|
| About 5 years ago I planted my first watermelon patch. I only planted one variety and that was Crimson Sweet. I had pretty good luck that year. Every year since then I planted Watermelons alongside of the vegis I usually grow but the watermelon plants always died before they even got their first true leaves, until this year. I decided that I was going to do some research to prepare my garden soil for watermelons. I live in southern Ohio and have clay soil so I added a little sand, some horse manure, top soil, and compost to my beds and it made all the difference in the world. I grew melons that ranged in weight from 8 to 27 pounds. The varieties I grew this year are White Sugar Lump, Crimson Sweet, Orangeglo, and Klondike Blue Ribbon. I am so excited and motivated to grow watermelons now. The melons I grew tasted so much better than the ones I have purchased from the grocery store. If I had to pick a favorite, I would probably choose Orangeglo. I just wanted to get some opinions from you all. What are your favorite varieties and why? I am already thinking about what I am going to plant next year. Here is a picture of my 3 year old with an Orangeglo watermelon that I picked on August 7th |
This post was edited by Christacharlene on Wed, Oct 15, 14 at 17:47
Follow-Up Postings:
|
- Posted by Christacharlene 6 (My Page) on Wed, Oct 15, 14 at 17:45
| Here is a White Sugar Lump |
|
| I like Raspa really well. Sangria is good, but wants to set on too many and that hurts size and quality heavily. Yellow Crimson is a good change up and a good grower. I love the taste of Klondike Striped Blue Ribbon though it isn't very crispy. Orangeglo grows about the best of all melons, but varies in texture from good to grainy and soft. Cooperstown is an excellent seedless melon. I have to be very careful about rotation as melons are the worst of about all plants for disease. |
This post was edited by wayne_5 on Wed, Oct 15, 14 at 22:25
|
- Posted by TCGardener none (My Page) on Wed, Oct 15, 14 at 22:33
| WOW! Very impressive. Mine have never done well either so I'll plant in some amended soil & see how it goes. Thanks for the inspiration Craig |
|
- Posted by farmerdill (My Page) on Thu, Oct 16, 14 at 8:19
| Crimson Sweet is about the best beginner melon. Excellent flavor and very forgiving. There are lots of hybrid versions, but I have not noted any decided advantages over open pollinated . I have grown the white Sugar Lump as well as the Yellow and Red Sugar Lump back in the 60's when they were featured by Henry Fields. Cream of Saskatchewan was superior for me. I prefer the Orange fleshed Tendersweet to Orangeglo. Much more consistant and does not break into pieces when handled. The 19th century Golden Honey is one one of my favorite yellows. Charlene is one of the better Charleton Grey types. Dixie Queen is one of the better pink flesh old timers. Chris Cross is a newer version that is a bit more consistant in size.. At any rate, here are the melons I have grown since 2004. The only real dud in the bunch is Matador. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Dill's Watermelons
|
- Posted by Christacharlene 6 (My Page) on Thu, Oct 16, 14 at 8:22
| I forgot to add that I also used black landscape fabric. This probably helped keep the soil warm, moisture in, and weeds out. I just put it on top of my soil and used landscape fabric pins to hold it down. Glad you are inspired TCGardener! Wayne_5, Klondike was my best producer this year. I love the taste and texture of that variety. Yellow Crimson sounds interesting, I might try that. I am also thinking about also trying Moon And Stars. I am skipping out on planting squash next year to make room for extra watermelons. I eat very few squash anyway and end up giving most of it away. |
|
- Posted by Christacharlene 6 (My Page) on Thu, Oct 16, 14 at 8:33
| Farmerdill, My entire garden is usually at least 90% OP varieties. I will probably stick to mostly OP watermelons also. I don't mind seeded watermelons at all. I saved some seeds from one of my White Sugar Lump watermelons. It will be interesting to plant a couple and see if they crossed with any of the other watermelons in my garden. Thanks for the info...off to look up some of the varieties that you listed now. I will definitely check out Charlene since that is my middle name :). |
This post was edited by Christacharlene on Thu, Oct 16, 14 at 8:36
|
- Posted by Christacharlene 6 (My Page) on Thu, Oct 16, 14 at 8:49
| Btw, thanks for the link. You have grown a lot of watermelon varieties! |
|
| Ali Baba from rare seeds or High Mowing ~100 days Sweet Dakota Rose from Fedco ~ 70 days Blacktail Mt. From Sand hill, or Fedco `~ 70 days I am in the Adirondacks, season is short and I amend my Dave Rogers |
|
- Posted by fusion_power 7b (My Page) on Fri, Oct 17, 14 at 2:34
| Give Yellow Moon & Stars a try. It is an excellent watermelon. |
|
- Posted by Christacharlene 6 (My Page) on Fri, Oct 17, 14 at 23:30
Thanks for all the suggestions. I looked up everything you guys/gals posted. Next year I am going to go with everything I planted this year because I have leftover seeds and I am happy with the melons they produced. I am also planning on adding Ali Baba, Yellow Moon And Stars, and Charleston Gray to the list for next year. I wish I had room for more :). Yellow Moon And Stars looks so beautiful , I can't wait to try it. |
This post was edited by Christacharlene on Fri, Oct 17, 14 at 23:45
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Vegetable Gardening Forum
Information about Posting
- You must be logged in to post a message. Once you are logged in, a posting window will appear at the bottom of the messages. If you are not a member, please register for an account.
- Please review our Rules of Play before posting.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review your post, make changes and upload photos.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- Before posting copyrighted material, please read about Copyright and Fair Use.
- We have a strict no-advertising policy!
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.
Learn more about in-text links on this page here
