What are the precautions for growing winter melon?
Winter melon is an annual climbing herbaceous plant, grown in all parts of our country. It is a vegetable that combines food and medicinal uses, and can also be used to preserve various candies. The fruit skin and seeds can be used to reduce inflammation, promote urination and reduce swelling. It is a vegetable that stores very well, has relatively low growing costs, and also produces high yields, making it a very promising growing project. Below, the editor will bring you what we should pay attention to during the process of growing winter melon.
1. Fertilizer
Winter melon likes fertilizer very much and needs a lot of fertilizer during its growth. To obtain high yields, sufficient base fertilizer must be applied before planting, and continuous topdressing is also needed during growth. When preparing the land, open a furrow in the middle of the field bed and apply decomposed animal manure or farmyard manure as base fertilizer, with an amount of about 1000 kg per mu. If there is not enough farmyard manure, an appropriate amount of compound fertilizer can also be mixed in with the base fertilizer. Before planting, apply 1-2 kg of farmyard manure into each planting hole, mix it evenly with the soil, and then plant, so that the seedlings can absorb enough nutrients and increase their growth rate. When topdressing, pay attention to the growth status of the plants and the fertilizer condition of the soil. Be careful not to fertilize before or after heavy rain, and do not apply only nitrogen fertilizer. Pay attention to the combined use of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers, and do not pour fertilizer on the heads of the plants, which would cause poor fertilizer effect.
2. Watering
Winter melon also has great requirements for water during the growing process. During the seedling stage, when the weather is sunny and relatively warm, it should be watered at least twice a day, in the morning and evening. When the temperature drops, watering can be appropriately reduced. After the vines are trained onto the trellis, winter melon needs water relatively much. In addition to watering the plants thoroughly once a day, on sunny days a water level of about 8 cm should also be maintained in the field pits. On rainy days, drain the water in the pits in time to prevent excessive accumulation from causing rot. The soil moisture in the field should be maintained. About one week before harvest, appropriately control water to make storage after harvest easier.
3. Pruning
When pruning winter melon, generally only one main vine is kept for focused cultivation. When the winter melon vine grows about 20 leaves, or when the second female flower of the winter melon appears, fruit setting can begin. Each plant's main vine should not have more than three melons, and after the latter two melons are set, leave a few leaves behind them. Then remove the terminal bud, and remove all old leaves, side branches, axillary buds and other irrelevant parts. When cultivating the main vine, the fruit-setting position should basically be consistent with the main vine, and fruit setting begins when the side vine has 20 leaves. The vines should be tipped and pruned in a timely manner, because this can directly affect the final yield and quality of winter melon.
4. Propagation
The most suitable time for sowing winter melon in spring is January to February, and the best time for sowing in autumn is around July. For spring sowing, it is best to use the method of raising seedlings and transplanting, which can effectively prevent problems caused by low temperatures; for autumn sowing, bud sowing should be used. Before raising seedlings and transplanting, first soak the seeds to promote germination, and wait until true leaves have unfolded before choosing a sunny day to begin transplanting. For autumn sowing, after soaking and disinfecting the seeds, the seeds can be directly dibbled into the field.
The above is a brief introduction to the precautions before and after growing winter melon. One more thing everyone needs to pay attention to when growing winter melon is the occurrence of diseases. Diseases pose a great threat to all crops, and winter melon is no exception. Field sanitation should be maintained, excessive accumulated water should be dealt with in time, pathogens should be reduced, and the incidence of diseases should be lowered. If you want to know what diseases winter melon can develop, you can visit Qinnong.com to check past articles!