Watermelon Growing

After having my interest peaked by this discussion, I did a fair amount of internet reading and I finally came across an article that I think explains it pretty well.

http://www.biobees.co.nz/Pollination/Greenhouse+Crops/Watermelon.html

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So the answer is thousands of pollen grains evenly spread over the stigma makes for a fully formed fruit. Sort of like an echo no?

I ate a moon and starsā€¦small///very seedyā€¦but very good. Iā€™ll probably give it a go next year again

Local melons (good sized/seeded) are selling for $1.99ā€¦ How do they even make money off of them? Quantity? seeds/ferts/sprays/picking/transport/grocery store must get a little cutā€¦ canā€™t be a ton of money in it.

Thanks for the article. So Crimson sweet must either be easier to pollinate or our bees etc must like them better than Carolina cross

Try a tall glass of papaya juice over heavy crushed ice. It might make you a convert.

Iā€™ll stack my watermelon up against any of yours :laughing:

It is my first year growing melons up here in the cold north. OBVIOUSLY I have lots to learn. We had a good laugh when we picked these ( yes I am embarrassed to admit we had more than one) My husband calls them bite sized melons.

There is an up side, we got a tiny tiny taste of our first really fresh melon and it was sweet nectar, and I did learn that I can get them to ripen in my shorter season. I just need to now work on sizing them up a bit. OK sizing them up a lot!!!

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Cool, a bite sized micro-melon! Maybe you just created a new small variety. Or are they supposed to be that small?

Nope they are supposed to be much bigger, I think it is a water and nutrient issue, or possibly heat. However I will try again next year.

I am sure micro-melons might have a marketing issue, not sure I would like to devote that much time and effort for this size of melon.

FYI, I had ripe New Orchids 55 days after planting on June 11th this year. It was beautiful weather, though New Orchid was still 15 days ahead of Sorbet even though they are both supposed to be 80 days.

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Iā€™ve often seen @fruitnut and @rayrose and others comment about how large amounts of rain/watering can reduce the sweetness of fruit. This year I have- unfortunately- proven them correct. We had the rainiest summer I can ever remember here. From the day I planted my melons until the end of August we got at least one hard, soaking rain every single week, and most weeks we got 2 or 3 days worth. The result is the worst fireblight Iā€™ve ever seen on my pear and apple trees, the most yard mowing Iā€™ve ever done in my life, and the worst watermelons Iā€™ve ever grown!!! They arenā€™t just awful or anything, but absolutely have less sweetness than any Iā€™ve ever grown. The worst part is that I tried 6 new watermelon varieties this year as I always do (along with my 4 standards) and now I donā€™t feel like it is a fair test for them. None are that sweet, but neither are the standards that I know to be good, sweet melons. Now, for size I got some great looking, very large melons. But for tasteā€¦wellā€¦lets say I wish Iā€™d had a lot less rain!!! Glad others had good year.

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So thatā€™s where all of my rain went. You hogged it all. lol

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Another round

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Nice pic, you need another kid to hold that last melon on the floor.

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Mark, Iā€™m not usually the kind of guy who goes in for the cute kid pics, but that one is an absolute classic! You need to send that to hallmark so they can put it on a 4th of July or summer birthday card. Great looking family, nice house, typical American family basement with toys strewn about (a lot less cluttered than most!), and of course- WATERMELONS! All 3 of you guys look quite proud of your melons! Just a fun photo. Made me smile.

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I decided to take some watermelons to the local senior citizen center today. I really enjoy that because the seniors seem to enjoy the melons so much. Itā€™s not a residential facility, just a center where seniors hang out and they have an AMAZING program with activities every single day along with trips to places near and far. I put these in the front by the door and the staff gives them to everyone who comes in.

This is just the melons I could get to from one corner of my patch without actually going into the patch and stepping on (and crushing) the vines. Shown are Charleston Grey, Orangeglo, Black Diamond, and Jubilee.

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Good for you Kevin!!

And you donā€™t need teeth to eat watermelon! Great choice.

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Lol, sensitivity training for you!

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Seth, can you give us an update. How did these do on a trellis? Would you do anything different?

On average my melons havenā€™t been as sweet this yearā€¦but I just had a watermelon that was out of this world! And of course, it was an, ā€œOrangegloā€. Sweeter than you could believe, and it had that unique ā€œfruityā€ taste that only Orangeglo have. It ws very crispy but fully ripe. It had a large heart and ripe flesh well down to the rind. Just the absolute epitome of a great, sweet, perfect watermelon

So, if @rayrose and myself havenā€™t already convinced you and you are thinking of growing a watermelon next year, I implore you to grow Orangeglo! They are just soooo far above anything else. I grew 11 types this year and it hasnā€™t even been closeā€¦Orangeglo by a mile!

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