Watermelon Charleston Gray: description and characteristics of the variety, yield with photo

Sweet fruits that quench thirst are sold along highways, in kiosks, markets, from cars or just from the ground in the summer heat. To accelerate maturation, weight gain, they are fed with nitrates. Instead of a delicious watermelon, you can buy a rotten watery fruit. Owners of dachas and small plots of land are trying to grow a berry on their own, which loves the sun and heat. Until recently, only residents of Stavropol, the Krasnodar Territory, and the Astrakhan Region could boast of a harvest of gourds. With the advent of the Charleston Gray watermelon, plantings of a heat-loving crop spread to the middle lane.

History of selection, and in what areas it can grow

Although melon seeds sprout well both in greenhouses and greenhouses, but only grown in open beds and fields illuminated by the direct rays of the scorching sun, watermelons delight with sweet pulp that melts in your mouth. Breeders from many countries have been breeding hybrid varieties that better adapt to different climate conditions, tolerate cold and rainy weather, and have a short growing season. Charleston Gray appeared on the market thanks to the hard work of specialists from France. The seeds of the hybrid are sold under the brand name HM Clause.

They plant this watermelon in Siberia, the Volga-Vyatka region. Its fruits ripen in Altai, in the Central Black Earth regions;

Watermelon Charleston Grey. Description and characteristics

The hybrid, bred by French breeders, quickly gained popularity among summer residents. Farmers successfully grow sweet fruits for sale.

Charleston Gray different:

long whip:
lots of side shoots;
elongated fruit shape.

A powerful plant has carved leaves, the berry has a light and smooth skin, the thickness of the peel exceeds 2 centimeters. The variety attracts with bright pink juicy pulp, some specimens of watermelons weigh 12-15 kilograms. When grown in the middle zone and Siberia, the mass of fruits is somewhat less. They are easily transported over long distances, retain their taste for a month and a half after harvest.

The variety is not affected:

fusarium wilt;
anthracnose;
mosaic disease.

The first hybrid watermelons ripen 75 days after germination. In the south, farmers harvest up to 100 tons of fruits per hectare.

In the middle lane and in Siberia, Charleston Gray is recommended to be grown in seedlings. Dark brown seeds are sown in a greenhouse or in peat pots.

Necessary conditions for a good harvest

Although hybrid varieties normally tolerate weather changes, in order for the fruits to set and ripen, an abundance of light, timely top dressing, and a certain humidity are needed.

Irrigation

Many gardeners, planting watermelons in the middle lane, believe that gourds love a dry climate and heat, and therefore do not need water. Plants do develop at an air temperature of at least 22 °, but without watering, small and tasteless fruits are formed. Although hybrids and varietals have strong roots that go deep into the ground, they need moisture for almost the entire growing season.

After germination, before the growth of lashes, it is advisable to water the watermelons every day with warm water. When they fade, it is enough to moisten the soil once a week at the rate of 8 liters per bush, then the earth will get wet by half a meter.

Farmers are not able to irrigate large areas sown with gourds so often, so they start abundant watering:

after thinning seedlings;
on flowering days;
before ripening.

To retain moisture in the ground for longer, the aisles are mulched with hay or straw. When watermelons begin to ripen, irrigation is stopped, otherwise the fruits will not be sweet, but watery. Like many other plants, gourds should be watered under the root and in the evening, when evaporation decreases.

If possible, it is better to install a drip irrigation system.

Soil

In order for watermelons to ripen in the middle lane, you need to choose only varieties of early ripening. These include the Charleston Gray hybrid. Culture prefers light sandy soils and plenty of space. If there is barren land on the site, to improve the composition, it is mixed:

with peat;
sawdust;
mullein.

In the spring, a spoonful of superphosphate and 60 grams of nitrophoska are poured into each hole prepared for planting watermelon, covered with soil and moistened with water. After each watering, the soil must be loosened, otherwise a crust will form that does not let air through to the roots, preventing the growth of lashes.

Fertilizer

Charleston Gray hybrids are less affected by diseases, but need more nutrients. To harvest large and sweet watermelons, you need to feed the plants with both organic matter and mineral fertilizers three times.The gourd culture reacts positively to humus and rotted manure, mullein diluted in water in a ratio of 1 to 5. With such top dressing, nitrates do not accumulate in the fruits.

Necessary nutrients for watermelons are present in herbal infusions of alfalfa, nettle, plantain. You can alternate them with manure, mix with wood ash.

When top dressing with potash fertilizers:

Many female flowers appear.
Ovary forms faster.
The taste of fruits improves, sugar and vitamins accumulate.

During the growing season, plants need magnesium and calcium, for the growth of stems and leaves, fertilizers containing nitrogen are applied from the 10th week.

Watermelon cultivation technology

Planting and caring for the Charleston Gray hybrid is practically the same as the methods used for other varieties of this type of melon. Sweet and juicy berries ripen when grown in fields and spacious areas, but where the climate does not allow the fruits to ripen, the crop is planted indoors.

In greenhouse conditions

When growing watermelons under a film, you must follow the basic rules. In April, they prepare a place, dig up the ground, adding sand to it, make a deep trench, put manure on the bottom, and pour soil on top. When 3 leaves appear on the seedlings, the bushes are moved to the greenhouse every 60 centimeters. The wells are moistened with warm water.

So that the sprouts do not start to rot, they do not need to be buried in the ground. Watermelons are planted after May 20, the film is pulled tightly. The gourds are constantly watered at the rate of 0.5 liters of water per bush.Nitrogen fertilizers are used in the first dressing. When the watermelons begin to develop, the lashes are tied up. During the flowering period, the greenhouse is ventilated so that the bees are engaged in pollination.

Outdoor

Charleston Gray can be planted in fields and suburban areas in the middle lane, so when choosing seeds, many stop at this hybrid. The technology for growing such varieties of watermelons provides for both a seedling method and sowing immediately in open ground.

The first method is suitable for regions where summer is not very warm and ends quickly. Peat pots are filled with ashes, earth and humus and seeds are sent. Seedlings are fed and watered, at the age of 30 days they are moved to the garden.

The second method of growing watermelons is less labor intensive. When the soil temperature reaches 14 degrees, holes are made in it, peat, humus and ash are placed in them, 4-5 seeds are placed in each hole. The emerging sprouts are thinned out, leaving one stem.

Prevention and control of pests and diseases

Charleston Gray is resistant to the main problems of melons, but suffers from aphids. The female of this small insect lays her eggs on watermelon leaves, and they curl up and dry out quickly. The best prevention of the invasion of such pests is weeding and watering with a solution of onion peel. The spider mite loves gourds. To cope with it, watermelon leaves are treated with an infusion made from Datura.

If folk remedies are powerless in the fight against parasites, they resort to spraying plants with insecticides.

Harvest and storage of crops

Cut watermelons 4-5 days before the fruit fully ripens. Before the deadline, it is not recommended to remove the juicy berry, because it will not ripen. The melon harvested late is not stored for a long time. Charleston Gray has a thick rind, transports well, but won't last until winter.