When to plant watermelon seedlings in Siberia

Watermelons can be grown in Siberia. Siberian gardeners have proven this with their many years of experience. They were helped by local breeders who adapted new varieties of watermelons for Siberia to the conditions of mid-latitudes and the Siberian short summer. Zoned watermelon hybrids tolerate climatic weather instability well in areas with fast-moving spring and rapid summer. Residents of Siberia and adjacent territories have learned to obtain good harvests from their watermelon plantations not only for themselves, but also to sell the delicious and rare wonderful berry to the population.

Watermelons for Siberia

Siberia is not only rich in minerals, it is home to hardworking and persistent gardeners who do not want to give in to the harsh climatic conditions of their region. Using modern technologies and inventions in the field of agriculture and plant growing, they achieve stable yields in their gardens and vegetable gardens. Many crops, seemingly unsuitable for growing in the cold climate of Siberia, have successfully taken root and produce rich harvests even in such conditions. One of them is watermelon, a heat-loving and capricious fruit that was previously grown only in the south of the country.

Choosing a variety

One of the main conditions for growing watermelons in Siberia is the correct choice of variety. A lot depends on this, because if a variety is adapted to grow in the south, it will not have time to ripen in the north. It is worth thinking about the timing of ripening, or, more precisely, the duration of the growing season of watermelon. You need to choose varieties with early, even super early ripening, and a short growing season.

Siberian breeders are constantly working to develop varieties of watermelons for Siberia that meet precisely these requirements. It is necessary to add to this some other requirements that watermelon varieties of Siberian selection must have:

• increased resistance to weather changes, low sensitivity to cold snaps;
• the beginning of flowering and fruiting is not delayed in time, that is, a rapid change in flowering and the appearance of ovaries;
• reduced ripening time for watermelon to commercial ripeness;
• preservation of taste and beneficial qualities;
• strong but not thick skin.

The table provides a far from complete list of watermelon varieties suitable for cultivation in Siberia, the Urals and in areas close to them in climatic conditions.

Here you will be selected the seeds most suitable for growing in the area where you live. You should not order seed from the south if you live in the north of the country.

We grow seedlings

Summer in Siberia is short, but can be quite dry and hot. Such conditions are very suitable for growing watermelons even in open ground. But not all varieties of watermelon have time to ripen during the summer period, so gardeners sow seeds in April in heated greenhouses or at home in order to grow strong and healthy seedlings by the beginning of the season.

Seedling method of growing watermelons in Siberia the most popular, in this case the period of fruit ripening to the desired ripeness is reduced. The fruits of watermelons begin to become ripe already at the end of June, and in July-August they ripen completely. Seedlings can be planted in greenhouses and open areas under film cover in May.

Sowing of watermelons for seedlings in Siberia begins 3-4 weeks before the date of their expected planting in the ground. Gardener Tatyana Vasilyeva talks in more detail about sowing seeds in the video, which you can watch at the end of the article section. For those who prefer to read rather than watch, we recommend the following order of this operation:

1. Sort all the seeds, remove broken or deformed ones, soak them in a soda solution for disinfection and prevention of fungal diseases (5-8 g of baking soda per 100 ml of water). The holding time is about 30 minutes. Then drain the solution, remove the seeds that float to the surface (they are empty), rinse and place on a damp cloth. Previously, the soaking procedure was carried out in a weak solution of potassium permanganate, but today it will be difficult to purchase it in pharmacies, so gardeners can also successfully use a soda solution or a furatsilin solution.
2. Watermelon seeds should germinate within 1-2 days. After this period, if some seeds have not opened and released roots, try to manually open the sharp ends of the seed, that is, open the upper part. Use small tweezers or scissors for this.
3. Prepare containers for sowing watermelon seeds, disinfect them if you are not using them for the first time. Place a layer (1 cm) of drainage material on the bottom: small pebbles, coarse sand, brick chips, eggshells. On top, 2/3 of the container high, you need to pour the soil, sifted through a sieve, so that its structure is loose and light.
4. Water the entire soil with hot water (you can add a special growth stimulator); after soaking, make small indentations for each watermelon seed.
5. Place the seeds in containers, cover them with glass or plastic wrap, and place them in a warm place (not lower than +25°C). Water from time to time with a small amount of warm, preferably melted, water.

Watermelon seedlings for Siberia will be ready for planting in the ground within 3-4 weeks.

In this case, there will be no need to plant seedlings in separate pots, which significantly delays the development of the plant.

Transplanting into a greenhouse

Conventional greenhouses for summer cottages are small in size, it is impossible to grow many watermelons in them, so gardeners use a vertical method of planting watermelon seedlings in greenhouses, that is, they strengthen the lashes of shoots on supports and trellises, and place the fruits in special thin but strong nets, tying them up on small posts or ceiling grids.

The diagram below this paragraph clearly shows the width of the bed for watermelon seedlings (90 cm), the distance between seedling bushes (70 cm) and the intermediate row spacing (50 cm). This scheme is considered the most optimal for growing watermelons in a greenhouse. The procedure for planting watermelon seedlings is as follows:

• in the greenhouse, the planting areas are prepared: they add fertilizer to the soil, dig up and water the soil 2 weeks before planting the seedlings (or in the fall);
• For each seedling bush, dig a hole (see diagram) a little more than 30 cm deep and water it again;
• watermelon seedlings are removed from the pot, trying to preserve the entire lump of earth; for this, the seedlings must be watered with water before removal;
• the plant with the lump is placed vertically in the hole and dug in;
• the soil on top is mulched with tree bark (crushed);
• install trellises or supports.

If the watermelon seedlings are already quite tall, remove the first stepsons and pinch the main stem. As the seedlings grow, 2 or 3 shoots are selected, the rest (weak or poorly growing) are removed. In the future, constant care of watermelon seedlings is carried out:

• water the seedlings only with warm, sun-warmed water;
• Seedlings are fertilized 2-3 times a month;
• remove weeds, loosen the soil;
• carry out prevention and control of diseases and pests (if necessary).

Do not forget about regular ventilation of the greenhouse; watermelons love warm and fresh air.

Planting in open ground

The technology for planting watermelon seedlings for Siberia in open ground is not much different from greenhouse planting. The main difference is the shift in planting dates by a month; if planting in a greenhouse is done in April, then watermelons are planted in open melon fields only at the end of May or at the very beginning of June.

At the end of the paragraph there is a video where an experienced melon grower from Siberia talks about planting watermelons in open ground using his own method. And we provide our readers with written recommendations for planting seedlings in the garden melon patch:

1. In the fall, you need to prepare the site for your future melon plant: apply fertilizers, dig up the ground.
2. In the spring, we dig up the soil again 2 weeks before planting the seedlings. The soil for watermelons should preferably be sandy, light and loose.
3. We dig holes according to the above diagram.
4. We spill water, you can add a little growth stimulant so that the seedlings adapt faster to the new place.
5. Carefully remove the seedlings from the planting container (along with a lump of substrate) and place the watermelon sprout in the holes. We mulch the surface with humus, compost, peat.

Watermelon melons will not require special care; all procedures are usual: watering, fertilizing, loosening and removing weeds. In Siberia, summer can be cold; in this case, it is necessary to provide insulation for plantings, especially at night. Install simple arches and prepare plastic film; you can use pieces of roofing felt or slate, or old linoleum for insulation.

Conclusion

Watermelons in Siberia are no longer a curiosity, as they were quite recently. Residents of these regions do not need to wait for this delicious fruit to ripen in the south and be brought to local markets and stores. Siberian gardeners successfully grow them in their garden plots and consume the earliest, and most importantly, ecologically pure miracle berries.

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