Melons, watermelon types

[MrBig46]

I must graft melons. We have cold weather for melons.I have Sugar Baby.
Vladimír

[RebelRidin]

Originally Posted by Marcus1

I grow about 2 acres of melons for our stand every year. I use green plastic ( for earlier harvest, weeds, and more important to conserve water ), lots of dairy compost with a balanced fertilizer tilled in on hip rows for extra depth, a double drip tape under the plastic,plants spaced 3 ft. rows 5 - 9 ft apart, low tunnels with perf plastic for seedless watermelon plants early everything else direct seeded.

Suggestions; As deep a bed as you can make with lots of organic material, protect young plants from wind, scout for insects often ( I use neem, insecticidal soap and pyrethrin when needed but use caution if temps above 85 ), keep soil consistently moist until a week or two before harvest then cut back for sweetness.

Melon varieties we grow; Fastbreak, early with good production 3-4 lb consistent year to year, Superstar, larger 6-8 lb excellent yield and flavor, Halona, 4-5 lb slip well at harvest, few problems, good size for my older customers and very good at handling the heat. Honeydew - Honey Ace, my fav of all melons I grow, mix with some ice and a little medori makes a drink that is pure ambrosia, grows well and cracks less than any we've tried 6-8 lb.( either keep moist till the end or quit water all together a week before harvest to prevent cracks). Annas; San Juan, trialed last year, very beautiful and the most aromatic. Korean melon; Sun Jewel, smaller, white flesh, tastes like an asian pear,crispy, would be a good candidate for a trellis 2-3 lb and looks like a big yellow cuc. Christmas melon; Lambkin, cust fav., green & yellow out honeydew like in, stores really well( a month if in frig), has kind of strange aroma like a camp fire but is really sweet. Passport, HD like with netting, earliest melon, very sweet but later sets get smaller and the ones without netting aren't very good.

Seeded watermelon: Jadestar, If I could only pick one this would be it. Like a sugar baby but 12-16 lbs and doesn't go hollow as much, deep red and very sweet. Lemon Krush, Large yellow, looks like Crimson Sweet, good sweetness and strong plants. New Queen; small orange 3-4 lb, few seeds and very sweet but has a bad habit of exploding in the field the day after you should have picked it, worth growing for the flavor. Summer Flavor 900; large deep red oblong, very good but later, strong vines with good cover handles our CO sun well.

Seedless watermelon: Crispy Red, best germ ( I start in extra depth jiff pellets, 84-86 degrees 60% moist, time so plant out is before taproot emerges out bottom, seedless can be frustrating to sprout) and overall taste and appearance, Orange Crisp, tried last year and customers went nuts for them, very sweet 12-15 lb pretty melon. Orchid Sweet, 8-12 lb, most forgiving, earliest, good sweetness and sets multible time for later season harvest

I grow about 25 varieties total, these were just what I considered the best. They are all hybrids, I have found them to produce more, earlier, and with less problems than the OP varieties and the seedless sell 2-1 over the seeded watermelons. I am also planting orangelo this year to see what it does.

Thanks for the great info Marcus. I prepped my bed this last weekend. I laid on about four inches of composted manure and tilled it in to a depth of about one foot. Then I drew it up into a raised ridge, laid down a soaker hose and then black plastic mulch. I am starting some seed in peat pots on heat mats. Going with Athena for muskmelon. Also tring an asian melon, and Petite Yellow, Moon and Stars Red and Snack Pack for watermelons. These are what I could find locally. Next year I can try some of theones you grow.

Thanks again... I'll report back on how things go.

[lakelady]

Originally Posted by RebelRidin

Thanks for the great info Marcus. I prepped my bed this last weekend. I laid on about four inches of composted manure and tilled it in to a depth of about one foot. Then I drew it up into a raised ridge, laid down a soaker hose and then black plastic mulch. I am starting some seed in peat pots on heat mats. Going with Athena for muskmelon. Also tring an asian melon, and Petite Yellow, Moon and Stars Red and Snack Pack for watermelons. These are what I could find locally. Next year I can try some of theones you grow.

Thanks again... I'll report back on how things go.

Okay George, you're going to make me look bad, you are way too organized (lol). Most likely, I will plop some seeds into cups, and when they are growing too big for the cups, run outside and frantically dig a whole, try to amend it and mound it up. Then when it really starts growing I'll curse myself for not planning better and have melon leaves all over the darn yard !

Seriously, Have fun with your new adventure!

[RebelRidin]

Originally Posted by lakelady

Okay George, you're going to make me look bad, you are way too organized (lol). Most likely, I will plop some seeds into cups, and when they are growing too big for the cups, run outside and frantically dig a whole, try to amend it and mound it up. Then when it really starts growing I'll curse myself for not planning better and have melon leaves all over the darn yard !

Seriously, Have fun with your new adventure!

Sure hope to! If I am lucky I will be eating homegrown melons by mid July

[Stvrob]

I grow melons most years. I recommend black plastic mulch (or any color) because its important to be in control of moisture. Best if they are water stressed a bit as they ripen, but if you have a big rainstorm, without plastic mulch they sometimes will pull up so much water they split, or at least dilute most of the sugar.
Also, make sure you are visited by bees, have stuff around so they are in the habit of coming by.

[raindrops27]

Ahh, I have a question.. what should i fertilize my watermelons with, and how often. I have fish/seaweed and MG..TIA

[feldon30]

Originally Posted by raindrops27

Ahh, I have a question.. what should i fertilize my watermelons with, and how often. I have fish/seaweed and MG..TIA

Melons like MUCH richer soil than, say, tomatoes or potatoes.

I amend with 40-50% composted cow/sheep/whatever manure.

And on the general topic of melons, yeah, the actual area where you need amended soil is very small. Maybe 2' x 2'. But most melons love to vine 8, 10, 12 or more feet. I haven't come up with a sensible way to handle this short of letting the grass grow.

[Redbaron]

Originally Posted by feldon30

I haven't come up with a sensible way to handle this short of letting the grass grow.

In my home garden I always grow melons in the farthest section. When the vines "escape the garden" and head to the lawn, I mow the lawn VERY short and cover the whole thing with a thick layer of grass clippings. Then I let the melons expand over the area. A little grass manages to poke through, but not much.

Then that mulched area becomes my melon patch the next year. And so on and so on. So my home garden gets just a little bigger every year.

And yes for melons I use HUGE amounts of compost in the hill I plant the melons in. It works great unless we have a huge swarm of squash bugs that year. Then nothing really works.

[raindrops27]

Ok, I've put mostly compost in my melon patch.. Do you fertilize after this or just let things go with the compost? How many times to water? I've heard and read mixed recommendations, again thanks for the advice.

[Redbaron]

Originally Posted by raindrops27

Ok, I've put mostly compost in my melon patch.. Do you fertilize after this or just let things go with the compost? How many times to water? I've heard and read mixed recommendations, again thanks for the advice.

I seldom fertilize in my home garden. I expect all the compost, leaves, grass clippings etc that I use every year to be enough. But if your soil is needing fertilizer, sure by all means, fertilize it.