YES! YES! YES! And I cannot recommend it highly enough!!! I had more fun with those square watermelons than almost anything I’ve grown.,…and here is why: I would show them to people and tell them it was a new GMO watermelon that they had genetically modified to be square so that they could be better packed and shipped! It was priceless watching people’s reactions and seeing them pick them up and examine them and marvel at how amazing it was that people had created a watermelon that grew square. SOOOO funny. When I’d finally tell them they always enjoyed the humor in it, and were still fascinated by the results.
I actually built my own molds. I did several versions- some worked some didn’t. One if the easiest was one of those “real” plastic Milk crates you see behind grocery stores (no, I didn’t steal one from there!! ) The cheap version they sell in Wal-Mart for dorm-rooms and so on aren’t near strong enough, but the real ones are. I tried without a lid and it sort of messed it up since the top was still rounded. I also learned to put wood boards on all 4 sides inside, otherwise the melons sort of spread into the spaces/shapes of the side of the milk crates which have opening/designs.
I also built some out of plexiglass. I just went to Lowes and had them cut me 6 squared. I formed a box originally using a drill and wiring the 6 pies together. It wasn’t strong enough…the Plexiglas eventually cracked and wires pulled apart. Next I bought really thick plexiglass and used hinges and screws and it worked pretty good. But it was a lot of work and I doubt you’d be interested in doing all that.
eventually I used an oild but thick and strong metal tool box and some other old metal box I happened to find somewhere and it worked.
If you find a place that sells the, I’d do that. None of my methods were that great. I made them work but I was constantly reinforcing them and adjusting them and so on. But the important thing I want you to take from my \post is just that if done right, it absolutely DOES WORK and is amazing and can be quite fun- as I described above. I wish you luck!
If the box was too small, does the watermelon cap itself off and mature as normal?
Did you have trouble removing them from the box?
How did the coyotes work out?
Picked a Blacktail Mountain yesterday. Probably 10" diameter. 11 brix. Very good, solid B+. Grew this one in a netted sling on a trellis. I transplanted it in the garden around May 15th, so I got a decent headstart for my area, but the plant was kinda big when I transplanted it and it might have struggled a bit. Next year I’m not going to get seeds going indoors until April 30. The grid pattern on the rind is an imprint from the netting that was holding it. (I just used a piece of cheap bird netting to make a hammock and twist tied it onto cattle panel supported by t-posts.)
I’ve picked my last 5 of the WW/Orangelo. Every melon was over 18 pounds. The last few I’ve eaten have been a little weird inside from do much water but the flavor is really nice and sweet. I am saving seeds to plant again next year. Seems at the proper ripeness these are quite good IMO …
New Queen watermelon. This one basically exploded when I cut it. Crisp and juicy. Pretty good at 11 Brix. I’d like to see one hit 12 or 13 next year. Maybe I’ll try using plastic mulch. These are pretty reliable for northern growing, but they have to be perfectly ripe to be good. This one was the best I’ve picked so far. I waited until the ground spot on the bottom went from white to yellowish. I think losing the bloom on the outside is another indicator, but I wasn’t paying close enough attention to know exactly when that happened this year. The dark yellow areas on the inside look mushy, but they are actually very crisp. That is just where the melon burst open when I hit it with the knife, so it looks a little ragged there
I grew big stripe based on reports from Rayrose. It was very good. Sweeter than Jubilee II and Alibaba, although it was more prone to sunburn. One was 50 lbs!
My Hime Kasen set fruit on 7/9. I felt that the melon stopped growing over a weeks ago. Three days ago, I noticed a break in its skin. I monitored the crack everyday. It got larger. This morning I could see its flesh so we decided to pick it today.
We have had lot of rain, downpours at times. It could be why it cracked.
The melon is smaller than advertised. It was under 4 lbs. (average should be 5-6 lbs.). It was small comparing to a Blacktail Mountain, a small-size melon.
It was 32 days from the day fruit set. We weren’t sure if it was too early.
Turned out it was just right. Very thin rind. Sweet and juicy. We love it. Hubby loved it so much he took 1/4 of it to his gardener buddy…
Brix was 11 ( supposed to be 11-12, per advertised). Seeds were mostly brown.
I have heard that Black Tail Mountain can make in only about 70 days…but the large one we tried last Friday wasn’t there yet. Gonna wait another week or so and see. All those pictures of ripe melons sure make waiting harder. Lol
