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Post by richardw on Dec 12, 2012 12:03:24 GMT -5
The flowers will open as they mature, the oldest (those nearest the root) first. Flowers of the watermelon, like the one in your picture, aren't big like those of zucchini or other squash so perhaps some have opened and died and not been noticed. No the centre flowers haven't opened yet,they are not ever close to opening, i'm like a doting mother at the moment,constantly checking the flowers
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Post by richardw on Dec 16, 2012 23:59:06 GMT -5
Here's me constantly checking the middle of the melon patch for flowers there for i didn't even notice them at the very end of the stems,and there's heaps of them too,is this normal not to have flowers at the centre but all at the ends.??
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Post by adamus on Dec 29, 2012 15:34:45 GMT -5
Well, richard, it's what mine have done. I thought I didn't have a melon to save my life, and I noticed about seven of them at the ends of the plants. 3 watermelon,(Early Moonbeam), and 4 canteloupe. Yay, I might get ripe melon this year.
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Post by rowan on Dec 29, 2012 18:46:21 GMT -5
Watermelons usually have the flowers towards the ends, and after the initial burst of flowers towards the centre of other melons they then produce them near to the ends of the new arms. Hope that helps. Melons starting to ripen now, this is Emerald Gem but some others like Blacktail Mtn watermelon are right on their tails. Attachments:
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Post by templeton on Dec 29, 2012 18:51:44 GMT -5
Wow, how early do you start 'em, rowan? Do you get much coastal moderation down there? Mine are only just flowering. T
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Post by rowan on Dec 29, 2012 19:11:13 GMT -5
I plant in the first week of Oct but they do take longer to germinate at that time. No coastal moderation here but I do have to hope we don't get any late frosts. We did get three very unusually late but mild frosts in the middle of Nov but it didn't harm the plants. I have to admit that there are still a heap of varieties that have not set fruit yet but I like that as it extends the season. Having too many ripen at once is a nightmare for tasting of new varieties and getting them photographed.
The first to ripen this year will seem to be Emerald Gem, Blacktail Mtn watermelon, Old Greek, Gaucho, Prescott fond Blanc, Symrna, Krynychanka and a couple others. The big disappointment this year is Minnesota midget which should have ripe fruits now but are not even growing.
PS. note the rind scarring I have attempted on the photo. Seems to be working on the melons that don't get netting, and will make it easier to make sure I don't mix up any of the hand pollinated ones with the others.
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Post by raymondo on Dec 29, 2012 19:53:35 GMT -5
Errr...what photo Rowan?
I don't seem to have any fruit set yet on the melons though I haven't looked carefully and of course the watermelons are a long way off. They haven't flowered yet. My sons melons (I sowed them for him back in September) are already huge but then he's almost in the sub-tropics. We ate one of his watermelons (Crimson Sweet) at Xmas and it was delicious. I sowed some more for him while I was there. The melons I sowed for him are Lunéville and they are huge, bigger than a football most of them!
And for Joseph, of the eight bush melons I planted one turned out not to be bush so it's now mulch. The rest are doing very well and flowering madly.
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Post by templeton on Dec 29, 2012 20:24:46 GMT -5
couple of posts back, Ray. And nice idea with the scarring rowan. have you tried on netted ones? I didn't sow 'til 20 nov, so that explains it. T
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Post by rowan on Dec 29, 2012 21:08:19 GMT -5
I haven't tried scarring the netted ones as I didn't think it would work. As far as I know (and I could be wrong) the netting somes about the same way as the scarring, the sap finds it's way through tiny cracks in the skin and causes the same effect. I might do one or two just to check it out but I really think that when they are ripe you won't be able to see any deliberate scarring very well.
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Post by nathan125 on Dec 30, 2012 13:34:16 GMT -5
I plant in the first week of Oct but they do take longer to germinate at that time. No coastal moderation here but I do have to hope we don't get any late frosts. We did get three very unusually late but mild frosts in the middle of Nov but it didn't harm the plants. I have to admit that there are still a heap of varieties that have not set fruit yet but I like that as it extends the season. Having too many ripen at once is a nightmare for tasting of new varieties and getting them photographed. The first to ripen this year will seem to be Emerald Gem, Blacktail Mtn watermelon, Old Greek, Gaucho, Prescott fond Blanc, Symrna, Krynychanka and a couple others. The big disappointment this year is Minnesota midget which should have ripe fruits now but are not even growing. PS. note the rind scarring I have attempted on the photo. Seems to be working on the melons that don't get netting, and will make it easier to make sure I don't mix up any of the hand pollinated ones with the others. very curious about old greek and guacho, let me know how that goes if you can!!
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Post by raymondo on Jan 5, 2013 15:15:49 GMT -5
The first of Jospeh's bush melons to set fruit: The one next to it has also set fruit but its fruit are football-shaped, not round like these.
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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Jan 5, 2013 16:37:14 GMT -5
Raymondo: Thanks for the reports on the bush melons... The fruit shape is consistent with the mother plants that I saved seeds from. There were round fruits and oval fruits. How precocious are they compared to your other cantaloupes?
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Post by 12540dumont on Jan 5, 2013 19:10:24 GMT -5
Can I say that we at the last watermelon? The Winter King and Queen. Leo's in the kitchen cleaning seed.
Next week I have to start tomatoes!
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Post by adamus on Jan 7, 2013 19:35:10 GMT -5
A couple of pics of my melons.... This is the Prescott Fond Blanc Attachments:
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Post by adamus on Jan 7, 2013 19:37:12 GMT -5
And These are the oval "Farthest North Mix". They're going gangbusters. I have about 20 melons on two vines. Attachments:
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