The best way to beat the scorching summer heat is to eat the juicy, thirst-quenching watermelons. Apart from consuming it as such, you can also use the fruit as the key ingredient in a variety of refreshing drinks. On a hot sunny day you would not find a better source of delight for your taste buds, than a ripe watermelon. Do you know that growing watermelons at home is possible? Would you like to try it? If you want to learn how to grow watermelons on your own, the tips given below will come handy.
Growing Watermelons At Home
Things Required
- Water
- Trowel
- Compost
- Watermelon Seeds
Procedure
- Choose the location most favorable for the growth of watermelon plant. It requires 6 hours of direct sun for its growth. Since the plant spreads vines, the area should be spacious enough to provide 6 feet of gap between the rows.
- Watermelons require light, sandy, well-drained and fertile soil for their proper growth. Therefore, supply plenty of organic matter to the soil. The soil should be nearly neutral in nature.
- After you have chosen the location for growing watermelons and prepared the soil as well, the next step would comprise of tilling the soil.
- Sow the seeds in the soil, after loosening it. To do this, you need to form mounds of the soil, 6 feet away from each other. Make use of a hoe or a tractor for the purpose.
- Form a slightly concave surface on the top of the 'mound' of the soil. Now, poke a hole, each 1 inch deep, in each of the mounds, using your fingers.
- Sprinkle water into the holes, just to moisten the soil.
- It is now time to plant the seeds. Place one seed in each hole and cover it with soil. Lightly press the soil, so that the seed gets fully packed.
- Sprinkle water on the seeds once again.
- The seeds would produce sprouts and the germinated seeds would produce plants within 10 days.
- After the plants have grown up to 4 inches, mulch the 'hill' of the soil with compost. Mulching keeps the plants healthy, by preventing weeds, and helps the soil retain moisture as well.
- After some time, the flowers will start blooming. This will be followed by the growth of fruits.