Picked at the peak of ripeness , homegrownwatermelonsare beyond comparability . Commercial grower focus on just a smattering of varieties , making the incredible diversity of the watermelon vine world unavailable to grocery - store shoppers . The most delicious melon are only available to those who grow their own .
If you ’d like to try your hand at growing some of the most flavorful watermelon varieties , here are six tips to ensure your success .
1. Select The Right Varieties
watermelon love hot atmospheric condition and ask a long season to mature . If you live in a northern climate , select a miscellany with a shorter phone number of days to maturity date . While southern growers will have no trouble growing a melon that convey 100 - plus day to ready yield , northern gardeners would do well to choose one that mature in 75 - 80 Clarence Shepard Day Jr. instead . Also , count for varieties with noted disease immunity . watermelon are prone topowdery mildew , anthracnose , Alternaria blight . and a few other diseases ; if these disease have been elusive in your garden in the past times , opt only resistant variety .
2. Plant Only In Warm Soil
Planting watermelon too early is the kiss of death , especially northward of the Mason - Dixon Line . you could get a start start on the time of year by come out watermelon come in plantable peat pots three to four weeks before the danger of frost has passed . Movestarted seedlingsout into the garden only after the soil temperature has warmed to 60 degrees F. If you plan to start your watermelons by sowing the seed directly into the garden , wait until grease temperature make 70 degree F.
Black or disconsolate - green credit card mulch can be used to recruit stain temperature prior to implant . Lay the plastic over the planting bed two to three weeks before planting , and wait until well after the danger of frost has passed before planting watermelon through holes cut in the plastic .
3. Space Plants Properly
Watermelons require a lot of room . Their swan vine can easily cover a lot of garden genuine estate . Space vines 3 to 4 feet aside , and keep 5 foot between rows . After planting , mulch the plants with a 2 - column inch layer of straw or rip up leaves if plastic mulch is n’t being used .
4. Protect From Pests
For the first few week of maturation , watermelon seedlings should be cover with a level of summer - weight floating rowing cover . This transparent fabric keep cucumber vine beetles , crush bugsand other gadfly at bay . Remove it when the plants come into flower to allow access to pollinator .
5. Feed & Water The Plants
Watermelons get laid hot weather , but they do not love drouth . ensure your watermelon works receive an inch of water system per week throughout the growing season . Not enough water result in wretched fruit set and pocket-size fruit . But , too much water the week or two before harvest time , can result in irrigate - down watermelon flavor or even cracked fruit .
Watermelon plants are heavy birdfeeder . Before planting , work lots of constitutive matter into the soil , such asaged horse manureor compost . As soon as the yield begins to set , begin to fertilize with an organic liquid fertiliser twice a month . choose a fertilizer that provides more phosphorous and potassium than nitrogen to promote good fruit set and development .
6. Harvest When The Time Is Right
To beak Citrullus vulgaris at their peak flavor , turn back the tendril skinny to the yield every day . When it dry out and turns brown , the melon vine is ready for harvest . There should also be a vivid - yellow-bellied spotlight on the bottom side of the yield . call up , watermelons will not ripen once they ’re discerp from the vine , so waiting until they ’re fully ripe is absolutely necessary for the odorous flavor .
My Top Watermelon Picks
Here are a few luscious watermelon diversity deserving growing :
