Based on the watermelon thread here last year, I’m going to plant an Orangeglo this year! Don’t really have the space, but I’m going to try to grow it up a trellis of sorts. Will post here if it works out.
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OG is too big to grow on a trellis. It’s a 30-40 lb.melon.
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I think watermelon varieties are pretty location dependent. I grew Orangeglo last yr and harvested about a dozen melons. None were eatable. Blame me or whatever but I couldn’t make it work. Starbrite is my best melon and some yrs I have trouble with harvesting it at the right time. Others yrs not so much. When it’s right the brix is 12-14 and ave 25+ lbs.
Part of the issue with harvesting is I usually look for a melon when I need one and should probably harvest every few days. I tried hard last yr to get a good Orangeglo but failed. Most were over ripe a few under.
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Ray is right…I am almost certain you can’t grow them on a trellis. In fact, I’ve had very poor luck trying even small melons like sugar baby and blacktail mountain on a trellis. And its not just the trellis not being able to support the size/weight of the melon. I’ve put them in cloth sacks and even set them on top of buckets and a taller platform as the plant grows taller. The melons just won’t size up at all- barely getting bigger than a soft ball. To me, it seems like the plant is unable to pump the water and nutrients needed for a large watermelon up very high above the ground. That sort of makes sense since a watermelon was never a climbing plant and would have no reason to evolve a system for pushing nutrients up high like a grape or other climbing plant. I’ve done it with cucumbers and other things but always failed with watermelons.
But hey…give it a shot! Goodness knows that my inability to grow something a certain way only means that I didn’t do it, NOT that it can’t be done. Good luck, Holly.
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Any disadvantage to pruning watermelon shoots to contain them to a certain area?
Anyone try this?
The main disadvantage is that you limit the number of melons the
plants will produce.
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This thread just gave me an idea. I want to run it by you melon 
people. I have an area where English ivy grew and we finally managed to kill all the ivy and get that area back. It’s eventually going to be part of kids’ play area and we’ll put grass seed there. The whole yard needs some work and this is something we can’t handle this summer. At the same time I don’t want this newly claimed area to get covered with weed. So I’m thinking maybe I should plant water melon there. Will water melon provide enough shade to keep the weed at bay if grown without landscape fabrics?
I think watermelon will let to much light in with out landscape fabric, the leaves and vigor of the vine I don’t think would keep up with the weeds I have here .
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Hi Susu, I have planted my cantelopes on top of landscaping fabric and on trellises. Worked really well. The seeds had to be in the ground by late April.
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I think they’re very location dependent. Orangeglo does well for me but Ali Baba does not do well here at all. I also have trouble with Carolina Cross and Black Diamond types. Part of it I think is nighttime temperatures. Some watermelons really like warm nights to go with the warm days. Here we may have 104 degree days followed by 60 degree nights.
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I’ve never seen anyone grow medium or large size watermelons on a trellis but some Japanese growers have grown small watermelons on a trellis and these folks in Chicago have also -
I grew 7 of the orange/yellow watermelons and a few others below a few years in Philly, PA:
Texas Golden Watermelon
Moon and Stars Yellow Flesh
Missouri Heirloom Yellow Flesh
Tendergold Watermelon
Orange Flesh Tendersweet
Hopi Yellow
Tohono O’odham Yellow-Meated
( and a few other non-reds:
Moon and Stars regular red flesh
Crimson Sweet
Sugar Baby
an Orangeglo that was actually red
Blacktail Mountain
Ali Baba (verrrrrrry think rind if you have issues and need a thicker rind)
and also tried some other varieties that year at farmers markets like Mickie Lee, Russian Pink, Yellow Doll
)
I will say Orangeglo, like others have said in this thread, was the best in terms of taste and plant growth (but obviously the thin rind breaks verrrrrrrry easily, be careful putting it into your car and make sure it doesn’t roll around in your car [bring some cloths or towels to pad it if you placing in bottom of your car-seat area as it will sure roll around and might break]).
A couple Moon & Stars Yellow Fleshed actually had an amazing flavor that really stood apart, but wasn’t consistent.
One that kinda surprised was I think a very popular one you can get at alot of Home Depot stores; i think it was Crimson Sweet Watermelon (or Sugar Baby but think former), it def had a thinner rind and very red flesh.
The other yellows were good, but didn’t really stand apart from OrangeGlo. Every year I tell myself it should be the only variety I grow, but then am tempted to try other varieties hehe.
I’m going to retry a few yellows I liked again this year in addition to some new ones like Janosik and Dessert King. I’ll report back end of summer.
Anyhoo here is a pic of some watermelon from that year (OrangeGlo is either bottom-right and/or top-left, Missouri Yellow maybe top-right):
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Fabulous!!!
Regarding watermelon on a trellis:
I’m sure you guys are probably right and Orangeglo on a trellis won’t work out well… like most of the things I try in the garden! I have about one square meter of ground to give it so I guess I was hoping to have a melon or two set where I can have them on the ground, with vines growing up the trellis. I’ll pinch little fruits that are up the trellis.
Last year we had a few plants of Blacktail, one of them on a small trellis. It was ok, though even those little melons were a lot for the trellis to hold up.
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Trust me on this…watermelons most definitely won’t keep weeds out! 
I say that because one of the biggest challenges to growing large watermelon patches like mine is keeping weeds out…they will take over very quickly if not kept at bay. Now, all that being said, if you can keep the weeks out until the vines get really thick and completely cover the ground (easier said than done) then they will sort of do what you are thinking about. The problem with that is that the melon vines don’t get that thick for about 2 months (and only if planted fairly close) and during those 2 months you’ll be working your rear end off fighting weeds.
If weed control is your only goal, you’d probably be better to just spray the area or keep it mowed, but watermelons sure are fun so you could grow them and then clear the whole area after harvest this fall or next spring when you are ready to fix the yard.
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Here is a better way to grow watermelon to avoid weeds by using trellis.
Tony
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Are those yours?
Wow! That shoots what I told @Susu down. Obviously someone was able to grow watermelons on a trelis! Are those yours, Tony? That’s impressive…there must be some tricks I don’t know, because I’ve tried it a few times and never have been able to get the melons to size up like yours. Very cool…I stand corrected. As always, just because I can’t do it certainly doesn’t mean it can’t be done!
Most of my relatives growing them way to avoid weeds. They will anchor the big one in a bag against the trellis to prevent vines breakage.
Tony
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Sorry for the stupid question. They looked so good, thought it might have been photo shopped, my bad 