Watermelons are usually sold in our country from countries in the Mediterranean regions and from tropical latitudes. They can also be planted in this country with a greenhouse or by growing the seeds sufficiently early.
How can you grow watermelons yourself?
To grow watermelons successfully, start the seeds in pots from the beginning of April, ensure warm and bright conditions, avoid hybrid varieties and water the plants sufficiently daily during fruit ripening.
Beware of hybrid varieties
To grow watermelons in your own garden, you can generally also take the seeds from commercially available melons. However, all the effort of sowing and caring for it can be in vain if it is a hybrid variety. These are crossed from two other varieties to achieve better yields and certain plant characteristics and are often no longer capable of further propagation themselves. When watermelon seeds are sold, it is often the intention of the manufacturers to make customers dependent on the regular purchase of new seeds. Therefore, when you buy seeds, check the package to see whether they are a hybrid variety or whether you can save the seeds for the next year after the first harvest.
Proper care of watermelons
So that you can harvest ripe watermelons even in the temperate climate of Central Europe, you must grow the seeds on the windowsill or in a mini greenhouse (€239.00 at Amazon) at the beginning of April. It has proven to be a good idea to sow two to three seeds in each pot and then, after germination, only leave the strongest plant standing. This can also be given additional growth power and better protection against diseases by grafting onto a fig leaf pumpkin rootstock. Watermelons need a lot of light and warmth to grow, but as young plants they should not be placed in direct sunlight. In addition, they must be watered sufficiently every day while the fruit is growing so that the fruit does not develop malformations. Since the plants tolerate waterlogging poorly, a loose substrate is important.
Save the seeds for next season
You can get seeds for the next garden season from various sources:
- from the garden store
- through exchange with melon growers
- from purchased fruits
- from your own melon harvest
But make sure that the watermelon seeds must be cleaned and dried well before storage. Otherwise they can become moldy or rot in a very short time.
Tips & Tricks
With proper preparation and storage, watermelon seeds can remain viable for approximately six to eight years.
