I found my first Clemson Sweet melon this morning! However, it also had a smaller melon on the same vine. Not sure if the little one will grow, but should I go ahead and clip it off anyway? Not sure if it's good for them to grow so close together.
Good question. I see a lot of little bulgy looking flowers on mine. Mine are in straw bales. I have two plants in one bale between cantaloupe and butternut squash in adjacent bales (I was recently told the melons could cross breed with squash and cukes). I also have a volunteer in a bale wth peppers. I have several watermelons in size from lemon size to size of a small cantaloupe. Also a bunch of quarter size ones started. I have wire fencing around the bales to keep the bunnies from jumping up there and have started to weave the vines through there. So mant vines in a tangle! One melon is growing hanging from the outside of the wire, so last night I slipped it into the toe of a pantyhose leg a nd tied it up for support.
Are you guys feeding your melons anything. I found 2 cantaloupes & am wondering if I should feed them some miraclegrow
All I've been feeding mine is natural rain water and I really didn't do much on that! LOL DH said he found another melon this morning about the same size as the one pictured above in the middle of the watermelon patch. Woohoo!
I'm growing Carolina Cross watermelon, hoping to raise one over 100 pounds, last year the largest melon weighed 55 pounds.
Did a lot of research before starting this project. Several things kept appearing: remove any misshapened fruit from the vines, one melon per vine, water the Carolinas with 5 gallons of water per plant per day. The leaves are the work horses, stay away from them and don't bother them.
I add weak manure tea to their drinking water for fertilizer.
These things are about as hard to grow as tomatoes!
dottyjojo: Do you mix your compose with water, & use immediately. or do you let the tea steep for a couple of days. I use mine immediately.
IM GETTING PLENTY OF WATERMELLONS BUT WHEN THEY GET THE SIZE OF A BASKETBALL THEY SPLIT.. ANYONE KNOW WHY?
Inconsistent watering maybe? Are you getting a lot of rain by any chance?
behillman: I use the tea immediately as it comes from well aged beef cattle manure.
After putting several shovels of compost into a 5 gallon bucket, about 1/4 of the bucket, I finish filling the bucket with water then put a lid on the bucket.
When I'm ready to use it, I stir the bucket, take out a quart of liquid--the strength of the tea can be adjusted here, put it into another five gallon bucket and fill it with water. I don't strain the tea since it's poured onto the plants.
Every two weeks I add a small amount of fish emulsion and epsom salt to the final water. The plants love the combo--just don't spill any of this stuff on you, it smells awful and doesn't wash off easily.
I guess you dilute the tea with a quart of it into a 5 gallon bucket of water. If it gets mixed too strong, it would kill the plants?
behillman: So far the stronger mix doesn't seem to bother the plants. In fact, the first time I used it I poured it on and walked away not sure if there would be a plant left when I came back.
Last year I used a very mild solution, it did look like weak tea and didn't do a thing, but this year I upped the strength and all of the plants love it. I've tried to attach a photo of a melon but can't.
If you don't trust the stronger mix why don't you experiment with several plants that are alike? In the hot, humid Missouri summer heat there isn't much time to fritz around so I made the solution strong since I like strong coffee and tea.
I have access to well aged oraganic matter with no green in it.
Just a little follow-up. The smaller melon that I originally asked about either didn't get pollinated or died on its own, so the plant took care of itself.
How do I know when to harvest the watermelon? I don't know what variety it is (I forgot). It looks like the size of a small pear. How do I know when it's ripe? Do I knock on it and see what sound it makes? It is striped in appearance (green and white). Do I wait until the stem turns brown/yellow? When do I harvest it? Thanks.
Where the watermelon connects to the stem there is a little curly thing and when it dies it is ready.
That was a loud OHHHH you heard from me. Thanks for that information. I had no clue.
Also, there should be a nice yellow spot on the underbelly.
I had yellow spots on TOP of my cantaloupes and my crenshaw melon
My cantaloupe seems to have stopped growing, but is still green. Shouldn't it turn yellow before I pick it?
I would think so, mine turned yellow at a very small stage and were ripe. Only had 3 and ants ate one. Lots of vine still growing on that plant, but no flowers. Two other vines have lots of flowers, but no fruit. Lots of bees not doing there job. Need to go out with Qtip and help them along, lol. My little guys compared to normal (not large) size melon.
I have the exact same kind as yours. Lots of small melons but they turn yellow & abort. Lots of flowers also. I only have l growing & you'd think at least 2 per vine would make it. I wonder whats wrong.
Um, correct me if I'm wrong, but the last pics are of cantaloupes, not watermelons...
Yes, when we spoke of size, it brought these to mind. Will have to take photo of watermelon progress on plants, they appear larger and still growing.
