How to Grow Watermelon
Watermelon is a favorite summer treat. Mouth watering and thirst quenching, it is perfect for hot summer days, parties, picnics, and much more. Don't forget to have a pit spitting contest when you serve watermelon....outdoors, please. Laugh if you will, "Pit Spitting" is a serious business, errr game. "Watermelon Pit Spitting" contests, with prizes, are common at some community summer picnics and festivals.
The large oval watermelons that first comes to mind, requires a lot of space and a long growing season. That's why most home gardeners don't allot precious garden space for them. There is choice in the much smaller, but equally sweet baby or "bush" variety that requires about 1/3 of the space.
Did you know? Growing Watermelons is serious business. Watermelon competitions or "weigh-offs" are a common event at fall festivals. Many pumpkin weigh-offs include a giant watermelon category, complete with prizes for the largest watermelon. Just how big can a watermelon grow? Giant Watermelons can grow over 200 pounds!
There is also a day set aside in honor of the watermelon... August 18th is National Watermelon Day.
Varieties of Watermelon:
Standard watermelons are usually 20 to 30 pounds or more, and are oblong shaped.
Baby or bush varieties are round and much smaller. They weigh anywhere from a couple pounds to ten pounds.
Sowing Watermelon Seeds:
Indoors:
If you have a short growing season or want to get a head start, plant watermelon seeds indoors in individual containers or pots. We recommend using peat pots, which can be planted directly in the garden with minimal transplant shock.
Outdoors:
Sow watermelon seeds in hills or rows. For regular watermelons, sow three to four seeds per hill, spacing the hills eight to ten feet apart. Space the rows ten feet apart or more, if you have room. Thin watermelon seedlings in each hill, to two seedlings one week after they have germinated. When planting in rows, space the seeds four to six inches apart and thin seedlings to ten to twelve inches apart. For bush varieties, final spacing can be cut in half or even more if you are tight for space.
Important: Make sure you know how many days you need to reach maturity for the variety you buy. Give a little more time than the seed packet suggests to reach harvest, before that first killing frost.
Days to Maturity:
80 to 90 days for baby bush varieties, and 90 to 100 days or more for the larger varieties.
How to Grow Watermelon:
Watermelon plants need full sun to grow healthy vines and big fruit. Plant after the last frost date for your area.Watermelons are heavy feeders. Add generous amounts of manure, compost and leaves to your garden. Work the soil well. Make sure it drains well.
Fertilize regularly. Use a high nitrogen fertilizer until flowers form. Then, switch over to a high phosphorous and potassium fertilizer. We also recommend the use of liquid fertilizers and foliar feeding.
Watermelon plants like lots of water. There is no surprise here. Make sure to add water during dry spells. Keep the soil moist at all times.
Weeding is also important especially early in the season. Weeds will compete for moisture and nutrients.
Harvesting:
So, how do you know when a watermelon is ripe? Most people tap on the fruit, and listen for a dull thump. If you grow many of them, this is an art form.
Other signs include:
Ceasing of growth
Yellowing of the underside
Drying or shriveling of the stem near the base of the fruit
Insects and Pests:
Watermelon is susceptible to a variety of pests. Cucumber beetles are perhaps the watermelon's pumpkin enemy #1. Cucumber beetles will rob the plant of nutrients, eat pollen, and spread plant disease. A variety of other pests will also enjoy the watermelon plants in your home garden. Use of insecticides early is important, especially against the dreaded cucumber beetle.
Diseases of Watermelon:
A wide variety of viruses and funguses can affect your crop. Of particular note is powdery and downy mildews. Maintaining a healthy plant is the first step in disease control. This includes weeding, pruning and proper spacing to allow good air circulation, especially in wet and humid weather. Fungicides can be effective, if used early.
Hardiness:
Watermelons are a tender annual. Spring and fall frosts will kill the plant. They thrive in hot weather. Their growth will slow to a crawl during cold nights. Provide plenty of protection for your tender seedlings. Use hotcaps or coldframes on cool nights or when frost is a possibility.
A fall frost will not damage the fruit and it can still be harvested.
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