How to cultivate watermelons in rural areas? How to achieve high yield? How to market?

As the temperature gradually rises and the hot summer comes, watermelon has officially entered the "main battlefield", and a die-hard watermelon fan like me must open up and eat as much as possible. In order to satisfy your appetite, you must grow some watermelons.

The price of watermelon now is much better than before. I remember that in the early 2000s, the wholesale price of watermelons grown at home was only 30 cents per pound, and the retail price was only 50 cents. At that time, it was not easy to make money from growing watermelons, and you might even lose money. Things are different now. A watermelon costs ten or twenty yuan, and many people are reluctant to eat it every day. In order to be able to eat it openly, growing it yourself is the best way.

Take my family as an example. For my own food, I planted hundreds of watermelon seedlings in my vegetable garden. Because the area is not large, I did not think about raising the seedlings myself and then transplanting them. Instead, I bought watermelon seedlings from a nursery, which usually cost about two yuan per seedling. I think buying seedlings is the best way to plant in a small area, and it can save a lot of time and processes.

So how can you achieve a high yield by planting your own crops?

1. Watermelon variety is critical. Varieties suitable for the local area and those with strong disease resistance will be fine. You can ask about the varieties at local nurseries. You can usually buy grafted watermelon seedlings here, which will have stronger disease resistance.

2. Management of melon seedlings. Whether watermelon can produce a high yield, field management is very important. During the vine-growing stage of the melon seedlings, when the melon seedlings begin to grow wildly, the vines need to be straightened out in time to allow adjacent rows of vines to grow crosswise with each other to facilitate later pollination and seeding of the melons. Generally speaking, it is best to leave one melon per seedling, so excessive side vines must be cleaned up in time. You can leave two side vines appropriately to prevent the side vines from sitting on melons in the future.

Watermelons are usually grown in the open air in rural areas without trellising, so the melon vines can be pressed to enhance the ability of the melon seedlings to absorb nutrients, improve the quality of the watermelons and increase the yield.

3. Fertilization. My family has been growing watermelons for many years. Except for the application of base fertilizer before transplanting the melon seedlings, top dressing management is rarely carried out in the later period. Because the soil fertility in our area is not bad, my father seldom applies top dressing during the flowering period, but usually during the fruit setting and expansion stages.

For fruit setting top dressing, apply 25 kg of potassium sulfate compound fertilizer per mu, 15 kg of urea, and an appropriate amount of decomposed cake fertilizer. Mix evenly and apply in holes. Cake fertilizer needs to be applied according to the situation to avoid burning roots and seedlings.

During the fruit expansion period, watermelon will need more fertilizer. It can be applied in holes in appropriate increments. 35 kilograms of potassium sulfate compound fertilizer and 20 kilograms of urea (you can apply no urea, or less Apply to ensure the quality and taste of watermelon as much as possible), you can also apply foliar fertilizer to supplement other trace elements.

4. Thin flowers and fruits. In order to pursue the quality and quality of watermelons, excess flowers and melons are generally cleaned and removed to avoid wasting soil fertilizer and ensure the growth needs of one seedling and one melon.

Finally, let’s talk about sales. Because the planting area is generally small and the watermelon yield is not high, it is impossible to wholesale to specialized watermelon dealers. Watermelons can be sold nearby in the village: 1. Wholesale to small supermarkets and canteens in the village for sale. 2. Go to the countryside by yourself to shout and sell.