Content
The formation of a melon bush is the basis for obtaining a good harvest. Without this, the plant will grow green mass uncontrollably, and you may not get any fruit at all. This procedure is quite simple, but requires certain skills from gardeners.
Why do you need to shape a melon?
Traditionally, melon is considered a southern crop, but recent advances by breeders have made it possible to grow it even in the middle zone. At the same time, the fruits ripen well even when plants grow in open ground conditions. Since melon is characterized by intensive growth, the size of the plant is artificially limited. This allows nutrients to be directed not to the uncontrolled growth of shoots, but to the ripening of fruits.
Forming a melon has one more task. This plant is dioecious, with male flowers appearing on the central stem and female flowers on the side shoots. If you do not form the plant, side shoots may not appear or there will be too few of them. In this case, the harvest may be completely absent or very meager, since there will simply be nothing to pollinate.Formation allows you to grow the required number of side shoots, thereby normalizing and improving the quality of the future harvest.
Recommended timing
There are no exact dates for work on the formation of a melon bush. You only need to focus on the stages of development and condition of the plant. The first pinching of melon shoots is carried out at the stage of growing seedlings, then after planting the plants in open ground and at the stage of formation of ovaries. After this, only the excess flowers and stepsons are removed.
How to shape a melon correctly
The plant is formed by pinching. It consists in removing the shoot growth point from the plant. After this, it stops growing in length, and the growth of lateral branches of the next order begins from it, which are also pinched after a certain number of ovaries are formed on them.
Pinching is usually done with a fingernail or fingers. Grassy shoots can be easily removed without any tools. To prevent rotting from occurring, the pinched areas are treated with coal or sulfur.
Melon formation patterns
Most often, two schemes for growing melon in open ground are used:
- Grown on trellises.
- Growing on the ground (in the spread).
Both methods have their advantages and disadvantages. The trellis method saves space, but requires additional arrangement of beds and regular monitoring of plants. As the plant grows, the central stem must be twisted around a rope that runs down from the trellis to the root.
The spread method of growing is simpler, but the plantings take up much more space. Depending on the method of growing melon in open ground, an appropriate formation scheme is used.
How to form bushes when growing melons spread out
When forming a melon grown in a spread, the two most developed shoots are left. After 3-4 fruit ovaries have formed on them, they are pinched, leaving a couple of leaves above the last ovary. Subsequently, all excess ovaries are removed, stepchildren are removed, and the growth point of third-order shoots is pinched.
How to form bushes when growing melons on trellises
The formation of a melon bush when grown on a trellis is almost identical. The growth point of the main shoot is pinched after it reaches the trellis, i.e. 2 m. On two side shoots, 2-3 ovaries are left, above which pinching is done. Up to a height of 0.8-1 m, the main stem is completely cleared. Subsequently, all stepsons, newly formed ovaries, and flowers are removed.
Formation of melon depending on the ripening period of the variety
The order of formation of a melon bush depends on the variety, or more precisely, on the timing of its ripening.Early ripening varieties, due to the high speed of ripening, require much less nutrients for full ripening, so for formation it is enough to pinch the central stem and monitor the number of ripening fruits, promptly removing excess fruit ovaries.
In unfavorable weather conditions, all the forces of the plant are directed to accelerating the ripening of fruits, so often melon bushes in the northern regions are formed into one trunk (side shoot), leaving 1-2 fruit ovaries on it.
Late varieties of melon form slightly differently. It consists of several stages:
- Pinching at the stage of growing seedlings. Produced after 4-5 true (not cotyledon) leaves are formed on the plant.
- Pinching a young plant. This is done after 7 leaves have formed on the vine. The shoot above them is pinched, excess flower ovaries and stepsons are removed.
In short summer conditions, preference should be given to early ripening varieties. Some hybrids are able to ripen even in 75-80 days, which makes it possible to grow them in open ground even in the conditions of the Moscow region. Later varieties in such regions can only ripen in greenhouses.
Frequency of formation
Melon has a high shoot production, so it forms new shoots regularly. They must be removed promptly. Such activities must be carried out right up to the time of harvest so that nutrients are not consumed for their growth. Excess fruit ovaries also need to be removed regularly.
Educational video about the basic principles of forming a melon bush:
What mistakes do gardeners often make?
The main mistake a gardener makes when shaping melons is improper pinching. Often they try to shape a bush like a watermelon, but this is wrong. Watermelon forms fruit ovaries on the central stem, melon - on the lateral shoots. The only exception here is hybrid varieties. In addition, there are several other common mistakes.
- Overload of fruits. Often, in pursuit of a harvest, gardeners leave more fruit ovaries than the plant can feed under appropriate conditions. This ends with the fact that instead of 2-3 juicy ripe fruits, the harvest may consist of a dozen unripe small melons that have neither taste nor aroma.
- Planting density. Melon needs space and sun. If several plants are located next to each other, it can be quite difficult to determine where each shoot grows and which bush it belongs to. Often they are so closely intertwined that it is almost impossible to separate them without damaging them. It is necessary to monitor the plantings, if necessary, adjust the direction of their growth, and also remove excess shoots and stepsons in a timely manner.
A common mistake is the wrong choice of variety for cultivation in open ground. In such cases, the crop may not ripen even if the gardener carried out all other activities on time and with proper quality. Therefore, when choosing seeds, it is imperative to pay attention to the timing of plant ripening and take them into account when planting seeds for seedlings.
Conclusion
The formation of a melon bush must be carried out using any growing method, especially in conditions of a less than suitable climate. If all activities are carried out on time and in full, then these southern fruits can be grown in the middle zone. Modern hybrid varieties are able to ripen even in short, cool summer conditions, and the taste and aroma of such melons will differ little from those brought from the south.
