Author Topic: A watermellon question.....  (Read 2464 times)

simon_grow

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Re: A watermellon question.....
« Reply #25 on: May 29, 2022, 03:27:43 PM »
Yes, they are a Summer to early fall crop for me here in San Diego.

The Hime Kansen is an icebox type and requires 30-40 days to ripen from fruit set but after growing melons on and off for about 30 years, I’ve found that the melons grow and taste better when they set fruit when the vines are larger.

Letting small vines hold fruit slows down the vine growth so I wait until the vines have about 3-4 foot spread in each direction before allowing them to set fruit. I also wait for other subtle signs that the plant is at or near exponential growth phase when it’s root mass has increased to the point where the plant just explodes with growth.

You will notice that the leaves reach their full size more rapidly once they’re in this exponential growth phase.

This year, I noticed a part of one of my vines that got buried started to grow roots. I’ve read some people purposely do this to enable their vines to grow bigger and stronger but this is the first time I’ve tried it.

The Orangeglo takes about 60+ days from fruit set to maturity so I’ll still be in the heat as this variety ripens. My plants were recently transplanted from a small container to this huge 45 gallon container so as soon as the roots get established and the vines grow out a couple more feet, I will allow it to hold 1-2 melons for the Orangeglo and 3-4 melons for the Hime Kansen.

Simon

Plantinyum

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Re: A watermellon question.....
« Reply #26 on: June 20, 2022, 04:26:27 AM »
Well i planted them a week ago, all of them are willting and dying , i quit watermellons for good !!!



Jaboticaba45

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Re: A watermellon question.....
« Reply #27 on: June 20, 2022, 04:52:43 PM »
On the thought of melons,
I’m growing sea walnuts melons from Romania…I’m hoping to get a fruit or so.!I’d love to share seeds also.

spaugh

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Re: A watermellon question.....
« Reply #28 on: June 20, 2022, 06:04:23 PM »
Well i planted them a week ago, all of them are willting and dying , i quit watermellons for good !!!



It looks too shaded.

Heres a volunteer melon that came up in our front yard.  Its setting fruit now.



Brad Spaugh

Plantinyum

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Re: A watermellon question.....
« Reply #29 on: June 21, 2022, 01:47:56 AM »
Well i planted them a week ago, all of them are willting and dying , i quit watermellons for good !!!



It looks too shaded.

Heres a volunteer melon that came up in our front yard.  Its setting fruit now.



no i think its not the shade, shade doesnt make plants collapse in a few days, they just grow elongated and streched, there must be something else, they get 5-6 hours direct sun at this spot , right now all of them are willted i'll just pull them out in a few days and not bother with them here.
I may plant next summer, but at my other place where they will be directly on the ground in full sun all day, they wont be getting too much attention there though....
I think i have too much desease pressure going on here, i constantly reuse soil and had regularly planted the same or related species at the same places, so i just need a fresh start for the melons i,m sure.
« Last Edit: June 21, 2022, 01:53:51 AM by Plantinyum »

simon_grow

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Re: A watermellon question.....
« Reply #30 on: June 21, 2022, 02:33:26 PM »
Watermelon vines are highly prone to viruses, bacterial and fungal diseases. If you’ve grown Tomatoes, papaya, cucumbers or other plants susceptible to fungal diseases, you probably have a high bioburden which can infect your melon vines.

Looking at your picture, I would say that when your plant was smaller, you may have overwatered your plant. It appears, from the above ground vines and leaf size, that the roots may be weak and have not filled your pot. This often happens when the root zone is over saturated with water causing anaerobic conditions which are not conducive to root growth. The anaerobic conditions creates a good growing environment for the bad organisms.

To remedy this, be sure to start with good clean soil and preferably a watermelon variety that is disease resistant. Watermelon vines hate having their roots disturbed and they hate being transplanted but I’ve found that it’s best to start them off in smallish containers like a #1 container and let them completely fill the pot with roots before carefully transplanting them into their final container.

By doing it this way, you can control the soil moisture more easily and get your seedling in a strong healthy state before putting it into its final big pot. The roots should completely fill the #1 container before transplanting and this will ensure that it will have ample root mass to rapidly grow into the bigger container. Your plant should be given full sun and the shade from your nearby plants will slow down the growth of your vines. Once you transplant into the bigger container, water it thoroughly but let the soil dry out in between watering so the roots will spread out in search of water.

Simon


Plantinyum

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Re: A watermellon question.....
« Reply #31 on: June 24, 2022, 02:05:09 AM »
Watermelon vines are highly prone to viruses, bacterial and fungal diseases. If you’ve grown Tomatoes, papaya, cucumbers or other plants susceptible to fungal diseases, you probably have a high bioburden which can infect your melon vines.

Looking at your picture, I would say that when your plant was smaller, you may have overwatered your plant. It appears, from the above ground vines and leaf size, that the roots may be weak and have not filled your pot. This often happens when the root zone is over saturated with water causing anaerobic conditions which are not conducive to root growth. The anaerobic conditions creates a good growing environment for the bad organisms.

To remedy this, be sure to start with good clean soil and preferably a watermelon variety that is disease resistant. Watermelon vines hate having their roots disturbed and they hate being transplanted but I’ve found that it’s best to start them off in smallish containers like a #1 container and let them completely fill the pot with roots before carefully transplanting them into their final container.

By doing it this way, you can control the soil moisture more easily and get your seedling in a strong healthy state before putting it into its final big pot. The roots should completely fill the #1 container before transplanting and this will ensure that it will have ample root mass to rapidly grow into the bigger container. Your plant should be given full sun and the shade from your nearby plants will slow down the growth of your vines. Once you transplant into the bigger container, water it thoroughly but let the soil dry out in between watering so the roots will spread out in search of water.

Simon
thanks for the detailed advice Simon, i'll remember those tips next year when i try yet again to mess with watermelon.
As for the present plants, i did just that, grew them for around 2 weeks, uppotting them 2 times in the time frame,  each time they had filled the pots with roots and were drying fast. When i planted them in the grow bags they had extensive root sistems and the pots were full with healthy roots.
Well yesterday i pulled them out since i had enough of their misery,  the roots were kinda dead, so u may be correct with the over watered theory, the soil was never watterlogged thought, at most it was just moist, and at times seemed to be dry on the surface.
Yes ive grown tomatoes ,canteloupe, papaya and other solanum and cucurbit familly plants, peppers also, so thats my logic of having a virulent desease that targeted them.