Watermelons were once a rarity in the gardens of Siberia. The heat-loving culture hardly took root in the local climate, often the grown fruits were much inferior in taste to their southern relatives from Astrakhan. But times are changing, now growing watermelons in Siberia does not seem like something incredible. Thanks to local selection, it was possible to develop varieties that have time to ripen in a short summer. Moreover, they fully ripen in the fields, acquire a sweet taste and aroma. But not every gardener manages to grow a watermelon on his own plot. Because special knowledge is required for the cultivation of this crop.
In order for watermelons to grow and develop properly, they need to choose a site that is well lit and located on the south side. If the land was used to grow other crops, humus or soddy soil must be introduced into it during the autumn digging. In order for the cultivation of watermelons in Siberia to be successful, mineral fertilizers must be applied to the soil. Top dressing is carried out in the spring. Holes or furrows are made for planting watermelons. The best time for planting melons in Siberia is consideredmid-May, when the earth had time to thaw and warm up well. Seeds are immersed in the soil to a depth of three to four centimeters. Four to five seeds can be planted in one hole. Then they are covered with earth.
Growing watermelons in Siberia requires patience and special knowledge from gardeners. So, after planting the seeds, they must be mulched. For this purpose, compost, humus and sawdust are used. When sprouts with 2-3 leaves appear, they must be thinned out so that the watermelons do not grow small. Abundant watering of plants should be carried out with warm water (from twenty-two to thirty degrees) once every 2 weeks. Then the bed must be covered with plastic wrap.
When warm weather sets in, and on summer nights the air temperature stays at least eighteen degrees, then growing watermelons in Siberia allows you to remove the film. Watering stops two weeks before fruit ripening. During their growth, it is necessary to pinch the side shoots and the main stem. As a result, two or three lashes should remain on each bush. In August, when the cold snap begins, the beds with watermelons must be covered again with a film. In September, you can selectively collect ripe fruits. As a result, the gardener's table is decorated with a large, sweet and fragrant watermelon, the photo eloquently testifies to this.
In Siberia, in order to preserve the grown crop of watermelons, they are preserved for the winter. There are many ways and recipes. For example, watermelon honey is prepared from ripe fruits. To do this, take out the pulp from the watermelon.together with seeds, grind, filter the resulting juice through gauze. For 400 grams of watermelon pulp, you need to take 800 grams of sugar, one glass of water and three lemons.
The operation of boiling the juice and filtering it are repeated several times until the initial volume of the mass is reduced by 10 times, then it is poured into jars and rolled up for the winter. It is possible to preserve watermelons in pieces. To do this, the fruits are washed, cut into slices along with the peel. Then they are placed tightly in jars and poured with boiling water for 10 minutes. Then the water is drained. To one 3-liter container add 1 cup of sugar, 1 tablespoon of s alt, 70 grams of vinegar and two tablespoons of honey. After that, jars of watermelons are poured with boiling water, rolled up and covered with a blanket. As a result, a very tasty treat awaits you in winter.
