BP
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I'm glad EG had the answer about watermelons bursting because this is my first time growing them and it didn't happen to me. You won't have any problems telling male from female flowers now. On watermelons it's really easy. Once you figure that one out it will be easier to tell male from female on the rest of the melon plants. At the beginning of the season I had trouble telling on cantaloupe plants, but not anymore.
Can you post a pic of your bursting watermelon? I'm interested in how, where, why and all that. Post it right on this thread if you have a pic.

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stella1751
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Well, I lost my watermelon today. I was concerned about its position, so decided to double-sling it. It slipped while I was moving another nylon over it and tumbled down the trellis, breaking free from the vine. Oh well. I sliced it in half. It's white, but nevertheless quite tasty. It had made it to 8 lbs. I learned so much in this thread that I am confident I will do a bang-up job of growing watermelons next year. Thanks, everyone!

Following is the six-week progression of my pumpkin/watermelon bed:

July 7:

[img]https://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/mitbah/trellis_3.jpg[/img]

Three weeks later, on July 28:

[img]https://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/mitbah/Trellis_2.jpg[/img]

Three weeks later, on August 18 (sidewalk side and lawn side):

[img]https://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/mitbah/Pumpkins_Front.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/mitbah/Pumpkins_Rear.jpg[/img]

It's quit producing new pumpkins, and I lost one pollinated pumpkin a few days ago. All my front beds are set on top of rocks, unlike the back, where I pound out the rocks before assembling a bed. I suspect its roots have just run out of room to expand, and I think I should cut off the watermelon and all the pumpkin vines climbing over the fence into the yard.

Any ideas?

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engineeredgarden
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stella - I'm so sorry for your mishap. I always try to sling mine when they are the size of a baseball - and lost one of mine this year too, due to trying to sling it when too large.

EG

garden5
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I've noticed that with pumpkins, too. There's always a size that they reach when you want to just leave them alone. They always seem to break off the vine at that point :?.

BP
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Sorry I've been slacking on this thread. I do have pics of more cantaloupes and that big Sugar bay watermelon CUT OPEN. All I'm gonna say is............ Watermelon SUCCESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'll hopefully get the pics up in the next day or two, but if not, definitely this weekend. Maybe a couple honeydew pics too?

garden5
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BP wrote:Sorry I've been slacking on this thread. I do have pics of more cantaloupes and that big Sugar bay watermelon CUT OPEN. All I'm gonna say is............ Watermelon SUCCESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'll hopefully get the pics up in the next day or two, but if not, definitely this weekend. Maybe a couple honeydew pics too?
We'll be waiting. Glad to hear you've been having success! :D.

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engineeredgarden
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BP - that's fantastic! Can't wait to see the pics....

BP
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Sorry it took so long, but here are my final pics of this thread.

The 5 and a half pound Gold Star cut open. I highly suggest growing this hybrid if you are a cantaloupe fan. VERY sweet!
[img]https://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb9/BP991/Melon%20patch/002-4.jpg[/img]

Sugar Baby watermelon, Honeydew and Honey Rock Cantaloupe
[img]https://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb9/BP991/Melon%20patch/003-6.jpg[/img]

Honey Rock cut open
[img]https://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb9/BP991/Melon%20patch/004-5.jpg[/img]

That watermelon cut open with a couple of Honey Rocks that slipped off the vine that day
[img]https://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb9/BP991/Melon%20patch/064.jpg[/img]

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stella1751
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BP, that watermelon couldn't be any more perfect. I got hungry looking at your photo!

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gixxerific
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Looking good BP.

That's it I'm planting at least cantaloupe next year. I didn't this year but I had a great crop last year. I need to build another trellis they work wonders for cantaloupe.

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engineeredgarden
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Aw man....those do look good! You can tell that the sugar baby was ripe, because the rind is very thin. Oh, I bet it was good...

EG

garden5
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Wow, that gold star looks great. How did it taste. I take it that it was some type of a hybrid between a cantaloupe and something else. Was the sugar baby good?

BP
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The Gold Star is a hybrid Cantaloupe. I have found seeds on a few seed company sites. I highly suggest growing it if you are going to grow cantaloupes. Be ready for 10-12 foot vines though. Trellising is the way to go.
The Sugar Baby was great. I had many more smaller ones too. That big one was split in half. One half went to a friends' Birthday party/bonfire and had a fifth of watermelon vodka added to it. Lots of happy people haha. The other half was eaten by family and some taken into work along with many cantaloupes. That Honeydew in the pic wasn't ripe and was wasted. I have 2 more I let get more yellow in the fridge right now and will cut one tomorrow night.
I plan on taking pics and doing a step by step of the building of my next melon trellis to post here for anyone that is interested. It will be made of wood and have a shelving system to support fruit. I'm pretty excited about it. It will be awhile before I start it though. Fall surf fishing for salmon and brown trout is just around the corner on our Great Lakes here in Michigan. After that is my #1 hobby in all of life, ICE FISHING! I know most here aren't in the parts of the country that have frozen lakes, but if anyone is interested in following mine as well as many friends' seasons there is a public site a buddy of mine started called www.thereelguys.org
Make sure to type the word THE before reelguys or you will be lead to a gay pron site. I'm not joking either, many new members have made that mistake. It's more than just fishing. It is everything outdoors. There is a gardening board that I have my melons all over. There is hunting, projects, in the spring there is mushroom hunting, camping, boating, politics, monthly outdoor photo contests, recipes, check it out. The goal of the site is to get kids involved in the outdoors instead of drugs, crime, and the national epidemic of obesity due to sitting infront of the tv playing video games. We have 2 annual ice fishing gatherings that grow every year. One is a daytime and the other a night time smelt ice fishing gig where many outdoor companies donate products to be given to children and a few for adults too. You will notice that most members are from Michigan, but we are hoping for more members from other states. If you are into the outdoors, please check it out. We would LOVE for a thread from down south about catfish noodling. My name on there is SPLASH. Name was given to me years back when I fell through the ice in 18 feet of water. Yeah, funny huh? Anyway, thanks for all the help with my melon patch this year and I'll still be here in envy of the southerners that can grow year round, but once the lakes freeze, you can find me there.
Thankyou to all, Bret

BP
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EG, check your inbox

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engineeredgarden
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BP - I don't have any new messages in my inbox....

LindsayArthurRTR
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BP, the Honeydew will ripen on the counter if picked too early! :() canteloupes too!!! Unfortunately watermelons won't, though...

garden5
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I'm going to have to get some "real" cantaloupe seeds for next year. This year, I just planted some seeds from a store-bought cantaloupe....needless to say, I didn't expect much :roll:. Next year, I'm starting early in pots and growing a short season variety. I finally got the onion-growing down-pat...on to the melons!

BP
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Garden 5, you probably have a couple more weeks growing season than I do. Don't worry about the early variety, just plant what you want. That Gold Star said 95 days and honeydew 110 and they both were giving fruit way before that. Yes, we had a very hot summer, but as long as they are started early inside, they are good to grow here.
EG, I must have messed up on the private message. I gotta get to work and then the campground after that. I'll retype it sunday.

garden5
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BP wrote:Garden 5, you probably have a couple more weeks growing season than I do. Don't worry about the early variety, just plant what you want. That Gold Star said 95 days and honeydew 110 and they both were giving fruit way before that. Yes, we had a very hot summer, but as long as they are started early inside, they are good to grow here.
EG, I must have messed up on the private message. I gotta get to work and then the campground after that. I'll retype it sunday.
Oh, well then I guess you're right. My season is from mid-May to mid-Oct.(frost to frost), what's yours like?

I think I will still give my melons a bit of a head start by starting them in pots, though.

BP
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I planted June 1st. I didn't want any chance of frost. Just in the past week we've had night lows in the 40's. I camped in a tent this weekend and used an electric blanket and was fine. The PM killed the plants off way before temps would've. Being new to this in all, I did look at the average first and last frost back in May, but I don't think too much about it. I follow the weather/temp patterns for fishing and it can be quite different year to year here. Next years' plan is to start everything inside and play it by ear when I'll transplant outside.

garden5
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BP wrote:I planted June 1st. I didn't want any chance of frost. Just in the past week we've had night lows in the 40's. I camped in a tent this weekend and used an electric blanket and was fine. The PM killed the plants off way before temps would've. Being new to this in all, I did look at the average first and last frost back in May, but I don't think too much about it. I follow the weather/temp patterns for fishing and it can be quite different year to year here. Next years' plan is to start everything inside and play it by ear when I'll transplant outside.
OK, so your season is a lot like mine. My plan for next year is just about the same as yours. Though I know they don't need to be started indoors, I do like the idea of getting a head-start on the growing season, even if it's just the 10 days for germination.

franktank232
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I'm tempted to try to get my melons to grow up on my roof. Very little pitch and full sun. Probably melt the vines up there! Nice melons.

I grew a 74lb Carolina Cross, bu.t the flavor was nothing to write home about

garden5
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franktank232 wrote:I'm tempted to try to get my melons to grow up on my roof. Very little pitch and full sun. Probably melt the vines up there! Nice melons.

I grew a 74lb Carolina Cross, bu.t the flavor was nothing to write home about
That's very possible. I heard of a gentleman who did that with cucumbers. Just put up a trellis and once the vines reach the top of the trellis, let them go over onto the roof. If anything, the heat would do them good. You'd just have to make sure you have a way of securing them so they don't roll off :lol:.

thyme2garden
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This was a very interesting thread to read all at once! I even got the instant gratification of seeing two months of melon progress all at once! :D

BP, you grew some awesome watermelons and cantaloupes this year! Thanks for sharing your experience and pictures here for all the rest of us.

EG, it's nice to see you in this forum! You're the first person from my blogging world that I've "seen" in these forums.

I'm growing my first cantaloupe this year from seed from a supermarket melon. I've been chronicling my experience on my vegetable garden blog, and here's the latest picture of my melon if anyone's interested!

[img]https://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ElwJb9bX2wc/TIUs2nn8SZI/AAAAAAAAAiw/kblnylDqhNI/s1600/DSC00544.JPG[/img]

garden5
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thyme2garden wrote:This was a very interesting thread to read all at once! I even got the instant gratification of seeing two months of melon progress all at once! :D

BP, you grew some awesome watermelons and cantaloupes this year! Thanks for sharing your experience and pictures here for all the rest of us.

EG, it's nice to see you in this forum! You're the first person from my blogging world that I've "seen" in these forums.

I'm growing my first cantaloupe this year from seed from a supermarket melon. I've been chronicling my experience on my vegetable garden blog, and here's the latest picture of my melon if anyone's interested!

[img]https://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ElwJb9bX2wc/TIUs2nn8SZI/AAAAAAAAAiw/kblnylDqhNI/s1600/DSC00544.JPG[/img]

I've tried so many times to grow a cantaloupe from a store-bought plant and had nothing to speak of that I was beginning to wonder if there was some kind of problem with growing from store-bought seeds. It looks like you answered my question!

Congratulations on that nice melon!

greenstubbs
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I just let my H2Omelons crawl on the ground, to much hassle and work growing on a trellis!. Honestly, cantalope and honeydew fruit don't need to be supported as you all are doing. I have never had a problem letting them hang on there own, just make sure your fencing for the trellis is strong enough to support the weight. Cantalopes are ripe when they fall of the vine, honeydews are tough to judge when ripe. H2O's are ripe when the light green goes to a flushed yellow and the dark green turns to a lighter shade as shown on pg. 5 or 6??. I have had a really goofy weather year on the left coast and my melons didn't good this year, you just have to take the bad with the good. As I say each year with my garden, " It's the grand experiment"! Enjoy your bounties.

garden5
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greenstubbs wrote:I just let my H2Omelons crawl on the ground, to much hassle and work growing on a trellis!. Honestly, cantalope and honeydew fruit don't need to be supported as you all are doing. I have never had a problem letting them hang on there own, just make sure your fencing for the trellis is strong enough to support the weight. Cantalopes are ripe when they fall of the vine, honeydews are tough to judge when ripe. H2O's are ripe when the light green goes to a flushed yellow and the dark green turns to a lighter shade as shown on pg. 5 or 6??. I have had a really goofy weather year on the left coast and my melons didn't good this year, you just have to take the bad with the good. As I say each year with my garden, " It's the grand experiment"! Enjoy your bounties.
Many of us trellis our melons simply because we don't have the room to let them sprawl, others do it to keep them up, off of the ground, while still others do it just for the novelty of it.

Oh and then there's those of us who do it for all of the reasons above :lol:. Growing on the ground does have it's advantages, though. One of them is that it allows the plants to set down more roots, thus uptaking more nutrition.

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engineeredgarden
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Honestly, cantalope and honeydew fruit don't need to be supported as you all are doing
I'm sorry, but I have to disagree. There's no way I'd let either one just dangle from it's stem. Although small ones would be ok, muskmelons frequently get to almost 10 lbs. I've been growing melons and pumpkins vertically for years, and definitely know their limitations.

EG



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