Where to buy seed melon seeds? A full analysis of planting and seedling-raising methods

The seed melon is a variety of watermelon and belongs to the watermelon type. It gets its name because it is eaten by cracking it open with a fist and because it contains many seeds, and its main producing area is Lanzhou. Seed melon seeds are rich in nutrients and are a delicious food loved by many people. So where can you buy seed melon seeds? How do you raise the seedlings? Let's find out together.

Where to buy seed melon seeds?

Seed melon seeds are generally available only in the producing areas, and they are hard to find in seed shops in other regions. The seed melon producing areas include Lanzhou, Minqin, Gulang, Yongchang and other counties in the Hexi region, the Tacheng Prefecture Ta'e Basin in Xinjiang, northeast China and Tongliao City and Chifeng City in Inner Mongolia, Susong County in Anhui, and also Jilin. If you want to buy seed melon seeds in the Jilin area, you can go to Tongyu County in Baicheng City, Jilin Province (Wulanhua Town, Xinglongshan Town), because that is a special and abundant producing area for seed melons. If it is for planting, then it is best to go there in person. If it is for eating, then it should be available at agricultural and sideline product markets (stores) in Jilin City.

How do you raise seed melon seedlings?

1. Choosing and preparing the land

It is best to choose land where solanaceous and fruiting crops have not been planted within 4 years, especially where melons have not been planted. Land preparation requires fine soil, level ground and no grass roots, to prevent damage to drip irrigation tape and plastic film that would affect drip water quality, and the land must be deeply plowed; deeply plowed land produces larger melons and higher yields.

2. Seed preparation

Before sowing, select seeds by hand, removing unqualified seeds such as split seeds, warped seeds and speckled seeds. The seeds can be sown without treatment, but seed coating can reduce pests and diseases, and some treated seeds can also achieve earlier emergence and cultivate strong seedlings.

3. Sowing management

Sowing can begin when the 5 cm soil temperature steadily reaches 13°C; for early-sowing plots, sowing can begin when the 5 cm soil temperature steadily reaches 10°C. Use 90 cm narrow film, with one film, one drip line and double-row planting, with 65 cm between films and 20 cm between plants. Sow by spot seeding on the film, requiring straight sowing rows, even seed distribution, and consistent sowing depth and soil covering thickness.

4. Seedling stage management

The main field management task during the seedling stage of the seed melon is to strive for uniform emergence, full stands and strong seedlings. When the seed melon seedlings grow 2 to 4 true leaves, thinning and final thinning are completed in one pass; the principle is to remove the weak and keep the strong, remove diseased plants and keep vigorous ones, and keep a single plant, while double plants may be kept where seedlings are missing. The number of plants retained is about 3,800 plants/667 sq m.

5. Watering and fertilizing

To ensure uniform and consistent emergence of the seed melon in the field, the vine-extending stage can be controlled through regulation of water and fertilizer. After the rosette stage, water for the first time at the early vine-extending stage; the usual drip amount is 25 sq m/667 sq m, with fertilizer applied along with the water, applying urea at 5 kg/667 sq m, and potassium dihydrogen phosphate can be added at 150 g/667 sq m.

6. Disease prevention and weeding

If the field has high humidity or the temperature reaches above 30°C, carbendazim or thiophanate-methyl can be used as a root drench to prevent seed melon fusarium wilt. After watering at the vine-extending stage, begin the second round of weeding, which can be done by hand pulling or spraying herbicide; never spray on windy days, to avoid herbicide drift causing phytotoxicity.

The seed melon is different from ordinary watermelons: it is not grown to eat the flesh, but specifically to eat the seeds. The watermelon seeds you usually buy are extracted from seed melons and then processed. However, the seed melon has relatively high environmental requirements, and it cannot be planted in just any region, so before planting everyone must understand whether the local area is suitable.

For wonderful pictures and text and popular comments about the seed melon, you may be interested in the content recommended below by Nongxun Network. Welcome to read.

Agricultural products you may be interested in: high-quality seed melon seeds supplied nationwide