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Jamul

Would I be wasting my time with 5/8 inch females?
The plant main is now around 10 feet, the next longest vine is about 6 feet. It is now 2 months and 10 days old. So far I have pinched all the females off.


Thanks

4/9/2011 12:23:06 PM

Garner, NC

The longer and well shaped are best. Is the female 5/8" with a open flower or is the flower still closed?

4/9/2011 2:12:38 PM

Muddy Waters

Your ready to start pollinating!un less the experts say different!The plants 70 days old,Melons grow about 80 days,plant life about 150 days,time wise T think its time to Rock those melons!

4/9/2011 2:36:01 PM

sevierville, Tn

Usually need about 2.2 cm min, but longer is better. I use cm since its a little more accurate. Thats on the day the female opens & the size of the fruit only.

4/9/2011 2:58:46 PM

Jamul

Ice Man, so far the flowers do open, but I have been pinching them while the plant gets bigger. I have left one on and pollinated it it stayed open for 3 days and is still partially opened...and tiny. The new ones look like they will be small too. There is one near the tip of the main which would be a very good spot.



Handy, I would love to get one to stick and grow big!

4/9/2011 3:12:06 PM

Jamul

BTW by "wasting my time" I mean is this likely to be capable of growing even a 100 pound melon based on the female size? The plant looks pretty good.

Any one have any hunches on why the females are so tiny...smaller even than crimson sweet or other regular sized melons that I grew last year.

Thanks,

4/9/2011 3:31:41 PM

Marshall, MI

Hey Mr Rustico
You havent said what plant your growing. Is it a top of the line plant like a 255# Mitchell or a 291# Kent .
Could make a difference.

4/9/2011 4:17:26 PM

Garner, NC

Agree with Bill, are you positive it's a carolina cross, could there been a mix up in the seeds. If your first female was that small, i would think others would be bigger, but if all were small, even smaller than a crimson sweet I may be suspicious.
Maybe there growers and not showers! lol

4/9/2011 4:36:15 PM

Jamul

Mr. Edwards, It is the 193 White, I don't care if it is a contender or not, maybe it is, but I don't think I would be shooting at a 25 pound watermelon either! The plant has leaves bigger a dinner plate here and there,I haven't seen that in the little melons? How big are the male cc flowers? These are not big either.

4/9/2011 7:10:53 PM

Jamul

There is some possibility of a mix-up on my end, very slight, It still would have been from a near 200 pound melon according to the packages I had opened.

4/9/2011 7:16:36 PM

Muddy Waters

Ive never measured my melons,I will this year,I figured they is what they is,& went with them,not much time to pick & choose up here!

4/9/2011 7:16:39 PM

Jamul

That's some of the good news here, Mark. I can(and probably should) start seeds in June. Dammit.

4/9/2011 7:38:38 PM

Marshall, MI

Hey Mr Rustico
The 193#is a big melon and without a doubt should give you a verry nice offspring. After all the 255# mitchell was grown from a 168# and the 251#mudd was grown from a 178#

I would get one going Im sure it will do great for you.

4/9/2011 8:57:30 PM

Jamul

Thank you, Mr. Edwards...I will do what I can. Somehow I got stuck thinking 1.54cm is an inch instead of 2.54. Makes some difference. Still like to see a big female flower someday.

James White also gave me six seeds from one of Chris' with your 267 as the pollinator, I will try to grow it in the normal season.

4/9/2011 9:31:03 PM

Muddy Waters

are you growing for GPC??If you are I would start new seeds this week or next!

4/9/2011 9:51:35 PM

Jamul

I do want to start them, Mark. Believe it or not, only about half the nights will hit 50F here for a month and a half. My two sets of heating cables are under this plant and I won't spring for more this year.

How many nights in the 40's can a plant take more or less well? How about a few in the mid 30's with a light bulb and tarp? Only about half the nights in May will be in the 50's. It snowed a little last night!

Thanks so much for the coaching. I would be alright with you getting that Giant Watermelon money, BTW.

4/9/2011 10:12:07 PM

Muddy Waters

Start over with new plants,Im starting mine this week about mid week I started last year on 17th of April I just looked in my Diary & decided to bump a few days to the 13th,Rip those out & start over,you need some seeds? I can have them out in 3 days,I thought you were in San Diego!Wheres Jamul??The melons will deteriorate under 50 degrees if more than a couple weeks.I think the other 90 members wont be alright with me getting money!lol

4/9/2011 11:12:52 PM

Jamul

Mark, I just changed my user location from San Diego, to the un-incorporated part of the county of San Diego which I live in.I think "San Diego" might give people a impression of the tropics. Jamul is in the boonies.

Anyway, the 193 plant has been pretty cozy with the heat cables and shop light. I am shooting for the exhibition at the fair in June,not feeling very confident but I might as well see what this one will do.I'll get a bigger piece of visqueen.

I just wanted to know about the tolerance of cool nights for no heat added growing.Everybody must get some cool nights? I do have a good 5 months, it just starts a month later than the east coast south.

4/10/2011 1:21:42 AM

Bethlehem CT

Rustico I would not feel to bad about your plant just yet, give it some time, it may still throw some big females for you. That is one advantage you gain by such an early start, you get a much bigger window for pollinations. Just keep that plant healthy and growing.

4/10/2011 8:01:55 AM

Muddy Waters

Just grow what you have the next few females will do,How many days till show?PVC is cheap stick plastic in ground & a big pc of visQueen under 100$ green house,If you only get cool at nite it will grow,I lived on Coranado Ave when I was in 6th grade my father was in the Navy 23 years.Hopefully the weather will warm up for you,big Moon is right,dont panic & over fert to speed it up,it wont work without temps anyway.

4/10/2011 8:13:57 AM

Jamul

Thanks John and Mark. No more panic.Except that I am going to have to self it.
I've got a ton of 6 mil plastic with no rain in the forecast
I uncovered this morning after the four day storm/clouds and the plant is thriving. It looks like the main vine is bulking up so hopefully that is a good sign for bigger females.
Best of growing to you all. I'll let you know what comes of it.

So Handy, Do you ever come back to SD? I arrived via enlistment in the Navy too. 1980. My how things have changed.

4/10/2011 12:44:00 PM

Muddy Waters

I was there in 1972 I beleive the year Miami Dolphins played the Redskins,I been to redwood city,Carmel,San francisco,sacremento.in the 80s.Havent been back to Balboa Park My father was a Sea wolfe,Jet & Helicopter Mechanic,U.S.Kitty Hawk,2 tours Vietnam,Purple heart!

4/10/2011 2:28:02 PM

Rochester, Minnesota

I am a little late on this conversation, but that hasn't stopped me before.

I think the size and shape of the female is biggest indicator you have of the size and shape of the finished melon.

I think this year I will take pictures of all the females at pollination time (is that garden porn?), and keep track of them in relation to the finished melon.

4/11/2011 10:09:42 AM

Jamul

Hello James,
Thanks for posting. The plant is doing great. It would look a lot better if I were spreading it out properly...in fact I am kind of piling it up a little bit by keeping it in the low tunnel. Let me know if you want to know more about the plant. I don't know enough to look at it with any discernment either way, other than that it is a strong grower.

5/8" may have been a bit of an exaggeration too. These females are tiny. I am going to try to pollinate one in a few hours.

I see what you mean about all this reproduction biology. It's a family site, or we might come up with some funny things to say about it.

4/11/2011 1:24:06 PM

Jamul

Mark, the Carrier is amazing.It might end up in North Carolina as a museum. My ship did a Westpac with her and I have been on board a few time to do electrical repairs as a civilian. We actually "drag raced" a carrier with a very fast destroyer once. 36 miles an hour can be a lot of fun.

I hope it all worked out for your father after getting hurt.

4/11/2011 1:37:14 PM

Muddy Waters

Yeah he was fine Physicly,Shot in the back,he healed fine,Mentally he was never the same after War!I hope you grow a Big one,

4/11/2011 6:24:58 PM

Jamul

I hope you grow as many big ones as you want and win some of that watermelon money.

My goals are not extreme for this crowd. I heard someone is shooting for 312? It would be nice to approximate the 200lb club within a couple of years.

4/12/2011 12:20:12 AM

sevierville, Tn

The plant looks great in your picture ! I have had plants that didn't produce good females on the main, had to use a female on a finger vine. That may be your case. Don't worry too much, just use another vine to set on.

4/12/2011 2:44:48 PM

Jamul

Thanks for looking at it, Chris... and for the tips. I didn't know that they put out several strong vines from the stump until you mentioned it in a another thread about the time the 193 was sprouting them.

It looks tempting to go "front to front" with two plants 5 or so feet apart and just snip the mains then let the rest grow in a fan shapes away from each other. Get more plants in the same space and take advantage of water and amendment work.

4/12/2011 11:24:54 PM