![]() What about transplanting watermelon seedlings? Harvest melons when the curly tendrils closest to the fruit are brown and shriveled and/or the fruits sound hollow when tapped. Feed the plants with your favorite, water-soluble, all-purpose fertilizer every 2-4 weeks. This will keep the fruit off of the ground and help prevent rotting. As fruits form, place several inches of straw under each developing watermelon. Wet leaves and soil can invite fungal disease. It’s best to water at the base of the plant, and preferably in the morning, to keep the foliage and soil surface from staying wet too long. As soon as the seedlings have grown two sets of true leaves (the shaped leaves that come out after the first round seed leaves), remove all but the two strongest looking plants per mound.Īs your plants grow, it’s very important to keep the plants well-watered. You should see sprouts emerging within 3 to 10 days. Plant 4 to 8 seeds per mound, about ½ inch deep, and water thoroughly. When your weather is consistently above 60° F at night and 80° or higher in the daytime it’s time to plant. Growers in cooler zones may find it helpful to cover the soil with black plastic or dark mulch to help warm it up, since watermelon seeds need about 70° soil to germinate. Melons of all kinds are traditionally planted on the top of low hills made up of either your existing garden soil or with a couple shovels of compost on top of your prepared garden space. Watermelons are heavy feeders, so prep your soil by mixing in 1-2 inches of compost. Alternatively, you could try growing your melons on a very sturdy trellis, though watermelons are not natural climbers, so you’ll need to help them along with clips or ties to attach the vines to the trellis, and fruit slings to support the melons as they grow. Bush type watermelons only need about three to four feet between plants to thrive. Their vines will be much shorter than traditional vining types, which can easily sprawl up to six feet or more. If you want to grow watermelon, but space is a concern, choose a variety with “bush” in the name. Watermelon plants are not cold tolerant in the slightest, so don’t jump the gun! Two weeks after the average last frost date is a good rule of thumb. ![]() ![]() The most important thing is to wait until the weather is warm enough to plant melons outside in your area. Generally speaking, smaller-fruited varieties ripen quicker. Watermelons will grow throughout most of the contiguous United States, although growers in northern zones or high elevation should take care to select a variety with a relatively short days to maturity period. ![]()
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