How to Grow Watermelons

Overview

Believed to have originated in Africa, watermelons are a delicious fruit perfect for a summer day but also good any time of year. The best watermelons are those that are homegrown. Fresh, full of flavor and juicy, nothing beats a homegrown melon compared to the store bought ones. By following some basic but important steps you can have your own bumper watermelon crop in just a few months time. Biting into that first piece of fresh garden grown melon will taste all the more sweeter knowing you grew them yourself!

Step 1

Decide what kind of watermelons you want to grow and where you want to start the seeds. The average watermelon is quite large, takes up a lot of space and has a longer growing season. To grow this kind it is best to have plenty of room for the vines and then the large fruit. Most that grow this traditional kind of watermelon usually have room for a regular garden. There is another type of watermelon that is about the size of a small basketball, averaging up to 10 pounds. This variety is called bush melon or sugar baby watermelon. These have a shorter growing time and only take 1/3 of the area to grow in that the larger melons need. Watermelon seeds can be started indoors or outdoors. Starting the seeds indoors works better when you live in an area with shorter growing seasons and can give you a head start to mature melons.

Sugar baby watermelon -

Step 2

Plant the seeds in the desired location after the last frost of the year. Check the back of the seed package for estimated time for mature growth. Plant indoor seeds in peat pots, 1 to 3 seeds in a pot. This will ensure that at least one will grow. If they all do, you can thin out if need be later. Once the seeds have grown into seedlings, they can be transplanted pot and all into soil outside. For outdoor seeds, first make small hills in the soil. These hills should be at least 8 feet apart. Push several seeds into the mound of dirt. You can also plant the seeds in rows instead of hills with about 8 inches between seeds. If you have started seeds indoors, you would plant the seedlings instead of seeds. If planting the smaller sugar baby variety, cut the spacing between seeds or seedlings outside in half.

Watermelon seedlings -

Step 3

Thin out the seedlings. If all of the planted seedlings have come up, thin some out so that others have ample room to grow. Watermelons are vined plants and will stretch out over the ground as they grow. Too many plants will become choked in each other's vines and result in a poor harvest.

Watermelon on vine -

Step 4

Water the watermelon plants often. The soil should not be saturated or muddy, but moist. Watermelons will need a lot of water, so watering every day is fine unless there has been a lot of rain. A garden hose can be used or a bucket of water to pour water onto the plants. When watering seedlings, pour the water slowly and without much force so that they are not washed out of the ground. Older plants will stay put, but watering at the base of the plant will ensure the roots get as much as they need.

Step 5

Spread fertilizer on the watermelon plants. Add plenty of compost made up of leaves, old food or manure. There are also commercially prepared fertilizers that can be bought at any lawn and garden department or shop. Use a garden tool to work it into the soil around the plants

Step 6

Weed the plants frequently from the time of first growth of the watermelon throughout the growing season. Weeds will steal the food and moisture from the soil and from your watermelon plants. This will result in a smaller or damaged crop if weeds are left. Use a garden hoe on larger weeds. Smaller ones close to the watermelon plants can be pulled by hand to avoid accidentally hitting the watermelons with the hoe.

Step 7

Watch for garden pests and disease. These are bugs or worms that like to eat the watermelon or the plants as much as you do. Signs of garden pests include mold, holes in the leaves and droppings on the plant. The cucumber beetle is one of the most aggressive pests that go after watermelon plants. They destroy the plant and spread disease. Garden shops will have a variety of pesticides to combat these and other pests.

Cucumber Beetle -

Step 8

Harvest your watermelons when they are ready. The bottom of the fruit by the ground will be a yellowish color in some instances but not always. Look at the vine tip that attaches to the fruit. A watermelon ready to pick will have a tip that is dry and brittle. Rap the watermelon with your knuckles or fingers. If it is ready, there will be a hollow thumping sound. Watermelons do not continue to ripen once picked so be sure to pick only when it is ready to eat.

Ripe melon with the yellow coloring -

How to Grow Watermelons by onekingseed.com