Watermelon, Corn, and Asparagus
WATERMELON
1.
I would like to plant a watermelon because it is my all time favorite fruit. I eat watermelon whenever I can find them in the store, so if I could grow some watermelon, then I wouldn’t have to wait to find them in the store, which would be amazing. I also don’t think that watermelon has ever been successfully grown at our school garden before, so I think it would be neat to start a watermelon vine.
2.
a. Vegetable and fruit
b. Plant in the warm season. Plant as a seed (usually takes 5-10 days to geminate). Also plant first, individually in pots, then transfer after germination.
c. Usually seedless watermelon take 80-85 days until they are ready to harvest. This works for the semester because it is just under three months until they will be ready and the semester is longer than that.
d. You need quite a lot of space to start out, but that is if you want to grow quite a few watermelon. If we just plant 2 or 3 seeds that germinated, then we would need about 9 by 9 feet. They should be planted 2-3 feet apart from each other.
e. The soil should be warm and it is best if it is loamy soil (equal sand, clay, and silt particles).
f. You don’t need to water watermelons very often, unless the weather becomes really dry. Drip irrigation in cooler areas.
g. Potatoes and corn(which is one of my other veggies I want to plant).
3.
If you plant seedless watermelon, you need to plant them next to regular watermelon (with seeds) because seedless watermelon can’t pollinate.
SWEET CORN
1.
I want to grow sweet corn because I love corn on the cob and my family never eats it, we always get canned corn, so it would be cool to be able to row it myself so I can have some. I also have heard that when homegrown corn is way better than store bought corn, so it should be some really great corn. I also think its neat that corn and watermelon are companion plants and I want to grow both, so it works out kind of perfectly.
2.
a. Grass
b. Soil should be at 60-65 degrees. Want a lot of sunlight. Plant from a seed. Takes 3-4 days to germinate.
c. About 60-70 days. Makes sense.
d. Plant seeds 6-8 inches apart, 1 inch deep. Then thin to 10-12 inches apart when the corn is 4-5 inches tall.
e. Turn soil well in advance so it can set and warm up to 60-65 degrees. If you pant super sweet corn add 2 pounds of 10-10-10 fertilizer. Add nitrogen to the soil if needed later (if not using a lot of compost).
f. Needs a lot of water. (2 or 3 times a week in hot spells.
g. Amaranth (provides shade for the corn) and watermelon.
3.
The stock that sprouts from the bottom of the plant, called the suckers, can sometimes grow an extra ear of corn.
ASPARAGUS
1.
I want to grow asparagus because my family loves it and eats it all the time. I just think it would be neat to know what goes in to growing something my family eats on a regular basis. It would also be a great plant to have in the school garden because it would last for a long time, so each class could pass it down to the next and see how long it keeps producing.
2.
a. Vegetable/shoot
b. Spring. Can be from a seed, but better if from a crown.
c. Do not harvest during the planting period, wait until after, so that they will continue to grow again the next year. Spears will show up after about 7-10 days.
d. Requires 5 feet by 6 feet. Should be 1.5 feet apart and 5 feet from rows.
e. Requires a soil with pH of about 7.0. At 6 inches add a 10-20-10 fertilizer (20 pounds per 1000 sq. feet).
f. Doesn’t need t be watered very often, unless very dry.
g. Tomatoes…they deter the pests from the asparagus and visa versa.
3.
The first crown you plant will continue to produce about ½ pound of spears every year for 15 years.
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