Yesterday, on Oct. 18, almost as an afterthought, I finally cut open the 29-pound Georgia Rattlesnake watermelon that I had picked on Oct. 5. I was terrified it would be a bust because this was a terrible growing season full of disappointments. It took me so long to get around to cutting this open, I was almost sure it would be bad.
It is GOOD! Georgia Rattlesnake wins again in Pennsylvania two years in a row! This is a SOLID watermelon.
Despite the very pinkish color (not red), which is its hallmark- It is crisp, juicy, sweet, and has a pleasant watermelon flavor. My mother agreed, and she is not a big watermelon-eater, and is tough to please.
This thing made me very happy, and felt like a redemption of my efforts after a year full of failures and disappointments.
I had some excellent Georgia rattlesnake as well. I had one with the sweetest heart Iâve ever tasted, superior to my oranglo. Will be growing it again
Georgia Rattlesnake⌠this 29-pounder seems to be the gift that keeps on giving. Lots to eat! I had six more slices last night after logging a 5-mile jog.
Anyone ever seen what I assume is a ringspot virus? Plant showed anthracnose like symptoms 3 weeks ago. Now all leaves are dried up and the mysterious spots showed up a week ago. Both mature and immature fruits have it.
Cut our last little end-of-season Crimson Sweet watermelon on Christmas Day. About the size of a typical Sugar Baby, it was less than impressive, as it was gathered just before killing frost ended growing season, far from being âripeâ, and I doubt it improved significantly over the two months or so it spent here on the mudroom floor⌠but, it was a Christmas Watermelon!
I had Charleston grays keep til thanksgiving this year ,
In a shady place covered with hay.
Some years I have had them keep till Christmas, but not this year
Darrel,
Iâd been thinking of ordering seeds of the two âwinterâ watermelon varieties that Sandhill offers, just for grins.
Got any experience with them?
I have not grown them so donât have any information. The best I could do would be to ask Glenn how they perform for him. I presume Wintermelon and King Winter are derived from crosses with Citron. It is likely they will have poor flavor compared to a good watermelon.
I ordered Kholodok about a month ago but have not received the seed yet. They should arrive sometime in the next month. I would be glad to share a few seed with you to trial.
I posted this update on the OSSI Breeding forum, but here is my report for my citron-watermelon hybrid that I tried to eat as a winter watermelon for Christmas. For 2021 I have already ordered new seed for Kholodok / Holodok from Russia / Ukraine which is highly suspected as having citron-melon ancestry.
Feel free to join me on the Experimental Farm Network if you are interested in breeding watermelon-citron hybrids or working on my sub-project for breeding more âwinter watermelonsâ.
@Fusion_power, didnât know you were also getting into Kholodok. Did my posts inspire you by chance?
My post from the day after Christmas 2020:
I decided to try finally opening my âChristmas Watermelonâ for this year. It was soft but only had a brix of 4% (an improvement over 2%). I actually think it was under-ripe, so maybe i should aim for breeding a New Years watermelon instead of a christmas watermelon? Except it was fairly soft, so it probably was not overripe. Still, it is a fun project. The âgoâ gene for yellow/gold rind ripening would come in VERY handy for this project.
Does someone want to try crossing these seeds with an improved gold-skin watermelon?
If anyone is interested in this sub-project for winter storage watermelons, I would be willing to share some of the limited seed with anyone who would like to try crossing it with the Russian Kholodok watermelon variety which is already reported as a winter watermelon variety.
I bumped into Kholodok on another website, donât remember for sure which one. It was just interesting enough to trigger me to order seed. I remember reading an article that stated a woman bred it from a citron cross. I donât remember reading your post.
It probably was me, though i was told the story on a tomato-only forum.
I just recieved my Kholodok and Holodok watermelon seeds from Ukraine and Russia today. I have not decided if i will interplant them with my citron melon hybrids or not. But judging from the Russian history and the patterns on the skin from photos, i am confident Kholodok has citron melon ancestry.
I have Kholodok and sent a few to LuckyP. Barring incident, we will have an idea what they can do after this year. I will to grow another variety for eating as my understanding of Kholodok is that it is only edible after several months storage. Since I want seed, this means at least 2 locations far enough apart to avoid crossing.
I havenât grown it successfully by itself, but i was told from a guy in Belarus that they are edible when picked but they get sweeter and tastier as time goes on. I think he said it was best on new yearâs day.
Guess we will all evaluate it this year. I have a collaborator who wants to try it in Australia. Letâs all hope it lives up to its reputation. Itâs said to keep 3-5 months. This seems consistent with the sandhill winter watermelons that say 3 months.
Thanks for the tip Steven. My vines are just starting to run so I think it is time to add nitrogen so I can keep them growing and fruiting for a long time.
The âgoâ gene for yellow/gold rind ripening would come in VERY handy for this project.