It could be one of 100 different melons. I’d ask the grower what it is,
and if it was grown by itself or cross pollinated with other varieties.
If it’s an open pollinated melon and not grown in seclusion, the seeds
won’t be viable.
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As always when it comes to watermelons, I agree with @rayrose. It’s almost impossible for me to determine which ones of my long stripped watermelons are which variety, and I know what different types I have in my patch. Since mine often run together, I often find myself trying to trace/follow the vine from a watermelon all the way back to where it came out of the ground. I know which melons were planted where, so that’s about the only way I can figure out which melon is what when the vines run together.
@rayrose - I’ve always just bought new seeds every year with the belief that the melons produced will be true to type, especially since I plant so many varieties in such a close area. In your post above you said that if he kept seeds from a cross pollinated melon they would not viable. Are you saying they just wouldn’t sprout and/or produce melons at all, or that they won’t produce true to type? thanks
They won’t produce true to type melons, and in most cases, the
melons won’t be viable, nor edible. I’ve been there and done that.
That’s very interesting. Again, I’ve always planted newly purchased seeds to be sure I got the melon type that I wanted, but I always thought any watermelon seed would make a pretty decent melon. I will say that there have been a couple times that I had a watermelon volunteers come up by my concrete patio from seeds I discarded while eating melons the year before. Twice I’ve let them grow to maturity and they made good watermelons. But I’m sure they may have just been lucky seeds born from plants fertilized by a bee working the same variety melons. Either way, you’ve convinced me to just keep buying new seeds each year. Its not that expensive so why take a chance? Thanks my melon loving friend.
BTW…I just had my first watermelon TODAY!!! Yes, that is just insanely late. Most of mine won’t be ready for another 3 weeks or so. I’ll try to resist the urge to whine about my melons not getting planted until June this year and therefore being 5 weeks late, but the good news is it looks like I’ve got a good crop comming. Too bad no one wants to eat watermelon for halloween! But labor day is a good watermelon day so hopefully I’ll have enough to give everyone I know a melon for their labor day festivities.
I also look forward to seeing how my melons behave when the weather starts getting cool and days short, but they are not near the end of their life. My watermelons usually start dying off around mid September. I’ve wondered if that’s because they only have a lifespan of about 4.5 months, or if they die because the temperature and day length are less, or because by then they have produced and matured enough melons to pass on their existence/life for next year… SO I wonder if they will die in mid sept even though they will be young, or will they live their usual 4.5 months and not die until November, or what. Time will tell.
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New seeds are just the only way to go and they’re so inexpensive.
I had a similar experience with a lone volunteer Big Stripe that grew
through a crack in my driveway. I didn’t do a thing to that one plant,
but just leave it alone. I think the calcium from the concrete gave it all the
fertilizer it needed. That one plant yielded 8 of the biggest and best
melons I’ve grown. They averaged 47 lbs. with the biggest weighing
67 lbs. All of that from one plant. I’ve posted this pic before, but I’ll
post it again. Keep in mind this is ONE plant.
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Kevin, your melons should be fine as long as the temps stay well
above 80. I didn’t plant mine, until the first of June, and I’m trying to grow
a second crop, but the weather just isn’t cooperating very well. The melon
above is the 67 lb. one. These were the best melons I’ve grown. I couldn’t
even get a 12 inch knife all the way through this one.
OMG, Ray! That is so cool! Was this a stray seed, or a volunteer from last season from maybe a bird? You couldn’t use your garage, I see, but I think for a wonderful 67 lb. watermelon, probably worth it.
Wow wow wow! Those are just amazing photos and that was an amazing plant! Very cool.
Btw…just curious…I love that net set up, but I can’t tell what you were protecting with it? Looks like maybe there are some blueberries near the house but it seems to extend quite a bit past them. Was that for the melons?
And is that something you made or bought?
Patty, I’ve often asked that very same question. I have no idea
where the seed came from, because I planted the melons in the
back yard, I’ll never know. Luckily I have a two car garage, and was
able to use the driveway
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At the time the net house was planted with blueberry bushes,
for protection from birds. I’ve since converted to house some of my
figs. It’s about 60 ft.long and 9 ft. wide. I made it myself and my
nephew and I put it up in about 1 1/2 hours. I drove 2ft. long rebar
into the ground half way, then took 10 ft. long sections on 1 inch
pvc and cut it in half and slid it onto the rebar. I then took 10ft. long
1/2 inch pvc and bent it to slide into the top of the 1 inch pvc, thereby
creating the arch. Then spray painted it green to match the netting.
Then attached the netting with garbage bag twist ties. I then cut a roll
up door on the side next to the garage that’s anchored by a piece of left over pvc. Very simple to make and easy to take down, if I ever wanted to.
But I leave it up year round.
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Some companies could potentially claim OP varieties they have developed are F1 to discourage competition in the market and seed saving. It sure would make a big difference to their bottom line, no hand pollinating, and there is enough secrecy around F1s that they could get away with it.
I was surprised to see a couple volunteers around the border of last year’s patch make melons that seem identical to the F1 Orange Orchid which was planted there last year. The F2 generation should show various combinations of the 2 parents so I expected to see an obvious change.
Sometimes those F1 seeds get pushed out of the ground, before they
have a chance to germinate, but then some how germinate the next year.
That would explain what happened in your case.
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Nope, I put in transplants last year, the only seeds in that area would have been F-2 generation. I am actually hoping some of the Bradford seeds I have saved are F-1 hybrids with New Orchid. I thought it was just OK, have one other to try but I think I let it get overripe. The sweet rind is nice.
Sorbet has been good, tough to know when to pick, they form a yellow bottom very early and the tendrils died when still unripe also, have been thumping to tell.
I was interested to see you mention the Bradford melons. I’m assuming you are talking about the (supposedly) long lost south carolina watermelon featured on NPR and countless other places. If so, I’d love to hear your opinion of it. Is it really “The sweetest watermelon ever grown” and/or do other claims come close to being true. I’ve heard others say its just a very good watermelon but not nearly as spectacular as the reputation. Agree or disagree? Thanks
Well I’ve only had a single melon and I think it was picked a couple days too early. I’d say it is worth growing for the uniqueness of the texture and rind, I’d like to try making some pickles. The flavor is light, and the sweetness is there. Not the best watermelon ever, at least not yet.
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Kevin,
I was given one of these by a friend, and while it was a good melon, the
melons that you and I grow are just as good, if not better, and both my friend and I live in SC. Furthermore, the seeds are quite expensive, something like $15 for 10 seeds. I don’t know anybody that grows it in SC, including my friend, who only grew it once. You can’t even find it in the local farmer’s markets. If it was such a great melon, everybody would be growing it.
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Ray,
I’ve grown dessert king watermelons now for many years and saved the seed each year. They have became smaller over time so what you’ve said makes sense. We save most of our own seeds from open pollinated vegetables and grains. Some things we improve significantly over time and others seem to work out the other way.
My kids are growing some Blacktail Mountain watermelons this year. I think a couple are nearly ripe; these pics were taken a couple weeks ago. We planted them beginning of June and they germinated fine, but then stayed really small for months, even though it was plenty hot. Then in early August they finally started expanding and making flowers. Now they are going pretty well, but still not getting huge like lot’s of pictures in this thread; maybe because it is a smaller melon it has a small plant too? In the background of one of the pictures there is a pumpkin plant which is clearly doing well. We are excited to try the watermelons soon!
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Holly, the garden is pristine and charming. Are those petunias in your garden? The flowers are so large they look like glox. Pine needles or salt marsh hay. I prefer the latter but could never get it in Rhode Island.
Thanks mrs G. It’s actually been a tough year in the garden. Bunnies (like your profile pic!!) ate all the carrots, beans, and sweet potato plants. Squash vine borers wiped out nearly all of the summer and winter squash, though that pumpkin plant rebounded after we cut numerous borers out with a razor blade. Fireblight took out about 20% of the apple trees. Aphids were rampant, and some kind of bug ate all the leaves on the one pole bean the bunnies didn’t munch. Plus lack of water has really made things challenging; watering with a hose doesn’t work that well in the time I have for doing it.
One great thing about watermelon is that it doesn’t seem to suffer from SVB. Is that true in general, or just for our puny vines?
That is my son’s little plot, and he chose some Crazytunias from the nursery to plant with his veggies. He had peas early spring, with carrots (which got bunny munched). Now watermellon. He is annoyed at how his older sister’s pumpkin plant is encroaching on his area 
Yep, that is salt marsh hay. There is a garden store on my way home from work which carries it, so I end up using about 4 bales a year. It is nice stuff.
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