July watermelon update

GreenThumbGal_07 · July 31, 2020

Watermelons seem to be getting along pretty well, and I am learning a lot.
For one, patience. I am so used to growing pumpkins (C. pepo) and getting female blossoms right after the male blossoms. The bees head right in and don't stop. With the watermelons, however, there are many many male blossoms, and fewer female blossoms. I really have to hunt for them. There seems to be a 1:2 ratio (1 female blossom for 2 feet of vine) for pumpkins, but more like 1:5 ratio (1 female blossom for 5 feet of vine) for the watermelon.
Furthermore, the bees seem to be "meh" about the watermelon blossoms. They have visited the melons (Ha'Ogen and Madhu Ras) a few times, but they seem to just glance at the watermelon blossoms and zoom right on by.
So, I have resorted to hand pollination. My first female watermelon blossom, which I relied on the bees to take care of, ended up in a shriveled stub. The second one (pollinated with my fingertip and a Q-tip cotton bud) "took" and now it's almost two inches long and growing. Did another hand pollination (sable watercolor brush plus plucked male blossom) on the third female flower, and that one seems to have "taken" also. Variety in question is Sangria Hybrid. Next up: Crimson Sweet. Will keep an eye on this one.
I mentioned the lack of bees to a local nursery worker and she said she had trouble growing melons and ended up having to hand pollinate. She said it was a Crane melon, "it produced one melon, but it was delicious."

July 31, 2020	#1
GreenThumbGal_07 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Northern California Posts: 300	July watermelon update Watermelons seem to be getting along pretty well, and I am learning a lot. For one, patience. I am so used to growing pumpkins (C. pepo) and getting female blossoms right after the male blossoms. The bees head right in and don't stop. With the watermelons, however, there are many many male blossoms, and fewer female blossoms. I really have to hunt for them. There seems to be a 1:2 ratio (1 female blossom for 2 feet of vine) for pumpkins, but more like 1:5 ratio (1 female blossom for 5 feet of vine) for the watermelon. Furthermore, the bees seem to be "meh" about the watermelon blossoms. They have visited the melons (Ha'Ogen and Madhu Ras) a few times, but they seem to just glance at the watermelon blossoms and zoom right on by. So, I have resorted to hand pollination. My first female watermelon blossom, which I relied on the bees to take care of, ended up in a shriveled stub. The second one (pollinated with my fingertip and a Q-tip cotton bud) "took" and now it's almost two inches long and growing. Did another hand pollination (sable watercolor brush plus plucked male blossom) on the third female flower, and that one seems to have "taken" also. Variety in question is Sangria Hybrid. Next up: Crimson Sweet. Will keep an eye on this one. I mentioned the lack of bees to a local nursery worker and she said she had trouble growing melons and ended up having to hand pollinate. She said it was a Crane melon, "it produced one melon, but it was delicious."