How to Grow Cucamelons? A Detailed Guide to the Latest Planting Methods

We are all familiar with watermelon, but have you ever heard of the cucamelon? The cucamelon is also called the mini watermelon; it is a wild fruit native to Mexico and the Americas, and it is widely grown there. After the cucamelon came on the market, thanks to its unique appearance and excellent taste, it won consumers' favor and sold extremely well. So, do you know how to grow it? Let's take a look.

1. Choosing the site

Cucamelons can be grown outdoors in spring and summer, or year-round in a greenhouse with ample light. When planting, choose a plot with loose, fertile soil that drains and irrigates easily; the soil is best neutral or slightly acidic, as this favors the variety and the yield. Before planting, apply fertilizer while preparing the land: apply enough high-quality, fully decomposed organic fertilizer per mu, then level the land and form ridges to make drainage and irrigation convenient.

2. Sowing and raising seedlings

Sowing is generally done in plug trays to raise seedlings. First mix peat soil and vermiculite in a 2:1 ratio with a nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium compound fertilizer to prepare the growing medium. When sowing, first moisten the medium and fill the trays. Place one seed in each cell, then cover with 1 cm of medium after sowing, keep the temperature between 25-30 degrees, water frequently to keep the medium moist, and increase light. Seedlings emerge in about 3-5 days. After emergence, strengthen the management of light and water; after about 25-35 days, when the plants have grown to four true leaves and one heart leaf, they can be transplanted.

3. Transplanting

When transplanting, clear weeds and crop debris from the field and disinfect and sterilize the soil. Apply 5000 kg of fully decomposed organic fertilizer, 80 kg of ternary compound fertilizer, and 40 kg each of diammonium phosphate 4 and potassium sulfate per mu, then deep plow and harrow level, and make beds and cover with film. When transplanting, keep a plant spacing and row spacing of 25×50-70cm; a density of 4500-5000 plants per mu is suitable.

4. Field management

⟦NL>After transplanting, strengthen water and fertilizer management so the plants have enough nutrients to grow and develop. Water according to the plants' growth conditions and the weather, using drip irrigation, generally once every 3-5 days; the same goes for fertilizing, using 4-5 kg of compound fertilizer solution per mu each time, once every 10 days. In addition, pay attention to regulating temperature and light: keep the daytime temperature at 25-30 degrees and the nighttime temperature at 15-20 degrees, and maintain a day-night temperature difference of more than 10 degrees, which can improve quality. As the plants grow, hang strings and train the vines in time, and combine this with pruning and shaping so they flower and set fruit normally. Also pay attention to pest and disease control to avoid unnecessary losses.

The above are the planting methods for cucamelons. We hope they help you. If you want to learn more related knowledge, please follow us.