Watermelon Growing

The taste is similar, but a little different from OG. Each variety has it’s own
subtleties, but this is an excellent melon. It also has a good crunch to it.

1 Like

Thanks. Sweetness?

1 Like

Ray, that was an op from the seed Muddymess sent to me from a melon (Orangeglo) she got from you. Keep the seeds from that melon!!! If it grew true twice, it probably will grow true again. As I remember, that was the best WM I’ve eaten in a long time.

1 Like

I lose a few melons every year to predators, but NEVER, EVER seen anything like this year. This is the 14 watermelon that has been destroyed (14!!!) THIS YEAR. I still suspect coyotes because I saw one 2 years ago while it was eating a melon in my patch, but then again I just don’t know. Anyone got other ideas? I’ve got a trail camera out there but so far the darn critters haven’t walked by it! What is doing this?

1 Like

I’d agree probably a coyote. I’ve heard of that before and they’ll eat most anything. I think that’s more likely than coons.

2 Likes

I don’t see how a coyote could penetrate the rind, unless the melon was
starting to rot, and the coyote jumped on it. The melon in the pic doesn’t
look overly ripe. We have a renowned creature here, called “Lizard Man.”
I’ll bet he’s the culprit.

Good point, and I think I can answer that, Ray, because I have several melons he wasn’t able to get through the rind on. They have big fingernail gashes all over them as well as big bite marks. So it seems that they just claw and claw and bite at it until they get through, then they clean it out. One thing that makes me doubt coons/opossums is the sheer volume of watermelon meat they eat in one night. Its way more than a small animal could consume. THen again, it could be several of them I guess. Also, if you google coyote eating watermelons there are quite a few photos of it happening. Here is one:

Again, NOT my photo, but certainly supports the idea that they eat them and again, 2 years ago I saw one in my patch eating a melon. All that being said, I’m STILL not 100% certain they are the culprit.

OH…and here we don’t havve any “lizard man” so it can’t be that. :slight_smile: Of course, we do have a lot of Chupacabra and big foot running around…so it could be them! hahaha

2 Likes

I have shot and seen dozens of coyotes with there heads completely inside a watermelon gorging on them. As a matter of fact I have driven my pickup right up on them before they noticed me because they where so focused on eating the melon

1 Like

Thanks for that, Mark! I was having doubts myself about the likelihood of a coyote being able to get into and eat a watermelon, so you just confirmed its not only possible but likely. TIme to breakout the firearms! :slight_smile: Problem with that is mine always hit at night time. Oh well…I’ll figure something out.

1 Like

Yeah good luck I always shot them after dark.

Coyote have much bigger mouths and bigger and longer teeth than coons. I can see a coon having trouble breaking in. Coyote I don’t doubt at all.

1 Like

We don’t have coons so I don’t know much about their melon eating habits but I am certain coyotes love them.

My parents had a dog who would eat watermelons. She was very good at only picking out the ripe ones! My dad finally started following her out to the field and taking the melon from her. Mom put a stop to that when she found out the dog had been licking the melon!

3 Likes

Our sheep are crazy for watermelon, they headbutt each other for it, rind included :slight_smile:

3 Likes

Just based on location, probably not chupacabra more likely an
abominable snowmonster…he (or she) probably doesn’t have his(or her) winter coat yet.

3 Likes

OK…I’m about to loose my mind. I just loaded up my gun and went out to my garden at 11:15 p.m. No coyote in sight…so all is well. Wait…is that…yes…between dark (circa 8:15 pm) and now (3 hours) they have come back and completely destroyed 5 more watermelons! One they didn’t even break into, but tore it off the vine so its a goner even though it isn’t ripe. They also got my prized carolina Cross that I was trying to really size up and which was already in the 40 pound range. I could just cry. THe score so far this year (ie # of watermelons taken) Kevin: 1 (ONE!) Coyotes 20 (TWENTY!). I can’t really fence my whole patch at all. Its about a 1/2 acre so even an electric fence would be a lot of time and money going around all of that. I don’t know what to do. Never had anything like this before. I’ve lost 3-4 a year but not 20. I don’t even have any melons left over 5 pounds right now…they have completely cleaned out all my melons that were even close to ripening.

I wonder if I put my dog out there in his pen (it’s a pretty solid little pen…about 4 ft x 6 ft with a roof) I wonder if that would be enough to keep them away? I’d even put him out there on a long line but I fear they would kill him. But maybe if he was safe in his pen but barking that would keep them away?

I PM’d you’

Sorry to hear of your issue. Could you put something over each melon? Wire fencing or something.

OK, I’m sorry to keep moaning and complaining and crying about my problems, but I lost 3 more melons sometime between 11:15 pm and 6:30 a.m. I’ve lost 11 melons in 2 nights for a total this year of 23 melons land have 0 watermelons left that are the size of a softball or bigger. Here is a pic of what I’ve lost in just the last 2 nights:

Thank-you for your genuine concern, steven. Chikn had some good ideas he just shared and I think your suggestion might well be the most effective of all. I have a few tomatoe cages that I’m going to put around a few melons. I also have 4 of those folding dog pens that I put around my fruit trees to keep chickens out and I’m going to try those. Those 2 things combined will total about 7-8 protections, which is a good start. Thanks again.

1 Like

Kevin,
So sorry for such a loss. It makes me mad seeing such destruction. I could shoot those thieves myself.

2 Likes