watermelons????

[highwayman]

how often should you water a watermelon patch???

[jvs]

Can't help you there.

After a couple tries, I realized I can't grow Watermelons.  Nobody else around here can do it successfully either.  I guess I have the wrong kind of soil, and the growing season isn't the best.

Every time I tried they came out small and were tasteless.  I got watermelons, but it wasn't worth the effort.

Just about the same thing with Cantalopes too.

As with most of my vegetable garden, I try to water every other day... in the morning.  Watering just before sunset leaves you open to problems that can start over night in damp/wet soil. 

I would guess that watermelons are no different for a watering plan.

[Graybeard]

They should get at least 1/2" to one inch of water a week. If rain is providing it no need to water but if not then water enough to supply it.

[Elijah Gunn]

Do you think that the 2 liter soda bottle waterer idea would be a good way to keep melons and cantaloupe watered? The kind that pinduck was talking about in the fertilizing tomatoes thread.
Regards, Mark

[jvs]

I believe that Irrigation plays a big part in commercial Watermelon production.  Using Drip Irrigation in the Melon patch at home should work.

[Elijah Gunn]

Thanks jvs.  With my soil not holding water very long it seemed like a good way to make sure the melons get enough.
Regards, Mark.

[Elijah Gunn]

Well my melons seem to be doing ok. I'm using the soda bottle irrigation system and I think it working pretty well. At least it seems to be a  way to gage how much water they are getting. A quick question.
How do you know when it's time to harvest them? The size of my watermelons right now range from " baseball " up to "volleyball". I figure there is about a month left in the growing season here in zone 5( S.C. Michigan) and I'm wondering if thats enough time for them to finish ripening.
Thanks ,Mark

[Elijah Gunn]

My melons are ripe, and taste very good. They did not get very big. The cantaloupes are about 1 and a half times the size of a softball, and the watermelons are a smidge bigger than a volleyball. Anyone have any ideas why they didn't get as big as what's available at the store. When I'm done harvesting all of them I plan to carefully dig up their roots to see if they go towards the soda bottle irrigators.
Regards, Mark

[nodlenor]

I use the soda bottle method for my melons and have had good results with it. I don't have many vines though. I mix some fertilizer in the water that I use. This gives them a little boost. I don't know what kind of watermelon you all are raising but I usually raise Sugar Babies and they will get about the size of a basketball (the biggest ones). I use the soda bottles on cukes and squash also.

[Elijah Gunn]

I'll probably use the soda bottles also on my cukes next year too. I dont know what kind of watermelons I grew this year. (This is my 1st year gardening)  I'll be more organized next year.

[Cornbelt]

Very few melon farmers around here (zone 7) use any irrigation. In fact, if they plant in anything but sand, they cover the rows with plastic to prevent too much water. If it's a garden, you can water them when they begin to wilt, but not too much. As to taste, if they don't ripen on the vine, they won't have much flavor. Watermelons are ripe when the tendril closest to the melon dries up. Even in an area with a lot of light, or a long growing season, melons don't do well till night temps get to about 75. Sorta like peppers that way. Another use for a melon field: Hunt doves. Guess they like the seeds.