How to Select Watermelon Seeds? A Detailed Guide to Raising Seedlings

Watermelon is a common fruit we see, full of water, sweet and tasty, and the best fruit for relieving summer heat. Nowadays, watermelon cultivation techniques are becoming more and more mature, and more and more farmers are growing watermelons. So how do you select watermelon seeds? What seedling-raising methods are there? Let's take a look together below.

1. How to select watermelon seeds?

Choose watermelon varieties according to local ecological conditions and market demand. Check whether the seed size, color, shape, uniformity and plumpness match the seed characteristics. Also pay attention to seed storage time; watermelon seeds can be stored at room temperature for 2-3 years, so do not choose seeds older than 3 years when buying.

Before sowing watermelons, you need to carry out seed selection and sunning, seed disinfection, seed soaking and germination to increase the seed germination rate and kill seed-borne pests and diseases. Improper handling will adversely affect the germination rate of watermelon seeds.

2. What seedling-raising methods are there for watermelons?

1. Seedling-raising method

If the watermelon seeds have already germinated, then at this point you need to prepare a warm bed for the seeds, and the soil for raising seedlings must have enough nutrients. For seed seedling raising, special plastic seedling trays with small cells are generally used, usually placing one seed in each hole. Then cover the plastic cells with the seeds placed in them using fertile soil.

 Because temperatures in March are uncertain, in order to keep the seeds at a constant temperature during seedling raising, you must cover them with plastic film, and to prevent it from being blown away by the wind, cover the edges with soil. In the early stage, you must keep the temperature inside above 20 degrees; after the seeds emerge, you can gradually let the watermelon seedlings get used to natural temperatures, and finally you can remove the plastic film completely.

2. Transplanting watermelon seedlings

Once the watermelon seedlings have grown, you should immediately begin preparing for transplanting. Before transplanting, the base fertilizer in the soil is very important. In rural areas, fermented cow manure plus compound fertilizer is generally placed underneath, with one seedling per position, then watered, and the watermelon seedlings wrapped with straw to prevent freezing. To be safe, you must prop up plastic film over every watermelon seedling with bamboo sticks to cover it. After the watermelon seedlings begin to spread their vines, when natural temperatures have basically stabilized, you can remove the plastic film.

Watermelon seedlings grow relatively slowly in the early stage, so you need to water frequently. After the watermelon seedlings spread their vines, to prevent the vines from growing excessively, do not fertilize too much; this will lay the groundwork for fruit setting later.

The above is an introduction to watermelons. If you want high yields of watermelons, you must choose excellent watermelon varieties. Friends who want to grow watermelons can master the above seedling-raising methods to achieve the goal of high yield.

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