Content
A good harvest of melons and gourds is obtained only on well-enriched soils. You can feed watermelons and melons with organic and mineral fertilizers, which will accelerate the growth and ripening of fruits. It is important to choose the right top dressing for each crop and adhere to the schedule of its introduction. Only in this case can you get juicy and sweet fruits.
Why you need to feed watermelons and melons
Melons and gourds are drought-resistant plants that ripen under the scorching sun. Their growth does not depend on precipitation. But the lack of minerals affects the yield and taste.
How does the lack of trace elements affect melon:
- Lack of phosphorus: the leaves of watermelons and melons become smaller, turn yellow, the roots become weak, the yield decreases.
- Potassium regulates water balance in soil and plants. With its lack, the leaves wither, and the fruits become less juicy.
- With a lack of magnesium, melon leaves turn yellow, their taste deteriorates.
To get a good harvest, formulations containing these elements are applied in high concentration.
What elements are needed for watermelons and melons for rapid growth
Melons and gourds require a variety of mineral and organic substances for rapid growth.
Especially melons and watermelons need the following trace elements:
- sulfur;
- calcium;
- phosphorus;
- magnesium;
- nitrogen;
- iron;
- potassium;
- manganese.
Their deficiency causes yellowing of leaves, weakening of the root system, a decrease in the number of ovaries, the appearance of small fruits with a herbaceous taste. Deterioration of the condition of the green part of the plant, the appearance of spots and brown burns are the first signs of a lack of trace elements.
What to feed
Watermelons and melons are fed with organic and mineral fertilizers. For each species, a certain period of melon growth is distinguished.
Mineral fertilizers
They are made depending on the composition of the soil. Before planting watermelons or melons in spring, the soil is enriched with potash salt (30 g per 1 m2), superphosphate (100 g per 1 m2) or magnesium (70 g per 1 m2).
After planting melons in a week, they are fed with any mineral mixture intended for these crops.
As soon as the crops germinate, the first leaves appear, mineral fertilizers are applied, and after a week the procedure is repeated.
After harvesting in the fall, before digging the garden into the ground, add superphosphate (60 g per 1 m2) or azophoska (80 g per 1 m2).
Organic fertilizers
For this type of feeding, humus, wood ash, peat, manure, and herbal infusions are used. Before sowing seeds, the soil is mixed with humus (3 parts of organic matter are taken for 1 part of the earth).
As soon as the seedlings germinate, organics are added again. This top dressing falls in mid-May.
At the beginning or in the middle of June, plants are fed 2 more times with organic matter: mullein, chicken droppings, wood ash.
How to feed
Watermelons and melons can be fed by fertilizing the soil before planting, or under the root during growth and fruiting. Farmers are combining these two methods to increase their yield.
Root dressing
The first time fertilizer is added to the root when the first leaves appear on the grown seedlings. Plants are fed with bird droppings, or mullein, diluted in water in a ratio of 1:10.
The second feeding is carried out 2 weeks before planting the seedlings in the ground. To do this, 1 glass of wood ash is dissolved in a bucket of water and poured with a mixture of the plant under the root.
As soon as the seedlings take root in the open field, after 2 weeks they are fed again. During this period, ammonium nitrate is used. They take it 1 tbsp. l. on a bucket of water and pour watermelons under the root. You need to take 2 liters of liquid for one plant.
During the flowering period, potash fertilizers are applied at the root. They are bred according to the instructions and watered each plant. Thanks to such feeding, flowering will be massive and simultaneous. Also during this period, watermelons and melons are fed with calcium and magnesium.
During the formation of ovaries, watermelons and melons are fertilized with a mixture of minerals: ammonium salt (1 tbsp. L.), Potassium salt (1.5 tbsp. L.), Superphosphate (2 tsp.) Substances are diluted in a bucket of water. Watering is carried out at the root. For one plant, take 2 liters of liquid top dressing.
During the period of growth and ripening of fruits, watermelons and melons are fed every 2 weeks. At this time, complex mineral compositions are used for melons and gourds.
Foliar dressing
To ensure high yields of melons and watermelons, it is necessary to increase soil fertility. It is important to enrich it with potassium, which is contained in ash, nitrogen, which is contained in compost, and phosphorus, its source is superphosphate.
Before planting seedlings in the soil, it is fertilized with humus and dug up. After rooting melons, mineral mixtures are introduced into the aisle. To do this, take nitrogen-phosphorus compounds and add to the soil when it is loosened.
You can also water the soil between the rows with a solution of urea (2 tablespoons per bucket of water). Combined mineral formulations that dissolve in water can be purchased.
The last foliar dressing is carried out in the fall after harvest. They bring humus or mullein into the soil, after which they dig up the garden.
Root feeding is done much more often than foliar feeding. It is much easier to apply fertilizer at the root than on the entire area with melons. Farmers consider this method to be more effective. But with this method of fertilizing plants, the likelihood of nitrates getting into the fruits remains.
The scheme of feeding melons and watermelons during the season
Melons are fed depending on the stage of plant growth. Organic and inorganic fertilizers are applied from the start of sowing to harvest.
There are the main stages of growth, when it is necessary to feed watermelons and melons:
- soil enrichment before planting;
- transfer of seedlings to open ground;
- period of appearance of peduncles;
- at the stage of ovary formation;
- during the ripening period of the fruit.
Before planting seeds in seedling containers or directly into open ground, the soil is enriched depending on its composition:
- If the soils are alkaline or calcareous, apply complex mineral mixtures.
- Heavy soils are dug up with wood ash.
- Chernozem can be fertilized with bone meal or peat.
- Sandy soils are dug up with humus.
If the seeds are sown directly into open ground (mainly in the southern regions), before sowing, the soil is fertilized with mineral compounds with phosphorus and nitrogen.
During the rooting period of seedlings in the open field, humus is introduced into each hole, to which 1 tbsp is added. l. ammonium nitrate and potash fertilizer and 3 tbsp. l. superphosphate. It is good to add ready-made vermicompost to the planting pits.
As soon as watermelons and melons begin to form the first peduncles, the plants are fed with preparations containing potassium and magnesium. With a lack of potassium, peduncles practically do not tie. With a lack of magnesium, the fruits do not ripen. Potassium chloride, potassium magnesium, potassium nitrate and magnesium nitrate are used for feeding.
During the formation of ovaries, melons are fed with preparations containing boron. They can be applied at the root or watered in the aisle. During this period, it is good to add a mixture of fertilizers at the root: superphosphate (25 g), potassium sulfate (5 g), azophoska (25 g).
During the ripening period of watermelons and melons, feeding is carried out 2 times with a break of 2 weeks. For this purpose, use an infusion of humus or a solution of poultry droppings diluted in water 1:10.
Melons are very thermophilic, grow well and bear fruit at temperatures above + 25 ᵒС. Water for irrigation is taken at least + 22 ᵒС. Watering is carried out only at the root. Melons and gourds do not tolerate the ingress of liquid on the leaves and stems.
As soon as the fruits on the melon reach the sizes characteristic of this variety, watering with mineral mixtures and organic matter is stopped. The plants received sufficient nutrition and nutrition for final ripening.
Conclusion
You can feed watermelons and melons with organic and mineral fertilizers. This is done in several stages, depending on the stage of growth of the culture. Saturation of the soil with all the necessary trace elements leads to abundant flowering of watermelons and rapid ripening of the melon. The fruits become larger and more juicy.
