How to Plant Melons: How and When to Plant Them

00The method for sowing melons is the same as for watermelons.

The method for planting melons is the same as for watermelons

The melon, also called Cucumber melonis a monoecious herbaceous plant whose stems are creeping. The reason why it is grown is its fruit, which is widely consumed throughout the world. Therefore, it is not surprising that many people consider planting it in their own garden. To help you with them, we are going to explain in this article how to plant melons.

They are summer season berries that they have a sweet taste and a very high water content. The stems of the vegetable are hairy and soft and grow at ground level. As for the leaves, they are palmate and have a similar appearance to that of a hand. The flowers are yellow and single sex. If you want to grow these vegetables and enjoy their tasty fruits, I recommend that you keep reading. Not only will we explain step by step how to plant melons, but we will also explain how to prepare the land for it and when to do this.

How is melon seed sown?

Planting melons is fairly straightforward, but requires a lot of space

Planting melons is quite simple, but requires a lot of space

Both watermelons as melons they are plants with fruit whose method of sowing is the same. This is because both species are creeping creeping plants that belong to the family of the cucurbitaceaespecifically to the tribe of the Benincaseae of the subfamily cucurbitoideae. The only difference between the two is gender: While melon is part of the genus Cucumberswatermelon belongs to the genus citrullus.

For this reason, both species have the same needs in terms of soil, care, nutrients and climate. Next we will explain how to plant melons, and consequently also watermelons.

How to plant melons step by step

The steps that we must follow to plant melons are the following:

  1. Put the seeds in a container with water and leave them there for about five hours to hydrate well. Then they are removed.
  2. Open a trench (or two if we are going to plant both species) in the selected land to cultivate them. The depth should be about 40 to 50 centimeters and the width of 30 centimeters, since the developed roots of these plants are very long. Between the rows there must be a distance of at least one meter.
  3. Cover the bottom of the trench with a thin layer of cow or horse manure. It should be about 3 centimeters tall.
  4. Fill the trenches up to 90% compost.
  5. Cover the rest with the earth removed at the beginning.
  6. Cut holes for the seeds one centimeter deep. Leave about fifty centimeters of distance between each one. Remember that a ditch corresponds to a species, it is not advisable to mix watermelons with melons.
  7. Insert a seed in each hole and cover it with substrate.
  8. When all the seeds are planted, it’s time to do the first watering. We just have to moisten the substrate, do not flood it.
  9. Optional: Lay black plastic or a tarp over the trenches. It helps to reduce the evaporation of water and to protect the seeds from insects and also from other animals, such as chickens. If we apply this step, it is important to open holes in the plastic or canvas right where the sown seeds are. If not, when the seeds begin to germinate, they will not have room to grow.
  10. It is also optional to install a drip irrigation system, but it is highly recommended. In this way we can keep the soil and, consequently, the seeds moist at all times. However, we can also water manually.

As you can see, it is not difficult to plant melons or watermelons. We just have to follow these steps and that’s it.

How is the land prepared to plant melon?

Before explaining how to prepare the soil for melons, it is important to know that they are climbing plants and that they require considerable space, especially watermelons. Thus They are not the most recommended vegetables for small gardens. However, there is a variety called melons muskmelon they can be planted in confined spaces, trellising the vines and thus supporting the fruit.

To choose the best soil for these vegetables, we must bear in mind that it must be deep and well drained. It does not matter if it is sandy or sandy clay, but it must always contain lots of organic matter. When it is a very heavy soil and with a significant amount of clay, the plants tend to come out small and weak, resulting in fewer fruits. As for the pH, it is best to be neutral. If the soil in which we grow melons is too acidic, the flowers of the plants will fall.

When are melons planted?

The best time to plant melons is in spring

The best time to sow melons is in spring

Now that we are clear about how to plant melons, we are going to discuss when is the best time to perform this task. To plant this delicious fruit, The ideal is to do it in spring, specifically between the months of March and May, since this vegetable is from hot climates. However, hybrids adapted to rather temperate climates have been created.

Generally, the ideal room temperature for melons ranges between 18 and 25 degrees. If we do not have such a climate, we always have the option of growing this plant in heated greenhouses. In such a case, we can even plant the melons in December.

Melon is a very popular fruit that is grown in almost all parts of the world where the climate is warm and not very rainy. Among the main products are Iran, China and also Spain. It should be noted that melon ranks fourth in the list of the most consumed fruits in the world. In front of him are grapes, oranges and bananas.

How long does it take for a melon seed to germinate?

Melons are usually sown in seedbeds. Each seed takes between five and ten days to germinate, that is, in showing its first shoots. It is best to place the seeds in water a few hours before sowing.

I hope this information has been useful to you and that you can grow some delicious melons!

How to Plant Melons: How and When to Plant Them

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