Watermelon 'Santo Domingo Winter'

This looks like a really vigorous watermelon variety (the way it grows looks similar to Red-seeded Citron's growth pattern). I prefer it ...Read Moreto the other winter watermelons I've grown (i.e. King Winter, Navajo Winter, Navajo Red, Wintermelon; I should note that although I grew them, I haven't tasted Wintermelon, and most of the others probably weren't fully ripe). It was one of my best-performing varieties of watermelon in general in 2017. I hardly watered my watermelons at all, except early in the season when I watered them every other day, and many had pollination issues, and the soil was partial clay (and it's a semi-arid steppe climate). This was perhaps the only variety to get a fruit of a normal size for its variety. I grew about 50 varieties or so (including Yellow Doll F1, which does well for many in tough conditions for watermelon, and Cream of Saskatchewan, which does well for a friend of mine around here; most were large varieties, though).

The taste is excellent. I've tasted a similar taste that I didn't like so much in what was a yellow watermelon with I think the salmon gene, but I *vastly*, *vastly* prefer this taste in this red watermelon. It's really good, IMO. The texture was good (not mushy). Spider mites afflicted it just like pretty much all the other varieties.

I love that this is a winter watermelon (so it should keep for months). The rind isn't particularly thick, but the skin is hard (I eat many watermelon rinds, and this one has a tougher skin).

The slices of this watermelon look great wrapped in plastic wrap in the refrigerator.