The inside of Ali Baba is usually more red, whereas the inside of Charleston Grey is usually more pink. My CG’s on average are a little bit larger than ali baba, and my ali baba’s are slightly sweeter. Ali Baba takes longer to mature in my patch, but only by a few days.
None of my answers are even close to scientific- just what I’ve experienced. As many factors as there are involved in watermelons, other things could explain the differences I’ve just noted, which makes it all the more unscientific (If you cannot get consistent, dependable results then its not a very scientific answer in my opinion). No doubt they are very similar melons. Ali Baba is supposed to be more drought resistance than CG but I haven’t seen that and suspect its just a theory/conjecture based on the fact that Ali baba comes from the dry middle east.
From my experience, I agree. Remember that the passage of lightening through air will produce nitrates which give a very quick boost to your plants.
Other than erosion issues, a sandy loam or loamy sand are very good fruit and veggie soils.
There is no crop grown in the US that’s more sensitive to water and fertility than corn. Irrigated corn yields just as much, and often more, than corn grown with rainfall.
If rain is more effective than irrigation you probably aren’t applying enough water. Also rain is nearly always accompanied by clouds and higher humidity. That alone can cut daily water use in half or less and perks crops up even absent rain.
Here are 2016 corn yields, bu/ac:
irrigated states: WA 235, OR 230, AZ 215 these are the top yields of any states
rain fed states: OH 159, TN 151, IA 203. I’m betting that was a record for IA.
AZ beat out a record yr for IA…!!! AZ isn’t corn country by any stretch of anyone’s imagination. There won’t be any commercial corn in AZ without irrigation.
How much abuse can the watermelon vines stand and still produce fruit? I’ve got some shallow soil on the sandyside that tends to dry out quickly and get pretty hot in the summer. Citrus is the only thing I try growing there.
I just can’t believe how fast these things grow. The 6-lb Blacktail Mountain I weighed and reported on 4 days ago now weighs 6 lb 14 oz, according to my postal scale–nearly an extra pound in 4 days.
This OrangeGlo below was the size of a cigar stub on Sunday–probably 5/8 inch diameter and 2 inches long. Today, only 72 hours later, it has ballooned in size, as have two others. I couldn’t believe it when I saw it yesterday, having not checked the garden on Monday.
Now, if only I can pick them at the right time.
Mad jelly! I wish I had that kind of space to plant out space-hogs like watermelons. I’ve tried 3 or 4 years in my greenhouse in large planter pots but lots of vines, no fruit. I’ll have to build a large garden box just for wms if I’m going to have success I think. Maybe combo raised (on legs) garden box with a cattle panel that goes both up & down, then train the vines both ways. I could build little platforms to support any fruit to attach to the cattle panel. Hmmm, next summer’s project.
Anthony
Watermelons are not meant to be grown in pots. The vines will
grow but you will rarely get a melon bigger than a cigar.
Listen to @rayrose . Ray knows Watermelons. (to borrow the famous Nike slogan. ha) I’ve tried potted WMs myself more than once and the results have ALWAYS been just exactly what he said…lots of beautiful vines, but the melons never get very large. Even when I’ve used very large pots (15 gallons) and kept them well watered and fertilized, it just doesn’t work. I have gotten some (round ones) to be a little bigger than a baseball, but then that’s it…they neither die or grow, just sit there the rest of the summer. So, @UrbanAggie , feel free to experiment if you wish- its always fun to try new things- but I think you’re potential for success is pretty low…
@UnderDawgAl I’m really enjoying watching your experiences and excitement! And you are right…when conditions are good, watermelons grow at an astounding rate. I had a volunteer come up on edge of my patio this year (right where I spit my seeds last year, of course!) and I’ve turned the vines so they are growing over my concrete patio. Even after a lifetime of growing watermelons, I’m astounded by how much those vines grow every single day. It also still amazes me just how much bio-mass (vines, melons, etc) is created from a single watermelon plant. It has already completely covered an area about 7 ft x 8 ft is still growing like crazy. By that way, be really careful when you are doing all this weighing and holding the melons for photos. Its hard to explain why, but sometimes handling them will cause them to abort. Certainly not always and I’ve handled mine a fair bit with no problems. But I’ve also had some abort from what I’m pretty sure was from being handled too much. So just to be on the safe side since you don’t have many melons, I recommend that you handle them as little as you can.
Good luck and keep having fun with watermelons…I think they are the funnest thing I’ve ever grown and they have a high rate of return for a small investment of time, effort, and money. Yea Watermelons! 
After picking the watermelon, the vine is kicking into gear again, and I noticed several small fruits just formed. I’ve added more groundcover to accommodate the lengthening vine. Do you guys ever U-turn the vine back on itself to save ground cover space? I’ve noticed a lot of the leaves near the base have died off, leaving mostly just the stem, so theres a bit of room there.
I think there’s been a misunderstanding. I’m saying I’ve given up on trying in pots. If I grow watermelons again I’ll build another 8’×3’x30" tall garden box. I have morning glory vines infesting the ground here so my backyard has been completely covered with industrial landscaping cloth and/or greenhouses, decks, garden boxes or gravel over cloth. I have no open ground to plant watermelons without the plants being choked off by morning glory. That’s why I posted I’d have to try in a garden box NOT a planter pot. 24 Sq. ft. for the Wm to root in and over 2’ deep of substrate.
Hey Urban! Just to give some idea each of my boxes is 40" x 48" and my melon boxes are 15" deep. I grow three plants per box in a triangle shape. Last year my soil mix wasn’t very healthy yet and we still put out some nice cantaloupe and a few decent smaller type watermelons. This year after adding lots of compost and other stuff to the planting mix the melons are growing like gang busters! I wish I had done more. I bet a small type would do great for you in a planter box set up like mine. No disrespect meant to anyone but I think there was a misunderstanding on your post but I knew what you were saying!
Drew
UrbanAggie
wildscaper
If I may offer a suggested variety that would do well in both of you guys
situations, try Crest. It’s a Charleston Grey type that is a heavy crown setter. That means that it sets most of its fruit within a few feet of the plant. The fruit is very uniform and will average about 23 lbs. It has a bright medium red interior, and is sweet and crispy. I’ve grown this variety with very good results. Twilley sells the seeds.
Hell yeah Ray. That sounds perfect for what I need. If you have any other suggestions for what I should grow let me know. I know you have vast experience with this stuff. Thank you for a great suggestion.
Thanks for the advice Ray. In Canada there are very few varieties of melon seedlings offered of any kind. Usually just a couple if we’re lucky. I guess I’ll have to look up Twilley to get some seeds. To compensate for shorter growing season I usually buy Wm seedlings. Any advice on cantelope melon varieties to grow?
Anthony
Anthony, I didn’t know you lived in Canada. Growing melons in Canada
is not going to be an easy task. Melons like heat and lots of it. You would
definitely have to start the seeds inside and let them grow some before
planting. I think I’d find out what melons do well in Canada and stick with
those. My favorite cantalopes are Super 45 and Sugar Queen, but, once
again, I don’t know how well they would do for you.
Yep…I misunderstood. I think I got you and wildscaper mixed in together and forgot who said what! sorry…hopefully…no harm done. I’m also happy to hear @wildscaper has had good luck with his technique. I still think watermelons in a pot are extremely difficult, but what Drew us describing is a long way from being a pot and I’m happy to know it works!
No harm no foul. I may have to postpone my grapes greenhouse and try it first as a watermelon greenhouse with large garden boxes for the vines to root in.
Yeah Yeah I know all us Urban Farmers look alike! Hahaha! Trust me Kevin I still have a long way to go before I’ll feel like I know what I’m doing with all this. I just hope that we can do lots of good while we learn!
That is very surprising to me. You may have seen me say it before, I have 2 hives within 100 feet of my watermelon patch, but I’ve seen next to zero honey bees on my blooms. Very Strange. I do see a LOT of bumbles bees working my blooms and lots of other flying insects, but rarely honey bees. Good for you, though.