From

Location

Message

Date Posted

NE Arkansas

Ok here is the list of confirmed people... if I missed you please email me...

Lloyd Bright
Chris Kent
Spencer Glasgow
Jeremy Terry
Jeremy Lindley
Mike Daniels
Hank Houston
Michael Nelson
John Ciesielski
Tony Prochasha
Pat Klowas
Josh Scherer

5/15/2016 8:55:03 PM

sevierville, Tn

thanks, Good luck to all growers. I can't wait to see what we all get ! :)

5/15/2016 10:28:52 PM

East Tennessee

good luck all! my lil black diamond is looking good just need some sunshine.

5/16/2016 9:13:40 AM

Grant, AL

Good luck guys! I'm going to have to get in on this next year if yall do it again.

5/16/2016 10:46:40 AM

NE Arkansas

200 lbs or bust baby!!! Good Luck guys!

5/16/2016 3:55:54 PM

Bethlehem CT

This is exciting! I will be thrilled if someone breaks 200 pounds!

5/16/2016 5:48:57 PM

Bowdon, GA

Are you guys growing black diamond(black seed)or blue rind (not black seed) I think the later could grow 200lbs.

5/17/2016 12:13:05 AM

Home of happy lil plants

Black diamond solid black....me kent and Jeremy all planted seeds from the 110 bright

5/17/2016 12:18:34 AM

Home of happy lil plants

Anything over 150 is going to be something to see for sure

5/17/2016 12:19:26 AM

simpson,KS

growing the 165 had seed left over from last season it was doing good till the rain train came plus cold temps

5/17/2016 10:28:31 AM

Bethlehem CT

Jake I have got mostly the light colored seed, the genetics are from your patch and Cliff Knights. I grew one of Lloyd Bright's 165 black diamond melons last year, the seeds came out black with light colored edges. Very pretty seeds.

5/17/2016 4:54:52 PM

Bowdon, GA

If I remember correctly Llyod has been developing the black seed melon for a long time. Seems like it was for a black diamond contest in Texas Maybe? I believe they cut the winner open to make sure it is a black diamond (black seeds) not a blue rind. I think the blue rinds Llyod grows orginally were from a Cobbs gem that had a dark rind. If he sees this he might be able to correct me if I'm wrong.

5/17/2016 11:34:05 PM

Bowdon, GA

Both mine and Cliffs have one black seeded parent, but the offspring's seeds always take after the Carolina Cross. I think with good care 150 is very obtainable for Bluerinds and cobbs gem. The ones I grew in the field with very little attention averaged 100-110. I am very interested in seeing how you guys do. 150lb black diamond will be a sight to see.

5/17/2016 11:42:51 PM

Bethlehem CT

Jake I am glad you mentioned this. Would a melon with light colored seeded type qualify for this contest?

5/18/2016 7:21:47 AM

South Arkansas

Jake, you are correct on the Blue Rind. The Blue Rind melon appeared in a Cobb Gem field planted with Willhite Cobb Gem seeds. It was intermediate in shape so likely the Cobb Gem parent flower was accidentally pollinated with a White Seed Tom Watson. The black seed color in the Jumbo Black Diamond came from a Carolina Cross melon grown in 1977.

5/18/2016 11:24:52 PM

Bowdon, GA

John, no they cut the winner open. If it doesn't have black seeds its disqualified they go to the next one.

5/19/2016 12:34:48 AM

Bowdon, GA

Llyod, The Carolina cross was a cross between Cobb's Gem and a NC melon that was long right? Was this some of Ed Weeks seed? I guess I was trying to figure out when white seeds were introduced to the CC. All of the old big varieties I could think of were black seeded, except the Tom Watson.

5/19/2016 12:47:13 AM

South Arkansas

The Weeks seeds that I saw in the 70's varied in color. Some were reddish brown, some tan, some black. The seeds we first collected were of the light tan type. They were all of the long type melons. I think Vernon Conrad's CC seeds were reddish brown.

5/19/2016 10:32:19 AM

NE Arkansas

So do we need to see the inside of each melon weighed?

5/19/2016 3:59:43 PM

Bowdon, GA

I do want to make and official statement for contest rules LOL. There are tons of varieties and crosses that can give you a dark rind melon. If you make a cross say Black diamond X CC, you may get some dark rind, some with stripes, some black seeds, some brown. The second generation will show even more combinations of parents features. It takes several generations to consistently get the same characteristics.

5/19/2016 5:52:35 PM

Bowdon, GA

So I would either have everyone use the same line (like Lloyd's black diamond) or just have a no holds barred dark rind contest. Maybe as long as it's dark and has no stripes it counts.

5/19/2016 5:55:56 PM

Bethlehem CT

I was thinking along the lines of a dark melon with no stripes. Let's decide soon , I will need to start some more ASAP if the seeds have to be black.

5/19/2016 7:10:55 PM

NE Arkansas

Seed color does not matter this year. After talking to a few growers we will go with that for this year.

5/19/2016 7:53:35 PM

Bowdon, GA

John I know you have grown several varieties and crosses. Which one have you gotten the biggest melons on? Does any one variety stand out?

5/19/2016 11:21:22 PM

Bethlehem CT

My best plant to date grew a 95 and a 85 pounder in 2013. It was from Cliff Knight's genetics. He claimed that it was a Black Diamond strain that may have been open pollinated by a Sun, moon and stars. On my plant it was hard to see any evidence of the Sun,moon and stars. As the leaves looked normal and the fruit were a gorgeous dark black. There was however a small yellow spot on the rind, smaller than the size of a pea.
I grew a row of Holloway dark genetic melons that same year, which I believe had a lot of Mt. Hoosier from the 103 Masterson. The row produced many large, melons in the 50-80 pound range. I never did any fruit culling, so I don't really know how much bigger those could have gotten.
Last year I grew a melon from Lloyd's Brights Black Diamond line. Due to grower error I never got to find out what they can produce. (My plant got choked out by weeds, insects and disease and the fruit ripened prematurely.)

5/20/2016 5:52:25 AM

sevierville, Tn

My thinking on this was "black diamond" If you go with "any" dark rind then its not true to the contest. so dark rind, black seeds.

5/21/2016 8:35:25 AM