I started Crimson Sweet, Blacktail Mtn and Georgia Rattlesnake in April, planted them out after Memorial Day. Started out slow, cold and dry, then it was hot and dry, then it was non-stop rain with cool nights. Crimson Sweet did nothing as usual, Blacktail Mtn has set a couple fruit, those I may be able to ripen, The Georgia Rattlesnake has set a couple fruit, but I don’t expect they’ll be able to ripen. I do have a few Lily (Crenshaw type) melons that should ripen. I’ve had good luck with ripening muskmelons, but not so much with the watermelons.
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i grew out a blacktail mountain in a grow bag on the south side of my house last summer. i planted the seed the 2nd week of june and got 1 5lb. ripe one and 1 that didnt ripen. i think if i start them in may indoors it should extend my cropping time and amount. ill be planting them in a raised bed so it should be warmer in there than the surrounding soil.
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Funny…pickled watermelon rinds were mentioned in this thread this week. Coincidentally two of my subscribed YouTube channels showed recipes for exactly that.
Next year, since apparently I’m going to be picking my way through melon vines like an espionage movie’s hero avoiding laser alarms, I may need to look into both picked rinds and dehydrating flesh.
OK those last two words sounded pretty sus…as the young folks day.
Andy,
This is my 6th year growing Crimson Sweet, 5th year growing Charleston Gray and 4th year growing Georgia Rattlesnake. I gave up on Blacktail Mountain, too small fruit, too many seeds. I don’t have a lot of space so BM did not earn its keep.
Crimson Sweet is a medium to large, tasty fruit. It can be productive. I also like Georgia RattleSnake but it is not productive and take longer time to ripen, at least a week longer.
I really like Charleston Gray, tasty and productive. Charleston Gray and Crimson Sweet take about the same time to ripen. They seem to be happy helping each other become productive. Why not plant them together?
You may know this, watermelons love fertilizer. Make sure you add a lot in the soil before planting. I also feed the plants weekly, too. I have excellent fruit set on Charleston Gary, good set on Crimson Sweet and not much on Georgia Rattlesnake which may not get visited back next year.
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Here’s my Mickylee. An older variety out of Florida in 1990. Still popular in its use as a pollinator due to long flowering season. A good producer on its own with 8-12 pound melons. Seedway sells a thousand seeds for $11.99 so you know its popular with growers at that price and with a bonus of having a melon to sell along side the seedless ones.
I am rating this one good on flavor. Growing side by side with Wibb and picked the same time, I would say Wibb was sweeter but it was on the overripe side and this one would lean to under ripe just a bit. Small seeds a plus. Vine growth average. It is noted for good cold storage if used for a commercial variety as it maintains flesh quality longer than average.
Weight on this one was 8.5. I have a few that are bigger coming along.
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Strawberry from baker creek. Very good. First time growing this one. Planted direct May 25. Only had a couple plants and they didn’t get very big. This one was maybe 15 pounds.
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Based strictly on taste, would you pick Strawberry or Harvest Moon?
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If someone asks which is the best tomato, I just say there is no such. Many tomatoes are delicious and worth growing. Same with watermelons and cantaloupes.
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Strawberry is good enough I’ll plant it again. Have lots of seed left in the packet. Harvest Moon has been very consistent and the whole family loves them.
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I meant to reply to MNmelons. I was not asking for the best watermelon. I was asking a specific gardener for his taste preference between two varieties that he is growing in the same season.
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Here’s an easy reading article by the NC State watermelon breeder about all things traits wise and significant varieties with those traits. Flavor wise there are varieties with higher fructose than sucrose. Which we can detect sweeter by taste. That is also the case with sweet potatoes. Unfortunately he doesn’t mention which watermelons are higher.
Older heirloom varieties can have bottlenecks as a defect in elongated melons. Round ones have hollow hearts on occasions. By crossing elongated with rounds, those defects were bred out.
Petite Sweet was among the earliest commercial variety considered mature 26 days after pollination. Super Sweet among the longest at 45 days.
Sugar Baby has the gene for caramel flavor that some people find objectionable. Current breeding efforts should avoid that flavor according to the author.
https://cucurbitbreeding.wordpress.ncsu.edu/watermelon-breeding/horticultural-traits-and-breeding-objectives/
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You might find this link interesting.
Red Moon and Stars disappointing so far. This one was also spongy like over ripe in center and not great flavor closer to rind.
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Look at the open area around each seed. It is a clue the watermelon is overripe.
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Guess I need to cut several of these and see if I can find one that’s not yet. These are always rated as such a long season variety I wasn’t expecting this yet.
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High temperatures with lots of rain will grow plants and ripen watermelons faster than normal. I’ve got 6 week old plants that already have fruit 6 inches diameter.
This melon is the most unique out of all the ones I’ve tasted—so far; its flavor is cucumber with sweetness reigning in the hollowed center and whitest part and its texture like ice cream.
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Another Orange Crisp seedless. These are pretty good but the flavor doesn’t go all the way to the rind like Harvest Moon does.
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Ali Baba question. I have one with dried up tendril but cream on bottom. Does this one get yellow on bottom? First time growing this one.
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cream/white. Color of ground spot is unimportant, size matters where larger ground spot indicates ripeness.
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