Comments on: Harvesting Ripe Watermelons http://www.veggiegardeningtips.com/harvesting-ripe-watermelons/ Featuring Vegetable Gardening Tips, Organic Growing Techniques, and Unique Plants for the Backyard Gardener Fri, 03 Feb 2012 18:33:55 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Ali Bajaber http://www.veggiegardeningtips.com/harvesting-ripe-watermelons/#comment-237437 Ali Bajaber Sat, 03 Dec 2011 15:50:05 +0000 http://www.veggiegardeningtips.com/harvesting-ripe-watermelons/#comment-237437 hi i planted 1acre of hybrid watermelons in my farm(KENYA) on 18th,October 2011,i planted them directly. some started rotting while they just started forming the small fruit by turning black in colour,after that i haven't noticed a recurrence of the rot. my question is how big would the fruit get and when will they be ready to be harvested. your advice will be highly appreciated,i'm a first timer in melons. hi i planted 1acre of hybrid watermelons in my farm(KENYA) on 18th,October 2011,i planted them directly. some started rotting while they just started forming the small fruit by turning black in colour,after that i haven’t noticed a recurrence of the rot. my question is how big would the fruit get and when will they be ready to be harvested. your advice will be highly appreciated,i’m a first timer in melons.

]]> By: Rick Stevens http://www.veggiegardeningtips.com/harvesting-ripe-watermelons/#comment-196238 Rick Stevens Wed, 31 Aug 2011 01:41:49 +0000 http://www.veggiegardeningtips.com/harvesting-ripe-watermelons/#comment-196238 My mellons have been growing for 3 months and seemed to start late to actually bloom and start growing. Now they seem to get to a point that is much smaller than the seed package indicated and just stopped growing. The bottom of at least one is starting to yellow at around 7 lbs but the stem does not seem to be drying out. I think the biggest one is about 10 lbs and they are Black Diamonds and supposed to reach 35 - 40 lbs. My mellons have been growing for 3 months and seemed to start late to actually bloom and start growing. Now they seem to get to a point that is much smaller than the seed package indicated and just stopped growing. The bottom of at least one is starting to yellow at around 7 lbs but the stem does not seem to be drying out. I think the biggest one is about 10 lbs and they are Black Diamonds and supposed to reach 35 – 40 lbs.

]]> By: Kenny Point http://www.veggiegardeningtips.com/harvesting-ripe-watermelons/#comment-195057 Kenny Point Mon, 22 Aug 2011 13:16:54 +0000 http://www.veggiegardeningtips.com/harvesting-ripe-watermelons/#comment-195057 Congrats on your watermelon crop, they can be a challenge to grow. I would test and pick each melon individually to determine when they are ripe. The more you experiment the better you will get at judging the ripeness and maturity of your fruits. Congrats on your watermelon crop, they can be a challenge to grow. I would test and pick each melon individually to determine when they are ripe. The more you experiment the better you will get at judging the ripeness and maturity of your fruits.

]]> By: Skye http://www.veggiegardeningtips.com/harvesting-ripe-watermelons/#comment-193844 Skye Sat, 20 Aug 2011 22:07:19 +0000 http://www.veggiegardeningtips.com/harvesting-ripe-watermelons/#comment-193844 I just picked my smallest watermelon as a test to see if it was ripe. The stem was still green and the rind was solid green all over, no yellow underside, but I have probably moved it in the patch at some point. It did have the "bee stings" but I didn't have a clue they made a difference. It was dead ripe, delicious, sweet and juicy. Most of my remaining watermelons are quite a bit larger. I am new to growing watermelons and am wondering if they are all at the same ripeness level of the smaller one or because they are larger, should I expect them to ripen later. If so, how much later? My largest melon is probably twice the size of the one I picked today which was about the size of a large honeydew melon. I just picked my smallest watermelon as a test to see if it was ripe. The stem was still green and the rind was solid green all over, no yellow underside, but I have probably moved it in the patch at some point. It did have the “bee stings” but I didn’t have a clue they made a difference. It was dead ripe, delicious, sweet and juicy. Most of my remaining watermelons are quite a bit larger. I am new to growing watermelons and am wondering if they are all at the same ripeness level of the smaller one or because they are larger, should I expect them to ripen later. If so, how much later? My largest melon is probably twice the size of the one I picked today which was about the size of a large honeydew melon.

]]> By: Kenny Point http://www.veggiegardeningtips.com/harvesting-ripe-watermelons/#comment-193121 Kenny Point Sun, 14 Aug 2011 13:20:50 +0000 http://www.veggiegardeningtips.com/harvesting-ripe-watermelons/#comment-193121 Hi Jonny, read the article in this post for tips on determining when your watermelons are ripe and ready to be harvested. Don't worry about determining their size focus on ripening. It is fine to have long vines but if they are setting new flowers and fruits you may want to remove those since they will never have time to mature and will sap energy away from the fruits that you are trying to ripen. Good luck! Hi Jonny, read the article in this post for tips on determining when your watermelons are ripe and ready to be harvested. Don’t worry about determining their size focus on ripening. It is fine to have long vines but if they are setting new flowers and fruits you may want to remove those since they will never have time to mature and will sap energy away from the fruits that you are trying to ripen. Good luck!

]]> By: jonny http://www.veggiegardeningtips.com/harvesting-ripe-watermelons/#comment-192319 jonny Sat, 13 Aug 2011 14:28:45 +0000 http://www.veggiegardeningtips.com/harvesting-ripe-watermelons/#comment-192319 This is my 2nd year growing watermelon and I have vines that are 16 feet. I have 1 fruit per vine. I planted it around june 2 here in ny. The fertilizers was 14-14-14. Some of the weight of the fruits are 50, 60, and 80lb. So my question is... 1) it is just Aug and the leaves are turning brown, yellow and black how much longer do i need to wait to pick them... 2) I don't remember what kind of seeds I put down so how do I know how big they will get? 3) are my vines too long? i have 1 vine that's about 17 feet now is that ok? This is my 2nd year growing watermelon and I have vines that are 16 feet. I have 1 fruit per vine. I planted it around june 2 here in ny. The fertilizers was 14-14-14. Some of the weight of the fruits are 50, 60, and 80lb. So my question is… 1) it is just Aug and the leaves are turning brown, yellow and black how much longer do i need to wait to pick them… 2) I don’t remember what kind of seeds I put down so how do I know how big they will get? 3) are my vines too long? i have 1 vine that’s about 17 feet now is that ok?

]]> By: Kenny Point http://www.veggiegardeningtips.com/harvesting-ripe-watermelons/#comment-191201 Kenny Point Mon, 08 Aug 2011 19:42:19 +0000 http://www.veggiegardeningtips.com/harvesting-ripe-watermelons/#comment-191201 Kari, I would water the plants two or three times a week and try to makes sure the water is soaking in deeply. Use a liquid fertilizer like fish emulsion or seaweed that you can mix into water and drench to apply. It's also safe to side dress the plants with compost or spray a foliar fertilizer onto the leaves of the watermelon vines. I wouldn't give up yet since you have a lot longer growing season there in Houston. Kari, I would water the plants two or three times a week and try to makes sure the water is soaking in deeply. Use a liquid fertilizer like fish emulsion or seaweed that you can mix into water and drench to apply. It’s also safe to side dress the plants with compost or spray a foliar fertilizer onto the leaves of the watermelon vines. I wouldn’t give up yet since you have a lot longer growing season there in Houston.

]]> By: Kari http://www.veggiegardeningtips.com/harvesting-ripe-watermelons/#comment-190747 Kari Sun, 07 Aug 2011 18:35:24 +0000 http://www.veggiegardeningtips.com/harvesting-ripe-watermelons/#comment-190747 This is my first year growing watermelon and I have three on the vines right now. My soil is very poor, heavy clay and alkaline, but being a fairly new gardener I didn't realize how bad the soil was until I had already planted my seeds. The seeds took forever to germinate and a long time to grow. I planted them in early April and Im just now starting to get small melons starting to grow. I have one that is about the size of a grapefruit and two more that are a little smaller. We are having a major drought here with very high temps (heat index around 110 everyday in Houston area). My questions are, how often should I water and is it too hot to fertilize. I think the melons will be very small if I don't fertilize, but I also think it will burn up the plants if I do add fertilizer. Should I just chalk up this year to a learning experience and be happy about the small melons or try to add some fertilizer? Any suggestions? This is my first year growing watermelon and I have three on the vines right now. My soil is very poor, heavy clay and alkaline, but being a fairly new gardener I didn’t realize how bad the soil was until I had already planted my seeds. The seeds took forever to germinate and a long time to grow. I planted them in early April and Im just now starting to get small melons starting to grow.

I have one that is about the size of a grapefruit and two more that are a little smaller. We are having a major drought here with very high temps (heat index around 110 everyday in Houston area). My questions are, how often should I water and is it too hot to fertilize. I think the melons will be very small if I don’t fertilize, but I also think it will burn up the plants if I do add fertilizer. Should I just chalk up this year to a learning experience and be happy about the small melons or try to add some fertilizer? Any suggestions?

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