I was lazy for a few days the water melon vines grew over to an orange tree where there is irrigation when I tried to move the vines they won't move. After CSI investigation I see the vines have grown roots and are attached to the ground. LOL.
I learned something today I did not know about melons. The vines grow roots any place they touch the soil just like sweet potatoes do. That is cool.
Zig Zagging my vines back and forth across each other is the wrong thing too do vines can not touch the soil and can not grow new roots. The extra roots add extra water and nutrients to sweet potato plants helps make more and larger potatoes, I bet it does the same thing for melons.
I bet if you cover the vines with soil in several place it would produce much larger melons. I wonder if that is how people grown those record breaking 100 lbs melons and 800 lb pumpkins I see at the country fair.
I wonder what size does to the flavor? I would rather have a 20 lb good flavor melon than a 100 lb melon with poor flavor.