OK, so, being a relative newbie to this forum, I thought I would start the watermelon-seeds-for-next-year thread. I had fair luck with Rattlesnake this past year (until a coyote found them), but I think I want something else this coming year. Who had luck with what? I'm in NE Texas. Does anyone swear by one particular watermelon for this region?
I just received the Pinetree Garden Seeds catalog today. One called Malali just caught my eye. Has anyone ever grown that one?
I know that--like the giant pumpkin fans--there are watermelon fanatics out there. So which one is a must have for you for 2010?
Any special growing techniques are also greatly appreciated.
Oh my! Which watermelon to chose for 2010?
We tried a few new ones this past year. Disappointment as always. Most are for shipping up north from Texas, so can't expect much.
We have been growing Sangria for years. Always top shelf flavor.People at our market ask for it by name.
You can get it here.
www.jordanseeds.com
http://gurneys.com/product.asp?pn=76103&bhcd2=1258420028
Bernie
This message was edited Nov 16, 2009 7:09 PM
You can always look in Plant files for information. This link will take you to Sangria watermelon.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/60151
Many varieties can be good. The main thing is to raise a vibrantly healthy plant. In most cases I prefer to limit the fruit set.
Sangris is very good. I kind of lean to Rojo Grande here for my situation.
I got a Pinetree Garden Seeds catalog too. Is is just me, or are their prices a bit higher than most of the other catalogs?
That's funny, to me they seem really reasonable. I've always liked the fact that their prices were low because they included fewer seeds in a packet, which made sense because I never needed as many as the other companies sent. Compared to Burpee or Peaceful Valley or Cook's Garden Pinetree has always been the least expensive.
I just got their new catalogue, too. It's early this year; usually it comes around Christmas, it seems to me. They have some interesting new varieties, too. I wish I knew why some listings are in red, though! I couldn't find any explanation for that, although I may have missed it. Still, if I couldn't find it I'm sure others couldn't either...
I read on pg.17 (bottom right) the red meant a new variety.
I like Pinetree for items I want to try, but not quite sure about. Therefore I only want a small amount of seed.
I wondered about that, but there are a lot of other new varieties - at least new to Pinetree - that aren't printed in red. Thanks! I'll check it out!
Occasionally I've had problems with Pinetree seeds. This past summer they sent me radish seeds in a Cabbage Mix package! They did make good on it. Another year, a long time ago, my peppers from them never came up at all. Everything else but those did. But I figure for the price it's worth an occasional blip.
I ordered a bunch of flowers from them once and since they were mostly new varieties, I chalked my failures up to being a newbie with them. That was before the internet for me and I've since found out that a lot of them weren't suitable for my zone. I've never ordered from them again since they're located in ME which is the opposite of my climate.
Now I got this new catalog and see several things I want to try. The $ are a bit high as compared to the # of seeds that come from Baker Creek for example. I think it's worth it though to try some new stuff economically.
Check out the varieties offered by Willhite Seed. They're local Texas folks and watermelon is their specialty.
http://www.willhiteseed.com/index.php
Overall for melons, Willhite is my favorite. Twilley is next.
I'm still waiting for my Baker Creek catalogue. They had run out of them when I wrote last year, but since I'm getting emails I'm hoping I'm on their list for the newest version.
Thank you very much stephanietx, I've added Willhite Seeds to my favorites. It looks like I might also try Diablo this coming summer. I'll check out Twilley next. So many new adventures when you move to a completely new part of the country!