I will definitely put some tires on the edges and I am going to get wire loops to help anchor the plastic all the way around. The wind here can be so high it’s ridiculous. We had 55mph the other day that blew away everything that wasn’t nailed down.
Cucumber beetles and squash bugs will be a problem so I’ll need to be proactive and spray as you suggested. I haven’t had much problem with them in the melons, but the other squash and pumpkins are impossible to grow without using some pesticide.
I am staring my watermelons inside in 3inch wide 4 inch deep pots. Seeded 2 seeds per pot. If both germinate, when is the latest I can remove one of them? I have space 15’X9’ and planning to plant 4 watermelons in one middle row. I hate to loose even one out of just 4 melons, so if possible I would keep both started in each pot, but looks like it is not recommended to have more than one plant in the hole. In this case I would like at least to keep second as a back up as long as possible(but do not compromise production). So when it should be removed?
Do NOT separate watermelon plants that are in the same container after they are more than a week old. It is better to separate them the day they emerge from the seed start mix. I always plant 3 or 4 seedlings in a single hill, but I have a LOT more room than you. My watermelon hills are 10 feet apart in the row. Cantaloupes and cucumbers are set 3 feet apart.
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I didn’t plant to separate them, I was going simply cut one when I see which one is growing better. Just not sure what is the latest I can do it without compromising the success rate for the one I keep. Do you think it make sense just plant whole thing or it is better to cut one?
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My watermelons started March 7 are starting to bloom. Just males now but females soon. It was 40 last night but 80 by day. We’ll soon be warm enough for them to really take off. If everything goes right and I don’t mess up I could have fruit until the end of September. After that the quality falls apart. To carry them that long they need weekly watering and regular nitrogen to keep them growing and blooming.
My petite French melons with the long name were just planted. It took 6 weeks to get the seed in. They’ll be ready by mid summer so it’s not too late.
Here in southern middle TN… I have tried several varieties of watermelon including Crimson Sweet… but once I tried Charleston Gray… I quit trying others.
Can’t imagine one tasting better… good sized, dependable, great tasting watermelon. I often get 6-7 melons off one plant/vine. Think I will dedicate about half my flat garden space to watermelons this year… and give it a rest from okra.
TNHunter
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Trev, remind me to send you some seed of a couple of good watermelons. Ledmon, Wibb, and Yellow Moon & Stars would put you into high cotton.
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how many days to get ripened fruit for those? im planning to put alot of watermelons in as well.
I almost always divide my melon starts. We’ve bought certain things in 6 packs from a local outfit who does a nice job producing quality starts. They carry 6 packs of ‘yellow baby’ every year, and always put 2 seeds per cell. I’ve found that I can gently divide them when they have their 1st or 2nd set of true leaves and pot them up in 4” pots in compost and they do very well.
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Hello everyone. New to this site and to gardening in general. This is my fourth gardening season. The first watermelon I planted was in 2020–it was a Congo–, and they were so good. I got a 29 pound one, which is my record. The Congo were incredibly delicious, sweet and crisp. I’ve been growing that variety since. 2021 wasn’t a good year for me. Last year I went all out and planted a mix of watermelon and melons. Since my space is pretty small, my plants are a little cramped, but I make do. The difficulty is navigating through the vines and differentiating the fruit. A small variety, either Early Moonbeam or Petite Yellow, kept splitting on the vine; the rind was so thin. I remember when I picked them, a slight puncture with a knife would crack them open. Golden Midget was a failure with a couple of fruit that tasted awful.
The watermelons: Congo, Black Diamond, Florida Giant, Kleckley’s Sweet, Crimson Sweet, Georgia Rattlesnake, Orangeglo, Royal Golden, Kolb’s Gem, and O’odham Soam Miliñ. I’m thinking of adding another four: Yellow Moon and Stars, Halbert Honey, Mountain Sweet Yellow, and Borrie’s Yellow. However, I’m still debating because of money and space.
The melons: Chimayo, O’odham Ke:li Ba:so, Schoon’s Hardshell, Bender’s Surprise, Old Time Tennessee, and Bidwell Casaba. I’m also thinking of adding another four: Fordhook Gem, Pride of Wisconsin, Healy’s Pride, and Amish.
I believe all the watermelon and melons are big, or bigger, varieties than the ones I planted last year.
I’ve sowed all of them except the ones that I’m on the fence about buying. And I’ve gone through and read about Orangeglo being a tricky watermelon that over ripens quickly and hollows out. That one has me worried. I’m also unsure about the casaba type melons. I’m not sure how I’ll judge ripeness besides days to maturity (which I struggle with).
Are you looking for advice on which to grow? Halbert’s Honey, Yellow Moon & Stars, Ledmon, Wibb, and Bradford are excellent watermelons. Royal Golden is a pretty watermelon but has lousy flavor. Your choice for melons is a bit less discriminating. Susan Healy is better than Healy’s Pride. Bidwell Casaba is ho-hum. Anne Arundel is a very good green flesh melon that turns pale orange next to the seed. Romanian Green is a less sweet alternative suggested if melons can be “too” sweet. Sandhill Preservation has these and many more. https://www.sandhillpreservation.com/vegetables
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Advice is always great! I do want to plant at least one green fleshed melon. I will have to look at Anne Arundel.
I’ll have to try moon and stars sometime. I keep hearing about how good it is. Around here, where the cotton stays low (and the catfish seldom jump) it’s best to stick to smaller melons for early and even ripening. Also, I like my watermelons cold as can be, and an 8-12 lb melon is just about right for tucking in the fridge. Also about right for eating in one sitting. I just started my seeds last night. I like to size up the starts a little more than others seem to, but then I’m ordinarily setting them out sans irrigation. This year, I plan to put the drip tape to them. Ive started Leelanau Sweetglo, Blacktail Mt., and Cream of Saskatchewan. I may still do a six pack of ‘yellow baby’ when they show up at the local nursery. I’ve grown all but Leelanau Sweetglo in the past, and have been pleased with flavor and overall quality. Wondering how these stack up against your short list @Fusion_power
I bought seed of Ledmon, a fresh pack of Wibb(love that deep red color!), and Leelanau Sweetglo(IIRC, that’s a cross between Orangeglo and Crimson Sweet) to plant this year.
Will probably pull out some of the Kholodok seed I saved from 2021… though it may be crossed with one of the other ‘winter/storage’ watermelons (Wintermelon, Winter King) that I grew that year. I had home-grown watermelons at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and even on New Year’s Day… though that last one was past it’s prime - but if I’d waited 'til July to start them(instead of May), they might have held up better.
IIRC, these are: upper left, Winter King, lower left Wintermelon, right Kholodok.
I’ll second Darrel’s recommendation for Blacktail Mountain for a short-season melon… was far and away better than Sugar Baby or any other small watermelon I’ve grown.
Crimson Sweet has been hard to beat, for my taste. Somebody here (I’ve slept since then) sent me some Crimson Sweet X GA Rattlesnake seed several years back… those were really tasty, and made BIG melons.
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Thanks @Lucky_P. Yeah I’ve had good luck with Blacktail Mt. in the past. Many of the small lunchbox melons seem to be short on flavor and don’t have a good texture either.
I’ve grown and saved seed for a number of years from Blacktail Mt. and Cream of Saskatchewan (another good melon IMO) but I wondered if fruit quality might be sliding a bit from my saved seed. I keep meaning to dig out my coy of Carol Deppe’s vegetable breeding book, but thought Id ask here. Those of you saving watermelon seed, what’s the rundown on isolation, inbreeding vs outbreeding, selecting which seed to save. I’m short, how do you ensure high quality and trueness to type on OP melons?
We don’t mind if you are short. 
Saving watermelon seed is a matter of number of plants grown combined with removing the off-types. As an example, I grew Bradford a couple of years ago and found that about 1 in 5 was an outstanding watermelon. I had about 16 plants to select from so I saved seed from the best flavored watermelons. It takes several years of growing and selecting to see measurable improvement with this method. In short (inference intended), grow at least a dozen plants, save the very best watermelons, remove any that are off-type. I’ve grown Yellow Moon & Stars enough years to consistently produce very good flavored watermelons.
Blacktail Mountain and Cream of Saskatchewan are good watermelons. I have only grown a few of the smaller varieties. One that was memorable was New Hampshire Midget. It must be harvested on time, otherwise a good icebox watermelon
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Planning to finally grow some Uzbek melons this year. Will they taste as good as the ones grown around the Caspian? Probably not, but I can try.
Might plant some kajari’s in the early and late season, and some lunchbox type watermelons staggered through the summer.
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What Uzbek melons do you have in mind? I have about a dozen Uzbek varieties in my seed stash.
Some years back I read a great article about Uzbek melons and Silk Road. I remember especially being intrigued by the keeping types. I’d definitely be interested in knowing more about them, including (importantly) which types might be worth growing here. What type of melon are they? I seem to recall descriptions of large honeydew type ones with white flesh, but I’ve not delved deep into it.
It never ceases to amaze how crops manage to circle the globe. Who’d have thought that wild melons from North Africa would wind up being adaptable to Russia and the Canadian prairie. As I understand it, watermelons were first domesticated as a seed crop. My wife and kids despise the seeds, but I like to crunch them right up with the flesh. They’re quite nutritious apparently. We bought some dried watermelon this last winter, made in Turkey I believe. It was seedy, and I thought that was even better.
Also, Kajari looks promising. How do you find it flavor and production wise?
The first year I planted Congo I saved seeds since it was the only variety I planted. I wish I could save seeds, but I plant only two or three plants. Also, they are too close. If I had the space, I would love to save seeds. As of now, I’m in the tasting stage; I want to try all the watermelon and melon varieties I can.
@hobilus I saw the Cream of Saskatchewan offered at Seed Savers Exchange. What does it taste like? Any notes of other fruit? Crips flesh? Mellow? Cooling effect like a cucumber? Also, do you still have the link about Uzbek melons and the Silk Road?