Early ripe, sweet and juicy Amal melon
Early ripe varieties of melons are in great demand among gardeners in the southern regions, and especially in those areas where summer cannot please with prolonged heat. One of the most popular and best of these varieties is rightfully considered the Amal melon. Not only does it have a short growing season, it also has a high resistance to diseases and will delight you with delicious, oval and rather large, melons.
Description of the variety
Amal is one of the large-fruited and fruitful melon hybrids of French selection, which has found recognition among many amateurs and professionals of gardening far beyond the borders of their homeland. Melon is successfully cultivated in Moldova, Ukraine and almost throughout Russia. This unique variety is suitable not only for open ground, but also bears fruit perfectly in greenhouse conditions, while maintaining yield and taste.
Fragrant and juicy melons ripen within 3 months after sowing. The average weight of one fruit is 3 kg, and the shape resembles an oval. The melon is covered with a dense creamy yellow rind with a characteristic fine mesh. The sweet flesh has the same color, only darker and more saturated, and the seed capsule takes up very little space.
Variety is high-yielding: with good care, melons weighing up to 4 kg can be grown, and from 1 sq. m. get up to 14 kg of harvest.
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
In addition to early ripening, the Amal melon has other advantages that distinguish it favorably against the background of similar species, namely:
- high resistance to major diseases of melons, such as powdery mildew, dry rot and fusarium;
- good yield and large fruit sizes;
- excellent taste;
- good transportability due to the dense skin;
- good drought resistance.
Speaking about the disadvantages of the variety, it is worth noting the fear of drafts and low temperatures, which, however, is typical for all heat-loving melons.
Growing features
As already mentioned, the Amal melon will delight with the harvest, both in the open field and when planted in a greenhouse. In southern regions with early and warm summers, seeds can be sown directly into the ground in early May. Where summer is late and passes quickly, it is better to grow first seedlingsso that the melons do not suffer from early sowing and have time to ripen while it is warm.
Even in the conditions of northern summer, cold and little sunny, you can enjoy juicy melons by planting Amal in a greenhouse or greenhouse.
When growing a crop in open ground, it is necessary to give it a well-lit place in an area where there is no draft. The soil is pre-fertilized with organic matter and mineral complexes, if necessary. The distance between the holes should be about 80 cm, and in the aisles - at least 150 cm, so that the bush has room to grow.
It is better to sow seedlings, starting from the second half of April, in peat cups - this way it will more easily transfer a transplant. Before sowing, the seeds must be disinfected in potassium permanganate and soaked to swell.The grown seedlings are moved into the ground with the establishment of stable warm weather.