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Going Green

I have had no luck on watermelon this year. I have soaked my jiffy pots, squeeze out excess water. Put in seeds and put non heat pad with cover. They don't pop! so I soaked seed and placed on wet cloth at 85 degree temp. They did not pop. so I put potting soil in cup and after soaked I put in seeds and they did not pop. Time is running out. I want to grow watermelon this year. Any Advice. Anyone willing to send seeds.

5/18/2015 1:03:53 PM

Lexington, Ky

In my past fails, too much moisture, too little heat. How old are your seeds?

5/18/2015 1:24:33 PM

Home of happy lil plants

cover pot with saran wrap and no bottom heat under flouresent light at room temp,. I can not make anything else work for me on watermelons and every melon since doing that they all pop up. and i killed alottt of melon seeds trying any other way..oh i file melon seeds first too like a kin just for good measure really not sure that it helps water soak in better but may help seed pop off a bit sooner

and not to repeat what someone else told me after I murdered their precious seed but. Seeds grow in dirt not paper towels/cloth

5/18/2015 1:41:23 PM

formerly RGG

Sometimes I have had germination problems. So in reaction to that I will maybe get out a jar of seeds from a good genetics melon and throw a handful of seeds into a pot of potting mix and cover with more potting mix and water it and wait. Usually the result is more seedlings than I can possibly use. But the seeds would have gone to waste anyway and my problem has been solved. I am sure I have over 100 melon plants growing right now. Most will serve as bait plants for my continuing groundhog problem. But one or two of them may get plugged into a hill to be given the chance to grow a giant melon if a need arises.

5/18/2015 9:13:42 PM

formerly RGG

Were you're seeds properly stored ? In other words, could they have been damaged before they were planted ? Were your seeds old and left out of the freezer or somehow exposed to a lot of moisture ?

5/18/2015 9:44:05 PM

Going Green

Seeds were mailed to me in plastic bags and received a month ago. They were from fruit grown in 2014. I have had one out of 35 seeds germinate. The seeds were from five different growers.

5/19/2015 10:38:25 AM

Eastern Pennsylvania

I use the wet paper towel method with near 100% success on melons. I also file the seeds very carefully first, and I find that melons need hotter temps, more like 93°F or so is what I aim for with melons.

5/19/2015 1:13:46 PM

Manchester, TN

Don't know where you are located "going green", but I will have a couple plants you are welcome to.

5/19/2015 1:50:25 PM

formerly RGG

I have lots of good extra plants too and you are most welcome to some. I don't know about getting any of them to you though.Anyway, I think they are good genetics as they are mostly my 239 Leonard x open that I grew last year. Where are you located Pumpkin Farm ? Perhaps if a close by grower finds out you need plants they will help you out. Chris Kent gave me my 239 Leonard plant last year and I think it is probably the most sought after seed in the growing of giant watermelons. Thanks again Chris. We get by with a little help from our friends.

5/19/2015 2:57:55 PM

Nakina NC

What is your water source? Are you on city water? Have you tried rain water.

5/19/2015 8:55:50 PM

sevierville, Tn

warm...melons like warm. 90+ temps to germinate. when they come up , then move to normal temps.

5/19/2015 10:18:05 PM

Going Green

Thank you Tennessee but I am in Missouri. The 236 Kent and others did not pop.I will have to drag out older seeds and try again. I use nothing but warmed rain water. 4" of rain this week.

5/20/2015 11:21:47 AM

Going Green

I can Hardley believe it but I tried to germinate 6 new seeds and got 6 new plants. I think I was keeping the seeds to hot to germinate. Took them out of the sun and in 85 degrees and they all popped.

6/9/2015 12:35:42 AM

formerly RGG

CC seeds will germinate just fine at 85 degrees or even less. It just takes a little longer than at 90 degrees or above. Some growers seem to think it is cool to get them germinated in a very short time. I direct sowed a lot of seeds this spring and they were coming up over several weeks. Like other living things, each seed is an individual and has its own time frame for germinating.

6/9/2015 7:28:54 AM

NE Arkansas

I know this... I have no issues getting seeds to germ but I had 1 out of 4 of the 306 Bartoli germ and it died after popping... It stayed 3" tall for a month before dying. Everything else I had no issues with.

6/9/2015 9:34:44 AM