Hardiest watermelon variety
 

I grew watermelons this this year and it's kind of tough to get good ones. I tried blacktail mountain and I only got one that was the size of a large grapefruit.

The golden midget I grew did ok but I didn't really like them.

I grew hime kansen and little baby flower and they were small but tasted great.


I notice the same thing with my tomatoes. Some vareities do great. They are strong healthy plants and some are pretty weak. For instance the sunsugar and Aunt Gerties gold did great...big strong plants and great fruit. But the momotaro I grew was pretty weak

Anyway I'm just looking for some really strong healthy vigorous watermelon varieties for next season.

Thanks

Jim

Funny, since Blacktail Mountain is usually the first one I think of for cooler climates and shorter growing seasons.

May I ask if you had exceptionally rich soil? If I grow watermelons next year, I will grow them in 50% compost - 50% loose potting soil (or your own mix of shredded pine bark, peat moss, etc.) I have yet to have a successful crop of watermelons but what I have read so far indicates that they love rich soil.

I was most impressed with Moons & Stars (red - Van Doren strain.) Most watermeleons don't do well here, but I did get two large ones and several smaller from M&S this summer. I got zip from Blacktail Mountain...

Rich soil? this is another surprise for me. We grow alot of watermelon around here. (US national watermelon seed spitting contest is held in Pardeeville every year, you wouldn't believe how far people come and how serious they are about this, but that's not the topic)
We have very sandy soil here. But this is what we say:
Watermelons should be planted out after danger of frost is past. Soil temperatures below 60 F inhibits germination. Plant in hills or mounds of organically enriched soil. Use hot kaps or insulating plant protectors for protection the first few weeks. in short season areas start seed indoors in peat pots. Do not move the vines when cultivating.
So you are right on the money, they like rich soil.

Jim,

Not an expert on watermelons, here.

However, I have no problems growing them. Well composted soil, sunniest location, lots of water. For getting very large watermelons (of large variety types) , all blossoms should be picked after two blossoms have set on each plant. Orangeglo gets to 30 lbs, for me. Next year, I'm going to try some varieties that are said to reach 40-50 lbs.

I transplant 3 week old plants that are started indoors. With about a week for germination, this means starting about month before the last frost.

Some research says to use high nitrogen fert early, and switch to high phos fert when plants begin to bloom. I haven't tried this.



Gary

Gary, So you're saying I shouldn't let more than two melons grow on each vine? Now is that 'plant' or 'vine'
because I let it branch out all over the place and it was setting little melons but they took a long time to ripen. So long that I picked them early.

Jungseed, Don't move vines when cultivating?

Can you guys tell me more?

I'm new to melon growing due to lack of space but the past two years, I've tried it with so-so results.

My Ambrosia melons did o.k., but not good. Had more last year.

My watermelons sucked mud! I did move the vines a few times because I had them growing in Pine Straw beds and wanted to freshen them up. Was that a mistake too?

Trying a Moon and Stars variety this year I got in a trade. I'm looking foward to getting it right.

Greg

Watermelons and cantaloupes are indigenous to the desert. Jungseed has it right. Sandy soil, or if in any soil you are lucky enough to experience a hot, dry summer (or preferably both) a couple weeks after germination, you will have awesome melons. If you notice their taproots, its all set up for heat and drought.

The point I was making is I think most people go by the adage that 10% compost is plenty for tomatoes, and that may be right. But for watermelons, they like a LOT of compost. And very loose sandy soil (think desert). All the points have been made in this thread. ;)

Now that the neighbor has cut down her tree I am going to give watermelons another shot next spring. I'll be building a rain barrier. I wonder if I should try to buy some sand or just buy bags of the crappy topsoil at Wal-Mart which is mostly sand anyway. :)

Greg,

For me, it's two watermelons per plant, not vine. Five for icebox types. I haven't tried two per vine, but I would expect them to be alot smaller than two per plant.

No pruning of vines. I plant mine on the edge of my garden, and train the vines (in the early stage of growth) to run away from other plantings. Once they're pointed in the right direction, they keep going that way.

One must be careful to make sure the fruit have set good. Sometimes, at about 1"-2" long, the fruit will die. I usually wait until they're about 3" before removing all but two fruit.

Gary

I grew Blacktail Mountain this year, along with Grover Delaney watermelon.

We had a bad summer that started much later than usual and had cold nights almost until July. This didn't help growing any melons here in PNW. Actually, 75% of my cucumber plants died in June due to cold nights. Melons were grown in cold frames, so they survived for the most part.

Anyway, I got 2 decent ripe fruits from the Blacktail Mountain quite late in Sept. Grovery Delaney was much more productive, earlier, and sweeter! :surprised: .

First I was taken by surprise to see the Grover Delayney flesh being very light pink color - first I thouhgt it was not ripe. But it was very sweet and tasted ripe to me. I guess it is just the flesh color.

Blacktail Mountain's flesh was bright red, but the sweetness was not there.

Here are the fruit pictures on Aug 31, 2007:

Grover Delaney:
[IMG]http://t-garden.homeip.net/!images/melons/2007-08-31%20groverDelaney1.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://t-garden.homeip.net/!images/melons/2007-08-31%20GroverDelaney2.jpg[/IMG]

Blacktail Mountain (same date):

[IMG]http://t-garden.homeip.net/!images/melons/2007-08-31%20BlacktailMountain2.jpg[/IMG]

Regards,

Uno, I think most melon varieties are capable of strong, healthy, vigorous growth. It's just that they are fussy about conditions. Melons like lots of rich, rich soil but at the same time like well-drained soil. Go heavy on the compost. Pour it on. What Gary says about starting indoors is spot on, especially in the more northerly locations.

They like heat and full sun. Start with warm soil. Mound it up so it warms faster and use a plastic mulch. I use a black plastic mulch for the melon bed. You would think the plants would fry to a crisp on the black plastic with the heat and sun we have here, but they love it. When I tried not using the black plastic mulch I got way too many weeds (grasses, mostly) that competed with the melons, to the melons disadvantage. Once the vines get some size, moving them around to weed is both impractical and not good for the vines, as Jungseed mentioned.

I think it makes sense to snip off small melons that won't have a chance to mature by the end of the season, but I don't usually go out of my way to do that, either. In my experience, the plant's energy isn't evenly distributed amongst the melons on a plant--the melons that set earlier get the lion's share. I will snip off the growing tips if they get too far out of the bed (or mow over them with the lawnmower:shock:).

This year I grew Orangeglo, Ali Baba, and Blacktail Mountain. Blacktail Mountain was the first one with ripe melons, but not by a lot. With the warm fall we've had, the Blacktail Mtn. put out a second flush of melons and I have several sitting in the garage right now. Maybe we'll eat it tomorrow--the traditional Thanksgiving watermelon.;)