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Watermelon has recently become a fashionable choice for summer aperitifs. But still, the sweet and refreshing dish is more common as a dessert, especially when there is a small fruit on the table, like the Sugar Baby watermelon. Gardeners are happy to grow this southern plant with an early ripening period, bred abroad in the 50s of the 20th century.
Characteristic
From the time of germination to fruit ripening, the variety develops in 75-85 days. Grown through seedlings and planted in open ground or in a greenhouse, Sugar Baby, as the name of the watermelon variety Sugar Baby is literally translated from English, manages to ripen in the warm season of central Russia. Unpretentious, resistant to characteristic diseases of melons, the plant quickly spreads throughout the areas of gardeners. The variety was included in the State Register in 2008 and is recommended for cultivation in the Central Black Earth region as a garden crop. The originators are CJSC Lance Company, Moscow, and Agrofirm Poisk from the Moscow region.
One lash of watermelon of this variety can grow 6-12 kg of fruit. The yield per square meter is 8-10 kg. In the southern regions, the Sugar Baby variety is also cultivated for commercial production.Large, weighing 3-6 kg, the fruits of the variety are not as huge as those of high-yielding 10-12 kg watermelons. But sometimes consumer demand turns towards moderate-sized fruits, considering them the best from an environmental point of view. Plants of this variety are harvested from mid-August.
Siberian melon
Growing Sugar Baby watermelon is also possible in Siberia, you just need to pay attention to the degree of illumination of the seedlings and the adult plant. If the light level for ripening watermelon fruits is low, they will be tasteless and watery.
- For successful ripening, watermelon fruits require at least 8 hours of exposure to sunlight;
- This variety works well when planted on slopes facing south or southwest;
- Watermelons should not be planted in peat soil;
- Sand is poured into the holes for the Sugar Baby variety so that the soil is loose and light;
- Often, gardeners cover their watermelon beds with black film, which accumulates heat;
- Scientists agronomists from the Far East successfully grew watermelons planted on mounds covered with film in an experimental plot. The height of the mounds is 10 cm, the diameter is 70 cm. Three sprouts of watermelons were planted in a hole, planting the plants, and chasing after the 6th leaf. The mounds were sealed according to a pattern of 2.1 x 2.1 m.
Description
The plant of the Sugar Baby variety is medium-climbing. Round fruits with dark green, thin but dense skin. Quite faint stripes of a darker shade are visible on the surface of the watermelon. When the fruit is fully ripe, the peel acquires a rich dark color. The bright red juicy pulp is very sweet, grainy, and delicate in taste.There are few seeds in the pulp of the Sugar Baby watermelon; they are dark brown, almost black, small, and do not interfere with enjoying the delicious honey taste of the pleasantly crunchy red slices. The sugar content of the fruit of this variety is 10-12%. In garden plots, the fruits reach a weight of 1-5 kg.
Advantages and disadvantages
The long cultivation period and popularity of the hybrid ambiguously indicate its high qualities. Due to the obvious advantages of the variety, watermelon is a welcome guest on the plots.
- Balanced taste and delicate aroma of fruit pulp;
- Thin peel;
- Early ripening;
- Transportability and keeping quality;
- Ideal size for storage in the refrigerator;
- The variety's unpretentiousness to climatic conditions;
- Drought resistance;
- Immunity to fusarium.
Among the shortcomings of the variety, the small size of the fruit is most often cited.
Growing
In areas with relatively short summers, it is possible to grow only early-ripening watermelons, which are completely filled with aromatic juice within three months. Some gardeners sow watermelon seeds in the ground, but such planting is not always successful due to the vagaries of the weather. With the onset of sudden cold weather in early summer, seeds may not germinate but may die in the cold soil. Planting the Sugar Baby watermelon through seedlings will ensure the fruit grows in any weather. The variety works well in film or polycarbonate greenhouses and in northern regions.
Watermelon seedlings are planted in open ground as soon as the soil at a depth of 10 cm warms up to 12-15 0C. Sandy soils, as a rule, warm up to this temperature in central Russia by the end of May or early June. Considering that seedlings are planted a month old, you need to sow watermelon seeds of the Sugar Baby variety in the last days of April.
Seed preparation
If purchased seeds are not processed, they are prepared for sowing, preventing the development of common diseases.
- The seeds are disinfected for a quarter of an hour in a slightly pink solution of potassium permanganate;
- The grains are soaked in some preparation for pre-sowing seed treatment;
- One simple option is to soak the seeds in warm water for up to 12 or 24 hours. The grains swell and germinate quickly in warm soil.
Seeds of the Sugar Baby variety from well-known manufacturers are often purchased with pre-sowing treatment already carried out, coated. Such seeds are only soaked before sowing so that they germinate faster.
- The seeds are placed in a gauze bag or placed between layers of paper napkins, which are kept moist for three days;
- When the sprout hatches, the sprouted seeds are carefully placed in the substrate to a depth of 1-1.5 cm and sprinkled with soil.
Preparation of substrate for seedlings
The soil should stand at room temperature so that it is warm for sowing Sugar Baby seeds.
- Take ordinary garden or turf soil, mix it with humus and sand so that it is light and loose. The soil is prepared in a ratio of 1:3:1;
- Another substrate option: 3 parts caked sawdust and 1 part humus;
- To the substrate, 20 g of nitrogen and potassium agents and 40 g of superphosphate are also added per 10 kg of mixture.
Seedling care
Pots with sown watermelon seeds are left in a place where the temperature is kept up to 30 0C. Sprouts from germinated seeds appear in a week or less.
- To prevent Sugar Baby watermelon plants from stretching out, the container is transferred to a cool room, up to 18 0C;
- After a week, the strengthened sprouts are provided with comfortable warmth - 25-30 0C;
- The substrate is watered moderately with warm water;
- When 2 or 3 true leaves appear, feed with a solution of 5 g of superphosphate and 2 g of potassium salt in 1 liter of water.
15 days before the expected planting date, watermelon seedlings are hardened off by taking them out into the air if the plants will be moved to the garden. They start with short periods of time - an hour or an hour and a half, gradually increasing the seedlings' stay outside. By this period, the seedlings already have 4-5 leaves.
Plants in the garden
Growing watermelons of the Sugar Baby variety involves planting them according to a 1.4 x 1 m pattern.
- If the plant is led along a trellis, any side shoots must be removed at a distance from the root to 50 cm of the length of the lash;
- The next branches are pinched after the third leaf;
- Water with warm water, spending per 1 sq. m of beds 30 liters of water;
- Watering is limited only when large watermelons have formed and the process of pulp ripening begins;
- The soil is constantly loosened and removed weeds;
- The lashes of watermelons grown in spreads are sprinkled with earth in several places to form new roots for additional nutrition of the plant.
If watermelon seeds are planted directly into the ground in the middle or end of May, they are deepened by 4-5 cm. For quick emergence of seedlings, make a mini-greenhouse from a plastic container for each hole. As soon as green leaves appear, the plastic is removed.
In the greenhouse
Seedlings are planted according to a 0.7 x 0.7 m pattern. Humus, wood ash and sand are placed in the holes. Watermelon plants are tied up or left to develop spread out if the area allows.
- 10 days after planting, Sugar Baby watermelons are fed with saltpeter, dissolving 20 g in 10 liters of water;
- Fertilizing with complex fertilizers for watermelons is carried out every one and a half weeks;
- During flowering, if the weather is cloudy and the greenhouse is closed, gardeners need to pollinate the watermelon flowers themselves;
- Side shoots and excess ovaries are removed, leaving 2-3 fruits on the main vine up to 50 cm long.
A tasty harvest largely depends on the vagaries of the weather, but ingenuity and careful care can ensure the full ripening of the desired fruits.
