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Some say that watermelons are the food of angels, and if you’ve ever tasted a homegrown watermelon you’ll surely agree. Only a fresh, homegrown watermelon would ever be considered heavenly enough for angels, so adding them to your home garden will make for a special treat come summer.
First, you should decide what kind of watermelon you want to plant. There are many varieties, such as red flesh, yellow flesh and seedless. Sizes vary, too, from the large Charleston Grey, which can weigh up to 25 pounds, to the small Sugar Baby that can weigh as little as 6 pounds and fits easily into a refrigerator. Whatever variety you choose, they will do well in sandy soil and warm climates. All varieties also need a longer growing season than some other garden plants, (70 to 85 days), so this needs to be taken into consideration when you are choosing which ones to plant.
Next, you should decide if you want to start your seeds indoors or direct plant them outside. Transplanted melons can be harvested around 10 days earlier than those sown outside. If starting indoors, you should not plant too soon. Younger plants transplant better than larger plants, so start your seeds no sooner than about 3 weeks before you plan to set them outside. Any earlier and the plants will be ready to be transplanted and the outside soil temperature may not yet be at the recommended 70 degrees. Seeds should be planted in peat pots and kept at a temperature of 80 to 95 degrees.
Whether setting out plants or sowing seeds, they need to be planted in a sunny location in “hills” that are about 6 feet apart in rows that are also about 6 feet apart. This keeps them from crowding each other and will cut down on diseases. Runners can be “trained” to grow in rows if you gently move them in the direction you want them to grow. This will also keep the runners out of the way of the tiller, should you decide to run it down the middle during growing season.
If weeding is needed, hoeing shouldn’t be done too deep, since deep cultivating could damage the roots. Black plastic mulch will help warm the soil and will cut down on weeds. Or, straw can also be used as mulch.
Watermelons can tolerate some dry days, but will need to be watered if there are too many hot days with no rain. Avoid over watering, though, since this can lead to fungus diseases, which can be a real problem, especially if there is a particularly wet season.
Finally, after all the hard work, comes the harvest. Learning to tell when a watermelon is ripe takes some practice, but there are a few clues to help you when choosing a ripe melon. Look, first, at the curly tendrils near the stem. If they are brown and dried out, you may have a ripe one. Next, look at the underside of the melon. The light circle on a melon’s underside will turn from light green to a cream color when they are ripe. The last thing you look for, or the first if you are an old-timer who knows his stuff, is the sound of a ripe melon when thumped. Ripe melons have a hollow, dull sound. If it’s not ripe, the sound will be a higher pitch than a ripe one.
Growing watermelons can be a rewarding experience with delicious results. Follow these
tips and you will have a feast fit for an angel before the summer’s over!
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