Need help with Watermelons, lot of flowers almost no fruit!

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doubleduty Magnolia, TX Aug 10, 2009

I live close to Houston, Texas. This year I tried for the first time to have a garden and try to grow some fruits and vegetables. Some things I have had good luck with and others I have had no luck at all. For example, I planted a row of Watermelons and a row of Cantaloupe side by side. My Cantaloupes are doing great with lots of blooms, lots of fruit and still more every day! Right next to these are my Watermelons and I am getting lots of flowers and lots of attention from the same pollinators. But I am getting almost no fruit. As of today I have about 3 little fuzzy melons starting to develop but there must be about 75 or more yellow flowers. So I have beautiful healthy looking leafy watermelon vines growing like crazy and too many yellow flowers to count and for about a week now I have 3 tiny fruit. Can anyone explain why my watermelon are so disappointing while my cantaloupes are doing fantastic? Thanks, Patrick

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docgipe NORTH CENTRAL, PA(Zone 5a) Aug 10, 2009

My thought is the plant has to much nitrogen. To grow a giant over two hundred pounds the plant is limited to one melon. Your's may not do that but half a dozen melons or so is usually all I ask a melon to grow. From where you are it takes nearly another sixty days to make the melon.

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doubleduty Magnolia, TX Aug 11, 2009

Can you make a recommendation about what type of fertilizer I should use? I have been using liquid Miracle Grow so far. Thanks, Patrick!

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docgipe NORTH CENTRAL, PA(Zone 5a) Aug 12, 2009

You might consider cutting back to about half of what you are now foliar feeding. If your leaf color drops to a lighter green but still appears healthy you will get a stronger plant and better melon formation. To much nitrogen pushes lush soft growth with darker green leaves. This can be a signal to indicate a sick plant. Nature automatically goes to work to remove what is determined to be less than in good health. I do not know Texas but.......I should think you should also consider preventive use of a fungicide while keeping a sharp eye out for insects that could do you harm. My personal choice to cover all fungicide and insecticide and miticide use would be Neem Oil but please......if you do this read and follow the directions on the label.

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themoonhowl Prairieville, LA(Zone 9a) Aug 13, 2009

Doubleduty, here is alink with a few tips on growing watermelons. if you type growing watermelons in texas into your google search, you will get a ton of information.

http://gomestic.com/gardening/watermelon-growing-tips-for-beginners/

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