Melon crops have high heat requirements. Watermelon and melon are plants of the sultry south. The homeland of watermelon is Africa, melons are Central and Asia Minor. This determined their main areas of distribution: primarily the southern regions of Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Central Asia, Transcaucasia and Moldova.
Nutritional value and chemical composition. The fruits of watermelon and melon are consumed mainly fresh and in the canning industry for the preparation of watermelon and melon honey (nardek and bekmes), various confectionery products, candied fruits, marmalade, jam, marshmallows and other products. IN Central Asia The pulp of the melon fruit is dried and eaten in this form or compotes are made from it. Non-standard young watermelon fruits are suitable for pickling. Melon seeds accumulate a lot of high-quality oil, which is used in the confectionery industry and for other purposes. Dry watermelon seeds contain 14...19% oil, melon seeds - 19...35%, pumpkin seeds 23...41%. Pumpkin and watermelon seeds are processed into oil
The resulting cake is valuable feed for livestock.
The fruits of melons and pumpkins are widely used as valuable succulent food for animals.
Table 1. Chemical composition of melons and melons
In terms of area occupied, first place belongs to watermelon, second place to melon, and only 10% belongs to pumpkin. It does not belong to such sugar-bearing plants as watermelon and melon, but is characterized by higher productivity - when grown according to intensive technology over 100 t/ha.
Botanical description. Watermelon, melon and pumpkin belong to the Pumpkin family (Cuicurbitaceae), which includes more than 100 genera and about 400 species. The fruit is berry-shaped (pumpkin), reaching a weight of 20...40 kg or more. Fruits are distinguished by shape, color and pattern of the bark, color and structure of the pulp, shape of the seeds and other characteristics. Different kinds The Pumpkin families differ in anatomical structure, but general structure The fruit is preserved for all melons. The fruit consists of bark, pulp, placenta (sperm filaments or ovary sites from which the ovules arise) and seeds. Placentas in pumpkin are dry, in melon - dry 1 or wet, in watermelon they grow and grow together with the walls of the fetus. The bark consists of several layers. Upper, bordering external environment, - single-layer epidermis covered with cuticle. Its purpose is to protect the fetus from drying out, evaporation, and other unfavorable external influences, limiting transpiration. Under the epidermis layer there is a chlorophyll-bearing parenchyma of 8...10 cells. Each variety has its own coloring and pattern.
At the Research Institute of Plant Growing (VIR), among the diversity of its varieties, T. B. Fursa identified ten ecological and geographical groups: Russian, Asia Minor, Western European, Transcaucasian, Central Asian, Afghan, Indian, East Asian, Far Eastern, American. The identification of groups is based on the anatomical and physiological characteristics of plants and, first of all, the degree of xero- or mesomorphic appearance, manifested in the morphology and anatomical structure of the leaf blade, in the different suction strength and water-holding capacity of the leaves of these groups.
Russian ecological-geographical group combines table watermelon varieties common in the Lower Volga region, the North Caucasus, the southern regions of Ukraine, as well as early ripening varieties, grown in the northern regions of Ukraine, in Western Siberia. General form plants bears the features of a xeromorphic organization, which is manifested in the morphology and anatomy of the leaf, its relatively high sucking force. This type was formed in a hot, dry climate with intensive selection for sugar content and improved taste. Local varieties of the Russian group are valuable source material for breeding due to their high ecological plasticity and adaptability to unfavorable environmental conditions. According to the sexual type, the varieties of this group are predominantly andromonoicistic - they produce male and bisexual flowers on one plant. Such varieties are only slightly pollinated when sowed together with others, which is important for establishing standards for spatial isolation. Among the watermelons of the Russian group there are varieties with uncut leaves: Tselnolistny 215, Yubileiny 72, etc. This trait can be used as a signal to obtain heterotic watermelon hybrids with free cross-pollination of the original forms. Most of the watermelon varieties currently zoned in Russia belong to the Russian ecological-geographical group.
Asia Minor Ecological-Geographical Group, uniting watermelons grown in Turkey is similar to the Russian one, for which it was the source. Asia Minor watermelons probably penetrated into the southern Russian steppes through the Greek colonies on the Black Sea, found favorable conditions here and gave rise to a more cultivated type, ecologically close to the original one. The xeromorphic nature of the organization is more pronounced in Asian Minor varieties than in Russian ones. Among them there are many drought-resistant forms that are promising for use in breeding. There are almost no breeding varieties in the group; variegated and poorly cultivated populations predominate, but there are individual samples with a high sugar content in the fruit.
Western European Ecological-Geographical Group unites watermelon varieties cultivated in Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Yugoslavia, Greece, and Italy. A significant part of it was probably formed on the basis of the Russian assortment, but in general it is characterized by a more mesomorphic plant species, in accordance with the soil and climatic conditions of the region. Heterogeneous in composition and selection significance.
The Far Eastern ecological and geographical group is represented by varieties watermelon, cultivated in the Primorsky and partially Khabarovsk territories of the Far East. In the conditions of the moderately humid climate of Primorye, a unique ecological type was formed. Far Eastern watermelons are the fastest ripening among the entire world assortment - the period from germination to ripening is 60-70 days. They are characterized by a poorly developed vegetative mass, very small fruits with low-sweet, tasteless pulp containing many seeds. The general appearance of the plants is mesomorphic; sexual type of monocyst. There are samples with lemon-yellow flesh. Varieties, as a rule, are represented by variegated populations, among which sugary forms can be selected. Far Eastern watermelons are of interest for breeding due to their exceptional early maturity.
Transcaucasian ecological-geographical group represented by varieties of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Occupies an intermediate position between varieties of Russian and Central Asian ecological and geographical groups. Armenian watermelons are closer to Russian and Asia Minor varieties, and Azerbaijani and Georgian varieties are closer to Central Asian ones. The appearance of the plants is characterized by well-defined mesomorphism. The leaves, as a rule, are slightly or moderately dissected, the fruits are large and thick-barked. The assortment is dominated by local populations, and the sugar content is usually low.
Central Asian Ecological-Geographical Group unites varieties from Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Southern Kazakhstan and Western China. It is very polymorphic both in morphological and economically valuable characters. Local varieties predominate, represented by variegated populations. The general nature of the varieties is mesophilic, the sexual type is monocysts and anddromonocysts, found in equally. The varieties of this group are characterized by large fruits with thick bark and rough pulp; many of them are valuable for their high keeping quality.
Afghan Ecological and Geographical Group unites watermelons from Iran and Afghanistan, which are in many ways similar to Central Asian ones. Iranian varieties are more diverse than Afghan ones in shape, fruit color, pulp, sugar content, but in general they constitute one ecological type; it can be defined as rude, uncultured. The fruits of varieties of this group are usually large, often irregular shape, thick-skinned, with coarse, fibrous, pale-colored pulp with a low sugar content. The varieties represent mainly heterogeneous populations, among which there are forms that are valuable for breeding. Heterogeneity is manifested by sexual type (along with andromonocysts, which predominate in this group, there are also monocysts), as well as in appearance plants, xeromorphic in some varieties and mesomorphic in others. Among the varieties of this group there are forms unusual for watermelon with yellow and orange coloring of the fruit.
Indian Eco-Geographical Group represented by varieties of North-West India and Pakistan
thana.Prevail large-fruited varieties,Have a thick bark, the flesh is pale-colored.
They have food value.
East Asian group(Japan, China, Korea) - small-fruited with thin bark with a yellow or orange color predominate. Valuable for greenhouses.
American group- large-fruited varieties with cylindrical or oval-shaped fruits are evenly resistant to anthracnose and fusarium wilt (a source of resistance in breeding).
In each ecological-geographical group, certain morphological types of varieties are identified, which are based on the shape and color of the fruit, that is, distinctive approbation characteristics.
Based on these characteristics, the entire variety of watermelon varieties fits into 32 varieties:
1. Globular, white, without a pattern or with mesh elements.
2. Globular, golden yellow, without a pattern or with unclear stripes.
3. Globular, orange-yellow, without a pattern, segmented.
4. Globular, light green or light green, without a pattern, segmented.
5. Globular, light green, with mesh or mesh stripes.
6. Cylindrical, light green or white, with mesh or mesh stripes.
7. Globular, light green, with narrow mesh (filamentous) stripes.
8. Oval, less often spherical, gray-green, with mesh or mesh stripes.
9. Globular, light or gray-green, with dark green strokes at the stalk (marble pattern).
10. Globular or oval, gray-green, with dark green reticulated stripes.
11. Globular, whitish or light green, with whitish spiny stripes..
12. Globular, whitish or light green, with narrow dark or black-green spiny stripes.
13. Oval or cylindrical, whitish, with narrow dark or black-green spiny stripes.
14. Globular, whitish or light green, with wide stripes.
15. The same, but with completely closing processes (mosaic pattern).
16. Cylindrical, light green, with wide green spiny stripes.
17. Globular, light green, with blurred green stripes.
18. Globular, light green, with dots and dark green blurred stripes (calico pattern).
19. Globular, light green, with wide dark green blurred stripes, almost covering the background.
20. Cylindrical, light green, with wide blurry green stripes.
21. Globular or oval (pear-shaped), green with mesh and mesh stripes.
22. Cylindrical, green, with mesh or mesh stripes.
23. Globular, green, with an unclear pattern.
24. Cylindrical or oval, green, with an unclear pattern.
25. Globular, green, with black-green narrow spiny stripes.
26. Globular, green, with dark or black-green wide spiny stripes.
27. Cylindrical or oval, green with wide dark green spiny stripes.
28. Globular, green, with dim green blurry stripes.
29. Globular, green, with dark green blurry stripes.
30. Globular, dark green, with black-green spiny stripes.
31. Globular, black-green, with hidden pattern or without a picture.
32. Cylindrical or oval, black and green, with or without a hidden pattern.
Table 2. Inheritance of the main approbation characteristics of watermelon in a hybrid
The most promising option for hybrid watermelon seed production is the use of lines with genetic male sterility and marker traits for culling non-hybrid plants.
Melon crops - watermelon, melon and pumpkin - are cultivated to produce juicy fruits that are distinguished by high taste. The fruits of table watermelon and melon contain 6-12% sugar, vitamins B, B 3, C, PP, etc. Watermelon contains a lot of iron salts and folic acid. In addition to direct consumption, these fruits are used in the canning and confectionery industries to prepare honey (from juice), candied fruits, jam, marshmallows and other products.
Pumpkin with yellow flesh is rich in phosphorus salts and carotene, and contains many phytoncides.
Fresh fruits of forage varieties of pumpkin and watermelon are usually used to feed livestock. They are considered a valuable milk feed. 100 kg of feed pumpkin contains 10 feed. units and 70 g of digestible protein; 100 kg of feed watermelon - 9 feed. units and 40 g of digestible protein.
Edible oil is extracted from the seeds of melons, especially pumpkin.
Productivity the best varieties of watermelons on non-irrigated lands is 25-30 t/ha, and on irrigated lands - 40-50 t/ha or more. The yield of melon is from 16-18 to 50 t/ha and pumpkin from 35 to 70 t/ha and more.
Melons belong to the pumpkin family - Cucurbitaceae, which includes three most important genera in culture: watermelon (Citrullus), melon (Melo) and pumpkin (Cucurbita). Plants of these genera are annual, very similar to each other in the structure of their vegetative and generative organs.
Watermelon. It is represented by two types: table watermelon (Citrullus edulus Pang.) and candied watermelon (Citrullus colocynthoides Pang.).
Root table watermelon rod-shaped, highly branched, reaches a depth of 3-5 m and spreads laterally up to 7 m. The stem is creeping, long-climbing (2-5 m), with 5-10 branches covered with hard hairs. The leaves are strongly dissected into pinnately incised lobes, stiffly pubescent. Flowers are quintuple, yellow, dioecious; female flowers are larger than male flowers (Fig. 22). Cross pollination with the help of insects. The fruit is a multi-seeded false berry (pumpkin) on a long stalk, spherical, oval or oblong, colored white-greenish or dark green, often with a marble pattern. The bark of the fruit is leathery, fragile, from 0.5 to 2.0 cm thick. The pulp is of varying consistency, carmine red, pink, less often white or yellow, tastes sweet or slightly sweet. The pulp contains from 5.7 to 13% sugar. Fruit weight is from 2 to 20 kg. Watermelon seeds are flat, ovoid, 0.5-2.0 cm long, with a scar along the edge and a hard skin of white, yellow, gray, red and black color, often with a spotted pattern. Weight of 1000 seeds is 60-150 g.
feed watermelon its structure is somewhat different from the dining room. Root system his is more powerful. Leaves with larger, shortened lobes. The flowers are large, with pale yellow veins
Rice. 22.
1 - female flower; 2 - male flower; 3 - pollen; 4 - part of the escape
chick. Male flowers are located on long stalks, female flowers on short stalks. Fruits of various shapes - spherical or oval-oblong, green or light green in color with dark stripes and a marble pattern. The fruit pulp is pale green and contains 1.2-2.6% sugar. The weight of the fetus is from 10-15 to 25-30 kg or more. Seeds of fodder watermelon without a hilum. Weight of 1000 seeds is 120-130 g or more. Table watermelon is one of the heat-loving, heat-tolerant and very drought-resistant plants. In moist soil, its seeds begin to germinate at a temperature of 16-17 °C. Shoots appear on the 8-10th day. Frosts -1 *C are destructive for them. The most favorable temperature for the growth of stems and leaves is 20-22 °C, and for the development of fruits 25-30 °C.
Table watermelon is a light-loving short-day plant. The best soils for it are sandy and sandy loam. Loamy and clayey soils are of little use, as they retain moisture firmly and do not warm up well.
Fodder watermelon, compared to table watermelon, is less demanding on growing conditions.
The following varieties of table watermelon are common: Astrakhansky, Borchansky, Zemlyanin, Lotos, Unusual, Ogonyok, Rose of the South-East, Sinchevsky, Kholodok, Shironinsky.
Among the varieties of fodder watermelon, the most famous is Diskhim.
Melon. Represented by many species. We have common melons with soft pulp: khandalak (Melo chandalak Pang.), adana, or Cilician (Melo adana Pang.), cassaba (Melo cassaba
Pang.), and with dense pulp: Chardzhou (Melo zard Pang.), ameri (Melo ameri Pang.), cantaloupe (Melo cantalypa Pang.). These species are very similar.
The root system of the melon is less powerful than that of the watermelon; it consists of a main root, penetrating to a depth of 3-4 m, and numerous superficially located lateral branches. The stem is creeping, cylindrical, hollow, highly erect, coarsely hairy. The leaves are kidney-shaped or heart-shaped, on long petioles. The flowers are orange-yellow. The fruits are large, of various shapes and colors. The pulp is loose or dense, contains 12% sugar. The seeds are ovoid, flat, white-yellow, 0.5 to 1.5 cm long, containing 25-30% oil. Weight of 1000 seeds is 35-50 g.
In terms of its biological characteristics, melon is close to watermelon, but is more heat-loving and less drought-resistant, and can more easily tolerate loamy soils.
Varieties: Kolkhoznitsa 749/753, Kazachka 244, Koi-bash, Khandalyak kokcha 14, Dessertnaya 5, Ameri 696, Tavria, Zolotistaya, Livadia, Mechta, Golyanka, Ineya, Samara, Yantarnaya.
Pumpkin. In cultivation it has three species: common table (Cucurbita rero L.), large-fruited fodder (Cucurbita maxima L.) and nutmeg (Cucurbita moschata Duch.).
The root system of all types of pumpkin is well developed. Stem pumpkin creeping. Some of its varieties are characterized by a bush form (zucchini). The leaves are five-lobed, with coarse subulate pubescence. Male flowers are collected several in the axils of the leaves, female flowers are solitary, located on the lateral branches. The fruit is obovate, spherical or oblong, with fibrous sweet pulp containing 4-8% sugar. The seeds are medium-sized and small, oval, with a clear rim, white, cream or darker in color, containing 36-52% oil. Weight of 1000 seeds is 200-230 g.
Pumpkin fodder large-fruited has a cylindrical hollow creeping stem. The leaves are kidney-shaped, slightly pitted, pubescent with coarse hairs. The flowers are very large, orange-yellow. The fruits are spherical, flattened or elongated, reaching 50-70 cm in diameter, of various colors. The fruit pulp is loose, juicy, orange, less often white, and contains 4-8% sugar. The seeds are large, smooth, with an unclear rim. The oil content in them is 36-50 %. Weight of 1000 seeds is 240-300 g.
butternut squash has a creeping branched stem. The leaves are kidney-shaped, cordate-notched or lobed, pubescent with fine hairs. The flowers are green or reddish-orange. The fruit is elongated, with an interception, the fruit pulp is dense, contains 8-11% sugar. The seeds are medium-sized, dirty gray, with a clear rim, containing 30-46% oil. Weight of 1000 seeds is 190-220 g.
Pumpkin is less heat-loving and drought-resistant than watermelon and melon. Its seeds begin to germinate at a temperature of 12-13 °C. Seedlings suffer less from frost. Pumpkin grows best on loamy soils.
Varieties: Bashkirskaya 245, Biryuchekutskaya 27, Hybrid 72, Gribovskaya winter, Donskaya sweet, Zorka, Almond 35, Prikornevaya, Troyanda, Khersonskaya, Khutoryanka.
Cultivation techniques. Melon crops are demanding on soil fertility and cleanliness of fields from weeds. They work well on virgin and fallow lands, on layers of perennial grasses and on floodplains. In field crop rotations, winter grains, corn, and annual grasses are good predecessors of melons and melons. For specialized melon-growing farms, crop rotations with the following alternation of crops are recommended: 1 - winter rye + grasses; 2 - herbs of the 1st year; 3 - herbs
2nd year; 4 - herbs of the 3rd year; 5 - melons; 6 - melons; 7 - spring wheat; 8 - corn for silage. In such a crop rotation specific gravity melons account for 25%.
It must be remembered that fields where herbicides were used in the sowing of previous rotational crops are unsuitable for planting melon crops.
The correct use of mineral and organic fertilizers increases productivity, accelerates ripening and improves the quality of melon crops. As an organic fertilizer, manure is applied to watermelon and melon (during deep fall tillage) in the amount of 15-20 t/ha and for pumpkin - 30-40 t/ha. Higher doses of manure for these crops can delay the ripening of fruits and deteriorate their quality.
At the same time with organic fertilizers contribute minerals. It is recommended to apply p^RtsLo or N 60 P 45 K 50 per 1 hectare for autumn tillage and N IO P 15 K, 0 in rows during sowing. Mineral fertilizers increase the yield of watermelons by 25-30%, and the sugar content by 2-3%.
In addition to the main and pre-sowing fertilizer, it is also desirable to fertilize the plants before flowering - N^R^K^.
Tillage for melons includes autumn (hulling to a depth of 8-10 cm and plowing with plows with skimmers to a depth of 25-30 cm) and spring tillage, consisting of harrowing and cultivation (at least two) followed by harrowing. In the northern regions of melon growing on highly compacted soils, the first spring cultivation is often replaced by plowing. When the top layer of soil dries out, rolling is used.
For sowing, seeds are taken from fully ripened healthy fruits. Seed germination should be at least 90%. Before sowing, the seeds are subjected to air-thermal heating in the sun for
3-5 days or heated for 4 hours at a temperature of 50-60 ° C, soaked in water room temperature within 24 hours 1-2 days before sowing. Warming the seeds increases the yield of watermelons by 11-20%.
Seeds of melons and melons are treated in advance against diseases with 80% s.p. TMTD (4-5 g per 1 kilogram). The seeds are treated with a suspension of the drug - 5-10 liters of water per 1 ton of seeds.
The optimal sowing time is to set the soil temperature at a depth of 10 cm for watermelon and melon to 12-14 “C, for pumpkin
9-10 °C. Watermelon seeds sown under these conditions sprout in 9-10 days, melon seeds in 8-9 days, and pumpkin seeds in 6-7 days.
When sown in insufficiently warmed soil, melon seeds can rot and sprout sparsely. Delay in sowing also greatly reduces their yield.
Sowing of melon crops is carried out using melon seeders. Corn and cotton seeders are sometimes also used on farms for sowing.
The feeding area depends on the variety, climatic conditions, soil fertility. The following sowing schemes are recommended, m: watermelon -
2.5 x (1.5... 1.7); 2.1 x (2.1... 1.4); 1.8x1.8; melon - 2.5 x (0.8... 1.0); 2.1 x(0.8...1.2); pumpkin - 2.5x(1.8...2.0);2.8x(1.5...1.8).
The sowing rate for watermelon seeds is 1.5-3.0 kg/ha, pumpkin 3-5, melon 2-4 kg/ha. The sowing depth of watermelon and pumpkin seeds is 6-8 cm, melon 4-6 cm.
Caring for melon crops includes harrowing and loosening with rotary hoes before emergence to destroy the crust and destroy weed seedlings, as well as inter-row cultivation to a depth of 12-15 cm during the first and 8-10 cm during subsequent loosening. When cultivating row spacing, overgrown plant vines must be removed to the side so as not to be damaged by tractor wheels and tillage implements.
To do this, a cane spreader is installed in the same unit with the cultivator, which spreads the canes from the middle of the row spacing to a width of 50-60 cm, sufficient for the wheels of the tractor and cultivator to pass.
For inter-row tillage of the soil, cultivators KRN-4.2, KRN-5.6 and melon cultivator KNB-5.4 are used; for weeding in rows, the weeding unit PAU-4 is used.
To prevent the wind from tangling the lashes, they are sprinkled with damp soil. This causes the formation of additional roots, which improves plant nutrition. Good results gives by pinching (chasing) the ends of the lashes during the flowering of male flowers.
In the fight against peronosporosis, crops are sprayed with Bordeaux mixture, a 1% solution, according to copper sulfate(600 l/ha), against powdery mildew pollinated with ground sulfur powder (15-30 kg/ha). Processing of melons is stopped 15 days before the start of harvest.
Irrigation is of great importance when cultivating melons and melons in Russia. For melon crops, 3-5 growing season irrigations are given with an interval of 10-15 days. They begin long before flowering, then temporarily stop and resume when fruit sets. Irrigation rate is 600-800 m 3 /ha.
Cleaning. Melon crops ripen at different times. Therefore, table watermelon, melon and zucchini are harvested in 2-3 steps (as they ripen), and pumpkin and fodder watermelon - in one step, before frost sets in. Signs of ripening watermelon fruits are drying of the stalk, coarsening of the bark and the appearance of a clear pattern on it. Ripe melons acquire the color and pattern characteristic of the variety. The ripeness of a pumpkin can also be determined by the color and thickness of the peel.
For selective harvesting of melons and melons, a wide-cover conveyor TShP-25 is used. Ripe fruits are picked and placed in the cells of a conveyor belt, which guides and places them directly into the back of a nearby vehicle. During the last complete harvest of watermelons, one-time harvesting for seeds and when harvesting pumpkins, a great economic effect is provided by the mechanized collection of fruits into windrows with the UPV-8 windrower, the selection of windrows with the PBB-1 picker and soft styling them into vehicles.
The described harvesting technology reduces labor costs by 5-6 times compared to harvesting technology that takes fruits to the side of the field.
When transporting melons, the container transportation method should be used more widely, which reduces manual labor during loading and unloading operations, improves product quality and reduces transport downtime.
Fruits without damage are selected for storage. Watermelons are stored at a temperature of 2-3 °C, melons - at 0-2 °C and an optimal air humidity of 75-85%, pumpkin - at 10 °C and a relative humidity of 70-75%.
Our grandmothers, growing garden strawberries, or strawberries, as we used to call them, did not particularly worry about mulching. But today this agricultural technique has become fundamental in achieving High Quality berries and reducing crop losses. Some might say it's a hassle. But practice shows that labor costs in in this case pay off handsomely. In this article we invite you to get acquainted with the nine the best materials for mulching garden strawberries.
The Egyptians used mint as early as 1.5 thousand years BC. It has a strong aroma due to great content various essential oils with high volatility. Today, mint is used in medicine, perfumery, cosmetology, winemaking, cooking, ornamental gardening, and the confectionery industry. In this article we will look at the most interesting varieties of mint, and also talk about the features of growing this plant in open ground.
Looking at the variety of tomato varieties, it’s hard not to get confused - the choice is very wide today. Even experienced gardeners are sometimes confused by it! However, understanding the basics of selecting varieties “for yourself” is not so difficult. The main thing is to delve into the peculiarities of the culture and start experimenting. One of the easiest groups of tomatoes to grow are varieties and hybrids with limited growth. They have always been valued by those gardeners who do not have much energy and time to care for their beds.
Once very popular under the name of indoor nettle, and then forgotten by everyone, coleus today is one of the brightest garden and indoor plants. It is not for nothing that they are considered stars of the first magnitude for those who are primarily looking for non-standard colors. Easy to grow, but not so undemanding as to suit everyone, coleus require constant monitoring. But if you take care of them, bushes made of velvety unique leaves will easily outshine any competitor.
Salmon backbone baked in Provençal herbs provides tasty pieces of fish pulp for a light salad with fresh wild garlic leaves. The champignons are lightly fried in olive oil and then sprinkle with apple cider vinegar. These mushrooms are tastier than regular pickled ones, and they are better suited for baked fish. Wild garlic and fresh dill get along well in one salad, highlighting each other’s aroma. The garlicky pungency of wild garlic will permeate both the salmon flesh and mushroom pieces.
Conifer tree or shrubs on the site is always great, but a lot of conifers is even better. Emerald needles various shades decorates the garden at any time of the year, and phytoncides and essential oils, released by plants, not only aromatize, but also make the air cleaner. As a rule, most zoned adults coniferous plants, are considered very unpretentious trees and shrubs. But young seedlings are much more capricious and require proper care and attention.
Sakura is most often associated with Japan and its culture. Picnics in the canopy flowering trees have long become an integral attribute of welcoming spring in the Land of the Rising Sun. Financial and academic year here it starts on April 1, when the magnificent cherry blossoms bloom. Therefore many significant moments in the life of the Japanese are marked by their flowering. But sakura also grows well in cooler regions - certain species can be successfully grown even in Siberia.
I am very interested in analyzing how people's tastes and preferences for certain foods have changed over the centuries. What was once considered tasty and was an item of trade, lost its value over time and, conversely, new fruit crops conquered their markets. Quince has been cultivated for more than 4 thousand years! And even in the 1st century B.C. e. About 6 varieties of quince were known, and even then methods of its propagation and cultivation were described.
Delight your family and prepare themed cottage cheese cookies in the shape of Easter eggs! Your children will be happy to take part in the process - sift the flour, combine all the necessary ingredients, knead the dough and cut out intricate figures. Then they will watch with admiration as the pieces of dough turn into real ones. Easter eggs, and then with the same enthusiasm they will eat them with milk or tea. How to make such original cookies for Easter, read our step-by-step recipe!
Among tuberous crops, there are not so many decorative deciduous favorites. And caladium is a true star among the variegated inhabitants of interiors. Not everyone can decide to own a caladium. This plant is demanding, and first of all, it requires care. But still, rumors about the extraordinary capriciousness of caladiums are never justified. Attention and care can avoid any difficulties when growing caladiums. And the plant can almost always forgive small mistakes.
We have prepared a hearty, incredibly appetizing and simply easy-to-prepare dish for you today. This sauce is one hundred percent universal, as it goes with every side dish: vegetables, pasta, or anything. Chicken and mushroom gravy will save you in moments when you don’t have time or don’t want to think too much about what to cook. Take your favorite side dish (you can do this in advance so everything is hot), add some gravy and dinner is ready! A real lifesaver.
Among the many different varieties We will tell you about three of these most popular vegetables, which are distinguished by their excellent taste and relatively unpretentious growing conditions. Characteristics of the eggplant varieties “Almaz”, “Black Beauty” and “Valentina”. All eggplants have pulp medium density. In Almaz it is greenish, while in the other two it is yellowish-white. What unites them good germination and excellent yield, but in different time. Everyone's skin color and shape are different.
Agriculture is one of those types of human activity, the successful outcome of which is not always directly proportional to the efforts made. Unfortunately, nature does not necessarily act as our ally when growing plants, and often, on the contrary, even throws up new challenges. Increased reproduction of pests, abnormal heat, late return frosts, hurricane winds, drought... And one of the springs gave us another surprise - a flood.
With the coming of the season dacha work The question arises about growing strong and healthy seedlings of our favorite vegetables: cabbage, tomatoes, sweet peppers, eggplants and many other crops. At the same time, the question arises - how to grow decent seedlings and subsequently get healthy plants and a decent harvest from them? For example, I have been growing seedlings for several seasons now and protecting my garden from diseases with the help of biological drugs Alirin-B, Gamair, Glyokladin, Trichocin.
Let me confess my love today. In love with... lavender. One of the best unpretentious, evergreen and beautifully flowering shrubs that can be successfully grown in your garden. And if anyone thinks that lavender is a Mediterranean or at least southern resident, then you are mistaken. Lavender grows well in more northern regions, even in the Moscow region. But to grow it, you need to know some rules and features. They will be discussed in this article.
Melons are true champions among vegetables in terms of fruit size. The weight of a ripe watermelon or pumpkin is at least 5-6 kilograms of juicy pulp, and often 10-15 kg. Moreover, melon fruits are famous not only for their size, but also for their excellent taste. This is especially true for melon and watermelon. The bulk of melons are grown on large farms in the south of the country, but if desired, they can also be grown in your own garden.
Melons, or simply melons, are a group of large-fruited vegetables, mainly from the botanical family Pumpkin, which have similar external characteristics.
IN in a broad sense The melon family usually includes watermelons, melons, zucchini, cucumbers, squash and pumpkins. But more often the term “melons” is used in relation to a narrower group, including only two species - watermelon and melon. Further in the article we will talk about melons only in this narrow sense, leaving out zucchini, pumpkins and cucumbers.
The common watermelon is an annual herbaceous plant, one of two cultivated species of the botanical genus Watermelon, which is part of the Cucurbitaceae family.
Melons have thin, flexible stems that creep (“crawl”) along the ground. The length of the stems can reach several meters. The leaves, planted on long petioles, can have a different configuration depending on the variety, but are always triangular in shape and consist of three pinnately divided lobes.
Flowers (usually pale yellow) appear in the first year. Subsequently, fruits are formed from them - pumpkins or watermelons themselves, filled with juicy red pulp and many flat black seeds. There are many varieties of watermelon, so the fruits can differ significantly in shape, size and color. The classic watermelon fruit is a green ball weighing from 3 to 15 kg or more. Since the structure of the fruit has much in common with berries, formally watermelons are also considered berries.
The homeland of watermelon is South Africa, but this fruit came to the Mediterranean region back in the days Ancient Egypt or even earlier. It is known that the ancient Greeks knew about it, but the watermelon was truly discovered by Europeans only in the Middle Ages, when the crusaders brought it from the Middle East. The Tatars brought watermelons to our country during their conquests Kievan Rus and his subsequent stay here.
As for melon, it belongs to a slightly different botanical genus - cucumbers. Like other melons, melon is an annual herbaceous plant with a vine-like stem creeping along the ground, which can reach a length of 3 meters. The leaves of the melon are larger than those of the watermelon and have a solid (not cut) heart-shaped shape. The flowers are yellow, bisexual.
The melon fruit weighing from 1 to 15 kg or more has the shape of a ball or oval. The outside of the fruit (pumpkin or berry) is covered with a thin peel, which, when fully ripe, often becomes yellow (less often brown, or remains green). Inside the fruit there is pale yellow juicy pulp. The seeds are cream or pale brown, elongated oval. Unlike watermelon, melon seeds are collected in the center of the fruit, and not distributed throughout the pulp.
Like anything melon plant, melon comes from a hot region. Its homeland is considered to be Central Asia, namely northern India. It is likely that it was there that the wild melon was domesticated, and subsequently it spread both to the west and to the east. It is known that the ancient Egyptians were definitely familiar with this vegetable crop. Melon, like watermelon, was first brought to Europe by the Crusaders, and from that time on it began to be cultivated in the south of the continent. Melon came to Russia directly from Central Asia about 500 years ago.
Like everyone else natural products, watermelons and melons are very beneficial for the human body.
Thus, watermelon has a very positive effect on the kidneys, helping to remove stones and sand from them. This vegetable is also useful for men, as it improves sexual potency. It is difficult to overestimate the importance of watermelon for those who suffer from heart disease, since its pulp contains a lot of potassium and magnesium, which are important for maintaining the cardiovascular system in normal condition.
A ripe watermelon is several kilograms of juicy sweet pulp, which will appeal to both children and adults. The taste of watermelon is so outstanding that as a dessert it easily replaces any confectionery product.
The main way to consume watermelon is raw in kind. The fruit is simply cut into slices with a knife and its juicy red pulp is eaten. No other flavoring additives are required.
And although, like zucchini, melons of this type are not usually subject to heat treatment, this is by no means the only option for how to use watermelon.
Firstly, it is great for making fruit salads. Moreover, you can even use a hard green peel, which, with proper skill, can easily be turned into an original salad bowl filled with watermelon salad with other vegetables or fruits.
Secondly, due to the fact that watermelon pulp contains a huge amount of sweet juice, you can easily prepare a natural refreshing drink from watermelon, or make homemade wine.
Thirdly, sweet watermelon makes wonderful jam. Moreover, you can use not only the pulp, but also the hard skin, which after heat treatment easily turns into jelly.
Watermelon honey, or nardek, which is cooked without the use of sugar, deserves special mention.
Finally, watermelons can be pickled for the winter, after which they make an excellent side dish for meat or fish. You can also use them to prepare completely unique sauces for meat dishes.
Sweet types of melons are primarily healthy desserts. Thus, ripe melon fruits are rich in sugar, carotene, provitamin A, vitamins P, C and B9, as well as iron, folic acid, salts, pectins and fiber.
It is recommended to eat melon for diseases of the blood, cardiovascular system, nervous disorders, problems with urination and intestines. In addition, melon is good for those who are on a diet, useful during pregnancy, good remedy in the fight against dehydration. Melon is also in great demand in cosmetology. Toning and healing melon masks have a beneficial effect on the condition of the skin.
Ripe melons and watermelons are excellent dessert vegetables that can replace any confectionery sweet. It is worth noting that the taste and level of sweetness of melon greatly depends on the variety.
Traditionally, melon is eaten in its natural form as a completely independent product. Like watermelon, melon is simply cut into wedges and the sweet flesh is eaten away, while the tough skin is discarded.
Although melon also contains a lot of water, unlike watermelon, it lends itself well to drying. In Central Asia, dried melon is often used as a dessert when drinking tea. In addition, melon makes wonderful jams and preserves. Like watermelon, it goes well in salads and various soft and alcoholic drinks.
Interestingly, in some Mediterranean countries, melon is a side dish for other dishes. For example, in Spain it is served with jamon and shrimp, and in Italy it is eaten with mozzarella and other cheeses.
Since watermelons are grown all over the world, wherever agroclimatic conditions allow, the abundance of existing varieties is simply enormous. In addition to purely geographical varieties, it should be separately mentioned that there are watermelons with unusual pulp yellow color and seedless watermelons.
In Russia, melon fields are planted with our most famous Astrakhan variety, which is famous for its very sweet pulp, although it ripens already in the last ten days of August. Another very sweet, but earlier variety is the Crimson Swift variety.
Melon is slightly less popular than watermelon, which is why it has fewer varieties. But those that exist are quite sufficient to satisfy the needs of gourmets and gardeners. In melon farms in Russia, melons of the “Kolkhoznitsa” variety are most widespread. They are the ones cultivated in the Volga region. The variety is easily recognized by its bright yellow skin, small size and spherical shape of the fruit.
In Europe and America, the Cantaloupe variety is most widespread. They are not so sweet and less juicy, but much more aromatic.
The best Uzbek variety is “Torpedo”. These melons have an elongated, cigar-shaped shape and big sizes. Uzbek melons are famous for having perhaps the best taste characteristics.
In the Mediterranean, where Uzbek melons are not available, their analogue is the Moroccan variety “Honey Melon”. These fruits do not have characteristic grooves on the skin, and the color varies between ocher and greenish. The taste is actually almost honey.
Watermelons and melons are heat-loving crops. Moreover, they love warmth so much that they really good harvest can be obtained only in the southernmost regions of our country. Already at the level of the 50th parallel (Belgorod, Voronezh, Tambov) and further north, growing melons loses its meaning, since here watermelons simply cannot ripen and the fruits are small (maximum 2-3 kg) with insipid pulp. Melons are less picky and in hot summers they can produce quite decent-sized and sweet fruits even north of Volgograd.
However, in general these crops prefer hot, dry weather. Drought is more preferable to them than rain and high humidity. In order for melons and watermelons to gain the desired mass and sweetness, they require a lot of heat and light. In the post-Soviet space optimal conditions for these crops are available in the Lower Volga region, in the North Caucasus, in the Black Sea regions of Ukraine, in Moldova and especially in the countries Central Asia. In other regions, growing melons is not commercially profitable.
Watermelon prefers sandy loam soils warmed by the sun and protected from the wind. Waterlogged and heavy soils with high level groundwater.
Before planting, you should prepare the seeds by soaking them in warm water (50 ° C) and keeping them in it until they sprout. After this, the seeds are ready for sowing. The timing of planting in open ground depends on the region. It is optimal when the ground temperature reaches from 12 to 14 °C, which in the south of our country usually occurs in late April - early May.
The first shoots should appear in the second week: 8–10 days is considered the norm. If a cold spell occurs after sowing, the timing of emergence of seedlings may shift significantly, and the seeds themselves may well die or become infected with pathogenic flora. For this reason, in the central regions of the country, where spring frosts and cold snaps are commonplace, it is better to postpone sowing watermelons until the end of May or even the beginning of June.
You need to sow melon seeds in individual holes 5-8 cm deep. Since watermelons are plants that creep along the ground, the distance between the bushes should be significant - at least half a meter in a row and at least 1.5 meters between rows. To increase the chances of successful germination, it is advisable to add a tablespoon of ash and a little humus to each hole.
To increase the growth rate of watermelons, mulch is often used in melon patches. Film shelters and agrofibre are best suited for this role. This simple technique can speed up the ripening of watermelons by 15-20 days.
Although watermelons are a drought-resistant crop that does not like excessive moisture, it is impossible to do without watering at all. It should be carried out on initial stage growing season until the moment when fruits begin to set. You need to water no more than once a week.
Until the melon crops cover the entire bed, you also need to take care of loosening the soil and weeding.
In this matter, melon has a lot in common with watermelon. She also needs a well-warmed area protected from the wind. sandy loam soil. In the fall, you need to add 4-6 kg of humus per each to a pre-dug bed. square meter. If the soil is loamy, then you should add half a bucket here as well. river sand. In spring, the soil needs to be fed with superphosphate, nitrogen and potassium salt.
The peculiarity of melon is that from last year’s fresh seeds, mainly male plants grow, and from old ones, evenly male and female, but the fruits are much smaller. For this reason, it is better to combine last year’s seeds and seeds of 2-3 years ago in one sowing.
The timing of planting melon seeds of melon generally coincides with the timing of watermelon. True, it is better to wait for slightly warmer days: when the soil warms up to 16 °C. The seeds are planted in the soil to a depth of about 3-5 cm. The planting density is higher than that of watermelon: 10 seeds per square meter. This is done in such a way that not all seeds will sprout.
The bed with newly sown melons needs to be moistened warm water. Shoots should be expected in the second week. As soon as five full leaves are formed on the shoots, the plants need to be hilled up and the soil around them must be carefully loosened.
As in the case of watermelons, melons need to be watered only until the ovaries appear, and even then not very often. After the fruits appear, watering should be stopped. But this is not enough. Since melons do not like moisture, to increase productivity it is advisable to cover the bed with growing fruits with film whenever it rains.
Their distinctive feature is their long stems with tendrils. If supports are placed next to these crops, the vines will begin to “climb” them. In order to correctly apply the growing technology, which will be outlined below in the article, you need to know exactly which crops are melons.
These are melon, pumpkin, watermelon, squash, zucchini and some others.
In melon crops, two-year-old seeds are considered the most suitable for sowing. If possible to get one planting material no, you can use annual ones. However, in this case they need to be heated to 60 degrees for 2 hours. In order for the shoots to be more friendly, the seeds of melons and melons are also germinated. To do this, they are wrapped in gauze and immersed in warm water for four hours. Then they are placed in damp burlap and kept for a day or two.
Melon crops for the most part prefer sunny places, warm weather and are resistant to long-term absence of moisture. The thing is that the homeland of all these crops is the hot regions of the planet. Watermelons, for example, in wildlife grow in South Africa, and melons and pumpkins are found in Asia.
Melons not only tolerate dry air well, but also produce tastier and sweeter fruits in such conditions.
Seeds are planted in the ground only when the summer weather becomes stable, that is, in early June. In order to get the harvest a little earlier, melons can be grown seedling method. For this purpose they use peat cups, because these plants do not tolerate transplantation well. Melons are planted in the ground either in a nesting manner or in rows. Each such plant requires a lot of space. Firstly, they have long vines that need space to develop, and secondly, they have large fruits, which is why they require a huge amount of nutrients.
Melon crops are planted in groups of 2-3. Melons and watermelons - to a depth of 4 cm, pumpkins - 6 cm. warm weather shoots appear on the tenth day of sowing, and the first true leaf appears another week later. Depending on the variety, the main shoot may begin to form in 15-40 days.
Then shoots of the second order, third, etc. branch off from it. The flowers of these plants are heterosexual - both female and male specimens bloom on the same plant.
As for fertilizing, during the season, melon crops in the early stages of development can be fertilized with mullein infusion. In the fall, after harvesting, potassium and phosphorus fertilizers are applied during digging, and in the spring, when preparing the beds, nitrogen fertilizers are applied. Although plants of this family are drought-resistant, they still produce higher yields when watered. During the season, the soil under them is well moistened 9-12 times. However, during fruit ripening, plants should be watered as little as possible. Otherwise, the fruits will grow watery and not too sweet.
Growing melons and melons is quite a difficult task, since the climate in Russia is not very suitable for them. Often, even with proper care, the gardener still does not receive a harvest. The result largely depends on weather conditions. If you still want to grow watermelons or melons on your plot, then you should try it. If you're lucky, you can diversify your diet with tasty and incredibly healthy fruits.
