Recommendations on find out how to Plant, Expand, and Harvest Watermelon

The watermelon is a tender, warm-weather annual. Watermelons together with muskmelons and cantaloupes are sometimes called summer season melons. They thrive in sizzling local weather.

Watermelons are easy to broaden. They would like relatively numerous sun, nutrient-rich soil, and relatively numerous water. Get watermelon started in the home garden in the end danger of frost has passed and your harvest of sweet, juicy watermelon will are to be had in overdue summer season

That is all the data to emerging watermelon.

Watermelon Speedy Emerging Tips

• Sow watermelon seeds inside the garden or set out transplants 3 to 4 weeks after the rest average frost date in spring.
• Get began watermelon seeds indoors 4 to 6 weeks forward of transplanting seedlings into the garden. Get began seed indoors in 4-inch or higher biodegradable peat or paper pots that can be set wholly into the garden in an effort to now not disturb the roots.
• Harvest will come 65 to 90 frost-free after seed sowing depending on the selection of watermelon you could be emerging.

Where to Plant Watermelons

• Plant watermelons in entire sun.
• Watermelons broaden very best in unfastened, well-drained, on the other hand moisture-retentive soil rich in herbal matter.
• Add aged compost and aged manure or a business herbal planting mix to the planting bed forward of planting. Turn the soil to 12 inches (30cm) deep.
• Watermelons make a choice a soil pH of 6.0 to 6.8. A soil test will tell you if you wish to amend the soil.
• Plant watermelons on hills or mounds or on raised rows. Solar heat hitting the soil on a mound or raised row will keep plants and roots warmth.
• Create a mound 6 to 12 inches (15-30cm) high and 5 feet (1.5m) all through.
• If planting in ground-level beds, warmth the soil prematurely of planting by the use of laying black plastic sheeting on the bed two weeks forward of planting.

Watermelon Planting Time

• Sow watermelon seed inside the garden or set out transplants 2 to a couple of weeks after the rest average frost date in spring when all danger of frost has passed.
• Garden soil temperature will have to be no less than 70°F (21°C) at planting time. Pre-warm the soil by the use of putting black plastic sheeting over the planting bed for two weeks prior to planting.
• To get a head get began on the season and in short emerging season spaces, get began watermelon seed indoors about 4 to 6 weeks forward of transplanting seedlings into the garden; get began seed in biodegradable peat or paper pots no less than 4 inches (10cm) in diameter that can be set wholly into the garden in an effort to now not disturb roots.
• Watermelon seed will germinate in about 10 days at 65°F (18°C), sooner in warmer soil. Seedless watermelon varieties are very best germinated at about 85°F.
• Cheap room temperature is when it comes to correct for germinating watermelon seeds indoors.
• Watermelons broaden very best in warmth temperatures ranging from 70° to 90°F (21-32°C).
• Avoid emerging watermelon where night time temperatures dip beneath 50°F (10°C); this will an increasing number of objective the fruit to lose style.
• If temperatures exceed 90°F (32°C).
• for numerous days, crops will drop without atmosphere fruit.
• Watermelons require 65 to 90 frost-free days to achieve harvest depending on the variety.
• Watermelons will tolerate no frost. In cool or short-season spaces, broaden smaller varieties that come to harvest briefly.

Planting and Spacing Watermelons

• Sow watermelon seed 1 inch (2.5cm) deep.
• Sow 4 to 6 melon seeds on a mound or hill.
• Germination will occur in about 10 days when the soil is 70°F (21°C).
• Thin watermelon seedlings to 2 or 3 powerful seedlings on every hill when seedlings have complicated 3 or 4 true leaves. Scale back the thinned seedlings at the soil level with scissors in an effort to now not disturb the roots of the remaining seedlings.
• Space mounds or hills 5 to 6 feet (1.5-1.8m) apart.
• Mounds can range in height from a few inches to bigger than 12 inches (30cm) tall; mounds will allow vines to run away down the slope. You are able to train vines to circle the mound.
• If you are emerging watermelon in rows area plants 4 to 5 feet apart (1.2-1.5m) and area rows 6 feet (1.8m) apart.
• Expand 2 watermelon plants for every circle of relatives member.

Additional tips: Watermelon Seed Starting Tips.

Emerging Watermelons Vertically

• Watermelons can also be grown on a trellis.
• Use a trellis no less than 8 x 8 feet (2.4m) vast or wider. Be sure that the trellis is well-anchored.
• Space plant at the base of the trellis 3 to 4 feet (.9-1.2m) apart.
• Train vines up the trellis; safe the vines to the trellis with elastic garden tape.
• Make stronger melons emerging on a trellis with netting. Nylon netting will merely strengthen a whole watermelon if tied proper right into a well-anchored strengthen.
• You are able to moreover broaden watermelons on an A-frame trellis. Lean two trellises together, tie them at the best and anchor the ground of every trellis.

Container Emerging Watermelons

• Watermelons are typically too large to broaden in a container.
• Make a choice a bush, dwarf- or mini-cultivar to broaden in a container.
• Decided on a container this can be a minimal of 18 inches vast and deep to broaden one watermelon.
• Expand watermelons in a compost-rich potting soil; check out at the garden middle for really helpful business mixes very best suited for melons.
• In short emerging season spaces lengthen the season by the use of starting melons in bins indoors; switch them outdoor when the weather has warmed on the other hand be careful not to pinch or break the vines.

Watering Watermelons

• Watermelons are 95 percent water. They require ample not unusual, even watering for fast emerging.
• Give watermelons 1 to 2 inches (2.5.-5cm) of water every week (1 inch equals 16 gallons/60.5 liters.)
• Keep the soil rainy until the fruit reaches entire measurement then save you watering while the fruit ripens.
• Mulch to retain soil moisture. Spread straw or dried chopped leaves spherical watermelon plants after the soil has warmed. You are able to moreover lay black plastic sheeting or garden fabric across the planting bed. Scale back an x-slot inside the fabric to plant.
• Water at the base of plants with a soaker hose or drip irrigation. Wetting the foliage will pass away plants prone to fungal diseases very similar to powdery or downy mildew.
• Keep the soil evenly rainy during flowering and fruit building. A week or so forward of harvest reduce on water; dry soil will be in agreement plants concentrate sugars inside the fruit.
• If leaves are wilted inside the morning, the plants need water. Wilting leaves at the end of the day is not peculiar.

Feeding Watermelons

• Get in a position planting beds with aged compost and aged manure or a business herbal planting mix. Turn the soil to 12 inches (30cm) deep.
• Watermelons are heavy feeders. Add numerous inches of aged manure all through planting beds the autumn forward of planting.
• Side dress watermelons with compost or manure tea or a dilute resolution of fish emulsion every 2 to a couple of weeks during the emerging season.
• Watermelons can also be facet dressed with a good herbal fertilizer very similar to 10-10-10 early inside the season on the other hand once crops and fruit appear, reduce nitrogen and increase phosphorus and potassium; use a 5-10-10 fertilizer.

Vital different Plants for Watermelons

• Plant watermelons with corn, radish, beans, and nasturtiums.

Watermelon Pollination

• Watermelon plants produce each and every male and female crops.
• Male crops appear each and every week or two prematurely of the female crops. Male crops attract bees which could be sought after for pollination once female crops appear.
• Female crops will have a small bulge at the stem end of the flower. This bulge is an embryonic fruit.
• Some male crops will die and drop forward of female crops set fruit.
• You are able to hand-pollinate watermelon crops the usage of an artist’s bristle brush. Rub the brush inside the male flower to gather pollen then rub the brush inside the middle of the female flower to change the pollen.
• You are able to attract bees for your garden by the use of planting flowering herbs very similar to dill, borage, and lavender inside succeed in.

Emerging Seedless Watermelon

• Seedless watermelons are not in reality seedless, despite the fact that they seem seedless. They come with as regards to transparent seeds.
• Seedless watermelons are known as triploid watermelons. They are a pass between a common diploid melon and a teraploid melon. The female crops on a seedless plant must be pollinated by the use of male crops from a seeded variety. This process can also be subtle for a area gardener.
• Space gardeners must purchase seedless watermelon seed packets that can include the seed of a pollinator cultivar to be planted inside succeed in.

Taking good care of Watermelons

• Early inside the season cover plants with a floating row cover. This may most likely keep insects away and grasp warmth air spherical plants. Once plants begin to flower, remove the row cover during the day so that bees can get to the crops.
• Encourage watermelon plants to set 3 or 4 fruits at the equivalent time; if a plant devices one fruit early, pinch it out to encourage the plant to amplify numerous fruits at the equivalent time. One fruit off to a head get began can suppress all further fruiting on the vine until that fruit matures.
• Cultivate sparsely spherical vines until they cover the ground and smother out competing weeds.
• Mulch spherical watermelons with straw, dry chopped leaves or set down black plastic mulch (sheeting) or garden fabric. Mulch will keep down weeds and keep soil moisture.
• For sprawling watermelons, place a tile, wood shingle, or a piece of plastic beneath every melon to stick the fruit clean and dry and to store solar heat which is in a position to be in agreement ripen fruit.
• About 50 days forward of the main expected autumn frost, remove all new blossoms from a plant; this will an increasing number of allow the plant to concentrate its energy on the building and ripening of fruit already on the plant.

Additional tips: Recommendations on find out how to Expand Watermelon for Best possible Style.

Watermelon Pests

• Aphids and spotted and striped cucumber beetles will attack melons.
• Hose away aphids with a blast of water or pinch out infested foliage.
• Hand-pick and damage cucumber beetles promptly; they may be able to transmit cucumber bacterial wilt to melons. You are able to moreover keep an eye on cucumber beetles by the use of spraying insecticidal cleansing cleaning soap, neem oil, or dusting with kaolin.
• Herbal pesticides very similar to horticultural oil or neem oil are very best suited for controlling insect pests.

Additional tips: Melon Emerging Problems: Troubleshooting.

Watermelon Diseases

• Watermelons are prone to anthracnose, Alternaria leaf spot, bacterial wilt, and powdery and downy mildew.
• Planting disease-resistant varieties when they are available and maintaining the total cleanliness and effectively being of your garden will be in agreement decrease down the superiority of sickness.
• Do not take care of the vines when they are wet; it is going to spread fungal diseases.
• If a plant does change into infected remove it forward of it will most definitely spread the sickness to healthy plants.
• Anthracnose is a soil-borne fungal sickness that can objective leaf spots, leaf drop, wilting, and from time to time dying. Keep the garden clean and plant disease-resistant varieties. Remove diseased plants from the garden right away.
• Bacterial wilt which is spread by the use of cucumber beetles would possibly purpose watermelon plants to wilt and die merely as they begin to produce fruit. Keep an eye on cucumber beetles after they appear.
• Fusarium wilt is a fungal sickness that causes leaves to curve and drop and stems to curve. Add lime to the soil ahead of planting; steer clear of overwatering during the season.
• Gummy stem blight is a fungal sickness that causes leaves to yellow and die. This sickness is hard to keep an eye on; pull up plants and put off them inside the trash. Rotate plants every 365 days.
• Powdery mildew and other fungal diseases can also be prevented and slowed by the use of spray-misting plants with compost tea or a solution of 1-part skim milk and 9-parts water.

Harvesting Watermelons

• Watermelons might be in a position for harvest 65 to 90 days after sowing depending on the variety.
• When watermelons are in a position to harvest vine tendrils will begin to turn brown and die off. If the tendrils are green the melon is not ripe.
• You are able to moreover test for watermelon ripeness by the use of rapping your knuckle in opposition to the melon; a ripe watermelon will make a dull hollow sound when thumped.
• The soil facet of a watermelon will turn from white to gentle yellow when the fruit is in a position for harvest.
• Ripe fruit will have a sweet aroma at the stem end.
• Limit water for each and every week prematurely of the harvest to concentrate sweetness.
• Watermelons on a single plant will all be in a position for harvest over a two-week length.
• Use a sharp knife or garden pruner to cut the watermelon transparent of the vine.
• Watermelons do not continue to ripen off the vine.

Storing and Keeping up Watermelons

• Watermelons will keep inside the refrigerator for up to each and every week if no longer decrease or sliced, on the other hand sweetness and style may diminish.
• A decrease watermelon will keep inside the refrigerator for kind of 4 days. Wrap the melon tightly in plastic to prevent cold burn or dehydration.
• It takes about 12 hours to chill a large watermelon.
• Watermelons can also be saved in a cool, fairly rainy place for 2 to a couple of weeks without refrigeration.
• Melon flesh can also be frozen and rinds can also be pickled.

Additional tips: Recommendations on find out how to Harvest and Store Watermelon.

Watermelon Incessantly Asked Questions

Q: Should I am getting began watermelons indoors?

A: To ensure watermelons have enough warmth and sizzling local weather to ripen, get began seeds indoors 3 to 4 weeks forward of the everyday date of the rest frost. Plant seeds n peat pots or other biodegradable bins that can be set at once inside the flooring; watermelons don’t like their roots to be disturbed at transplanting time.

Q: When can watermelons be planted outdoor?

A: You are able to transplant watermelons into the garden when temperatures average 60°F, even warmer is highest. Give protection to more youthful seedlings with sizzling caps or cloches. Plastic milk jugs with their bottoms decrease out will art work, on the other hand take into account to remove them during the day if the sun is colourful.

Q: What’s one of the crucial most straightforward techniques to plant watermelon seeds?

A: Sow seeds 1 inch deep in hills, two to 4 seeds consistent with hill, 4 to 6 feet apart. Some bush varieties can also be spaced closer together.

Q: Can watermelons be grown on a trellis?

A: Certain. To be sure the fruits don’t break off, or pull the vines transparent in their strengthen, create rather “hammock” for them with nylon netting or pieces of material.

Q: Can I broaden watermelons in very dry spaces?

A: Certain, do this: create a depression 3 to 5 inches deep and 12 to 15 inches all through. Sow seeds or set transplant halfway up the sides of the depression then train the vines transparent of the depression. Water inside the depression and the water will wick up to the roots, and the vine skilled away isn’t going to get muddy.

Q: Can I broaden watermelons in cool summer season spaces?

A: In cooler climates, broaden smaller “ice-box: varieties. Plant the ones smaller melons inside the warmest spot in your garden. Use black plastic mulch to entice heat inside the soil.

Q: How so much fertilizer do watermelons need?

A: Give watermelons a complete herbal fertilizer at planting ot transplanting over and over when plants are established and easily starting to send out runners. Art work the fertilizer into the soil in spherical furrows 8 inches transparent of the plants.

Q: Will watermelons need additional water?

A: Watermelons need relatively numerous water, on the other hand moreover they must have superb drainage. Keep the soil evenly rainy. Planting on mounds will ensure superb drainage.

Q: How can I tell when a watermelon is in a position to harvest?

A: Rap the melon together with your knuckle. If the sound is sharp and high, the melon is not ripe. If the sound is dull and hollow, the melon is ripe. When the tendril closest to the melon is alive and green, it’s not ripe. When the tendril dries up and turns brown, the melon is ripe. You are able to moreover seek for yellowing on the spot where the melon rests on the flooring.

Watermelon Varieties to Expand

• Icebox measurement watermelons: ‘Early Midget’ (65 days); ‘Garden Baby’ (70 days); ‘Golden Midget’ (65 days); ‘Sugar Baby’ (68-96 days); ‘Tiger Baby’ (80 days).
• Oblong, green rind: ‘Northern Sweet’ (68 days).
• Oblong, grayish rind: ‘Allsweet’ (100 days); ‘Calsweet’ (92 days); ‘Charleston Gray’ (90 days); ‘Desert Storm’ (80 days); ‘Fiesta’ (85 days); ‘Regency’ (82 days); ‘Royal Majesty’ (80 days); ‘Sangria’ (85 days); ‘Strawberry’ (85 days); ‘Sun Sweet’ (85 days); ‘Sweet Favorite’ (64-79 days).
• Round, green: ‘Black Diamond’ (75-95 days); ‘Black Diamond Yellow Belly’ (90 days); ‘King and Queen’ (80-90 days); ‘Moon and Stars’ (100 days).
• Round, striped: ‘Crimson Sweet’ (80-96 days); ‘Navajo Sweet’ (90 days); ‘Super Sweet’ (90 days).
• Huge-sized: ‘Carolina Cross’ (100 days).
• Space savers: ‘Bush Sugar Baby’ (80 days); ‘Garden Baby’ (75 days); ‘Petite Sweet’ (75 days); ‘New Hampshire Midget’ (77 days); ‘Sugar Baby’ (79 days).
• Yellow or orange flesh: ‘Arikara’ (85 days); ‘Yellow Doll’ (75 days).

Additional varieties to broaden: Watermelons for Space Gardens: Highest 12 Varieties.

About Watermelons

• The watermelon is a long-trailing annual plant.
• Watermelons can also be forged green or striped green and white.
• Watermelons can also be oval, oblong, and round.
• Finish end result can weigh from 10 or 15 pounds to bigger than 100 pounds. Finish end result are again and again 30 pounds or additional.
• The watermelon has a thick, forged rind with sweet, succulent flesh that can be crimson, crimson, yellow, orange, or grayish-white.
• Male and female crops appear on the equivalent vine.
• Botanical name: Citrullus vulgaris
• Starting: Tropical Africa