Watermelons - how it's done over here.
 

Below are a couple of photos of how they grow watermelons where I live. I drive past these fields every day during my daily commute to work and the fields extend for miles in several directions.

[IMG]http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g221/BVGardener/watermelonplanting1.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g221/BVGardener/watermelonplanting2.jpg[/IMG]

Would be interesting to see soil test results on that. See how much sand and compost is in there. Of course the big question is what chemicals they are spraying. I don't ask for the usual organic reasons, just curious what it takes to keep watermelons from succumbing to every problem under the sun (especially anthracnose -- fruit rot) in central Texas.

I had the same thought Feldon. They rotate crops as well. Next year they will come back with a different crop. I've seen corn and cotton grown in those same fields.

Jay

I want SWEET watermelons. Seems a rarity in my experience. Always watered down or even a funky taste. This is the only reason I have been tempted to grow these monstrosities in my suburban back yard.

[quote=feldon30;92143]I want SWEET watermelons. Seems a rarity in my experience. Always watered down or even a funky taste. This is the only reason I have been tempted to grow these monstrosities in my suburban back yard.[/quote]

Morgan if you want Sweet Melons look for Pecos or Midkiff Texas melons at the store.;)

Yet again I will try to grow melons here, I got one melon last year and it was so sweet it would make you sick.:)

Worth

Here is a photo of my watermelon patch last year:

[IMG]http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g221/BVGardener/watermelongarden.jpg[/IMG]

Here are a couple of photos of fruit:
[IMG]http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g221/BVGardener/watermelon.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g221/BVGardener/watermelon2.jpg[/IMG]

If you think the above look pretty good, let me tell you about the results. Out of about 30 large fruit, guess how many I was able to eat.....ONE. Thats right, only one. Out of all those fruit only one ripened. The rest where solid white on the inside with a hint of pink. All of the typical signs of a fully ripened fruit were experianced but alas, only one fruit to be had.

Jay

What were your typical signs?

Worth

Jay, I think you need pretty sandy soil to grow watermelon. Maybe it just needs to be loose soil and the sand is what makes it that way here.
Pardeeville,WI does host the US national Watermelon seed spitting championships each year. If I remember right the current distance is a little over 61 feet. (I can't participate as my mother spent years reminding me not to spit so I'm not very good at it) I have met people from all 50 states there, Europe and even Austraila come to compete. It can be funny.

Worth, all of them had a yellow colored bottom, a totally dried up tendril and that dull sound when thumping it. The year before last, I could not grow one bigger than the size of a cantelope.

jungseed, I've got the sandy soil....it's like beach sand over here but I'm definately missing something they have in Wisconsin and down the road. I'll get it right one of these days, right?

Jay

Ok, so I went to a couple of experts here - they both said the not ripening is weather related. Can't image the weather is that different from your house to the fields down the road. Maybe I should qualify that to say they both said that problem is usually weather related.
Watermelon do like loose soil, but it needs alot of organic material.
Composted cow manure is the answer - (of course in WI what isn't that the answer to) If your watermelon are stressed by heat and trying to get nurtients, they will give up and turn their energy to seed setting, so you get non-ripened watermelon that have decided their life cycle is complete. Giving you the ripe look and sound. (that would be me parapharsing what they said)
Your watermelons sure look good. I bet this year they will be super sweet.

jungseed,

We did have abnormal weather last year.....record amounts of rain and one of the coolest July's I've ever experianced due to the daily overcast skies.

Organic matter is definately lacking in most of my garden. I add it in and it's almost like the sandy soil totally consumes it. But I am making headway and the beds are finally beginning to retain the benefits of adding all of that manure and compost.

I really do appreciate you taking the time to get with those folks over there.

Regards,
Jay

Last years drought produced for me the sweetest melons Ive ever grown. I harvested 330 watermelons for eating and market sales. I love those Sugar babies, Charleston Grays and Crimson Sweets. The way i check for ripeness is to watch the curl on the vine just above the fruit, it will turn brown when ripe. Pretty neat thing last year the small young fruit left after frost i was going to mow over them and lo and behold they were 1/10 size ripe melons.

[quote=GIZZARDFARM;92261]Last years drought produced for me the sweetest melons Ive ever grown. I harvested 330 watermelons for eating and market sales. I love those Sugar babies, Charleston Grays and Crimson Sweets. The way i check for ripeness is to watch the curl on the vine just above the fruit, it will turn brown when ripe. Pretty neat thing last year the small young fruit left after frost i was going to mow over them and lo and behold they were 1/10 size ripe melons.[/quote]

I constantly read where a melon needs to have lot's of water.
I don't buy this, the melons that come from these constantly flooded fields always seem to be tasteless.
Sure they need water but they don't need to sit in it.

The melons I have grown have always been very sweet and they were always in well drained sandy soil, not black wet muck

They may not be the biggest but they tasted good.

Worth

I think they need plenty of water in the first few weeks, but I am growing to believe that the last 2 weeks before harvest should be bone dry, something I can only accomplish with clear plastic covers. The lengths I go to for a sweet watermelon!

My melon patch was very dry last year from the time the plants started blooming (for my area) the driest summer since the late 1800's. I saw little difference in numbers from previous years only they were much sweeter. My canaloupes although didnt produce as well.

I noticed they were planting in those fields pictured in my first post this morning. I guess I need to get mine planted. I'll try and get an updated photo posted this week.

Jay

I wonder if watering them with fish and seaweed emulsion as the fruit are getting big would be beneficial? Also heard of mulching around fruit tree with compost. Maybe make up a batch of compost tea?

My soil is anything but sandy. The melon patch is clay amended with llama poop and horse manure. I cover it with black plastic mulch to keep the weeds and grass out. I punched small holes in the plastic to let in air and moisture.
From my reading, melons like very fertile soil, plenty of moisture but not wet feet, warmth, and little moisture the last couple of weeks before picking to concentrate the flavor and sweetness. BVG, I'd do a "hole-reverse-hole method" watermelons--I'd dig a big hole dump a big pile of compost or composted manure in so that it was heaped up to form a hill and plant in that. It's hard to get too much organic material in your soil for watermelons.

From 2007:
[ATTACH]4190[/ATTACH][ATTACH]4191[/ATTACH]

My understanding is the the yellow patch on the bottom should turn ivory when the melon is ripe. I try to use both that and the curly-cue dying back as signs of ripeness. Last year I grew Orangeglo (pictured above), Ali Baba, and Blacktail Mountain and will probably grow them again this year.

Ruth..now thats what Im talkin about nice melon patch...

Gizzard

When I lived in Crete the locals would grow watermelons in my area. The ground was rocky,volcanic red soil that could pass for the landscape on Mars. It looked like it couldn't support growing a weed. They would dig "V" trenches and run drip lines along the bottom of the trench, plant their seedlings and cover with plastic. After the weather stabilized and warmed up the plastic was removed and the plants emerged from the trenches and covered the field. There was no leveling the ground or making it look pretty or applications of fertilizer (that cost money), all the greeks cared about was the end result. "Watermelons", and they got a ton of them! They would go down town in a dilapidated old pickup truck full of melons to a traffic circle in front of a supermarket no less and park on the traffic circle and sell the melons for 75 cents apiece to people driving by. Supermarket owner wasn't to happy but there was nothing he could do. Ami

WOW, that is a nice melon patch you have Ruth. I'll be growing Moon and Stars this year along with one other variety of which I can't recall the exact name at the moment.

Jay

"...I can't participate as my mother spent years reminding me not to spit so I'm not very good at it..."

:))

I'm hoping to get in some Curtis Showell White Flesh melons, Blacktail Mountain,and Moon and Stars if I still have seeds for that one. I've got lots of cantaloupe seeds I should plant too, as they did well for me a few years back. Thanks for all the tips, guys.

In for a penny, in for a pound.

I bought the necessary wood, landscaper's mix, and 2 bags of Black Kow to grow some Sugar Baby melons. We'll see if I can keep them contained within a 4' x 8' bed AND get some decent melons.

This bed will be cleared out so I can plant 24 Quinault strawberry plants in October.

Here is how the watermelon fields now look:

[IMG]http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g221/BVGardener/0409watermelonfield.jpg[/IMG]

Well, since that's not watermelons... I'm confused ;)

The watermelons are coming up through the plastic. I'm wondering what the other crop is...cover crop?

Barb, the tall green stuff is a windbreak / green manure. They poke holes through the plastic and then plant the seedlings. A tractor will drive down the rows with three or four guys sitting on back and plant while the tractor drives along. They space their plants really close together - something like 1' apart.

Jay

Just finished building my watermelon/strawberry bed. It's 4' x 8'.

Soil mix is:
3 cu ft Soil Conditioner (mostly shredded pine bark)
8 cu ft Landscaper's Mix (mostly shredded pine bark)
3 cu ft Black Cow 100% composted cow manure (arranged mostly down the middle)

I dug down and broke up the existing clay (which is actually pretty sandy clay -- a good sign!). Then I added the Soil Conditioner and mixed that in. Then I added the Landscaper's Mix, leaving a void in the center. Finally I added the Black Kow compost in the middle and mounded about 2" of the Landscaper's Mix on top of it. So the seedlings will be planted in that Landscaper's Mix and almost immediately hit the compost.

Already got my mulch down. Will add more mulch once the seedlings are transplanted.

Not sure on slow release fertilizer. Probably some TomatoTone.


I've got Sugar Baby seeds started inside. They're the only compact watermelon seeds really available to me. Might start seeds of Allsweet with the intention of pruning the vines back to fit in the bed and keeping the # of fruit per vine to 3.

In mid-September, I will pull up the watermelon vines and prepare the bed for Quinault strawberry plants (which will go in the bed October 1st).

Must have a long season over there. In southern Australia the summers are not long enough for watermelon.
Maybe it is all about the manure because I remember I put some jam melon seeds in the middle of the paddock where my father-in-law dumped all the stable manure and straw. Didn't water or look at them all season and had an incredible yield.

I think people underestimate the amount of manure needed to grow melons. If tomatoes do great with 10-20%, I'm thinking melons like 40-60%. I'm giving one cluster of plants 2 full bags of Black Kow. Hoping for the best...

Anyone grown Sugar Baby? Is it decent? I know it probably won't taste as good as, say Moon and Stars or Crimson Sweet or especially OrangeGlo, but is it good enough to be worth growing?