As any experienced gardener will tell you, it takes a whole lot more than sun and soil to successfully cultivate a homestead garden. Moisture, nutrition, as well as weed and pest control are required.
While many gardeners treat their garden with commercial insecticides to prevent insect pests, these noxious chemicals have the adverse affect of killing off beneficial insects and pollinators.
伴生种植是一种安全、有效、自然的选择,它有助于控制害虫,而不会对我们希望吸引到花园里的昆虫造成伤害:所有这些都不使用有毒化学物质。
Best Garden Plants To Grow With Melons
Melons are one of the most compatible plants in the garden and do well when planted with peas, pole beans, bush beans, onions, leeks, chives, and garlic.
卷心菜、花椰菜、花椰菜、胡萝卜、羽衣甘蓝、秋葵、菠菜、向日葵、生菜和抱子甘蓝也在瓜类的陪伴下茁壮成长。
不要把瓜和土豆一起种。
- Marigolds-万寿菊是几乎所有蔬菜作物的“好邻居”,尤其是瓜类作物,为它增添了一抹亮丽的色彩。万寿菊实际上可以击退线虫、蚜虫、甲虫、苍蝇和其他恼人的花园害虫。
- Catnip And Tansy– Plant these pungent herbs directly in the garden or in pots located near the melon patch to effectively repel leafhoppers, aphids, flies, and squash beetles.
- Nasturtiums– Both the flowers and leaves of nasturtium are edible and quite delicious. Add to salads and sand sandwiches for a spicy crunch or use the flowers as a plate garnish. Nasturtiums attract garden pests that damage other food crops. Aphids and other destructive pests love nasturtium plants so much; they will be focused on the nasturtiums and leave other plants alone. When planted near melons, nasturtiums also distract/repel whiteflies, leafhoppers, ants, and squash bugs.
- Lettuce And Radishes– These fast growing, shallow rooted plants are ready to harvest before melon vines need room to spread. They also provide and attractive and weed suppressing ground cover when planted in the melon patch.
Melons Are Easy To Grow
There are dozens of varieties of melons. In the United States watermelon, honeydew and cantaloupe, also known as muskmelon, are the most popular. Other popular summer melons found at fresh markets and local farmer’s markets include Ambrosia, Ananas, Canary, Casaba, Crane, Crenshaw, Galia, Persian, and Sharalyn.
Native to Africa and Asia, melons thrive in well-drained, fertile soil, and a full sun location with good air circulation. Planting melons along fences or walls block air flow, which may cause your melons to struggle.
Melons develop deep roots usually extend from 2-10 inches into the earth, but some go as deep as 4-6 feet. Therefore, the soil must be loose and moisture retentive.
Melons need at least one inch of water a week to keep the soil uniformly moist. During the hottest days of summer, more watering is required to ensure that the soil doesn’t get completely dry, which could stunt the growth and flavor development of your melons.
甜瓜需要漫长炎热的夏天才能形成最佳的风味和口感。当这些要求得到满足时,甜瓜就会毫不费力地茁壮成长。
Melons are easiest to grow in the homestead gardens in United Plant Hardiness Zones 8 through 10. Dependent on variety, melons require 75-100 days to maturity.
Planting Tips For Melons
Enhance the garden plot with nutrient-rich garden compost or well-aged herbivore manure (sheep, cow, horse, goat, lama, poultry), working the organic material well into the soil while removing rocks and roots.
Do not plant melon seeds until the soil temperature has warmed to 70 degrees Fahrenheit. To encourage the soil to warm up in the spring, consider covering the garden with black plastic landscape film, which traps the warmth of the sun. Anchor the plastic covering in place to keep it from shifting and smothering new seedlings.
Using a hoe or rake, create 2-3 foot wide soil mounds spaced 18-24 inches apart. Melons seeds may be planted directly in soil, or in short season climates, started indoors and transplanted when the soil warms, and seedlings are 3-4 inches tall.
Plant 4-to-6 seeds or seedlings per mound. When seedlings are well-established, thin seedlings to 3 per mound.
Asian melons and honeydews can be trellis-grown to save garden space. Melons also do well when planted in containers or large pots on the terrace, deck, or patio—as long as they’re in the sun.
Deciding Which Melons To Grow
甜瓜热量低,富含纤维和风味,酥脆多汁,可以在沙拉和甜点中食用,也可以脱水、腌制、蜜饯、发酵、腌制或冷冻,一年四季都可以享用。
Because melons are so easy to grow, you will likely have more than enough to share with family and friends or sell as a cash crop at the local market. Melons are harvested in late summer and early fall.
When you find a variety of melon you especially enjoy,save the seeds.
- Rinse to remove fruit membrane and dry on a paper towel for three weeks.
- Select the plumpest, most solid seeds for replanting.
- Store melon seeds in a cool, dry place.
- When properly stored, melon seeds remain viable for three to five years.
Melons found at market are picked before they are thoroughly ripened. The mouth-watering sweet flavor and firm texture of a vine-ripened melon are what make growing your melons in the home garden more than worth the effort.
References:
- Planting Buddies(USDA)
- Companion Planting(The Old Farmers’ Almanac)
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