Everyone seems to love juicy watermelon in the summertime. Native to Africa, melons need warm temperatures (up to 80°F during the day) and a long growing season. Here’s how to plant and grow watermelons in your garden!
Gardeners in colder climates can still have success in growing watermelon vines by starting seeds indoors and choosing short-season varieties. Days to maturity range from 70 to 90, depending on the variety.
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Watermelons Splitting
Cassie...This is happening in our garden as well!! If you received any good advice please let me know! Thanks :)
Even though it sounds like
Even though it sounds like it's been hot where you are, rain can cause melons to burst before they're ripe. It depends on where you are located, too. You may have poorer gardening conditions then you had previous years.
Varieties
I do like the sugar baby watermelons. My absolute favorite is the Georgia Rattlesnake variety. Charleston gray is good also. Never cared that much for those with other than red flesh. Thanks for the ripeness tips!
Testing ripeness
I have another option for checking ripeness. An older Hispanic man saw me struggling to pick out a watermelon at the store one day. His suggestion was to first look at the end opposite the stem end to see if the little "button" is black. That's a good thing. Then, he said to rub my fingers across the rind. If it feels sticky, it's ready. I haven't picked a bad one since he offered his wonderful advice!
I live in Goldendale,Wa. I
I live in Goldendale,Wa. I was out pulling goatheads from around our yard when I noticed another plant. Started to pull it and noticed what I thought was a cucumber. Turned out to be a watermelon. 5 grew to great tasting ones. I have 8 more growing. Never planted or expected them. Amazing
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