Watermelon is one of those fruits that keeps you going throughout the summer. Apart from the delicious taste of this wonderful fruit, watermelon is made up of 92% water, keeping you hydrated all the way.
Watermelon is a fruit that can be grown in various ways, but in this article, am going to walk you through the easiest way to grow hydroponic watermelons from seed.
Let's face it, growing watermelon conventionally can be very tedious, from the point of preparing your soil to fertilizer application, and the fear of pests and disease infestation, this makes growing watermelon conventionally no doubt a huge challenge to gardeners.
In recent years, growers have been looking for a more assured method of growing watermelon for an increased harvest.
Guess what? The growing method that is best applied recently to meet this need is hydroponic!
Can I grow watermelon without soil? Watermelon can be grown without soil using a growing system called hydroponics. Growing watermelon hydroponically requires that you have a good and proper nutrient solution, pH, a well-aerated environment for the plant roots, and a host of other factors that comes into play.
Why Grow Hydroponic Watermelon?
Growing watermelon hydroponically is a more convenient way of farming this awesome fruit. When compared to traditionally grown watermelon, hydroponic watermelon tend to produce a higher yield than those grown conventionally.
Growing watermelon hydroponically gives you the opportunity to control and regulate the amount of nutrients taken by your plants. This gives a clear assurance of how well your plants will perform and yield to expect.
Hydroponically grown watermelons are often healthier and grow better as they is no competition between the plants and the plants are also free of competition from weeds.
Hydroponic watermelons are also less susceptible to pest infestations and diseases as there are grown in a well-regulated growth environment.
Types Of Hydroponic Systems
There are a variety of options available for hydroponic growers. No matter the kind of plant you wish to grow, whether you're a commercial grower or just a residential grower, there're a variety of hydroponic systems designed to meet your needs.
Below are the three major types of hydroponic systems;
1. Nutrient Film Technique ( NFT)
The NFT hydroponic system is majorly used commercially to grow leafy greens. This technique involves pumping water and nutrients from a reservoir with the aid of a water pump and tubing. The nutrients flow through the PVC pipes in a sloppy setting back into the reservoir allowing the plant roots to constantly absorb the nutrients in a cyclical pattern.
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NFT hydroponic systems are a great way of growing plants hydroponically as it gives room to grow plants in a larger scale. Check out this simple NFT system.
Items needed to set up NFT system include;
2. Ebb And Flow
Ebb and flow also known as flood and drain is a type of hydroponic grow system used majorly for growing heavy crops, fruits and vegetables. This system also makes use of a reservoir which sits beneath the grow tray, while the plant is supported by a growing medium in a grow pot placed on top of the grow tray.
Usually, there is an overflow fitting installed at a position inside the grow tray that allows the water at a certain level to flow back into the reservoir.
In some cases, a double water pump is used. One pump is installed inside the reservoir to pump water from the reservoir into the grow tray where the plants absorb the necessary nutrients, and the other pump is installed inside the grow tray to drain the water back into the reservoir as the case may be.
The nutrients are continuously recycled depending on the hours set, a mechanical plug timer is often used to monitor and control the duration of the operation.
Ebb and flow is suitable for growing heavy vegetables, fruits and crops as it gives the plants a more convenient space to grow.
Items needed to set up Ebb and Flow system include:
3. Drip Irrigation Hydroponic System
A drip irrigation hydroponic system is in many ways similar to the conventional drip irrigation system.
The mechanism of a hydroponic drip irrigation system revolves around the use of water pump to pump water and nutrients through tiny tubing to drip emitters that gradually release the water to your plants.
Usually, there're two common types of drip irrigation hydroponic systems, these are;
- Circulatory system
- Non-Circulatory system
In the circulatory system, water and nutrients are pumped from the reservoir to the plants via tubing and drip emitters, and the excess water is channeled back to the reservoir after feeding the plants.
While in a non-circulatory system, the excess water is allowed to run off after feeding the plants.
This method is commonly applied by commercial growers as they mostly have the needed machines and tools to effectively conserve and reduce the amount of water and nutrients being wasted.
Items needed to set up drip irrigation hydroponic system.
Best Hydroponic Systems For Watermelon
Although there're lots of options when it comes to picking the right hydroponic system to grow watermelon plants.
To select the best hydroponic system for watermelon, you need to first check out the flexibility of the hydroponic system you want to use to see if its method of nutrient delivery is best for your watermelon plants.
The two hydroponic systems I will recommend for you to grow your watermelon plants are;
1. Ebb and flow
2. Drip irrigation hydroponic system
Ebb and flow are good for growing watermelon because it gives your plants the space and support it needs. Also, flooding your plant roots helps expel stale oxygen-depleted air around your plant roots and when the nutrient solution drains back into the reservoir, fresh air is drawn into the root zone turbocharging metabolic rates and encouraging healthy roots.
It also serves to clean the root zone of any excess salts, this is why ebb and flow consistently produce bigger yields than most hydroponic systems.
Drip irrigation hydroponic systems are good for growing watermelon plants majorly because you have more control of the amount of nutrients being fed to your plants.
On like other hydroponic systems, drip irrigation hydroponic systems are suitable for growing heavy fruits like watermelon as it gives the plant space and allows the plants to fully access the needed nutrients without the worries of your plants being overfed.
The excess nutrients can be easily recycled or allowed to drain away in a non-circulatory system.
A drip irrigation hydroponic system is very flexible and can be easily extended if you wish to add more plants to the system.
Now that you know the best hydroponic systems for growing watermelon, you can easily pick the one most convenient for you.
Growing Mediums
To grow hydroponic watermelon, one of the first things to decide on is the growing medium to use.
The growing medium selected should have the best water and oxygen-retaining capacity for the optimal growth of the plants.
Usually, an inert growing medium is used, some of the best growing mediums for hydroponic watermelon include;
These growing mediums help to anchor the roots and support the plants but these substrates are essentially inert, i.e they don't contain any nourishment for the plant like soil does, hence the need to pump nutrients to the plant roots.
What Temperature Does Hydroponic Watermelon Grow Best?
Hydroponic watermelon grows best in temperatures that range between 65°F and 85°F. Some watermelon cultivars can also do well in temperatures above 85°F up to 95°F but temperatures above 95°F or below 50°F will drastically reduce the overall yield and productivity of the plant.
What Is The Best Humidity Level For Hydroponic Watermelon?
Experts believe that the best humidity level for growing hydroponic watermelon should be between 60-80%. This range is important and vital to the plant, especially during flowering.
How Many Hours of Sunlight Does My Hydroponic Watermelon Need?
Similar to growing in soil, watermelon plants need a minimum of 8 hours of sunlight per day. Although some cultivars may require more even up to 10 hours of full sunlight per day, others may require less.
If growing indoors, ensure to provide a similar amount of lighting to your plants otherwise your watermelon plants won't get the necessary amount of light needed for flowering and fruit production.
Steps To Grow Successful Hydroponic Watermelon
1. Germination of Seeds
Start the seeds in a growing medium such as rock wool, although other substrates can be used as well.
Keep the medium moist for effective seed germination. Watermelon seeds are very sensitive to cold temperatures. They do well at 25 to 30°C.
Ensure to maintain such temperatures to enable the seeds to germinate properly. Seeds germinate usually between 3 to 7 days but some can take up to 10 days to germinate.
2. Transfer The Seedlings
Once you start to notice that your watermelon seedlings are a couple inches high, and you notice that they have started to form true leaves, that is the right time to transfer them to a net cup.
Place the seedlings with the medium inside a net cup and transfer them to the hydroponic system.
Ensure to place clay pebbles around the medium to help retain and supply oxygen to the plant roots.
3. Mix Your Hydroponic Nutrients
Add your hydroponic fertilizer to the water and mix thoroughly. There're different types of hydroponic nutrients that can be used but I recommend you use Maxi Grow as it contains all the macro and micronutrients your plant needs for optimal growth.
Check the pH of your water to ensure that you meet the required pH level to grow hydroponic watermelon which is between 5 to 6.
After adding your fertilizer, you need TDS/EC meter to take the readings of your EC level.
The perfect EC level to grow hydroponic watermelon is between 2.0 to 2.4 mS/cm.
4. Change Your Nutrient Solution
Regardless of the type of hydroponic system you choose to use, constantly changing your solution will not only help the plant do well but will also help prevent the development of diseases.
Change your hydroponic solution constantly maintaining the right pH and EC level. The solution can be changed every two weeks or three depending on the cycle you choose to maintain.
5. Harvest Watermelon
Watermelon plant forms both male and female flowers on the same vine. The female flowers usually have tiny fruit behind them.
Allow your watermelon time to ripen well before harvesting. Sometimes, it can be very deceptive to see a big fruit but not having enough patience to let it ripen properly may convince you to harvest an unripe fruit.
Watermelon normally requires adequate space to grow, if you don't have enough space, look for a support system and support the vines to grow upward.
This is important to provide support for the heavy fruit. Hydroponic watermelons usually take 10 weeks to fully mature. At this time, your juicy watermelon fruits should be ready for harvest.
Summary
Growing hydroponic watermelon is not as complex as you think it is. Choosing the best hydroponic system that suits you is very crucial to grow successful hydroponic watermelons.
There are lots of hydroponic systems out they, but ebb and flow, and drip irrigation hydroponic systems are the best when it comes to growing hydroponic watermelon.
Maintaining the correct pH and EC level and constantly changing your hydroponic solution is one of the best ways to ensure a good and successful hydroponic watermelon harvest.
I believe with this article, you can now successfully start and grow your own hydroponic watermelon. Always refer back to this guide when you feel stranded on your way. Share this article if you found value in it!
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