Watermelons

[WebSlave]

Now we're TALKING!!!!

http://www.giantwatermelons.com/

But how the heck do you get them from the field to the front porch?

[TheFragginDragon]

It's a trap! You ever see that movie "Invasion of the Body Snatchers"?? :ack2:

Kidding aside, I wonder how they taste compared to smaller varieties?

[Southern Wolf]

Just goes to show... TX aint the only place where they do it big. We do it big here in AR as well. :thumbsup:

[Cheryl Marchek AKA JM]

wow! Very tempting to buy some of those seeds...maybe next year
even if they don't taste as good as the smaller varieties~ pig food and bragging rights on the giant fruit your garden grows would be worth it!

[WebSlave]

Last season we got a watermelon that was very starkly striped, somewhat looking like the Jubilee or Carolina Cross (http://www.reimerseeds.com/red-flesh-watermelons_1292.aspx), that was VERY tasty. We saved a lot of the seeds and have the plants coming up now. Of course, I planted them all wrong and have them too crowded. But with the dry conditions we've been having here lately, I couldn't really spread them around too much because we couldn't water them all. Not without spending all day, every day, anyway..

I'm amazed at how many different varieties there are of the fruits we have available, yet have no idea what we are eating when we get the stuff from the grocery store. Most people have probably noticed that the fruit may taste differently, or have a different texture, from one batch to the next when the grocery stores have them available. But try asking the people at the grocery store exactly what KIND of peach that is that they have on the shelf... :rolleyes:

Problem is, if you are interested in growing your own, you normally don't KNOW what you like best until you actually grow them from identifiable stock. So you may have to try several varieties until you find what you like best.

If any of you are interested in growing tangerines (and your climate permits, of course), get the Ponkans. They are by far the best tasting tangerines we have ever eaten.

[Lucille]

It is horribly hot outside right now and it is already almost 5PM. I just came inside, I keep the dogs indoors in the middle of the day because it is too hot, but they were agitatin' to go out.

I grew several kinds of melons this year but because of space considerations, only one variety of watermelon. I'm sitting in the AC and digging into an incredibly sweet half of a Shiny Boy. It is only about a foot in diameter but the plants are prolific and it is delicious, very sweet and crisp.

[WebSlave]

I've not been having too much luck with my watermelons. :(

Had some start off, but wound up shrivelling up and turning black. I read somewhere that this is a sign of insufficient pollination, at least in some cases. Not sure I'm into this THAT much to try the artificial pollination thing... But I do have one melon that is getting quite large.

In one of the raised bed garden plots, what were supposed to be giant watermelons and oblong in shape all appear to be small and round shaped. I guess the seeds were mislabelled in that packet. But in any event, I didn't have high hopes for those garden plots anyway, as I didn't suspect so many of the seeds would develop, so I planted way too many in those small plots. Next year I'll know better.

BTW, I found a picture of what I am after as far as the SIZE of the watermelons I would LIKE to produce.....

[Wolfy-hound]

How do you get them to the porch? You rolls them there!

My friend grew "orange glow" watermelons and said they were very sweet and good, although they aren't very big. You have to watch that you get seeds that aren't from hybrids because a lot of the hybrids don't make seeds that are viable for planting.

[WebSlave]

How do you get them to the porch? You rolls them there!

I'm thinking I would have to spread out a table cloth right there in the field and dig in. :rofl:

My friend grew "orange glow" watermelons and said they were very sweet and good, although they aren't very big. You have to watch that you get seeds that aren't from hybrids because a lot of the hybrids don't make seeds that are viable for planting.

Yeah, I heard that. I've tried both ways. Those round melons are coming from a store bought pack of seeds that plainly showed the oblong variety and said GIANT WATERMELONS. The only one that looks like the traditional watermelon and appears to be doing well is one that came from a seed that was in a watermelon that sprouted last year but the critters got to it. And that plant from last year was from a watermelon we got locally. Not sure of the type except it was oblong shaped and pretty sizeable.

Oh, I had some varmint get into one of the watermelon patches I set up. Whatever it was nipped several vines off and chewed on a very small melon. I've got a game camera out there now to try to capture an image so I know what I am up against.

[~Just Curious~]

Oh sure those are nice and all, but can you make a boat from it? :toetap05: You know in some circles you can't label produce as "big" until you can make a fully functional craft out of it. http://urbanhonking.com/actionitems/2007/11/19/the_giant_pumpkin_regatta/ I'm sure it won't be long until watermelons are in that race too. ;)

See, that's what I get for trying to research "giant produce" beforehand.
On watermelons the internet gives me this http://watermelon-sculpture.com/CarvingGallery.html It's kind of neat flipping through the whole gallery, but I really can't imagine eating one of those....:eek3:


All rambling aside, those are some impressive watermelons in your link! :thumbsup: I honestly thought they were photoshopped at first, they were so unbelievable! Our county fair starts on the 15th, but our winners don't even get close to those monsters! :eek: I agree with the body snatchers comment, one of those in the field would scare me! XD

Are those the same ones you were trying to grow Rich? Would the seeds you bought get that big with proper care or do the monster ones come from special lines or something...? :confused: If they did get that big, what would you even do with it! Feed a nation? :rofl:

I too am curious about how they taste. I was assuming they wouldn't be as good since it seems more focus is placed on size, but from what I'm reading people say they're surprisingly sweet! :)


Oh, I had some varmint get into one of the watermelon patches I set up. Whatever it was nipped several vines off and chewed on a very small melon. I've got a game camera out there now to try to capture an image so I know what I am up against.
That's what happened to me a few years back when I tried my hand at them, some sort of ground squirrel went right through the stems early on. Surprisingly enough though, it wasn't the pests that ruined the season, it was my dog that I thought would protect my garden as she kept digging at the burrows trying to get at the rodents! :ack2: Gotta admire her enthusiasm, it looked like a tornado went through there. I still remember waking up that morning and seeing her all covered in dirt, the little monster was so proud! :rolleyes_

I really hope you have better luck than me there! Stop the lil' thief in his tracks! :D
If you catch his heist on camera, try adding the Mission Impossible theme music. A laugh might help you cope with his crimes. :p

[WebSlave]

Well, I'll tell ya, it gives you a healthy respect for farmers when you try to maintain even a small garden plot. They have to deal with defending ACRES of produce from all sorts of varmints. It's no wonder so many of them sell their acreage to land developers and get out of it.

[WebSlave]

Well, I just give up on this crap. :willy_nil

I got seeds for four different types of watermelons, dug nice big holes and filled them with cow manure and compost, watered them profusely about twice a week, and they are all FAILING. I always like the long oblong shaped melons more than the round ones for some reason, but one of them came up with some round melons on it, regardless. That was bad enough, but they got to about baseball size and just burst open. Another on got some small oblong melons, but they just got withered looking, turned black and dropped off before they even really got started.

Beats the heck out of me, but I just stopped watering them. To hell with them. And to hell with trying to grow them. I'm done. I'm a COMPLETE failure at being a watermelon farmer and I give up. I'm not wasting any more of my time and effort even trying any longer. The vines are still alive and putting out flowers, but they are just on their own. They can either produce good melons, or they can just leave.

[~Just Curious~]

I'm very sorry to hear that! :ack2:
I think excessive moisture fluctuations in the soil can cause splitting (The skin toughens to retain moisture when it dry, then later absorbs water too quickly.) and blossom end rot which makes them turn black and drop off - or that could just be poor pollination like you said last year - I can't say of course. Such a shame either way.
The vines are still alive and putting out flowers, but they are just on their own. They can either produce good melons, or they can just leave.
Hey that worked in my dad's garden! My step-mother pretty much gave up on them right away and surprisingly they thrived under her... lack of care. Figures, huh? :rolleyes_

Fingers crossed for you! :thumbsup:

[WebSlave]

Well, I thought perhaps a period of "benign neglect" might help with my watermelon disaster, but no such luck. Some of the plants got softball sized melons on the vines, but they just blackened and rotted away. Just like they did when I was trying hard to take care of them. We've been getting rain about every day, so they were being watered well enough, I think, but still no luck with them at all.

Screw it. I just cannot grow the darn things. :bandhead0

[Clay Davenport]

I haven't attempted to grow any melons in many years, but I remember when I was growing up we used to plant them in hills like you would squash for better drainage.
During wet seasons we would also take the watermelons and put them on coffee cans when they got any size to keep them from being in contact with the ground and taking on too much water.

We never tried to grow many though, just something extra you put a few of out to have something different in the garden.