Bayleton, Planriz.
- Anthracnose. The disease appears due to increased humidity in the greenhouse. Symptoms: yellow-brown or pink spots form. Anthracnose control: treatment with Bordeaux fluid or chemicals.
- Spider mite. Symptoms: the plant withers and curls, pests feed on watermelon juice. Pest control: folk infusions, for example, with tobacco and laundry soap, help.
Powdery mildew
disease "Anthracnose"
Spider mite
To destroy the disease or pest can professional chemicals. So that the whole crop does not disappear, they get rid of diseased specimens.
Harvesting and storage
Fruits of a small size ripen much earlier than large-sized species. In a ripened berry, the tail is completely dry. The skin acquires a glossy shade, and the picture becomes clearer. To be sure that the fetus is ripe, tap on it - you must hear a muffled sound. Another symptom is the presence of a yellow spot.
Early varieties with thin peels are not intended for long-term storage, so it is important to pick the berries on time. To collect watermelons choose a dry day. The fruits are neatly stacked in cardboard boxes and covered with paper on top.
Experienced gardeners from Siberia came up with a few tricks to keep the watermelon as long as possible. Some store berries in ashes, others wrap them with cloth or cover them with a layer of wax. In any case, the berries should be kept in the basement with excellent ventilation, the temperature indicator is +3 degrees Celsius, the humidity indicator is about 80%.
At home, the fruits will last longer if they are folded in a cool place and turned over daily.
Useful Tips
Tips from experienced summer residents:
- Do open beds only using black material, transparent films do not bring results.
- In the material, make cuts in the shape of a cross, and plant seedlings in them.
- Treat the seeds in a growth stimulator before planting.
- When transplanting seedlings, take the root system along with a lump of soil.
- Use large peat pots.
- Do not use plentiful watering of watermelons, a large amount of moisture harms the roots.
Reviews gardeners about growing watermelons in Siberia
Anna, 43 years old, agronomist, Barnaul.Have landed that year the Spark. Harvested a sufficient amount of the crop. I grew up in a greenhouse, I was afraid that it would freeze, as the summer in our city was not very warm. But I used the method of plastic water bottles. As a result, I received: 15 plants, 30 fruits, this I do not take into account the berries that we shot for the sample.
Alexandra, 67 years old, pensioner, Yakutsk.For the first time in her life, she decided to plant watermelons in the country. Opted for the variety Gift to the North. The description says that the fetus reaches even 10 kg. As a result, I grew on one plant 2 fruits, the mass of one 4 kg. Of course, not what I expected, but I got experience. This year I will plant another variety of watermelons.
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In Siberia, you can also grow such a thermophilic melon culture as a watermelon. To do this, you need to correctly approach the choice of varieties and planting methods. Particular attention should be paid to competent and regular care.