Melon (Watermelon)

Plant family

Curcurbits (Cucurbitaceae)

Season Overview

Details

Light requirement

Sunny

Water requirement

Wet

Soil

Medium (loamy)

Nutrient requirement

High

Seeding distance

100 cm

Row spacing

150 cm

Seeding depth

2 cm

Instructions

The season for this plant is over. The following instructions are for the next season.

End of April

Propagating

End of May

Harden

Beginning of June

Planting

Description

The watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) is a crop plant originating from Africa, which is now cultivated in warm regions worldwide. The prostrate to climbing, annual, herbaceous watermelon plant forms many long and hairy branches (shoot axes).

Growing tips

Your watermelons should be grown in a warm environment (windowsill, greenhouse, conservatory). When the first leaves are formed, you can separate the seedlings. Continue to grow them in a warm environment until the soil in the field is warm enough (end of May - beginning of June). The small melon plants can be carefully planted in compost-filled planting holes. Protect the young plants from strong sunlight at the beginning. Water your melons regularly without waterlogging them. It is best not to use cold water from the tap (especially at colder temperatures), but always stale water from the rain barrel. When watering, make sure that you never water the melon plants from above onto the leaves, otherwise there is a risk of mold. During the main growing season, you can regularly prune the tops to form abundant branches with many flowers. During the year, these branches also form many large leaves, most of which you should cut off so that the melon plants put their energy into fruit development. Only a handful of leaves should remain on each branch above the fruit after pruning in the summer. Thin side shoots can be cut off completely except for a base of a few centimeters.