Melon is one of the healthiest foods
In warm countries, watermelons and other melons grow right outside, in the ground. In areas where the air temperature is not very high, you can grow melons in a greenhouse. The result will be no worse; on the contrary, when grown in a greenhouse, the melon will be even more tasty and aromatic.
To provide ourselves with such a tasty gift of nature throughout the year, we grow melons in a greenhouse.
If there is little space in a heated greenhouse, in the summer, melons can be grown in an unheated greenhouse that has a hood or hinged lid. You should not plant cucumbers and melons next to each other. They can pollinate from each other and lose their taste.
How to grow melon in a greenhouse? In fact, there is nothing complicated here. You just need to take this activity with all seriousness and attention.
Why is it necessary to form a melon in a polycarbonate greenhouse?
Each greenhouse is limited to a certain space. Therefore, in order to grow a melon in it, it is necessary to form the culture correctly. If this is not done, the fruiting will be weak, the size of the fruits will be small, and the taste will be unpleasant.
Pinching is also necessary so that many plants can fit in a small area. Getting a bountiful harvest is possible if you tie the bushes to special supports. By properly forming plants, you can greatly facilitate their care. And also simplify the harvesting procedure.
It is important to know that shaping is carried out regardless of whether the melon grows in a greenhouse or in an open area in the garden.
Deadlines for gartering melons
Since space in the greenhouse is limited, the melon must be pinched and tied. At this point, it is important to understand well when it is necessary to plant melons in greenhouse conditions.
The time to carry out this procedure is selected based on when the melon was planted in the greenhouse. As a rule, plants are pinched back two weeks after they were planted. At this moment, the formation of two strong and chorus shoots occurs.
At this stage, all stems are cut off, leaving only two. They are hung on trellises. When tying melons, you must be extremely careful so as not to damage the ovaries and flowers.
As soon as a large number of ovaries have formed on the plant, they must be torn off, leaving no more than three ovaries per bush. If you form a melon correctly, then it will occupy a small space and produce harvests of several fruits.
Useful tips for growing
When planting melons, in particular melons, it is better to maintain planting uniformity, that is, grow only one crop in a separate greenhouse, or follow the rules of the neighborhood.
The predecessors of melon in a greenhouse can be:
Melons grow poorly next to the following crops:
Heat-loving people get along well next to them:
You need to pollinate melons yourself if pollination does not occur naturally. To do this, you can carefully attach the stamens of the male flowering to the pistils of the female ones, or transfer the pollen manually, armed with a brush.
Fruits suspended in a net should not touch the surface of the ground. Climbing vines when grown horizontally must be directed in such a way as to prevent covering the row spacing.
The formation of melon in greenhouse conditions is the key to the proper development of the plant and obtaining a high-quality harvest. It is important to ensure that pinching and tying occur at a certain time in accordance with agricultural practices.
Basis for forming melon
A special pattern is used to form the melon. Knowledge should not only be related to the correct way of pinching and tying bushes, but also what conditions should be in the greenhouse for the crop to grow and develop properly. Otherwise, it will be difficult to determine the time to complete this procedure.
Suitable conditions for growing melon in a greenhouse: maintaining the temperature, which should be between +19 and +20 degrees, regular ventilation. By the way, ventilation promotes natural pollination, as insects gain access to the bushes. But, as a rule, the plant is pollinated artificially.
It is very important to provide the plant with good access to light.
The greenhouse film that covers the greenhouse can help achieve these conditions. As an alternative to film, you can use polycarbonate. It will also be perfect, and will even be the best option for creating the right atmosphere.
For good development of the bushes in the first 14 days, they need to be fed. A solution of cow manure is well suited for this; it is diluted with water 1 to 6, and a solution of phosphate in the proportions of 25 g x 10 liters of water. In addition to fertilizing, you need to water the young plant regularly and moderately. In open ground everything is done exactly the same.
Further care
In a polycarbonate greenhouse, the formed melon bush requires the following care:
- The air temperature in the room should be within +28. +30°C. If the air warms up more on hot days, ventilation is recommended.
- Humidity in the greenhouse should be moderate.
- Watering should not be abundant, since the root system of melons is well developed and can reach water deeply. If you water the soil excessively, you can cause rotting of the root collar, which will lead to injury to the plant and cracks in the fruit.
- A plant blooming in a greenhouse is pollinated artificially. This can be done manually or bees are brought into the greenhouse.
- To stimulate the growth and increase the strength of the plant, it is necessary to use complex mineral fertilizers and wood ash.
- In a polycarbonate greenhouse, melons need to be provided with high-quality ventilation.
Further formation of bushes
In order for the plant to develop properly and bear fruit well, constant monitoring of how it grows is necessary. For this purpose, the formation of melon mustaches and control over the number of ovaries must be carried out until the first fruits ripen. This is due to the fact that the growth of lateral stepsons, abundant flowering and a large number of ovaries take too much energy from the plant, and it is not able to produce a high-quality harvest. This can be avoided by leaving the required number of successful ovaries and removing excess flowers and side shoots, then you can grow large fruits. On average, 3–4 ovaries are left on each lash.
Video: Forming and caring for melons in a greenhouse
Formation of melon in a greenhouse: diagram
Scheme of melon formation in a greenhouse
As soon as three true leaves appear on the plant, the first pinching is carried out. After the appearance of shoots of the second or third order on the two lashes that were left, a second pinching is carried out. It is important that by this moment at least 5 leaves appear on the formed shoots. At this stage you need to pinch the top. This will serve as a good incentive for the formation and ripening of fruits.
After such formation of the ovaries there should be very little left. If you do everything on time, you can get good harvests. It is for this reason that following the rules for plant formation is very important. They are absolutely the same in all regions. Some nuances may arise that depend on the growing area. For example, in Siberia or Southern Russia.
Selecting and purchasing seeds
Before planting berries, you should approach the choice of seeds with serious responsibility. What should you pay attention to?
- Ripening time
- Taste qualities
- Tolerance to temperature changes
- Yield level
The best varieties for growing in a greenhouse
Ideal varieties include:
- Canaria
- Sharena
- Augen
- Collective farmer
- Galia
They have a sweet, rich taste and are ideal for growing indoors.
To grow fruits in harsh climates, you need to purchase early ripening varieties:
- Golden
- Gribovskaya
- Tobolina
- Siberian early ripening
- Golden
To obtain an earlier harvest, these varieties must be planted in seedlings.
It must be remembered that planting material intended for cultivation in the south is not suitable for the harsh, cold climate of the north.
Ripe melons of a collective farmer, ready for harvest
Correct formation of a melon bush in a greenhouse
The top and stepsons can be removed with your fingers. During the first formation, male flowers must be preserved. Also, during the procedure, it is necessary to remove all weak, damaged shoots, leaving only the strongest and healthiest. They are hung on trellises.
Obviously, following these rules is quite simple. Proper pinching of the stem helps the plant form large fruits. By following the above rules, even an inexperienced gardener will cope with this task easily.
When growing this crop in greenhouse conditions, it is necessary to take care of the bushes that have been pinched in a certain way. The plant must be regularly but moderately watered and fed with mineral fertilizers.
Pollination occurs artificially. However, by opening the greenhouse, you can provide access to bees, which in turn will become excellent participants in pollination.
When forming bushes, it is important to remember that two well-developed shoots should remain on the plant. They must be suspended above the ground, maintaining a distance of 30 centimeters. All stems located on the sides are removed. Only two healthy and strong shoots remain.
Formation of melon in a greenhouse: recommendations from experienced gardeners
Melon needs certain care, regardless of whether it is grown in greenhouses or planted in open ground. It is important that care is provided in full, and experienced gardeners can help with this.
One of the recommendations says that you should not plant melon in places next to which cucumbers, tomatoes or peppers grow. This is due to the fact that they must be kept in different conditions. The formation of a melon always occurs at the same time. Pollination is carried out using a brush even if pollination is not possible naturally.
When hanging the plant, pay attention that there is no contact of the fruit with the ground. Pinched bushes should be tied up no earlier than after a week. In this case, the fruits should be the size of an apple.
As you can see, forming melon bushes is quite simple. The procedure is done the same in all regions. It is important not to forget about proper care after this.
Which variety to choose
Melon varieties are selected for greenhouse cultivation based on a number of basic criteria:
- taste of fruits;
- productivity;
- precocity;
- resistance to adverse external influences.
For the northern or central region, pay attention to early ripening varieties that ripen around the second ten days of July. When studying the label with melon seeds, analyze the instructions on the zoning of the variety.
Among the types of melon that are successfully grown in greenhouses covered with polycarbonate, varieties such as Dessertnaya, Zlato Scythians, Gallia, Prestige F1, and Canary are recommended for the middle zone. Ozhen, Princess Svetlana, Lada, Krinichanka, Amber, Moskvichka are suitable.
Cold-resistant, early-ripening melon varieties are more adapted to the conditions of Siberia and the Urals, for example, Nadezhda, Tobolinka, Altaiskaya, Kolkhoznitsa, Barnaulka. Titovka, Zolotistaya, Roksolana F1, Goldie F1, Gribovskaya, Skorospelka Sibirskaya give a good harvest in the greenhouse.
