John, what area are you from, looks like you have a good start on these. I will be waiting to see how these compare to others you grow/have grown. They are sure good in Kansas.
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You werent kidding about how fast they ripen. I had two go from 90% green to 80% orange in 24 hours and drop in the mesh bag. They smell amazing. If they tasted half as good as they smelled theyd easily be my favorite. But flavor was very disappointing. They had very little sweetness. Barely sweet enough for me to finish off one slice off each fruit, and thats all i ate. Im hoping they get better. Im also getting sugar cube and hannahs choice muskmelons that have been super sweet growing side by side with haogen. I was expecting haogen to be sweeter than the muskmelons.
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I am sorry to hear your Ha’Ogens aren’t as sweet as you like!
They have always been very sweet for me, in fact a little too sweet if left to fully ripen. But, that could be a difference in how we interpret sweetness I suppose.
I hope they improve as the season progress. Glad you’re enjoying your muskmelons too. 
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I may have decided too late for me to start some watermelons. I just picked up a pack of yellow watermelon seeds from Lowe’s. But seeing I only have until about sept 20 before then thread of frost, I may just be setting myself up for failure. Plus I’d have to use a container or fabric grow bag and trellis for it.
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Not 100% sure, but sometimes birds peck at them when they are very small like that. They think it might be something tastey, they give up when they figure out it isn’t. Fruits never come out ok from damage done when they are that small.
Sophia,
May I ask why you grafted watermelon to winter melon?
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winter melon has strong root and resistance to disease.
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My friend offered me winter melon seeds. I turnedher down. Well, maybe, I’ll ask her next year !!!
Need to study how to graft such plants.
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It’s real hard to find a respectable watermelon in Montana too. Most aren’t worth two cents around here. Maybe the Sugar Baby melons I planted will give me some satisfaction this year–because those in the store are only good for my chickens.
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This reminded me - at the farmer’s market yesterday, a vendor had a few watermelons. I was going to buy one until I saw a half rubbed off price tag from the grocery store. The teenage boy admitted only that they didn’t grow it and that theirs were coming in soon. 
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Whoa, sounds like a real charlatan–reselling produce–from Mexico? Anything to make a buck, eh? Sounds like a vendor who might claim his veggies are organic when they are not really. And next week, it’ll be bottles of snake oil he is selling! 
Or maybe not so funny.
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The holes are mostly in the bottom though.
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Again, I don’t want to come off as certain about the bird thing at all. Usually peck marks are more angular than what you are showing on your fruit, so birds might be a long shot. Do you think it could be a slug?
I have never seen a slug or snail in my backyard. I’ve gone out in the dark but none of them. It is quite dry here and there aren’t too many spaces to hide.
I have seen cockroaches and earwigs though.
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Have you noticed many pillbugs/sow bugs/roly poly bugs around the plants, or when you disturb the mulch around them? I’ve had a few years where instead of eating their normal diet they seemed to only target my garden plants that were touching the ground, making an entry wound and eating their fill. I’ve had them chew on watermelons, tomatoes, and gourds including the rockhard butternuts The product called Sluggo worked for me, it will take care of that problem as well as slugs.
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