Content
A good harvest of melons and melons 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 the fruit. It is important to choose the right fertilizer for each crop and follow the schedule for its application. Only in this case can you get juicy and sweet fruits.
Why do you need to feed watermelons and melons?
Melons 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 a lack of microelements affect melons?
- Lack of phosphorus: the leaves of watermelons and melons become smaller, turn yellow, the roots become weak, and the yield decreases.
- Potassium regulates water balance in soil and plants. With its deficiency, the leaves wither and the fruits become less juicy.
- With a lack of magnesium, melon leaves turn yellow and their taste deteriorates.
To get a good harvest, formulations containing these elements are applied in high concentrations.
What elements do watermelons and melons need for rapid growth?
Melon crops require various minerals and organic substances for rapid growth.
Melons and watermelons especially need the following microelements:
- sulfur;
- calcium;
- phosphorus;
- magnesium;
- nitrogen;
- iron;
- potassium;
- manganese.
Their deficiency causes yellowing of the leaves, weakening of the root system, a decrease in the number of ovaries, and the appearance of small fruits with a grassy 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 microelements.
What to feed
Watermelons and melons are fed with organic and mineral fertilizers. For each species, a certain period of growth of melons is allocated.
Mineral fertilizers
They are applied depending on the composition of the soil. Before planting watermelons or melons in the spring, the soil is enriched with potassium salt (30 g per 1 m2), superphosphate (100 g per 1 m2) or magnesium (70 g per 1 m2).
After planting melons, a week later 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 up the garden, add superphosphate (60 g per 1 m2) to the soil2) or azofoska (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 organic matter per 1 part soil).
As soon as the seedlings germinate, organic matter is added again. This feeding occurs in mid-May.
In early or mid-June, the plants are fed 2 more times with organic matter: mullein, chicken droppings, wood ash.
How to feed
Watermelons and melons can be fed by adding fertilizer to the soil before planting, or at the root during the period of growth and fruiting. Farmers combine these 2 methods to increase yield.
Root feeding
The first time fertilizer is added to the roots, when the first leaves appear on the grown seedlings. The 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, dissolve 1 cup of wood ash in a bucket of water and pour the mixture over the plant at the root.
As soon as the seedlings take root in the open ground, after 2 weeks they are fed again. During this period, ammonium nitrate is used. Take 1 tbsp. l. on a bucket of water and water the watermelons at the root. You need to take 2 liters of liquid for one plant.
During the flowering period, potassium fertilizers are applied at the root. They are bred in accordance with the instructions and each plant is watered. Thanks to this 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 mineral substances: ammonium salt (1 tbsp), potassium salt (1.5 tbsp), superphosphate (2 tsp). The substances are diluted in a bucket of water. Watering is carried out at the root. Take 2 liters of liquid fertilizer per plant.
During the period of fruit growth and ripening, watermelons and melons are fed every 2 weeks. At this time, complex mineral compositions are used for melons and melons.
Foliar feeding
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 the ash, nitrogen, which is contained in the compost, and phosphorus, its source is superphosphate.
Before planting seedlings in the soil, it is fertilized with humus and dug up. After the melons are rooted, mineral mixtures are applied between the rows. To do this, take nitrogen-phosphorus compounds and add them to the soil while loosening it.
You can also water the soil between the rows with a urea solution (2 tablespoons per bucket of water). You can purchase combined mineral formulations that dissolve in water.
The last foliar feeding is carried out in the fall after harvesting. Humus or mullein is added to the soil, then the garden is dug up.
Root feeding is done much more often than foliar feeding. It is much easier to apply fertilizer at the root than to apply fertilizer to the entire plot of melons. Farmers consider this method more effective. But with this method of fertilizing plants, the likelihood of nitrates getting into the fruit remains.
Scheme for feeding melons and watermelons during the season
Melon crops are fed depending on the stage of plant growth.From the beginning of sowing seeds until harvesting, organic and inorganic fertilizers are applied.
There are main stages of growth when it is necessary to feed watermelons and melons:
- soil enrichment before planting;
- transferring seedlings to open ground;
- period of appearance of flower stalks;
- at the stage of ovary formation;
- during the period of fruit ripening.
Before planting seeds in containers for seedlings or directly in open ground, the soil is enriched depending on its composition:
- If the soils are alkaline or calcareous, complex mineral mixtures are added.
- 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 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 period of rooting seedlings in open ground, humus is added to each hole, to which 1 tbsp is added. l. ammonium nitrate and potassium fertilizer and 3 tbsp. l. superphosphate. It is good to add ready-made vermicompost to the planting holes.
As soon as watermelons and melons begin to form the first flower stalks, the plants are fed with preparations containing potassium and magnesium. With a lack of potassium, flower stalks practically do not set. If there is a lack of magnesium, the fruits do not ripen. Potassium chloride, potassium magnesia, 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 roots or watered between the rows. During this period, it is good to apply a mixture of fertilizers under the roots: superphosphate (25 g), potassium sulfate (5 g), azophosphate (25 g).
During the ripening period of watermelons and melons, fertilizing is carried out 2 times with a break of 2 weeks.For this purpose, use an infusion of humus or a solution of bird droppings diluted in water 1:10.
Melon crops are very heat-loving; they grow and bear fruit well at temperatures above + 25 ᵒС. Water for irrigation is taken at least + 22 ᵒC. Watering is carried out only at the root. Melon crops do not tolerate liquid contact with 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 fertilizing 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 crop growth. Saturation of the soil with all necessary microelements leads to abundant flowering of watermelons and rapid ripening of melons. The fruits become larger and juicier.
