Growing watermelon "Astrakhan" in the open field: the secrets of a huge harvest

The fame of the variety of watermelons "Astrakhansky" spread not only the whole of Russia, but went far beyond its borders. Legendary this variety made high yields, excellent taste, keeping quality and transportability of berries. In addition, farmers do not hide the joy of plant simplicity. On the main advantages of the variety and the nuances of its cultivation in the household economy will be discussed further.

Description and characteristics of the variety

The authorship of the Astrakhan watermelon belongs to the well-known in the Russian Federation breeder and honored worker of science Konstantin Dyutin. The breeder’s dream was to create a berry with a perfectly even round shape and high-quality taste characteristics. This is exactly what this variety is.

It would seem that the watermelon "Astrakhansky" by its external description is very close to its fellows. It has the same smooth skin with typical stripes.But, unlike other varieties, the berry is thick-skinned. On average, its weight ranges from 8 kg.

You can eat ripe fruits within 75-85 days after planting. When cutting the eye attracts fine-grained bright red flesh. With a long summer drought, an emptiness may form inside, but this fact does not affect the taste at all.

Another feature of the variety, which certainly causes joy among gardeners, is high resistance to pathogens fusarium, anthracnose and other diseases that affect melons. In the reviews the hostess noted that "Astrakhan" has the properties to persist for about two months.

The variety is considered high-yielding.. With large-scale crops from 1 hectare, it is possible to collect up to 120 tons of watermelons canceled in terms of product quality and taste.

How to grow seedlings

Many landowners believe that a good crop of melons can only give in the southern regions.The Astrakhansky watermelon, the geography of cultivation of which is much wider, dispels these errors radically.

Farmers of middle latitudes, for whom late spring is typical, are more prone to seedling technology of cultivation of these berries. Some practice planting grains on seedlings immediately in open ground, while others use greenhouses for this. Consider the feature and effectiveness of both methods.

In the greenhouse

Growing seedlings of melons in many ways resembles cucumbers. Under the conditions of a closed ground, sowing of seeds is carried out in the period from the end of March to mid-April with reference to the lunar calendar. Land for planting must be neutral and enriched with nutrients.. You can use cucumber soil mixtures.

To speed up the germination of grains, they must be held for 15 minutes in water heated to 50 degrees. This event will contribute to the softening of the seed coat. Some gardeners resort to stratification of planting material.

To do this, it is wrapped in a wet and well-pressed tissue flap, then left for a week in the refrigerator.It is advisable to place the rolls somewhere close to the freezer.

If desired, it can be further processed with any growth promoters. When everything is ready, fill the plastic cups with the prepared substrate and deepen into them at the level of 4 cm several seeds. Then all containers are covered on top with polyethylene or the same container and removed in the heat. The optimum temperature regime of the greenhouse should be at the level of 25-26 ° С.

With the appearance of the first shoots all the shelters need to be removed and look at the shoots. Loose immediately remove. It is also important to take care of good lighting. In a greenhouse, seedlings will grow no more than 35 days before the appearance of the first four leaves.

In the open ground

For the cultivation of watermelon seedlings directly on the garden need to prepare the soil with good drainage. Planting should be planned with a stable daytime air temperature of 14-16 ° C, when the earth warms up well and spring frosts bypass. As a rule, this is the end of May.

The holes for the seeds are fertilized with humus, on which a 10 cm layer of soil is placed on top. It is important to take into account the width between the rows - ideally, they should be at least one and a half meters. A similar distance is made in the rows between the pits.

They are sown in the same way as in the greenhouse variant, in several grains, and as they germinate, the stems are sent in different directions. Sowing, before the first two pairs of leaves appear on it, be sure to cover with agrofiber.

Where is the best place to plant "Astrakhan" watermelon

Place for bahchi should be chosen very carefully. "Astrakhan" watermelon loves heat and moisture, so it is desirable to protect the site from drafts and winds.

The soil on it is desirable light, black earth and not acidic. Special attention should be paid to the predecessors..

It is better to sow melon crops after potatoes, corn and legumes. Watermelon sprouts will develop badly after melons, cucumbers, pumpkins, cabbage.

The process of transplanting seedlings in open ground

30-day-old seedlings are transplanted to the garden in the open ground.

It is important that before this moment the earth warms up well, and the daytime temperature is around 18 ° C. For the Astrakhan variety, the optimal planting pattern is 90 × 50 cm.

The process of transplantation begins with the preparation of pits, at the bottom of which liquid fertilizers are poured onto a mandatory basis. They are prepared from 30 g of ammonium sulfate, 20 g of potassium salt and 40 g of superphosphate. The mixture needs to be dissolved in 2 liters of water. Alternatively, you can use the solution from the infusion of chicken manure or mullein.

Then all sprinkled with earth and a handful of wood ash is added on top, sprinkled again. When the bottom of the hole is prepared, it is watered with heated water. At each recess will need approximately one liter of fluid. After the manipulations are done, the cup is carefully cut or the bottom of the cup is pressed down to extract the earthen clod with the stem.

Then it is deepened in such a way that the ground level reaches the cotyledon leaves. The final stage of planting is mulch beds.For these purposes, use sand or humus. This layer contributes to moisture retention and warms the soil.

Care rules

Care for the "Astrakhan" watermelon does not portend anything new. Experienced gardeners know that they need to provide enough moisture and heat to get a crop of melons. Consider the main subtleties of cultivation of culture.

Temperature and lighting

For the full development of watermelon need a lot of light.. In the shade shoots will be weak and fragile. In addition, the harvest from such a bed should not be expected. In the fibers of watermelon photosynthesis processes are hampered even in cloudy weather. Therefore, when summer does not indulge in the sunny warm days, the berries are a little dry and unsweetened.

During the greenhouse cultivation of these crops, it is necessary to use additional lighting. The temperature regime is also important for the plant.

Ideally, for good growing season its limits range from 30 to 40 ° C. In cold weather, growth stops, and stable + 10-15 ° C adversely affect watermelons.

Humidity and watering

Watermelon wattle have a strong root system, which extends in depth and in breadth by 30 cm. The culture tolerates drought well, because the roots are sucked from the depths of nutrients with moisture. But to abuse the endurance of the plant is not worth it. For full development, it is very important for him to get plenty of water. It is desirable to carry out the humidification daily with warm, settled water..

Experienced farmers reduce the amount of watering to once every two days, when the fruiting period begins. This nuance contributes to the fact that the berries begin to ripen faster.

Soil fertilizer

In addition to fertilizing seedlings for growing and planting, watermelon requires them to be repeated every two weeks. It is better to alternate organic and mineral complex fertilizers. When using chicken manure and mullein, be sure to wait until the solution begins to ferment.

If you do not comply with this recommendation, the berries will contain a lot of nitrates.

When to harvest and how to store crops

The collection of "Astrakhan" watermelons always falls on August and September. The ripeness of the berries is determined by the outgoing ringing when tapping and the dry stalk. Harvesting is important with maximum caution, otherwise even the slightest mechanical damage will not allow the berries to be well preserved. All fruits must be complete, without abrasions and blows, cracks.

In storage the berries will be comfortable at a temperature of + 1-3 ° C and humidity at 80%. You also need time to take care of ventilation in the cellar. "Astrakhan" grade has a good keeping quality. Experienced housewives manage to preserve its fruits safely and securely until the New Year.

The secret of this lies in the microflora in which watermelon is placed. It is covered with a thick layer of dry forest moss or thickly coated with paraffin, wax. Some summer residents share their experience of successfully storing fruits in a barrel with ashes.

As a result of all the worries, you will get a unique melon berry, which is not only delicious, but also a useful delicacy.