I grow a few varities in containers, and had a Sugar Baby, and a Cream of Saskatchewan earlier in the year that were sweet enough. Recently another CoS that split open on me wasn't sweet at all, but might not have been ripe yet. Am still waiting for another Sugar Baby, 2 more CoS's, 2 Sweet Dakota Rose, 3 Grover Delancy, and 1 Crimson Sweet. I'll have to get one of those instruments for measuring brix....sounds like a fun thing to do. Growing watermelons in containers in the Northeast is dicey at best. I'm just happy to watch them grow. If they are sweet it's a bonus.

Ed:

Containers do sound difficult for melon. And I like to watch them grow as well at least until "issues" arrive. I've had powdery mildew, aphids, spider mites, squash bugs, leaf hoppers, and leaf spot at one time or another over the last 8 years.

Getting the water and nitrogen right seems to be my key to high brix. I only water when they wilt at midday. And just enough nitrogen to keep them growing. We recently had a 4 inch rain. That washed out all my nitrogen and knocked the vines back. But I'm still hoping for a June to Oct harvest from the same plants.

Fruitnut:

Just curious what you use to measure the brix levels? I've heard about something called a brix refractometer.

I'm also growing about 6 different kinds of muskmelons this year and some of them are very sweet.

Ed:

I use a cheapo refractometer. No name on mine but it works great. It's similar to the following.

Here is a link that might be useful: refractometer

Fruitnut,

After trying dozens of watermelon varieties all I ever grow is "strawberry". It is a very thin rind melon which has hard white seeds. I find the seeded watermelons far superior to the seedless. The melons rind will almost explode when touched with a knife when it is ripe. It is not a hybrid so the seeds can be saved and planted year to year. It produces medium size elongated melons.

Fruitnut, thanks. OK, I've also seen them on ebay. I'm ordering one today.

Talk about exploding melons! Not to hijack the thread, but couldn't resist. The photo is of the good side. The other side was in about 10 pieces.

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/cornucop/msg0812330323829.html

bamboo:

I hear everyone knocking seedless and I've had quite a few with excessively firm texture or other faults. But the seedless I mentioned above is as good as any watermelon I've ever eaten, but I've only eaten one so far. Star Brite is very hard to beat here. Just finished some this morning that was exceptional. The advantage of SSX 7405 over Star Brite is that the seedless has a much higher yield of really sweet flesh. Star Brite yields about 10-15% heart. Beyond the heart the seedless is sweeter and better even thought Star Brite seeds are large and few.

I do think many melons are adapted regionally not nationally.

Got my brix refractometer on Monday. What a teriffic little toy! Here's a picture of a 6 lb Grover Delancy we cracked open today. Brix is 10.4. Only 6 lbs due to being grown in a crowded container.

ed:

Your melon looks under ripe to me. What did you think? I've decided I like the brix above 13%. The hard part for me this year has been getting the ripeness right. Brix has been my best ever.

Maybe a touch underripe, but not much. I've grown these several times and they have pink flesh. Last week I accidently clipped the vine it was growing on. Do watermelons continue to ripen sitting on the counter? Still have a couple more of these on the vine and will let them go for another week or so. We're supposed to have a warm sunny weather for the next 5 days which should do the job. I'm not complaining with a brix over 10 for a container watermelon grown in upstate NY. Had a Schoons Hardshell muskmelon (from the ground) with a brix over 13. Your brix #'s for watermelon are impressive. I'd like to try a watermelon with a brix of 14.

Watermelon won't get sweeter after picking. It's all downhill especially if overripe.

For the year we had, my melons did pretty well overall. We sold just under a ton and a half and probably have 500 lbs to go. Once again, my favorite red was Sangria. Ali Baba was tasty too but more subject to rot. While Yellow Doll has been my favorite yellow for many years, I was really impressed w/Lemon Krush. It wasn't as prolific as the doll but was larger and sweeter. Orangeglo remains my favorite orange. I have never grown a seedless variety because of the bland store bought ones. However, I am willing to try because demand for them is great and I should be a little more open minded about them. The strangest thing about this year was that they all ripened at the same time. I certainly wasn't ready for that many melons all at once. Kleckleys and Black Diamond are all that remain.

Ed:

That is a nice melon! Congratulations and thanks for sharing. Have you thought about a cheapo high tunnel, black ground cover, or other warming techniques? As you know heat, light, and healthy leaves are the key to high brix and big melons.

Thanks. I grew these on black fabric. I also wrapped the white fabric bag in black fabric also. Thanks to the hot summer this year, these went from seed to maturity in less than 90 days. The photo was taken last week when the plants were about shot, but they were very healthy in their prime. Not sure what's involved in a high tunnel. We really don't have much room.

I planted Crimson Red, Sangria, Orangeglo, Mountain Sweet Yellow, Yellow Doll, Early Moonbeam, Petite Yellow and Cream of Saskatchewan this year. We had a record year for little precipitation, along with poor pollination. All in all, still had a lot of watermelons, though about half were deformed. Of the normal watermelons, all were fairly good. I didn't care for the Cream of Saskatchewan or the Mountain Sweet Yellow. The Crimson Red, Sangria, Orangeglo and Yellow Doll were the sweetest.

sir good day! may I ask about the brix level of watermelon? what should the best fertilizer to contribute the sweetness of watermelon. i am conducted under graduate thesis for our school. what should the best fertilizer on that?