What do I Need to Know to Grow Watermelon?

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Nan6b
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Re: What do I Need to Know to Grow Watermelon?

#21

Post: # 12788Unread post Nan6b
Tue Mar 03, 2020 8:09 pm

Stone, I've given up the idea of training them into a narrow alley. The new plan is to, as you say, "rip out more turf". I'm going to put them in the yard area, in the area that gets 7-8 hours of sun. It's a rectangle; I can get probably a 7'x8' space. How high should the fence be for the watermelon? I'm thinking of putting a wire-fence roof on it to keep out the deer.

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Whwoz
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Re: What do I Need to Know to Grow Watermelon?

#22

Post: # 12789Unread post Whwoz
Tue Mar 03, 2020 8:22 pm

The one thing that always caught me out when growing watermelon was working out the timing of fruit maturity. Either I would pick to early or late. Is a a reliable indicator of maturity that works across most varieties

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stone
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Re: What do I Need to Know to Grow Watermelon?

#23

Post: # 12790Unread post stone
Tue Mar 03, 2020 8:33 pm

Let me turn that around for you, Nan...
How comfortable are you with a low ceiling?
Remember, you're going to want to go inside and walk around examining the fruit... And pulling any plants that manage to come up through a thick mulch...

I'd want to stand in the new garden...

At my house, I put up a chicken enclosure a bit larger than what you are describing, and tied poles from post to post... And then ran bamboo across the poles... And wire on top of that... Walking around in that kinda sux... But... I guess if I can... You can... But, I'm using 6 foot tall wire around the outside... I cant imagine trying to build something shorter to walk around in...


Re picking watermelon...

I always check the curlicue.
Tends to be reliable for me... But.... The curlicue has to be completely brown! A bit of green on the curlicue... Usually means... Not ready yet.

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Nan6b
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Re: What do I Need to Know to Grow Watermelon?

#24

Post: # 12793Unread post Nan6b
Tue Mar 03, 2020 8:38 pm

This is from the Bonnie Plants website:
"How do you know when a watermelon is ready to be picked? Ripe watermelons break easily from the vine when twisted. If you try to pick a melon and it fails to twist off easily, it probably isn't ripe yet. Another sign of ripeness is when the underside changes from white to rich yellow."

@Stone, You're probably right. I had a small enclosure for micro tomatoes with a top on it, and I just took off the top to enter, but that might be a bit hard with the span we're talking. If I make it high enough to deter deer, I don't need a lid.

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Shule
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Re: What do I Need to Know to Grow Watermelon?

#25

Post: # 12803Unread post Shule
Tue Mar 03, 2020 9:29 pm

I usually pick them when the nearest tendril is ripe (I think that's the same as the curlicue), but sometimes there is no tendril where there usually is a tendril. So, I watch the next closest tendril (toward the root direction of the branch) and that works, too. This works with muskmelons, too. Some fruits are overripe by this method, though, but usually they're fine. It's usually reliable.

You can also try knocking on them. If they sound deeper than usual, and are yellow on the bottom, that can sometimes mean they're ripe. However, some fruits sound deep early on. Tendrils are more reliable. If you knock on it and it splits open, then it's probably quite ripe.

If you specifically grow Red-seeded Citron watermelons (for pies, preserves, and such), you can harvest them as long as they're larger than a certain size. They'll ripen the rest of the way in storage, and they don't have to be fully ripe to use. It's probably best to let them get full-sized, though.

I recommend trying Santo Domingo Winter and Verona if you have trouble getting watermelons to ripen in time. They're both pretty early, and more reliably so than Sugar Baby, if my memory serves me.
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Re: What do I Need to Know to Grow Watermelon?

#26

Post: # 12808Unread post Whwoz
Wed Mar 04, 2020 3:31 am

Thanks for the information folks, will check out what is available down here, been a few years since I have grown them, judging timing was more the issue than getting them ripe

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Re: What do I Need to Know to Grow Watermelon?

#27

Post: # 12839Unread post ddsack
Wed Mar 04, 2020 10:57 am

This is from the Bonnie Plants website:
"How do you know when a watermelon is ready to be picked? Ripe watermelons break easily from the vine when twisted. If you try to pick a melon and it fails to twist off easily, it probably isn't ripe yet. Another sign of ripeness is when the underside changes from white to rich yellow."
Hmm. I think they are mixing up cantelope/muskmelons with watermelons. Cantelope will pull off easily when ripe, but I have not found this to be true with any watermelons, at least not the smaller early varieties that I have grown. I go by the dried up tendril, hollower thumping, and yellow spot, and still have trouble deciding when watermelons are ripe. Much easier for me to tell when cantelope is ready because of the easily separating stem.

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Re: What do I Need to Know to Grow Watermelon?

#28

Post: # 12854Unread post wildcat62
Wed Mar 04, 2020 1:17 pm

We enjoy Moon & Stars melons. When allowed to ripen completely they are delicious.

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Re: What do I Need to Know to Grow Watermelon?

#29

Post: # 12911Unread post Clkeiper
Thu Mar 05, 2020 5:41 am

watermelon needs a lot of space unless you found a bush variety and even they need space My watermelon patch is a row of watermelon planted on a piece of plastic and ground cover on either side making a total of 15" wide approx. that is one row and they tend to run even a little farther than that.

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Re: What do I Need to Know to Grow Watermelon?

#30

Post: # 12925Unread post Nan6b
Thu Mar 05, 2020 9:28 am

Did you mean 15 inches or 15 feet?

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Re: What do I Need to Know to Grow Watermelon?

#31

Post: # 12927Unread post Clkeiper
Thu Mar 05, 2020 9:45 am

sorry, Feet. a 3' row of plastic and a 6' piece of woven ground cover on either side. this eliminates the need to weed

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Re: What do I Need to Know to Grow Watermelon?

#32

Post: # 12932Unread post Nan6b
Thu Mar 05, 2020 10:03 am

Oh, I definitely plan to use garden cloth.

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Re: What do I Need to Know to Grow Watermelon?

#33

Post: # 12946Unread post kath
Thu Mar 05, 2020 12:51 pm

A warning about garden cloth/woven ground cover, fwiw. As soon as I began covering large areas with it for melons & sweet potatoes, the voles have moved in and taken over. As a result, this year I'm going to try growing sweet potatoes in containers so they don't eat them and bush watermelons so I can keep up with the weeds without it.

If there's anyone in my area (18972) that wants it, I've got enough pieces to cover about 40 square ft.

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Re: What do I Need to Know to Grow Watermelon?

#34

Post: # 12948Unread post stone
Thu Mar 05, 2020 1:08 pm

Suggest mulch and cats... not ground cloth...

The voles were already here when I started the new garden.
Having a cat herd helps.... but... they don't just kill irritating rodents...
I seldom get muskmelons... they eat as many tomatoes as they can reach... They even pick the beans off the vine!

Still... not as destructive as those nasty voles...

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Re: What do I Need to Know to Grow Watermelon?

#35

Post: # 12957Unread post Shule
Thu Mar 05, 2020 2:00 pm

Definitely watch out for weeds with watermelon, especially persistent clumping grass (some weeds you can cut and maybe they'll die, sometimes, but grass just grows back super fast; so you have to pull it, and risk hurting the watermelon roots, to get rid of it). Weeds are not a problem at all with muskmelons in my area, but watermelons let enough light through for weeds to grow, even when the plants are big—again, in my garden. I wonder if maybe growing some nitrogen fixing clover around the plants would keep the weeds out without bothering the watermelons.

Be sure to pull up weeds while they're young, especially directly around the plant. Watermelon are more sensitive to root disturbances than tomatoes.
Location: SW Idaho, USA
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Re: What do I Need to Know to Grow Watermelon?

#36

Post: # 12998Unread post edweather
Thu Mar 05, 2020 8:20 pm

Is a a reliable indicator of maturity that works across most varieties
The tendril, the sound when thumped, the skin texture...are decent indicators of ripeness. What works best for me though, is 45 days from fruit set. I just mark a popsicle stick with the harvest date and stick it in the ground. 45 days is good here in Georgia, and is even a bit long with a hot summer like last year. Maybe up to 55-60 days in a cooler climate.

Funny about deer. We grew lots of muskmelons and watermelons in deer country, and they never bothered the leaves or fruit a bit.
Southeast GA, USDA 9a, HZ9, Sunset Z28

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Re: What do I Need to Know to Grow Watermelon?

#37

Post: # 13144Unread post Nan6b
Sat Mar 07, 2020 1:16 pm

We have feral cats here. I've never seen vole activity in my garden, even with all the garden cloth I use. And thank you all for the advice about how to know when it is ripe.

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Re: What do I Need to Know to Grow Watermelon?

#38

Post: # 13571Unread post Nan6b
Thu Mar 12, 2020 9:17 am

One more question: do I start these indoors? How long before Last frost date? Or is direct seeding better?

Nan

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Re: What do I Need to Know to Grow Watermelon?

#39

Post: # 13607Unread post stone
Thu Mar 12, 2020 1:22 pm

I always preferred direct seeding after soil warms up...
At my house, the voles will go down the row and eat every seed after they start to germinate... no such thing as planting enough for everybody...
sooo... I have to start in one gallon size nursery pots outside... at the usual time... After the plants have come up, and I can decant the pot without dislodging the tender seedlings, I set them out.
The single advantage to starting in containers... is when occasional seeds don't come up, I don't have spaces out in the garden where a 'hill' failed.

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Re: What do I Need to Know to Grow Watermelon?

#40

Post: # 13615Unread post Shule
Thu Mar 12, 2020 2:38 pm

Direct-seeding is generally thought to be better, but in a northern climate, I would recommend starting them early. How early is a matter of debate. Most people think you shouldn't start them very early, because they think watermelon have sensitive taproots that could be damaged if grown inside too long.

I do agree that there's little need to start them super early; a few leaves is good enough. However, here's my take on it, for my own garden and experience, at least: I don't believe the taproot-thing, at least for my soil type (although I start my watermelons in foam cups to ensure they have a good amount of room, just in case). I personally think it's the leaves that are the issue when growing them indoors for very long. If I prune them soon before or after the transplant, ideally removing the oldest leaves, and probably cutting off long vines, then they seem to do at least as well as watermelons that weren't started so early. I think the old leaves just get used to the indoor light, and that when they change to outside, that can cause the plant to be stunted (for quite a while, until pruned). It's kind of the same principle as transplant shock, except watermelons are pretty sensitive to stunting even after they've been transplanted a while (if they still have a supply of old leaves, that is). Pruning helps when spider mites stunt the plants, too, in my experience. It stimulates the plants to start growing again, I mean.

The problem with direct-seeding in the north (at least in my north, in my soil) is that I have to wait until the soil is sufficiently warm, or most of the seeds won't grow even when it gets warmer. Plus, the season can change from too cold to too hot/dry quickly, and cause the plants not to mature enough in time to handle it, thus stunting them to one degree or another. The soil needs to be warmer than for tomatoes when you seed or transplant. Don't seed as soon as the frosts end. Wait about two weeks after that. But I don't recommend direct-seeding in the north anyway, unless you're letting plants volunteer. Volunteers usually do better than direct-seeded ones. I have a hypothesis that maybe freezing the dry seeds for a while can make plants more like volunteers.

Transplant about two weeks after the last frost. That's the time that has worked the best for me. I've tried earlier, but the plants can die and get stunted easily then, even without frosts. They just sit there without growing until it gets warmer. You may be tempted to think that they won't mature in time if you wait, but that's not true at all, in my experience. I gave into that temptation for my first few times of growing watermelon (I like to know things for myself, a lot of the time); I still got fruit, but it was more stressful. But, they mature faster when transplanted about a couple weeks later (not slower).

The time to transplant and seed them is about when it's warm enough for common Amaranth weeds to sprout. I think that's when our purslane weeds sprout, too. In my climate and soil, I like to transplant them between May 20th and June 3rd or so. Our last frost is about May 10th. I like to transplant tomatoes as soon as the frost ends (or a while before, if I can protect them).

There seems to be an impression that watermelon take a super long time to mature and ripen, but in my experience, most watermelon varieties mature when the midseason tomatoes do. They're not like pumpkins that often take 120 days. They're usually 80, 85, or 90 days. Some are earlier. Some breeds do take a long time, though, but most don't. I would recommend avoiding the 90-day ones, at first. Also, don't judge other watermelons by Sugar Baby (which can be late, even though it's an early variety). Sugar Baby is a lot different than other watermelons, in several regards—but it is a good one, IMO. Very fine grained flesh. The fruits don't tend to be under-sized, either (granted, they're not big anyway; but even small watermelon varieties can get undersized fruit).

A lot of people like to grow Moon and Stars in the north, but that's one of the latest ones I've ever grown. However, people in the northeast don't say that, from what I've seen. So, maybe it's just late in my garden. I've tried it a number of times, and it just doesn't ripen very fast.

The later watermelons (not Moon and Stars, particularly) do seem to handle pests and diseases better, though. The earlier ones often succomb right after they produce a fruit or three (unless you prune them right away or something—but don't count on enough time for a second flush of fruit to mature; you might get some more, but don't count on it).

A lot of people grow Blacktail Mountain. It's tasty and very early. The fruits are small, though, and you only get about two per plant. You'd probably get more fruit from Sugar Baby. I'd like to try some of the early ones with yellow rinds (like Faerie F1, Golden Midget, etc.) I think the rinds turn yellow when they ripen. Royal Golden isn't one of those super early ones, but its rind turns yellow when ripe. Haven't grown it, either.

People in my area usually like to grow round watermelons, since they say they get bigger fruit. It's hard to say if my experience confirms that, but there are long ones that do well, and long ones that struggle.

My biggest long fruits have come from Weeks NC Giant, Carolina Cross #183, Congo (not the first year), a Congo cross, a Weeks NC Giant cross, an unknown breed, and maybe others (Ali Baba got decent-sized fruit, one year). Those aren't ordered by size. Long ones that have struggled in my garden include, among others, Georgia Rattlesnake, Mississippi Cobb Gem (I tried that one lots of times, and it had tiny fruit each time), Garrisonian, Garden Leader Monster, Allsweet, Orangeglo, Orange Flesh Tendersweet, and Bozeman. Bozeman has potential, though, and those orange ones were prolific, at least (but small fruit with lots of seeds).

Winter watermelons are my favorites to grow now. They're not big, but they're nice.
Location: SW Idaho, USA
Climate: BSk
USDA hardiness zone: 6
Elevation: 2,260 feet

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