Yeah, you helped a lot, Walter! Thanks very much for the links, too. So much to learn for each veggie and fruit that you grow. Think I can rightly be accused of ignoring my melons and just hoping for the best! As with lots of things, conflicting advice from different authorities is to be expected, I guess, and the variables of soil and what the weather brings in any given year keep it interesting, if unpredictable.
Last year the watermelons got full sun until about 4 pm. With a fenced garden a must here, I built a 'corral' last year to keep the watermelons in bounds and there was quite a bit of 'looping'-maybe I'd have been better off pruning off ends and little fruits. Also, the edges of the corral were made of black woven material ~ 30" high that cast some shade as well...not the best. We had incredible heat and sun though last year.
The results of the studies in the links were very surprising-makes me rethink what I'll try in terms of spacing, for sure. Crimson Sweet has a big advantage with the naturally shorter vine, that's for sure.
Really appreciate sharing your experience and researching for me- wishing you bountifully consistent results in your watermelon patch this year!
Kath
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