- Appearance and growing season of watermelon
- Different varieties for different growing locations
- Prefer and plant out melon plants
- tips and tricks
Botanically, watermelons belong to the pumpkin family (Cucurbitaceae), which is why the plants grow very similar to those of pumpkins. In a warm location, the shoots can show amazing growth during the summer season.
Appearance and growing season of watermelon
The watermelon plants grow along the ground with their long tendrils, but they also tend to climb upwards if they find an appropriate trellis, net or other climbing opportunity. The main principle is always to be able to absorb as much sunlight and thus energy as possible with the large leaves. In contrast to pumpkin leaves, the leaves of the plants are pinnate, but otherwise resemble them in growth form and size. Watermelons require a lot of heat and light due to their ancestry from African areas. Therefore, in this country, they should ideally be grown in a pot on the windowsill in spring if they are to produce fully ripe fruit outdoors by late summer or autumn.
Different varieties for different growing locations
Even though there are hundreds of varieties of watermelon around the world, the varieties Crimson Sweet and Sugar Baby in particular have established themselves for commercial cultivation. Due to its high weight of up to 15 kilograms per fruit, the first variety is usually only available from the following European countries:
- Italy
- Spain
- Hungary
- Turkey
The smaller Sugar Baby variety can be found in stores almost all year round as an imported fruit. It is also perfect for cultivation in a greenhouse, as the plants can also climb up there and the small fruits can also ripen hanging from them.
Prefer and plant out melon plants
So that the young watermelon plants can be planted out from May, the seeds should be sown around mid-April at room temperature. Sowing in rotting seed pots is ideal, as the roots of the young plants are very sensitive and can be protected when planting out.
tips and tricks
Although watermelons are often classified as fruit due to their sweet taste, botanically they are actually vegetables due to the fact that all parts of the plant die off every year.
WK