2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Serpentine melon (lat. Cucumis melo var.flexuosus) - a kind of melon; a representative of the genus Cucumber of the Pumpkin family. Other names are Armenian cucumber or Tarra. He is a native of Central Asia and Iran. It is currently cultivated in Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Iran and Afghanistan. In Russia, it is grown on personal household plots.
Characteristics of culture
Serpentine melon is a herbaceous plant with stems up to 3-4 m long. The leaves are light green, rough, pubescent with hard hairs, outwardly similar to the leaves of melon and cucumber. Flowers are dioecious, yellow, pollinated by insects. Fruits are cylindrical, pale green, green or orange, straight or curved, up to 50 cm long, have a thin and delicate rind.
The average weight of one fruit is 1-2 kg, there are specimens weighing up to 6 kg. The pulp of the fruit is very juicy, dense, sweetish, without bitterness. Fruits are formed on the main shoot and shoots of the second order. Snake melon boasts high yields and long shelf life. The growing season is 60-70 days.
Currently, several varieties have been developed that differ in the taste of fruits, their size and color, as well as resistance to peronosporosis, powdery mildew and other diseases. Some varieties have other benefits as well, such as lower temperatures during fruit setting.
The fruits are used for culinary purposes, they are consumed fresh and harvested for the winter in the form of various preserves. Only ripe fruits are suitable for cooking, overripe fruits are unsuitable, they do not have a rich taste and aroma.
The subtleties of growing
Agrotechnics of serpentine melon is similar to the principles of cultivation of common cucumber. The culture, unlike other representatives of the genus Cucumber and Melon, is undemanding to soil conditions, resistant even to slight salinity. Good fruit yields can be obtained by cultivating Armenian cucumber on loose, well-dug, fertilized, moderately moist soils with a neutral pH reaction.
Plants have a negative attitude towards waterlogging and waterlogging. High air humidity can also adversely affect the development of serpentine melon. The most important condition for successful cultivation is the presence of nutrients in the soil. In Central Russia, snake melon is cultivated in greenhouses. The optimum temperature for normal development and growth is 23-25C. The location is preferably sunny, in the dense shade the plants rot, and sometimes even die.
Sowing seeds of an Armenian cucumber is carried out in June, when the soil warms up to 18C. It is not forbidden to grow a culture by seedling, it allows you to get fruits 3 weeks earlier than when sowing seeds in open ground. Before sowing, the seeds are soaked in warm water for two days (periodically changing the water). Shoots appear amicably. When planting seedlings of serpentine melon, a distance of 1 m is observed.
The first few weeks, or rather before flowering, seedlings planted in the ground are covered with a frame at night, on which a film is stretched. It will protect young plants from frost, which is fatal for the Armenian cucumber. After planting, the seedlings are fed with chicken manure diluted in water and mineral fertilizers (if this was not done when preparing the soil for planting).
Care
Serpentine melon is unpretentious to care. Care consists in rare watering, fertilizing with mineral and organic fertilizers, weeding and preventive treatments against pests and diseases. So that the fruits do not lie on bare ground, trellises are installed in the immediate vicinity, behind which the plants will curl, rising upward. The fruits are delicious and attract birds with their aroma, so it is important to provide protection from intruders.
Recommended:
Melon
© Heinz Leitner / Rusmediabank.ru Latin name: Cucumis melo Family: Pumpkin Headings: Fruit and berry crops Melon (lat.Cucumis melo) - popular melon culture; an annual plant of the Pumpkin family. Melon is native to Central and Asia Minor.
Kiwano Or Horned Melon
All lovers of the new and unusual should definitely try to grow the exotic Kiwano fruit on their personal plot. This edible and amazing crop of the Cucurbitaceae family, a species of the cucumber genus (Cucumis), has recently become widely known. Africa is the homeland of this plant, but it is also successfully cultivated as a garden crop in America, Italy, Israel, New Zealand. In appearance, the Kiwano resembles a small melon or an oval cucumber with a thick
Interesting Melon Facts
The season of juicy melons and ripe watermelons is in full swing - almost everyone loves these bright and healthy fruits! However, not all of us know that both watermelons and melons have a great many interesting features! You are probably already familiar with some of them, but there are also such interesting nuances that many will learn about for the first time! Do you, for example, know where exactly in the world the most melons are grown, and how many varieties of this culture are now known to mankind?
What Can You Not Eat Melon With And Why?
Melon is one of our favorite fruits: juicy, sweet and healthy, it will always be in demand and popularity! Here are just a few people who know that an extremely appetizing melon is not compatible with all products, perhaps that is why, after plentiful feasts, where melon was served as a dessert, some of us feel unwell. With what products is it better not to combine a beautiful melon?
Highlander Serpentine
Highlander serpentine is one of the plants of the family called buckwheat, in Latin the name of this plant will sound as follows: Polygonum bistorta L. As for the name of the buckwheat family itself, in Latin it will sound like this: Polygonaceae Juss.
