Growing Watermelons

With the major green thumb I posses I often find myself growing a plant of any kind that interests me. I love watermelons, their flavor, their taste, and I have grown one in this year. When I first grew the melon, it was in my room and I kept it there for a long time... too long. It gave it a limited amount of time to grow.

While in the precess of growing them, I've done a lot of research on them and have learned lots of important information on them.

1.) Watermelons originate from Southern Africa and grew substantially in many places in the Kalahari dessert. The first recorded harvest of the watermelon was recorded in Egypt. Egyptian hieroglyphics and wall paintings show the existence of the watermelons in that area.

I like to joke and say that's why black people like watermelon so much (although I'm black myself) because Natives of Africa are mainly black. That goes to show that stereotypes don't just come out of the air.

2.) Growing watermelons do not take as much work as I thought. All you really have to do is water them enough and make sure they have a vast amount of space.

Some of the dangers to watermelons could be the cucumber beetles. These pests like to feed off of watermelons and sometimes could kill them completely. The female beetles would lay their eggs in the ground near the roots of the watermelons and when they're born, they would feed off of the watermelons. One way to prevent this (organically) is the spread hay around the base of your watermelon. This makes it hard for the beetles to get into the ground. Or you could do like I did and grow your watermelons in a large pot where their roots will have plenty of room. This will make it difficult for foreign materials or unwanted pests get into your soil.

Some other ways to keep the pest away (inorganically) is to buy a bottle of insect protector. You could find a bottle of it at your local hardware store. There's the concentrated kind (the kind you have to mix with water to work) and the already mixed kind. I'd suggest the already mixed kind because the concentrated one could serve possible heath risks if not used properly. But if you'd like more for your money, your best bet would be the concentrated one.

This is the one I use. Except I use the ready-to-use one. It kills almost any kind of pest that could cause danger to any plant you grow.

3.) Cold weather will kill your watermelons hands down. They're not originated in Africa for no reason. Watermelons will no survive frost at all. If you live in a very cold climate, it's best that you don't plant your watermelons outdoors but to keep them domesticated. If you live in a climate that's neutral but has a short summer, you'd probably would want to grow you watermelon indoors for a while (before spring) and when all signs of frost has gone, plant them outdoors.

If you live in a very warm climate, it would be best if you planted your watermelons outdoors as quickly as you could. The quicker you put them out in the warmth, the quicker they will grown. It takes a lot of patience to grow a watermelon. Larger ones take up 80 to 90 days to mature.

4.) Watermelons need full sun. Don't keep them in a very shaded area or they will not grow as quickly. The hotter the better.

5.) Space is very important when growing a watermelon. Some of the vines can grow as long as five feet long or even longer. Watermelons don't produce just one vine either. Up to fifteen vines can grow from a watermelon. (don't worry if it's more or less)

When the watermelon ovaries start appearing, don't worry if some die. This will happen. Healthy watermelon plants may only bear three to four watermelons. Many ovaries will form on the plant and many will die. This will happen.

If no watermelons are growing, it's probably because the roots do not have enough space. If the leaves on a vine start dying one by one, that's an indication of a lack of space.

Do not disturb the roots. This could slow down the growing process.

Keep watermelons away from any other plants. If you've ever seen a vine grow, you'd know why. These small steams will grow from the main watermelon steam and begin curling around any nearby plants. Vines dominate many plants, that's why they can be dangers. Once a vine curls around another plant, it becomes very difficult to remove it. The only way I know if is to break the small vine.

6.) Harvesting a watermelon can be determined many different way. The easiest way to tell is when the steam connecting the watermelon to the vine starts to die. You can also tell by tapping on the watermelon and if it makes a hollow sound it's ready. There's the yellow belly test also. If the bottom of the watermelon is yellow, it's time the harvest. Sometimes the curly steams on the watermelon begin the brown and die.

All of these are indentations of a ready-to-be-harvested watermelon.

7.) Eat that melon! Just cut it down the middle and enjoy.