Spring is almost over and that means we will be soon entering the summer season.
Now is the perfect time to start growing melons.
People get thirstier in the Summer. It’s a simple fact of life. And, let’s face it, few things beat biting into a crisp, juicy, perfectly ripe slice of watermelon. Watermelon is on top of the list of fruits with abundant water content.
A video was posted by a Vietnam-based Youtube channel Home & Garden that shows us the secret of growing beautiful, sweet watermelons.
So what’s the secret? To grow up.
Watermelons are a vine crop traditionally grown on the ground. But, with their sprawling tendencies and heavy, fragrant fruits comes a few problems. Namely pests. However, if you grow your melons vertically this drastically, if not totally, cuts down on the pest problems and allows the fruit to ripen to its fullest without getting gnawed by a bunch of critters.
The challenge is the fruits are heavy and need support. Enter the watermelon hammock.
First Step: Prepare the main plot for the watermelon seeds. It depends on the number of seeds that you want to plant. Make sure to use well-fertilized soil because the seeds need to have a jump start upon planting.
Second Step: Once you’re done preparing the plot, water it and then punch holes for the seeds. Put in the seeds as usual and place them somewhere well-ventilated and with a decent source of sunlight.
Third Step: After 10 days, they should blossom around 3 to 5 inches high. Remove them from the original plot and transfer them somewhere larger, they need to be separated because they’d grow much larger. It’s also one way to avoid their roots from being tangled to one another.
Fourth Step: After transferring the blossoms, spread some eggshells around them. Eggshells are packed with calcium and that will help prevent the blossom-ends from rotting. Generously water them after.
Fifth Step: After 25 days, the vines should start climbing up around 1 to 2 meters high. Make sure the vines have strong support like a fence or net to carry their weight. Tie them up to the support so the vines will not grow down while carrying the watermelon fruits.
Sixth Step: After 35 days, the watermelon fruits should start getting bigger. This time, you must once again put fertilizer in the soil and eggshells on top. After a month and a half, the fruits should’ve grown as big as a basketball (estimated size, could be smaller).
Seventh Step: Make hammocks for each fruit, they must be large enough to cover the entire size of the watermelon fruits. You can either use a scrap farm or fishing net or anything sturdy enough to carry the fruits’ weight. They must look like some round green babies sleeping on each hammock.
Eighth Step: Remove fruitless branches and cut off the top portion of the vines, this is to give room for the fruits and the vines holding them. After about 2 months, all the watermelon fruits should be in their full size with thick green color.
Final Step: Harvest those humongous fruits and enjoy. It’s best served when cold.
Aside from watermelon, there are other fruits and vegetables that can keep us hydrated during the dry season. Thanks to this instructional video, we now have an idea of how to grow them fast and effectively.
See the full tutorial in the video below!
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