|
|
Post by castanea on Feb 13, 2012 22:19:15 GMT -5
Very interesting watermelon for those who are looking for a more cold tolerant melon and a melon with fewer seeds. This is a watermelon born and bred in Idaho. It is apparently a seedling of Crimson Sweet that doesn't look like a Crimson Sweet and may be an improvement on Crimson Sweet. Seeds are now available: greatideas.icestorm.com/watermelon/index.htm |
|
|
|
Post by jonnyyuma on Feb 13, 2012 23:46:28 GMT -5
That is interesting, as I have never seen a version of Crismon Sweet that is andromonoecious (hermaphroditic and male flowers on the same plant) The two Crimson sweet versions I have grown were both monoecious (seperate male and female flowers on the same plant). It was probably a seed mixture and is a different variety. If it was an outcross it would have segregated in the following generations after the F1. I doubt it was a mutation, as looking at the fruit shape and ring color would require a few mutations on different chromosomes.
Eitherway it is a good looking watermelon.
Thanks
Jonny
|
|
|
|
Post by nathan125 on Feb 13, 2012 23:54:49 GMT -5
this looks like the ticket! JOSEPH we may have hit pay dirt! ha ha here we go!
|
|
|
|
Post by raymondo on Feb 14, 2012 3:52:23 GMT -5
That is interesting, as I have never seen a version of Crismon Sweet that is andromonoecious ... I can't find where it mentions andromonoecy on the web site linked to above. Are you sure it is andromonoecious? I know melons exhibit this trait but was unaware that watermelons do. His overall temps are a tad warmer than mine, more so during La Niña years (now) but this may a good watermelon for here too. Be interesting to see how it grows for those who decide to try it. |
|
|
|
Post by terracotta on Feb 14, 2012 16:14:19 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Feb 14, 2012 17:25:49 GMT -5
no where on the page says it is cold tolerant just dark red color. The claim to cold tolerance is derived from the location that it is growing: Burley Idaho is beyond the ecological range of perhaps 99% of watermelon varieties. GDD10C for Burley was 1276 in the 2011 growing season... My GDD10C for last year was 1338. Of the hundreds of watermelon varieties that I planted in 2011, I was only able to harvest 5 fruits. Like the Saldaña's I also had a cool growing season in 2011. The nearest location to Burley in which watermelons are grown commercially, had a GDD10C of 2220 in the 2011 growing season and is many hundreds of miles further south. The Saldaña family uses season extension techniques like landscaping cloth, and setting out transplants, but it is a remarkable achievement to harvest any watermelons at all in Burley Idaho. |
|
|
|
Post by nathan125 on Feb 14, 2012 21:41:44 GMT -5
forgive my ignorance if possible but what is GDD10C?
|
|
|
|
Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Feb 14, 2012 22:05:52 GMT -5
GDD10C ==> Growing Degree Days calculated using 10 degrees C as the baseline... The reasoning behind GDD is that the rate of growth of a plant that has all of it's essential raw materials on hand is primarily dependent on temperature. (It's a chemistry/physics thing: The rate of biological reactions are highly dependent on temperature.) Then for each species, it takes so many degree days to produce a harvest. The mathematics behind the calculation is that you estimate an average temperature for the day (high temperature + low temperature) divided by 2. Subtract the baseline temperature. If you get a positive number, add that to the GDD for the season. The baseline temperature is somewhat arbitrary. Wheat for example might grow well at 5C, and watermelons might not grow well until 15C, but 10C has been chosen as the generally accepted baseline for most temperate species unless there is good reason to choose a different baseline. Without designating a baseline temperature GDD statements are meaningless. The "Days-To-Maturity" data typically published in seed catalogs is misleading. Because a crop that takes 90 days to mature in a cold climate might mature in 50 days in a hot climate. However the GDD will be approximately the same in both climates. For this reason, I post GDD data for my garden rather than days-to-maturity. I also choose to use 10C as my baseline rather than 50F because this is an international forum. Canada has it's own system, but I haven't researched what it is. Norway uses 5C as it's baseline. About a year ago we had a discussion about GDD on the forum. p.s. in reference to the original post in this thread... I'm not interested in having fewer seeds in my watermelon. Since I grow my own seeds for nearly every crop, I prefer to have more seeds per melon so that I don't have to harvest so danged many melons in order to get seed for next year. |
|
|
|
Post by jonnyyuma on Feb 17, 2012 22:49:03 GMT -5
That is interesting, as I have never seen a version of Crismon Sweet that is andromonoecious ... I can't find where it mentions andromonoecy on the web site linked to above. Are you sure it is andromonoecious? I know melons exhibit this trait but was unaware that watermelons do. His overall temps are a tad warmer than mine, more so during La Niña years (now) but this may a good watermelon for here too. Be interesting to see how it grows for those who decide to try it. You are correct. I miss read the article. Andromonoecy exists in watermelon, along with every other type of cucurbit, but it is not common. The Wilson's Sweet I grow is always andro for me. Hanks Jonny |
|
|
|
Post by castanea on Feb 18, 2012 19:55:06 GMT -5
no where on the page says it is cold tolerant just dark red color. The claim to cold tolerance is derived from the location that it is growing: Burley Idaho is beyond the ecological range of perhaps 99% of watermelon varieties. GDD10C for Burley was 1276 in the 2011 growing season... My GDD10C for last year was 1338. Of the hundreds of watermelon varieties that I planted in 2011, I was only able to harvest 5 fruits. Like the Salda�a's I also had a cool growing season in 2011. The nearest location to Burley in which watermelons are grown commercially, had a GDD10C of 2220 in the 2011 growing season and is many hundreds of miles further south. The Salda�a family uses season extension techniques like landscaping cloth, and setting out transplants, but it is a remarkable achievement to harvest any watermelons at all in Burley Idaho. And that is what makes it so interesting. Growing a decent sized watermelon in Idaho is quite an accomplishment. |
|
|
|
Post by canadamike on Feb 18, 2012 21:19:35 GMT -5
So it is here, but one thing is sure, black plastic helps a lot...
I have one thing to say, despite its reputation, I COULD NEVER GROW A GOOD BLACKTAIL MOUNTAIN here, in all those years.
It infuriates me, because although I never talked to Glen Drowns, he sure is one of my favorite heroes...
But it ain't working here....always behind and less tasty...I guess there is something about regional climates after all...
BTW, anything that can protect watermelons against the winds of the early season, wherever we are, 'cause early winds are colder winds everywhere, will help...
So is anything giving a lil'early hotness, black plastic is part of that equation.
|
|
|
|
Post by darwinslair on Feb 19, 2012 6:02:39 GMT -5
I too was not thrilled with blacktail mountain here. Also, I found that Arikara beat it by a week and did better overall in cold conditions.
I have a crimson sweet I have been working on for a few years, but my emphasis has been storage. My kids call them Christmas Melons, and we ate the last one on Groundhog Day. I just have only kept the seeds from the longest storing ones for years. Worked <smile>.
Tom
|
|
|
|
Post by castanea on Jul 14, 2012 15:55:25 GMT -5
The Saldana seedlings are pretty vigorous.
|
|
|
|
Post by 12540dumont on Jul 15, 2012 0:42:25 GMT -5
Castanea...photo? Please.
All my melons are looking good.
Tom, I have a huge storage melon trial going on. I'm interested in melons that will take my CSA to Thanksgiving.
My thought is that with storage melons, storage tomatoes, dry corn, dry beans, greens, broc and cauli, I'm almost there. Well that's if all these storage things work out.
Those of you who have grown Christmas melons...when do you start tasting them?
|
|
|
|
Post by castanea on Aug 4, 2012 11:38:05 GMT -5
Too late. All of my various watermelon varieties have grown together.
|
|
