Content
Watermelon is a heat-loving vegetable. In order for it to ripen and become truly sweet, it needs a lot of sun. Traditionally, this crop is grown in the Volga region, Krasnodar region and Stavropol region. It ripens successfully on poor sandy soils, where most crops and crops will not produce. In the middle zone, and even more so to the north, not all gardeners want to grow it. Summer is too unpredictable here. However, there are varieties of watermelon that can not disappoint expectations. They will have time to ripen and gain enough sugars in just 2-3 warm months. And if you grow them through seedlings, the result will be guaranteed.
Now seed companies sell a lot of early and ultra-early ripening watermelon seeds, but most of them are of foreign origin. They are not very adapted to the realities of our harsh climate, so they do not always meet the gardener’s expectations. Back in Soviet times, many good domestic varieties with different ripening periods were bred. Their distinctive feature is their high sugar content. They were so sweet that the juice made your fingers stick together when you ate them. One of them is the watermelon Ogonyok, it is shown in the photo.
Let’s compose its description and understand what are the features of growing Ogonyok watermelon in such different regions as the Moscow region and Siberia. What needs to be done to get ripe sweet fruits from any of them.
Description
Watermelon Ogonyok has been represented in the State Register of Breeding Achievements for almost 60 years. It was bred at the Institute of Vegetable and Melon Growing, located in Merefa, Kharkov region. Despite the fact that during this time many new varieties and hybrids have been obtained, the Ogonyok variety does not give up its position. Reviews from gardeners speak of its early ripening and good taste, and, most importantly, excellent adaptation to growing conditions in the Russian climate. Initially, the Ogonyok watermelon variety was intended for cultivation in the Central Black Earth and North Caucasus regions, where summers are warm. At the same time, it was recommended for Eastern Siberia and the Far East. In these regions, the climate is not so clear, however, the test results for the Ogonyok watermelon were good.
Enthusiastic gardeners have expanded the list of favorable regions for growing Ogonyok melons; they collect ripe fruits in Central Russia and even further north. The following varietal features contribute to this:
- The Ogonyok variety is an early ripening variety; the first watermelons will ripen 80 days after the first shoots appear, and in hot summers a week earlier. This variety of watermelon ripens very easily; it should not be kept in the garden for too long.
- the weight of watermelons is not too large - up to 2.5 kg, such fruits are called portioned, this is an advantage, not a disadvantage: you don’t have to rack your brains over where to put the uneaten part of the sweet delicacy;
- The taste of the vegetable is very good, the sugar content is high;
- the shape of watermelons of the Ogonyok variety is round, the color of the peel is dark green, almost black with barely visible dark stripes, the color of the pulp is red-orange, it is granular, juicy, the seeds of the Ogonyok watermelon are small, dark brown in color;
Other features of this variety include a short shelf life. Harvested watermelons must be eaten within a week and a half, otherwise they will spoil.
In order for the watermelon Ogonyok to please with its sugar content and ripen on time, you need to follow the basic rules for growing this melon crop.
How to grow
Watermelon Ogonyok is intended for growing in open ground. In the south it will give a good harvest without much hassle. In the middle zone, and even more so in Siberia, it is better to sow it for seedlings and plant them after the end of the cold weather.
We grow seedlings
You only need to sow prepared watermelon seeds Ogonyok.
- select watermelon seeds that are full-bodied and without damage;
- warm them up for 2 hours in hot water, the temperature of which should be about 50 degrees;
- disinfect watermelon seeds Ogonyok in a solution of potassium permanganate with a concentration of 1% for 60 minutes;
- soak in a damp cloth in a warm place until they hatch.
For sowing you will need loose fertile soil: a mixture of peat, humus and sand in equal parts. You can sow Ogonyok watermelon seeds in any container with a volume of at least 0.6 liters, the main thing is that you can easily remove the plant from them for planting without damaging the earthen ball and roots.
Sowing depth is 4 cm. To make seedlings appear faster, keep the pots with sown watermelon seeds at a temperature of 25-30 degrees. The emerging seedlings really need good lighting - choose a place for them on a sunny windowsill.
We create comfortable conditions for the sprouts:
- a lot of light;
- daytime temperature is about 25 degrees, and night temperature is not lower than 14;
- watering with warm water as the soil in the pots dries out; complete drying should not be allowed, but overwatering is also harmful;
- 2 fertilizings with full-strength mineral fertilizer in soluble form - the first time a decade after germination and again after the same time;
- hardening a week before planting, we gradually accustom the seedlings to fresh air.
Typically, thirty-day-old seedlings are planted in the ground. This can only be done when the weather is warm. The most important thing for watermelon is well-warmed soil; if its temperature is below 18 degrees, the plant’s roots do not absorb nutrients well and their growth will slow down. There is no point in planting seedlings before the earth warms up well. In each region this happens at its own time.
How to plant seedlings
The seedlings are planted in prepared soil. It is prepared for this melon crop in the fall.
Preparing beds and choosing a planting site
The bed is chosen so that it is fully illuminated by the sun throughout the day. Vegetables from the cucurbit family should not have grown on it in the previous 3 years. Nightshades are also not suitable as a predecessor.The soil should be light in mechanical composition and have a neutral or slightly alkaline reaction, and warm up quickly in the spring. Stagnant water is detrimental to the root system of the Ogonyok watermelon variety, so damp beds are not suitable for it.
In autumn, for every square. m of soil for digging add up to 40 kg of peat manure compost, 35 g of superphosphate and 40 g of potassium salt in the form of sulfate. In the spring, when harrowing, nitrogen fertilizer is applied in the amount of 40 g to the same area and a 0.5-liter can of ash.
Planting seedlings
In order for the bed to warm up faster in the spring, immediately after the snow melts, it is covered with black film or non-woven material of the same color. It is better to plant watermelons in one row. This crop requires a large feeding area, so the distance between Ogonyok watermelon plants should not be less than 80 cm. To keep its roots warmer, the covering material is not removed, but simply cross-shaped holes are cut in it, the ends are bent and a hole is formed. Add 2 handfuls of humus and a pinch of complete mineral fertilizer to it, pour in 2 liters of warm water and carefully plant the seedlings without deepening them.
If the weather is unstable, it is better to install arcs over the bed and cover them with film or non-woven covering material. In hot weather they need to be removed.
Sowing seeds
It is carried out into prepared and heated soil to a depth of about 6-8 cm at the same distance as when planting seedlings. To make seedlings appear faster, the bed is covered with non-woven material.
Outdoor care
Growing watermelon of the Ogonyok variety in open ground is impossible without watering, fertilizing and loosening, if the bed is not mulched with film or organic matter.
Watering
Despite the fact that watermelon is a drought-resistant crop, it consumes more moisture than all moisture-loving plants. The reason for this is the strong evaporation of water by the leaves - this is how the watermelon escapes the heat. Ogonyok should be watered rarely, but abundantly, and only with water heated to 25 degrees or higher. Most of all, it needs moisture during the period of flowering and the beginning of fruit formation. A month before harvest, i.e. approximately 10 days after the formation of the ovaries, watering is stopped so that the watermelons gain more sugar. The exception is extreme heat - the plantings will have to be watered, but with less water. Plants need to be protected from rain with film.
Feeding
Feed Ogonyok watermelons twice:
- a decade after transplanting Ogonyok watermelon seedlings into open ground with a urea solution in the amount of 30 g per ten-liter bucket of water;
- after another 2 weeks, complete mineral fertilizer in the amount of 40 g per ten-liter bucket of water.
Formation
It is in the warm southern sun that all the set fruits will ripen, but when growing Ogonyok watermelon in other regions, such as the Moscow region, the Urals or Siberia, the plant needs to be shaped and the harvest rationed.
- Fruit formation in the Ogonyok watermelon occurs only on the main cane, so all the side canes are plucked off once a week. It is permissible to leave one ovary on the side lash and pinch it after 5 leaves;
- more than 2-3 watermelons on one vine simply will not have time to ripen; as soon as they have set, pinch the lashes, counting 6 leaves after the fruit;
- On one Ogonyok watermelon, no more than 2 main lashes are left.
More information about the formation of a watermelon can be seen in the video:
If everything is done correctly, already at the end of July the first ripe watermelons of the Ogonyok variety can be served. How do you know that they are ripe?
Watermelon ripeness criteria:
- when you tap on the fruit, a ringing sound is heard due to the voids that are in it;
- the tendril of the stalk or the existing stipule dries out;
- the color becomes brighter and a waxy coating appears;
- A light spot appears at the point of contact with the soil.
