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WATERMELON (Citrullus
vulgaris)
DAYS TO MATURITY: 65-100 days.
PLANTING
TIME: In the warmer parts of the country, you can plant in the ground in springtime. Transplant watermelon
outside when night temperatures reach 55 degrees F and daytime temperatures are no lower than 80 degrees F.
SOIL:
Light, sandy; pH 6.0.
NUTRIENTS: Feed the plants every six weeks with fish emulsion
or other organic fertilizer.
WATER: Water thoroughly in dry weather. Keep a 6-inch-deep
trench around each plant to fill as needed. Do not keep the soil soaked, and do not overhead water.
LIGHT: Full sun.
SPACING: All melons spread (except the bush variety)
and need plenty of space. Sow seeds 1 inch deep, 12 inches apart.
HARVEST: Thump them:
ripe melons have a dull sound. The discolored spots on the melon bellies turn from white to pale yellow when the fruits
are ready.
STORAGE: Use fresh or pickled.
Watermelon Growing Tips
Off the Ground
To make midget watermelons even sweeter, set each small melon up on a small can,
such as a tomato sauce can. This makes them ripen faster and helps increase the sugar content.
Vertical
Melon Patch
You can grow a vertical watermelon patch in your garden by running nylon cord up an open A-frame.
Tie the cord to a wire strung across the bottom. As the vines grow, attach them to the cord with garbage-bag ties.
Train them upward until they grow over the top of the structure and then let them ramble down the other side. The growing
fruits will balance each other and hence won't pull the vines down. Even though the melons are heavy, most of them
will hang. to keep them from blowing down in the wind, you can support them with slings made from garden netting or
panty hose.
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WATERMELON
Big Tasty: 85 days. Seedless. 10-12" in diameter and 6-8
pounds. Ideal "icebox" size. Gray-green outer skin and bright red seedless interior. Keeps its
flavor extra-long after cutting. BURP
Black Diamond: 90 days.
Round, smooth, and blue-green with sweet, bright-red flesh. GUR SHU
Bush Sugar Baby: 80 days. Bush. 12 pounds. 3 1/2 foot vines is a space saver
variety that is a must for small, sunny gardens. Sweet scarlet flesh. BURP
Carolina
Cross #183: 100 days. Seeded. Up to 200 pounds. Needs a long, hot summer. BURP
HEN SHU
Charleston Jr: Seedless. 12-16 pounds, red flesh.
Uniform light green rind. Compact watermelon. PAR
Congo: 85
days. Up to 50 pound melons with high sugar content. Widely adapted. HEN
Crest: 80
days. Uniform fruit weigh around 20 pounds. Light green rind is slightly mottled, medium red flesh. VER
Desert King: 85 days. Drought resistant. Deep yellow-flesh. Light green oblong
fruits hold well on the vine without sunburn a month after ripening. GUR
Everglade:
80 days. Seedless. 11-14 pounds, bright red flesh. Nearly black rind. PAR
Gurney's Delight: 90 days. Seedless. 12-15 pounds. Juicy red flesh. GUR
Jade Star: 75 days. Improved Sugar Baby type. Uniform dark green rind, bright red
flesh. Round fruits weigh 12-15 pounds. VER
Jenny: 85 days.
Seedless. 8 pounds. Sugary red flesh. Does have tiny edible seeds. Light green with dark stripes rind.
PAR
Jubilee: 90 days. Big, long striped melons with hard rinds weigh 33-37 pounds.
Widely adapted. HEN SHU
Million Bucks: 78
days. Seeded. 20-30 pounds. Extra juicy, rosy-red flesh. BURP
New Queen:
75 days. Seeded. Icebox type. Bright-orange flesh, 5-7 pounds at maturity. PAR SHU TER
VER
Orange Sunshine: 85 days. Seedless. Huge, extra-sweet, first-ever
orange seedless. Great flavor. 16-20 pounds. BURP PAR
Orchid Sweet: 90
days. Seedless. 3-5 pounds, round. Green, black-striped rind, yellow flesh. TER
Petite Treat: 85 days. Seedless. 3-6 pounds. Pint-sized fruit. Red flesh.
TER
Picnic: 90-100 days. 8-14 pounds. Red flesh, deep green rind and small,
black seeds. ABU
Red Ruby: 85 days. Seedless. 6-8 pounds,
just right for a small family. Dark and light green striped outer skin and bright red interior. BURP TER
Sangria: 87 days. Dark red flesh, packed with sugars. 10 1/2 pounds. GUR PAR
TER
Snack Pack: 75 days. Personal size watermelon that weighs 3-4 pounds.
Seedless fruit is about the size of a large cantaloupe. Intensely sweet flavor. BURP
Solitaire:
85 days. Mini, seedless, round fruits weigh 3 1/2-5 pounds each. Deep red flesh. Great choice for
short season areas. TOT
Sweet Beauty: 77-80 days. Seeded.
All American Selection 2004. Oblong, 6-7 pounds. Plants are 3' high and up to 9' wide. Icebox type.
PAR TER
Sweet Cheer: 86 days. 24-26 pound melons with robust rind
and flavorful flesh. Large vigorous vines. HEN
Sweet Diane: 85
days. Seeded. 15 pounds. Oval with dark stripes on a light green rind, dark rose-colored flesh. Steady
production under average growing conditions. NIC
Sweeheart: 85 days. Seeded.
8-9" round melons, 8-10 pounds. Vigorous vines. PAR
Tendersweet:
90 days. Yellow flesh. Exceptionally high sugar content. Melons are 18" and weigh up to 30
pounds. Dark green rind with light stripes. SHU
Tiger Baby: 80
days. Seeded. Small, 7" in diameter, round, icebox type. 9 pounds. Green-striped with rosy-red
dense flesh. NIC
Trillion: 95 days. Seedless. 18 pounds, deep red flesh. Light
green rind with darker stripes. SHU
Triple Crown: 65 days.
Seedless. 18-20 pounds. Striped oval rind and red flesh. PAR VER
Winter Queen:
90 days. Seeded. 20 pounds. Round, pink flesh. Pale green, striped rind. Can
be stored for 2-3 months after harvest. Harvest when full mature for best keeping. PLA
Yellow
Buttercup: 90 days. Bright yellow flesh, seedless. 2-3' vines bear 14-16 pound, rounded oval
fruits. GUR
Yellow Crunch: 87 days. Seeded. Lemon-colored
flesh, 10-20 pounds. Striped rind. PAR
Yellow Doll: 65 days.
Seeded. Semi-compact vines. Small, 5-8 pounds. Crisp yellow flesh. HAR HEN NIC
TER VER
Yellow Mini-Tiger: 75 days. Round, 3 1/2-4 pounds. Thin, hard striped lines.
Deep yellow flesh is seedless and extra sweet. High yielding in a compact space. TOT
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