Tips to Grow Organic Watermelon at Home

 

In the recent past, many people are looking towards Organic Fruits and Vegetables. They are healthy for the human body as they are free from various types of harmful chemical pesticides. But we are unable to get Organic Fruits like Watermelon in the market. But nowadays it is easy to grow the Watermelon fruit on the terrace in pots or in containers. In this post, we will let you know the easy tips to grow organic Watermelon at home.

 

To grow Organic Watermelon at home, it is better to grow Watermelon in Plastic containers than in Earthern pots. Plastic containers are durable and easy to handle. They have a long life of up to 5 years when we use them on a terrace. To grow Organic Watermelon, it is good to choose Plastic containers of 15-liter size with height 35 cm and width 15 cm. When we come to the potting mixture, we can grow Organic Watermelon in Cocopeat potting mixture with 10 percent red soil. Prepare the potting mixture of 5 kg with 1 kg of coconut husk, 1 kg of farmyard manure, 500 gm red soil and 500 gm cow dung and vermicompost. 5 kg of the potting mixture is enough for 15 kg Plastic container. In addition, add sternite for good water holding the capacity of the potting mixture.

 

Grow Organic Watermelon

 

• Steps to Grow Organic Watermelon Fruit on the terrace
• Take the potting mixture as mentioned above into a plastic container.
• Sow or place two to three watermelon seeds in one container at a depth of 1.5 to 2 cm. If necessary, go for seed treatment of the Watermelon seeds with Trichoderma viridae or Pseudomonas which are completely organic in nature.
• Water the plants at regular intervals of time of two to three days.
• Flowering starts after 40 to 45 days of sowing or planting.
• Spray neem oil at the rate of 5 ml per 1 liter of water in order to avoid the incidence of insect pests and diseases.
• Fruiting starts within 7 to 10 days of flowering of the Organic Watermelon plants. During the time fruiting, give the support to the fruits on the ground that plays a major role in avoiding spoilage of the fruits or from any physical damage.
• Within a period of 110 to 120 days, you can harvest up to 5 Organic Watermelons per plant that varies with the Organic Watermelon variety.

 

Conclusion

 

In this way, it is easy and simple to grow Organic Watermelon on the terrace at home. We hope you got all the information you are searching for. Please comment below if you have any queries.

 

 

Commercial Watermelon Farming Guide & Tips for Beginners in India

 

Watermelon has been cultivated for thousands of years, as indicated by the truth that it has a name in the Sanskrit language. Watermelon is famous around the globe as a staple food (edible seeds), a dessert food (edible flesh), and for animal feed. Although people eat it raw, in African countries people use it as a vegetable. In India, watermelon cultivation is prominent in the states like Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh.

 

Nutrition and Health Benefits of Watermelons

 

Watermelons are mostly of water, about 92%, vitamins containing are A, B6 and C. Apart from this, Watermelons are also the source of many amino acids, antioxidants, and lycopene.

 

Climatic Conditions for Watermelon Cultivation

 

In warmer climatic regions one can directly grow the plants by sowing the seeds outdoors. In order to avoid low or poor or improper germination, ensure the soil should be warm enough like at least 70 degree Celsius. Watermelon plantlets or vines should be transplanted only after the frost has passed. It is advisable to transplant after two weeks of the last frost date. In cooler climatic regions seeds should be grown indoors 30 days prior to transplanting. The plants do well in soils of pH around 6 to 6.8. Soils with good drainage and loamy type are preferred to be good for watermelon farming.

 

In tropical regions, winter (dry season) is preferred to be good for growing watermelons. For cooler climatic regions summer season is preferred to be good for growing watermelons. The optimum temperature for good plant growth is 20 to 24 degree Celsius watermelon plants cannot withstand against extremities of high temperature, humidity, and frost. Watermelon farming requires a lot of space and abundant supply of water and also good soil fertility.

 

Land Preparation for Watermelon Cultivation

 

Hills i.e. raised rows should be constructed which helps in maintaining good drainage and also traps the heat for a longer period. The recommended plant spacing is 2 feet from plant to plant and 5 feet row to row. For farming in normal rows, the recommended plant spacing is 6 feet for both plants to plant and row to row. As the watermelon plants are heavy feeders prior to transplanting incorporate the soil with well-rotted farmyard manure or compost.

 

Planting and Care for Watermelon Cultivation

 

The plantlets are very delicate, hence take care while transplanting. Cover the hills or rows with row covers post-transplanting in order to avoid any kind of pest incidence. Once you observe the formation of male and female flowers in the field, remove the row covers. Shallow soils are not suitable for watermelon farming. Deep and nutrient-rich soils are best for watermelon farming.

 

Growing Watermelons From Seeds

 

The most common way of growing Watermelons is from seeds. Obviously, everyone thinks and uses the seeds from the melons that they have bought from a supermarket or a vendor. This results in wastage of time as the melons that you produce will not have similar properties to the parent type. This is because most of the watermelons are hybrid types. When you grow that seed on land, they will not yield pure type. It is not advisable to grow seedlings in a pot or container.

 

Buy the seeds from the market; you can get the information about suitable types by visiting a local gardening center. It is also not advisable to buy vines from a nursery. At the time of sowing the minimum temperature of soil should be 18 degree Celsius for germination. The recommended sowing depth is two cm or an inch deep. While sowing, sow three to five seeds with some space from around each other. After a week or later cut off the weaker plantlets leaving the strongest one to grow.

 

Growing Watermelon Plants

 

As the watermelons are heavy feeders, apply nitrogen at earlier stages and at the time of flowering it is best to apply potassium. In order to encourage branching to pinch off the tips when wines attach a length of two meters. Mulching is an important practice which you have to follow in watermelon farming. It has several advantages like soil moisture conservation, prevention of weed growth, keeping the soil warm and also contributes to field sanitation by keeping fruits clean.

 

Provide Irrigation weekly once for the Commercial Watermelon Farming. You should also maintain the water level at one to two inches. Make sure that the water should not have any sort of contact with watermelon leaves. This will result in the damage in your Watermelon Farming. Hence this is one of the important aspects of this Watermelon Farming Guide. Reduce the amount of irrigation at a fruiting time. To avoid rotting, gently lift the fruit and place some straw or cardboard piece in between the soil and the fruit.

 

Pests in Commercial Watermelon Cultivation

 

The major pests in watermelon plants are leaf-eating beetles like pumpkin beetles, stripped and spotted beetles. Any signs of these beetles in the farm indicate that the chance of affecting productivity is high. Hence one should take suitable control measures. Apart from the beetle, fungal disease which is famous as powdery mildew is most common in watermelon farms. It forms a white powdery growth on leaves. One should take care to prevent the fungal incidence by keeping the leaves dry. Check below in this Watermelon Farming Guide to know about harvesting.

 

Harvesting in Commercial Watermelon Cultivation

 

Harvesting is also one of the important aspects of watermelon farming. Generally, the watermelons take two weeks to ripe. Maturity signs of watermelon include shallow sound on thumping, little color contrast between the stripes on the top. Also, you will find a cream or yellow colored bottom and if the tendril is half dead or fully dead. One can store raw watermelons for 10 days. If it is cut, then you have to store in the refrigerator which will last for up to 4 days.

 

This is all the information that you can get in the Watermelon Farming Guide. We hope that this Commercial Watermelon Farming Guide for beginners in India is helpful to you. Furthermore, if you have any doubts about this Watermelon Farming Guide, you can contact us via the comment section.