Planting and caring for melons in a polycarbonate greenhouse

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Yakov Pavlovich

Professor, Head of the Department of Vegetable Growing

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The need to grow melon in a greenhouse appears in regions with unstable climatic conditions and frequent temperature fluctuations. The appearance of polycarbonate, which acts as a reliable covering for greenhouses, has made it possible to cultivate heat-loving melons in central Russia, in the Urals, in the northern and even Siberian regions.

Melons in a greenhouse: secrets and subtleties of growing

In order to grow melon in greenhouse conditions, you should know a number of agrotechnical techniques and certain subtleties in ensuring conditions and systematically monitoring them.

The main secrets of growing in a greenhouse include maintaining a certain temperature regime, creating optimal lighting, and maintaining air humidity suitable for this melon crop.

Among the advantages of greenhouse melon cultivation, the following factors are noted:

• absence of sharp temperature fluctuations;
• the ability to quickly install trellises or other devices for fastening developing plant vines;
• earlier receipt of ripe fruits, which are usually juicier than those grown in open ground.

There are disadvantages that need to be taken into account. These include the high cost of the greenhouse itself, the labor-intensive operations of installing it, the lack of natural pollination of melon with the help of insects, and lack of space.

How to choose a greenhouse

After preparing the soil, you can begin to choose the place where the melon will be grown. The best option for this is a greenhouse. A greenhouse is not suitable for this, as it is small in size.

Some conditions must be met:

• The height of the greenhouse must be at least 2 m. This condition is mandatory, since melon is a melon crop that needs to be tied on trellises. If the height of the greenhouse is not sufficient, it will be impossible to tie up the plant.
• Provide good lighting. If there is not enough light, you will have to use special lighting lamps.
• Maintain the required level of humidity. If the humidity in the greenhouse is too high, the possibility of rotting of the root system and the development of pathogenic microorganisms and fungi cannot be ruled out. This can be avoided by using heating equipment. In addition, the development of fungi can also be prevented by pre-treating the soil and base of the frame in the spring with copper sulfate or Bordeaux mixture.
• Avoid drafts. You should carefully monitor the integrity of the greenhouse covering. This is necessary in order to prevent cold air from entering the middle of the greenhouse room.
• Experts do not recommend growing melon in one place for two seasons in a row. If it is not possible to do this in two greenhouses, you can grow onions or radishes, cabbage or dill in a greenhouse before sowing melon seeds.

Which variety to choose

Melon varieties are selected for greenhouse cultivation based on a number of basic criteria:

• taste of fruits;
• productivity;
• precocity;
• resistance to adverse external influences.

For the northern or central region, pay attention to early ripening varieties that ripen around the second ten days of July. When studying the label with melon seeds, analyze the instructions on the zoning of the variety.

Among the types of melon that are successfully grown in greenhouses covered with polycarbonate, varieties such as Dessertnaya, Zlato Scythians, Gallia, Prestige F1, and Canary are recommended for the middle zone. Ozhen, Princess Svetlana, Lada, Krinichanka, Amber, Moskvichka are suitable.

Cold-resistant, early-ripening melon varieties are more adapted to the conditions of Siberia and the Urals, for example, Nadezhda, Tobolinka, Altaiskaya, Kolkhoznitsa, Barnaulka. Titovka, Zolotistaya, Roksolana F1, Goldie F1, Gribovskaya, Skorospelka Sibirskaya give a good harvest in the greenhouse.

The most productive melon varieties for the Moscow region

In order for the melon yield to be as high as possible and the plant care to be minimal, it is necessary to choose the right crop variety.

In the climatic conditions of the Moscow region, it is better to grow early melons or mid-ripening varieties. The following types are particularly productive:

Collective farmer. Medium ripening variety. The shape of the fruit is spherical, the flesh is tender and juicy. Melon size up to 1 kg.

A pineapple. Mid-ripening oval-shaped melon. The fruits are large, weighing up to 3 kg. It tolerates transportation well and has a long shelf life.

Cossack 244. A melon variety that is classified as medium in terms of ripening and weighing up to 1.8 kg. The pulp is dense, juicy, sweet, slightly crunchy with a bright aroma.

Good harvest of melons

Tamanskaya. Early melon is oval shaped. A small mesh appears on the skin. The pulp is tender and juicy. Has high transportability. The weight of one melon does not exceed 1.3 kg.

Charlotte. Medium ripening variety. The fruits are oval, average weight 1.7 kg. The pulp is tender, orange, strong aroma, sweet taste. Suitable for fresh consumption and also used in cooking.

Ozhen. Medium ripening variety. It has high taste qualities. The average weight of the fetus is 1 kg. The pulp is tender, juicy, sweet, greenish-white in color. It has high productivity.

Golden. Mid-early variety. The fruits are round in shape, average weight is 1.9 kg. Has high tasting characteristics. The aroma is strong, the taste is sweet. The fruits can be used for preservation.

Cinderella. Early melon with high yield. The fruits are round in shape, large, the average weight of one melon is 2.1 kg. The pulp is juicy, aromatic, sweet.

New from Don. Early, highly productive variety. The pulp is sweet, crumbly, juicy. The fruits are medium size, up to 1.7 kg. The skin is dense, covered with a coarse mesh.

When choosing a melon variety for the Moscow region, you should take into account not only the ripening period, but also the branching nature of the species. It is also worth choosing varieties with high resistance to diseases and pests.

Preparing the greenhouse and soil

Melon easily adapts to the conditions of a polycarbonate-coated greenhouse, provided that preliminary preparatory operations are carried out in a timely manner.

In early spring, check the condition of the frame. Eliminate detected cracks to prevent drafts that are dangerous for seedlings of heat-loving plants. Trellis are installed and firmly fixed inside the greenhouse, mesh and garter material are attached.

If daylight hours are insufficient, the greenhouse should be equipped with additional light sources. If a cold summer is expected, heat sources will need to be installed.

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Attention! When purchasing or constructing a greenhouse yourself, take into account that its minimum height is 2 meters.

In March, plant residues and possible debris are removed from the soil surface. The internal planes of the greenhouse and the soil are treated with a disinfectant to prevent diseases and mold development. This measure is mandatory, especially if signs of a fungal infection were observed last year.

You can wash the surfaces using a soft rag with a solution of laundry soap. Fumigation with a sulfur bomb will help cope with fungi.

In a greenhouse, it is important to annually update the surface layer of soil. They remove it in the fall with a shovel, pouring it into one pile on the site to freeze.

To replace, high-quality compost is added to the garden soil. For every sq. m the norm is 4-5 kg.

If the soil in the greenhouse is acidic, liming will be required. For this purpose, dolomite flour, crushed limestone, chalk or powdered slaked lime are used. The application rate depends on acidity levels. On average at pH5 per sq. m will require 500 g of limestone.

Additionally, to improve fertility, the soil is watered in the fall with the biological product “Baikal EM1”, making it according to the instructions.

In the spring, most often in the first ten days of April, the soil is dug up and beds are formed. They are usually installed along the side walls of the greenhouse, leaving a passage in the center. Cover with a dark film, which will speed up the heating of the soil.

On the prevention of diseases and pests

Gardeners know that in order to get excellent results, you need to take good care of your plants, prevent diseases, and get rid of pests. Common infections:

• olive spotting, when brown spots appear on the leaves, and the next stage is ulcers from them;
• powdery mildew. It appears in the form of a white coating on the leaves and fruits;
• anthracosis Yellow spots appear on the leaves with fruits, then ulcers. They also infect whips;
• aphids, with spider mites. Parasites are dangerous. Due to their activities, many bushes may die.

Prevention of diseases and parasites is cleanliness and order in the greenhouse. At the entrance you need to make a path of sawdust and paint it with a mixture of salt, bleach and formaldehyde. The upholstery of the greenhouse can be treated with a manganese solution.

By properly growing seedlings for a greenhouse or directly growing melons from seeds, watering the plants well and on time, and maintaining the temperature in the greenhouse from +25 to +30 °C, you can get an excellent harvest.

When and how to sow melon

It is important to sow melons in a polycarbonate greenhouse in a timely manner to ensure that you get ripe fruits.

By this point, the soil should warm up at a depth of 11-14 cm to at least 15 degrees. The same air temperature is required at night. During the daytime – 20 degrees. If the greenhouse is not equipped with heating, then in different regions the timing depends on climatic conditions.

Depending on the growing region

Taking into account the recommended temperature indicators, in the Moscow region, on average, sowing of melon seeds begins on the May Day holidays. In the Urals, these dates are shifted to the third ten days of May.

The algorithm for planting and caring for melons is identical for any climate zone. Seed material 3-4 years old after rejection should be disinfected by soaking for 30 minutes in a light pink solution of potassium permanganate. All floating seeds are removed because they are not germinating.

After soaking, the melon seed is rinsed with clean water. Transfer to a gauze bag and immerse for two hours in water heated to 60 degrees. Dry for 24 hours, spreading on a towel. Then, for hardening, the seeds are placed in the refrigerator for 15 hours. After this stage, keep for 8-10 hours at room conditions and immediately use for sowing.

In the beds in the greenhouse, make shallow (up to 30 mm) holes, maintaining an interval of 50-60 cm between them. Pour 0.5 cups of ash and ½ tsp into each. urea, mix with soil, pour in water and put 2-3 seeds, leaving 2-3 cm gaps between them (excess seedlings will be removed). Pour in a little soil and press it down a little.

Attention! In a week, shoots will begin to appear. When leaves form, leave one of the strongest sprouts for each hole, and carefully cut off the rest. It is dangerous to pull out, as you can damage the roots of the remaining plant.

Depending on the ripening period

Sowing seeds can be carried out in greenhouses with a polycarbonate coating, focusing on the standard ripening periods of selected melon varieties.

See also Melon Kolkhoznitsa - what is it good for the body

Since it is recommended to grow early-ripening varieties of melon in unstable climates, it is taken into account that mature fruits appear 60-70 days after the seeds hatch.

Accordingly, the optimal sowing time is determined, not forgetting to follow the recommendations for warming the soil in the greenhouse to at least 14-15 degrees.

Landing Features

When transferring seedlings to the greenhouse soil, it is important to properly prepare the soil and adhere to the timing of agrotechnical measures. One plant in a greenhouse covers an area of ​​approximately 40 square meters. cm, thus on each square. m of greenhouse you can place no more than 2 seedling roots. If the size of the greenhouse allows, arrange the plants in a checkerboard pattern.

Watch the video below on how to grow melon in a greenhouse - from planting seedlings to harvesting:

Soil preparation and disinfection

Melons grow well on loose, sandy soils and black soils. It is important to eliminate soil salinity and acidification. To do this, add ash, chalk, and limestone when digging up the greenhouse areas. In addition, ash increases the amount of sugar in fruits.

At the beginning of the second ten days of spring, the ground for planting melons is fertilized. Preference is given to organic matter: humus, bird droppings, rotted manure, peat and the contents of compost pits. This is due to the fact that organic matter breaks down over a period of time, which means that the crop will receive nutrition not immediately, but in doses and over a long period of time.

In addition, the decomposition of organic matter releases heat, which is necessary for fragile young plants. The bacteria involved in the breakdown process have a beneficial effect on the soil, increasing the penetration of air to the roots.

Organic matter is distributed at a depth of about 30 cm, at the rate of 2 kg per square meter. m greenhouse. After laying, the organic matter is watered with hot water and sprinkled with soil.

If necessary, disinfect the greenhouse and soil using one of the following methods:

• Agrotechnical . This method places emphasis on crop rotation. Once every 1-2 years, the crops grown in the greenhouse change. Therefore, if possible, build not one large greenhouse, but several small ones.
• Biological . It is based on adding special solutions to the soil that increase the growth of beneficial bacteria in order to suppress unfavorable microflora. Such preparations include “Baikal”, “Baktofit”, etc. Other biological methods include steaming and freezing the soil. These are more labor-intensive processes than the use of biological products. An effective method is to completely change the soil layer in a greenhouse.
• Chemical. This is an extreme measure when preparing the soil, since the effect of chemicals is not selective - along with pathogenic microflora and pests, beneficial ones are destroyed. They can be restored after chemical treatment using organic matter. These drugs include: manganese, formalin, TMTD fungicide, sulfur-based drugs, etc.

When working with chemicals, use personal protective equipment (clothing, respirator, gloves, goggles).

Preparation of planting material

If the seedlings have already been grown and hardened, you can begin planting them in the greenhouse as soon as the preparatory work on the soil and shelter has been carried out.

If you plan to grow melon initially in a greenhouse, then the following measures are necessary:

• Warming seeds near heating devices. You can hang fabric bags with seeds near a heat source, or place them on a radiator, provided that it is heated no higher than 50 degrees.
• Disinfection of seeds by treatment with special preparations, or soaking in a manganese solution for 15 minutes.
• Germinate seeds using any of the following methods: on peat tablets, in a roll made of toilet paper or on moistened gauze.

Landing dates

The timing of planting melons depends on the climate of the region and the equipment of the greenhouse. Most often this period occurs at the end of April - beginning of May. It is necessary that the soil warms up to 15 ºС. The daytime temperature did not fall below 20 ºС, and the night temperature did not drop below 15 ºС. If the temperature drops to 10 ºС, young plants are more likely to die.

If the greenhouse is equipped with a lighting and heating system and has high beds, it does not depend on external weather conditions, which means that planting dates can be varied.

Planting seedlings in a greenhouse: step-by-step instructions

Planting seedlings in a greenhouse is a responsible event, carried out according to the instructions:

1. Prepare planting holes at a distance of at least 50 cm from each other. If space allows, then leave a distance of 70 to 100 cm between rows.
2. Water the seedlings in containers generously with water.
3. Carefully remove the young plant from the container so as not to damage the root system.
4. Place the seedling in the hole so that the root collar is slightly above the surface of the ground. This prevents the plant from rotting.
5. Cover the root with soil, making a small hill and tamping it down a little.
6. Sprinkle the soil near the root system with a layer of river sand.
7. Cover the seedlings with damp paper for rooting and adaptation in a new place.

What to plant next door

In order to repel harmful insects, it is practiced in a greenhouse to sow spicy varieties of herbs - spinach, dill - along the melon beds.

You can plant legumes that will help saturate the soil with nitrogen, but choose low-growing varieties to prevent excessive planting density. Lettuce and radishes are often found next to melon.

If the greenhouse is spacious, then cucumbers will develop well in the beds adjacent to the melon. Given the identical requirements for environmental conditions, watermelons can also be planted. To prevent the appearance of spider mites, black radish is planted near the melon. Nasturtium clumps will serve as a good protective barrier against pests.

Do we need “neighbors”?

To prevent the greenhouse from standing idle waiting for the right temperature to create melons, you can sow early greens or radishes in it. Precursors will not harm watermelons and melons. Melons will develop well next to drought-resistant , light-loving tomatoes and eggplants.

Moisture-loving cucumbers and bell peppers will not be the best neighbors. Adherents of hot, dry climates, watermelons and melons suffer from diseases (powdery mildew, angular spot, downy mildew) at a humidity of sixty percent.

How to care for seedlings in greenhouse conditions

Given the limited territory, caring for melon plantings in a greenhouse requires systematicity and constant monitoring of the condition of developing plants.

Humidity and watering

Use settled warm water to water melon plantings. Considering the undesirability of moisture getting on the foliage, it is necessary to arrange grooves along the rows of plants, into which water is poured directly under the roots using a hose.

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Attention! The soil should not be allowed to dry out too much, but leaving wetlands is also dangerous, since in such a situation the roots begin to rot.

On average, watering in a greenhouse is practiced every six days. Experienced gardeners determine how often a melon needs to be watered based on the condition of the leaves. If they droop and look lethargic, then add more moisture or apply it at shorter intervals.

When the fruits appear, watering is increased to ensure the necessary development. When the ovary reaches the size of a large orange, they begin to reduce the intensity of moisture supply.

Approximately 30 days before the planned harvest, watering is stopped. This measure allows ripening melons to accumulate sugar and eliminates the wateriness of the pulp.

Air humidity in greenhouses where melon is cultivated is maintained within 60-70%. Higher values ​​should not be allowed, since this plant is drought-resistant. It is advisable to carry out regular ventilation.

Temperature and lighting

It is important after the appearance of strong melon shoots in the greenhouse to maintain a temperature range from 20 to 26 degrees. At night the minimum should be around 15 degrees. As the plant develops further, the daytime temperature is increased to an average of 28-32 degrees. A subsequent reduction will be required during fruit set.

Lighting in a greenhouse for the normal development of melon seedlings is required for approximately 12 hours per day. At the same time, it must be intense. In the spring and in cloudy weather, it is recommended to turn on specially installed lamps in the greenhouse.

Thinning

To improve the quality of the future harvest and prevent the development of diseases in the greenhouse, thinning of melon plantings is required.

During the period when the ovary is already beginning to develop, reaching the size of a small orange, one to three fruits should be left on each vine, choosing the healthiest and strongest specimens. The rest are carefully removed. This will ensure sufficient power and necessary lighting.

After thinning, the bed must be watered and fertilized, adding a mineral complex.

What and how to feed melons

Fertilizing, which provides the melon growing in a greenhouse with the nutrition necessary for development, should be carried out at a certain time.

The first application of ammonium nitrate is timed to coincide with the period a week after the appearance of all shoots. In 20 liters dilute 2 tbsp. l. fertilizers and pour 0.5-1 liters under the plant.

Then complex compounds are used in the greenhouse, for example, nitroammophoska. It is calculated that 20 g of fertilizer must be dissolved in 20 liters of warm water. The solution is applied under each bush in 4-5 liters. Repeat once every 15 days.

When inflorescences appear and during the formation of the melon ovary, superphosphate is used, 40 g of which is diluted in a bucket with 10 liters of settled water. The consumption rate per square meter of greenhouse is 2.5 g of superphosphate. There is no longer any need to add nitrogen. When the fruits begin to ripen, ash is scattered over the surface of the soil.

Nuances of bush formation

The peculiarities of melon include the formation of fruits on lateral stems. Taking this nuance into account, the first pinching is performed when three strong leaves form on the seedlings. This will allow the side lashes to actively develop.

When they grow to 40-45 cm, they must carry out pinching, removing the weakest branches. If cultivation is carried out vertically, then strong and healthy vines need to be tied with soft twine to trellises, which are installed in advance in the greenhouse.

You need to pinch the plant again when the stems reach a length of about two meters. All shoots are checked. All melon branches without ovaries must be pruned. Then the pinching process is performed on the main stem and side shoots. To avoid rotting and the development of infectious diseases, a uniform layer of crushed charcoal is poured onto the cut sites.

In the future, in the greenhouse it is constantly necessary to pin all growing shoots. This will allow you to form well-ventilated and well-lit bushes according to a vertical orientation pattern on trellises. Ripening melon fruits, which have reached the size of an orange, are placed in nets and also fixed to trellises.

Protection and preventative treatments

The appearance of pests or diseases, especially within the greenhouse, can completely destroy the melon harvest, so inspection is carried out systematically and at the first signs of trouble, they look for ways to properly get rid of the problem.

See also: The best varieties and features of growing Cantaloupe melon

Preventative treatment

If an outbreak of any infectious diseases was observed on the melon bushes in the greenhouse or harmful insects appeared, preventive treatment must be carried out in early spring next year.

Copper oxide is used to make a solution with a concentration of 0.4%. Melon treatment is carried out every 10 days, spraying the inside of the greenhouse walls and soil, before sowing begins.

You can use safer biological products in the greenhouse. For example, Fitosporin is used successfully. Zircon, as well as Tsitovir, are good preventative measures. These varieties should be sprayed on plants in the greenhouse when several leaves appear on the melon shoots and at the beginning of flowering.

Pollination

In the closed conditions of a polycarbonate greenhouse, the main problem is pollination of melons, since free access of bees is difficult.

At the flowering stage, it is advisable to learn how to carry out this procedure manually. It is not difficult to distinguish male melon flowers from female inflorescences. They bloom earlier, are located on thin stalks and contain a large number of stamens.

It is recommended to pollinate female melon flowers in the morning. Take a soft brush, carefully collect pollen and transfer it to the pistils of female inflorescences. You can pick the male flowers, remove the petals and touch directly the inner surface of the female flowers where the pistil is located.

Soil selection

The area for planting melons and watermelons should be reliably protected from the wind and well lit by the sun. The key to success is the right soil, providing the plants with a sufficient amount of necessary substances.

1. The ideal option is sandy, sandy loam soil or light loam.
2. The hydrogen content is important; it should reach 6-7 units.
3. The soil for melons should be light, neutral, an abundance of various organic compounds is important.
4. Excessive moisture and acidic soil are absolutely not suitable for growing melons and watermelons.

How long does a melon ripen in greenhouses?

The fruiting period of melon even of the same variety varies, since the ovary appears unevenly. The average time for cultivation in a greenhouse is indicated on the label with the seed material.

To eliminate the risk of rotting of ripening products, it is important to learn how to determine the ripeness of a melon by the following signs:

1. Melon has a pear, pleasant honey or characteristic vanilla aroma that appears only in ripe fruits. Overripe pulp loses its pleasant notes.
2. The skin of the fruit becomes elastic and acquires a uniform color. Its shade must first be assessed by the drawing on the package in which the melon seeds were packaged.
3. Upon visual inspection, there should be no rotten areas, mechanical damage, or marks characteristic of diseases on the surface of the fruit skin.
4. When you press on a ripe fruit, the peel springs back. There should be no dents left.
5. When the side surfaces are patted, a ripe melon makes a dull sound. If the echo is loud, it means the fruit is not yet ripe.

When harvesting in a greenhouse covered with polycarbonate, take into account that a ripe melon can be easily separated from the vine.

Watermelon - growing in the Urals is possible!

Watermelon is not only a wonderful taste and aroma, but also a berry that has many beneficial properties for the body. For example, it contains fructose, pectin substances that improve digestion, magnesium salts, calcium, iron, fiber and B vitamins. This gift of summer helps with anemia, edema, kidney stone diseases, and is also used as a restorative agent after operations under anesthesia . Few people know that, in addition to the pulp, the seeds in watermelon are beneficial. They, along with pumpkin, are anthelmintic and contain a large amount of vitamin D. In rural areas, thick watermelon rinds are still tied to the head instead of tablets for headaches and migraines.

Volgograd, Astrakhan regions, Kalmykia, Uzbekistan - these are the regions where watermelon grows. Growing this crop in the Urals is associated with certain difficulties, primarily due to climatic conditions. This berry is very thermophilic: for germination it requires at least 17°C, and for optimal growth - more than 25°C during the day and from 18°C ​​at night. Watermelons, the cultivation of which in the Urals is often difficult due to high air humidity, require fairly dry air (60-70%). Excessive “water” leads to fungal diseases, plant death or a significant deterioration in the quality of the fruit.

What do you need to do to get delicious watermelon in your garden? Growing in the Urals and central Russia requires a very careful approach to the selection of seed. Experts recommend the varieties “Sugar Baby”, “Skorik” or “Ogonyok”, which ripen in 60-70 days, which exactly corresponds to the warm season. Group F1 (“Creamstar”, “Moscow Charleston”, etc.) is also suitable. But these plants do not produce good seeds for the next year. When choosing a variety, you need to look at the number of days from fruit set to readiness. This determines whether the watermelon will ripen, the cultivation of which in the Urals is limited to the warm days of the short summer

You can also pay attention to the shape of the fruit, large fruit size, and transportability if you are going to grow products for sale. Seed packets should only be taken in special stores, because

in markets they may be frozen due to improper storage.

So, we want to get watermelons in the Urals. Growing the crop begins with washing the seed material in a slightly pink solution of potassium permanganate. This achieves disinfection and rejection of floating specimens. This is followed by heating the seeds near the radiator (the temperature should not exceed 50°C), which should begin about a week before the intended sowing. The sowing itself is usually done in mid- or late April.

The seeds can be planted in milk bags to a depth of about 3 cm, after spilling the soil with a hot solution of potassium permanganate. The bag is closed with polyethylene and placed on the sunny side of the window. The optimal temperature for seedlings is about 27°C, at which the seedlings will be ready in a month (have 3-5 leaves).

If you don’t want the weather to destroy your watermelon, you should start growing this plant under film in the Urals, planting seedlings between the 15th and 20th of May. The distance between the sprouts should be about half a meter; about a kilogram of compost is added to each hole and spilled with warm water. The seedling ball should rise slightly above the ridge (a couple of centimeters) so that the plant does not rot. The film is removed from the ridges in mid-late June, when the watermelon blooms. After the formation of 2-3 fruits, the remaining ovaries are trimmed and excess branches are removed so that the remaining watermelons receive more light. The maturity of fruits is determined not by size, but by the clear pattern that appears, a decrease in wax coating, and a dull sound when tapped. The ability to distinguish a ripe fruit from an unripe one comes only with experience. And experience makes it possible to grow some exotic varieties, like watermelon with yellow flesh or a square shape.

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Features of harvesting and storage

Having determined that the bulk of the melon crop in the greenhouse has already ripened, they begin to harvest it. The fruits are removed along with the stalk about 30 mm long in the evening or in the morning.

Leave them in the garden for four days, turning them on the other side every six hours. Then the finished melon harvest must be placed in a cool room without lighting, in which disinfection measures are first carried out. If the walls are wooden or concrete, they must be whitewashed with lime.

Melon fruits can be laid out on shelves, which are first sprinkled with dry sawdust. They are well stored in nets suspended on a stretched cord.

The storage temperature is maintained at about 1-3 degrees, the average humidity should be 80%. Fruits of early ripening varieties, which are picked when fully ripe, can be stored for a week.

If late-ripening crops were grown in a greenhouse, then such melons retain their marketable appearance for a maximum of six months. To keep mid-late varieties longer, they are harvested when the fruits reach the stage of technical ripeness. During storage, they ripen, improving the aroma and flavor bouquet.

Expert opinion

Stanislav Pavlovich

Gardener with 17 years of experience and our expert

Ask a Question

Important! It is necessary to systematically inspect the melon crop, promptly removing specimens that show signs of rotting.

Possible difficulties

Even experienced gardeners encounter some difficulties when cultivating melons in a greenhouse.

If fruits do not set, the cause may be an insufficient number of female melon flowers. This happens for the following reasons:

• incorrect watering regime;
• low light;
• fertilizer shortage;
• use for sowing fresh seeds.

There will be no embryos on the stems if the flowers are not pollinated due to the absence of bees in the greenhouse.

Sometimes, during the process of melon growth, it is observed that the ovaries turn yellow, dry out and then fall off. This happens in a greenhouse in which an excessively hot atmosphere is established. The reason may also be dense plantings, poor lighting, moisture deficiency, sudden and frequent temperature changes, and depleted soil.

Competent agricultural technology helps to cope with problems, including methods and techniques for caring for melons in a closed greenhouse covered with polycarbonate.

Is it possible to plant melons and watermelons together and at what distance?

Melons grow well next to each other, so they can be planted side by side. They need the same growth conditions:

• Since they originate from hot countries, they love the sun and warmth;
• They require approximately the same care;
• Cross-pollination usually does not occur.

But it is important to remember a few nuances:

• It is necessary to carefully calculate the planting site, since melons usually grow greatly. The distance between plantings should be at least 70 cm.
• In addition, they are susceptible to various diseases, so regular preventive measures should be taken as a rule.