Melons need heat and plastic mulch can make a big difference. Black plastic mulch is most widely available and will raise soil temperatures 5°F versus bare ground. You can generate even more heat by using clear plastic mulch (8–14°F).
Should I put mulch around watermelon plants?
Watermelon is a juicy summer treat that grows best in the home garden when soil is consistently warm and moist. Even where winters are not severe, gardeners can use a black plastic mulch to heat the soil, retain moisture and prevent soil-borne disease for a better watermelon crop.
Can watermelon grow on top of mulch?
A melon growing atop a coarse mulch layer improves drainage and reduces rot. Gardeners raise watermelons on vining plants growing in a sunny, hot location.
What is the best compost for watermelons?
If you cannot lay the compost out to remove the harmful soluble salts, yard waste compost can help watermelons as well. This compost type, complete with grass cuttings and leaves, does not have the salt issue of food scraps. However, it does lack the high level of nutrients in compost from food scraps.
What can I add to soil to make watermelon sweeter?
According to Modern Farmer, you should add four to six inches of composted manure to the planting bed before you plant for maximum sweetness. They state that watermelon is at its sweetest point when the vine shrivels at the fruit or the fruit detaches on it’s own.
How do I increase the yield of my watermelon?
It requires potassium and phosphorus to produce maximum Watermelon. Encourage fruit production by fertilizing female flowers, which are more significant than males and have smaller fruits. Remove the male flower from the Watermelon plant and swipe it on the open female flower to encourage the number of fruits.
Is Epsom salt good for watermelon plants?
For sweeter watermelons and cantaloupes when the plant starts vining and again when small 1-inch melons appear, spray with 6 1/2 tablespoons Epsom salts and 3 1/2 tablespoons borax in 5 gallons of water. For more fruit on your pepper plants, fertilize the plant by burying an open one-half pack of book matches near it.
How do you keep watermelon from rotting on the ground?
Use a cage, plastic mulch, stakes, straw mulch or other materials to protect the fruit from the ground. You can even use a wooden board for the fruit to rest on as it matures.
How do I keep weeds out of my watermelon patch?
Mulch. Using mulch is an effective method of controlling grass and weeds in the watermelon patch. You can keep the growing area around plants covered with peat moss, sawdust, buckwheat hauls or other types of mulch.
How do you use black plastic mulch for watermelons?
Black plastic in the field gives watermelons an early start to growth. Another way to get an early start on a watermelon crop is to use black plastic mulch. The black plastic absorbs the sun’s warmth, allowing the soil to warm quickly. To plant, punch a small hole in the plastic and plant the seed or transplant.
How often should I fertilize my watermelons?
Melons do best when treated with small amounts of fertilizer in two or three applications. During the growing season, liquid (soluble) fertilizers may be applied every 2 weeks and granular fertilizers about every 6 to 8 weeks.
Is manure good for watermelon?
Watermelons grow in many kinds of soil, but prefer a light, sandy, fertile loam that drains easily. Add generous amounts of manure, compost and leaves to your garden and work the soil well prior to planting. Melons like lots of water, so keep the soil moist at all times.
What type of soil do watermelons like?
sandy loam soils
Have your soil tested to determine pH. Melons grow best on well-drained, sandy loam soils, with a pH between 6.0 and 6.5. Soils with a pH less than 6.0 will produce plants with yellow foliage that set few or no fruit. You can improve your soil by adding well-rotted manure or compost in spring or fall.
Are you supposed to trim watermelon vines?
Pruning watermelons promotes healthier vines and increases fruit size. Look for irregular or rotting fruit to prune from the plant. Removing the less than perfect melons will enable the plant to focus energy towards growing bigger, healthier, juicier melons.
How many watermelons do you get per plant?
2-4 fruits
How Many Watermelons per Plant? Healthy watermelon vines produce 2-4 fruits per plant. The vines produce both male and female flowers. Both are needed to set fruit and there are fewer female flowers compared to male, about one female for every seven males.
Is chicken manure good for watermelon?
Poultry manure had positive effects on growth and yield of watermelon because the manure released essential elements associated with high photosynthetic activities which promotes growth and yield (John et al., 2004).
Should I pinch off watermelon flowers?
Some believe that pinching off a vine’s growing shoots as watermelons start to ripen will cause the plant to divert all its energies to fruit ripening. Recent research has shown this to be false.
How often should I water my watermelon plants?
Watering Watermelons
They require plentiful regular, even watering for quick growing. Give watermelons 1 to 2 inches (2.5. -5cm) of water every week (1 inch equals 16 gallons/60.5 liters.) Keep the soil moist until the fruit reaches full size then stop watering while the fruit ripens.
Is Miracle Grow good for watermelons?
Grow melons faster by starting with young plants from Bonnie Plants®. Plant melons when ground temperatures are above 70 degrees F. Before planting, add nutrients to native soil by mixing in a 3-inch layer of Miracle-Gro® Performance Organics® All Purpose In-Ground Soil.
What can you not plant with watermelon?
The best plants to companion with watermelons are herbs, lettuces, marigolds, nasturtiums, and radishes. Avoid planting cucumbers, squash, and potatoes near watermelons to help reduce the risk of pests.
Does borax make watermelon sweeter?
Spraying with a solution of Epsom salts and borax when the vines start to run and again when crown-set fruits are between one and two inches in diameter will sweeten them. The proportion is 61/2 tablespoons of Epsom salts and 31/3 tablespoons of borax (household type) to five gallons of water.
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