From

Location

Message

Date Posted

Deep South, USA

My plants' first female flower was pollinated 5 days ago. This afternoon I went out and measured the nascent fruit. It measured 1 3/4" stem to blossom end, and about 3 1/2" girth. The shape is a bit odd, the actual length is more like 2".

First, has it come far enough to call it a set fruit?
Second, how is the growth rate? It started out a between a half inch and one inch if I remember correctly.

Also, I have another female on the same plant, three days since pollination. Will either interfere with the growth of the other this early?

7/5/2010 9:27:03 PM

Deep South, USA

NOTE: Stem to blossom end is a straight line measure, not over the curve of the fruit surface.

7/5/2010 9:28:15 PM

Corryton, TN

I'd say its set but that doesn't mean its a keeper. Pollinate or let several get pollinated. keep records of dates and compare Average Daily Gains, shapes, vine location, etc. Eliminate odd shaped fruit. Decide on one in a couple of weeks and have fun.

7/8/2010 7:04:53 AM

Deep South, USA

To update, something ate a big plug out of the fruit, a bit less than a quarter of an inch across and about a quarter inch deep. Looks like maybe a terrapin got it. I have a better shaped one coming along, and the damaged one had a strange shape already, so I picked the damaged one. I was mainly concerned about bacteria getting into the plant, since when a fruit is that small, damage like that is a large percentage.

Did I do the right thing in taking it off, or should I have waited to see if it made it? Hopefully it won't happen again, but it might.

7/8/2010 3:44:47 PM

Corryton, TN

Ya did good!
My bet is rats.

7/9/2010 10:37:40 AM

Deep South, USA

It certainly could be. There's a lot of wildlife around here. My uncle is growing yellow fleshed watermelons for eating, and he's having trouble with raccoons. His are much further along though.

I've put a plastic pot over the other one it to try and keep
it safer, though I suspect a rat could still get it.

I've been concerned about slow fruit growth. So far, I've seen two melons grow to five days. I've only got one set right now, it's a week old. Last night, it measured 2 3/4" stem-to-blossom end (straight line again) and 5" girth. I was under the impression by a week old the ideal fruit would weigh several pounds.

Am I wrong about that?

7/9/2010 5:13:46 PM

sevierville, Tn

Yoshi, at 7 days it should be...IF...the plant is big enought. How big is your plant ?

7/9/2010 6:18:14 PM

Deep South, USA

I measured it just a minute ago, the best I can tell, it measures about 13.4 square feet. Most of the plant's vines seem to travel in one general direction, though they are spread out.

7/9/2010 6:44:37 PM

sevierville, Tn

That sounds like your problem, the plants way too small.
Should be 100-150 sq ft when the melon starts. Just not enough plant to grow it. You have lots of time, let the plant grow more before trying to grow a melon.
Can you post a picture to a diary ??

7/9/2010 11:10:00 PM

Deep South, USA

All three plants are in the same spot. When I planted them,
I didn't know large watermelon plants should be individually placed. I'm still hoping I can get a decent sized large one.

In photos showing all three plants it looks like all one large plant.

I've been keeping photo records, but have been debating whether to setup a diary. I'm on dial-up, and that makes posting photos a bit tricky. I might try posting just a few at first and see how it goes.

I remember last year, about July 16, I started noticing melons that would grow rapidly enough to change very noticeably day-to-day, sometimes appearing to add 50% to 100% of their mass.

That's what I should be waiting for, isn't it? Does it coincide with the larger females? I remember seeing some late in the season last year that were almost like AA batteries.

If a single plan covers 13 sq ft now, how long should it take to reach +100 sq ft?

Will any set fruit now hinder the vine's growth?

7/10/2010 1:11:43 AM

formerly RGG

It's very hard to be competitive growing more than one plant in the same hill. Have you considered terminating 2 plants & leaving your best one?

7/11/2010 5:16:19 PM

Deep South, USA

I've thought about removing at least one, but admittedly I'm reluctant. If the one plant left died, that would be it for the year, no watermelons of any size. I'm not saying I won't remove any, but I want to contemplate and discuss it before deciding what to do.

What sort of melons would the three plants likely produce if they were left as is? Or would they produce any at all?

Were I to decide to remove two plants, how would I go about it? I would think if I tried pulling them up like weeds, I would damage the roots on the keeper plant.

I was poorly prepared for growing this year. I should have checked into how to grow large watermelons sooner.

7/12/2010 12:15:37 AM

sevierville, Tn

13 sq feet is too small. 3 to a hill will , if the plants get big enough, give you small melons... 20-40 lb size.

To remove at this point if they are close together, you should cut them off at the soil level. If they are 6 inches or more apart, i would pull it , BUT hold the soil down with one hand to minimize disruptions.

7/12/2010 3:10:17 PM

Deep South, USA

I may have measured the plant wrong. What's the best way to measure? I measured it roughly in a square that I thought the single plant basically filled. It worked out to approx 44 in^2 / 144 or 13.44 sq ft. Should I have measured differently?

What's the minimum space necessary between plants to keep them from competing? I've got one plant away from the others, as far as I can tell it's all to itself (the vines are not tangled with the other two), but I doubt it's far enough. This single plant is NOT the one measured at 13.44 sq ft. This plant has three main runners that currently average around 5 feet, the best I can tell.

7/12/2010 7:35:20 PM