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Post by ferdzy on Oct 28, 2015 9:14:18 GMT -5
I have put up a post on my blog about my watermelon crop this year. Since it is quite long and has a lot of pictures, I will direct you there instead of repeating it here. seasonalontariofood.blogspot.ca/2015/10/crazy-about-watermelons.htmlI'm looking for some advice on how to proceed next year. I have individual watermelons I'd like to grow out as distinct line, and I have groups of melons I'd like to grow out. - Orangeglo x Sweet Siberian (ORNGLOxSWTSIB) Do I grow just the one best crossed melon? Or a selection of 3 or 4 of the best, letting them cross amongst themselves (so far as I am able to keep them as a separate group). - My golden ripening gene melon. Isolated, for sure, if I can do it, by itself. Right? Or interplanted with pure Golden Midget? - That volunteer melon. Last winter was the worst winter on record around here, with 2 weeks of -36°C temperatures. Good snow cover though. That seeds survived in the open garden and grew quickly enough to produce a full size melon - in our top 5 for size - in our season is amazing to me. I probably left hundreds of seeds in the garden, and 6 came up, probably all from the same melon. (They were quite close together.) But is it actually amazing? Do watermelons do this regularly, no biggie? - There was quite a little crew of small (3 poundish) round netted melons in varying shades of green, with thin rinds, crisp flesh of varying colours but generally pale, small seeds in varying quantities, surprisingly good flavour for the size, and very good keeping qualities. I think these are mostly Grover Delaney offspring. 12540dumont, does that sound right to you? I'm not sure if these were on the late side or if I just left them for last because they were so small. They seem like a good basis to go on with, but I don't know about the size. Maybe grow them out interspersed with Small Shining Light, and/or Early Canada, which have many similar qualities but are bigger. Ideas? philip, these are all from the same set of seeds I sent you last spring, so you can probably expect similar results, minus the volunteer. Anyone interested in growing out the seeds from one promising melon in isolation and reporting on results? Not necessarily one of the above. For instance, I had an oval, light green speckled melon with orange flesh that was unique, unlike anything I have seen before. Unfortunately small and a little overripe when I picked it, but I'd be very interested in seeing what its offspring do. |
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Post by keen101 (Biolumo / Andrew B.) on Mar 15, 2016 11:50:04 GMT -5
Today i decided to plant the last third of my watermelon seeds. I was saving them for safety / backup to plant at a more normal watermelon planting time, but i decided what the heck. I would prefer to have watermelons that can be direct seeded early and germinate early to get that extra tiny bit of growing time. I felt it was worth the risk. Since i did not water the seeds i figure they will have a better chance of surviving and not rotting and/or germinating earlier that they should. I will let nature do the watering for now. There is some snow predicted for friday. This is basically what i did a few years back just in april instead of march, so i dont expect major problems. At the very least i expect some watermelon to grow if by bad luck some do not.
In the frost tolerant melon thread (http://alanbishop.proboards.com/thread/6136/frost-tolerance-melons) Joseph mentioned that my proto-landrace originally was the winner of the early germination test. So why not try to reproduce that. I believe back in 2011 and 2012 i planted my watermelon seeds on April 1st, still far earlier than people say you should plant watermelon, but some of that is negated by the fact that they are direct seeded instead of transplanted.
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Post by gilbert on Mar 16, 2016 22:52:25 GMT -5
Hi All,
I'm very interested in your work, since I struggle with growing melons. I've tried for three years, and no melons yet. Denver is a radiant cooled high desert. So we have the sun, but no heat and no water!
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Post by imgrimmer on Mar 17, 2016 6:24:56 GMT -5
ferdzy" That volunteer melon." is amazing. I read about feral melons (Citrullis) from Simbabwe that they should be cold hardy enough to withstand short night freezes as seedlings. Also about feral Citron melons from North America. So there should be potential in watermelons. But another thing is to find it like you had the luck. The most exciting is that they produced a fruit. at least it means they are capabable for direct seeding, cold tolerant in spring and short seasoned. Very important for your adapted melon race.
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Post by ferdzy on Mar 18, 2016 9:47:25 GMT -5
imgrimmer, did you click through and look at the picture of the volunteer? Third pic down. Yes, it had LOTS of seeds (hint, hint). It wasn't just a melon - it was a BIG melon. It looked most like a Crimson Sweet - which I've grown, so yes, - and Crimson Sweet does have Citron melon in its ancestry. I'm saying 2014/15 was a hard winter, and it was, but in some ways this one (2015/16) was worse - it was mild. The kind where there is very little snow cover and we have freeze/thaw/freeze/thaw all winter. That is the real plant-killer of a winter. I've left a bunch of seeds out there this year as well (i.e. I didn't really clean up the garden well.) I will pull out the old vines etc this spring and put them on the compost but lots of seeds will be left. I'll be even more surprised if anything comes up this year though. I did have one other volunteer watermelon a few years back. It was in a sheltered spot by the back deck (where we had spit some seeds). It was starting to form a couple of fruits when my MIL pulled it out because she took it for a weed. To my INTENSE annoyance. Volunteer watermelons have not been common.
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Post by imgrimmer on Mar 18, 2016 9:58:55 GMT -5
hint is accepted  |
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Post by ferdzy on Mar 18, 2016 10:08:28 GMT -5
Alrighty! Also I meant 4th pic down, if that wasn't clear. Talk to you backstage.
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Post by keen101 (Biolumo / Andrew B.) on Mar 18, 2016 18:21:50 GMT -5
Hi All, I'm very interested in your work, since I struggle with growing melons. I've tried for three years, and no melons yet. Denver is a radiant cooled high desert. So we have the sun, but no heat and no water! Specific to watermelons, i think i tried 4 or 5 years without success. If you want one variety that should do well i recommend yellow doll. It has some of the right genetics and small size to make it. I'm just a little north of you, so if i get a good crop I'll plan on sending you some seeds. I also threw in a few old seeds of Joseph's cantaloupes. I haven't tried cantaloupe in awhile, but generally they (and other true melons) are easier to grow than watermelon and you should be able to grow them in Denver since our conditions are the same. My best tip is to start with the right genetics. Once you have that right everything else becomes so much easier. Good soil is nice, but it's easier to adapt plants to your soil than it is to adapt your soil to those seed packets you find at your local big box store. |
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Post by gilbert on Mar 18, 2016 22:28:26 GMT -5
Thanks for the offer, Keen!
I think you are right about the genetics.
Interestingly, I heard from a gardener in the area who got a cantaloupe from a volunteer compost pile plant, apparently store bought. I guess that could have reflected F2 genetics from a commercial hybrid. Too bad they didn't save it.
Also, I tried "blacktail Mountain" with no luck, despite its repute.
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Post by keen101 (Biolumo / Andrew B.) on Mar 18, 2016 23:38:00 GMT -5
Thanks for the offer, Keen! I think you are right about the genetics. Interestingly, I heard from a gardener in the area who got a cantaloupe from a volunteer compost pile plant, apparently store bought. I guess that could have reflected F2 genetics from a commercial hybrid. Too bad they didn't save it. Also, I tried "blacktail Mountain" with no luck, despite its repute. My mom has either a cousin or a friend that lives somewhere around Greeley. From what i'm told she grows honeydews, cantaloupe, and other melons regularly without problems. But i think she puts considerable effort into her soil. I grew cantaloupe one years a long time ago and they did ok. Those were average store bought seeds too. Yes, blacktail mountain also did poorly for me. I think i included it twice just to be sure, but ultimately it fared poorly for me as well. I guess it just doesn't like Colorado despite it suposedly being bred in Idaho. Not sure why, one possibility is that it is now a variety grown so widely, including the south, that perhaps many of the ones grown under that name have lost some advantage it once had to us in northern climates. Or perhaps Colorado weather is just so wacky the poor watermelon just never has a chance. Whatever the reason it is certainly a poor choice here. Another reason for me to like the artificial landrace collaboration that Joseph and i undertook together (along with other collaborators i'm told as well) to develop our own watermelons that thrive for us. Here's hoping this year is a good year for watermelon. |
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Post by keen101 (Biolumo / Andrew B.) on Mar 21, 2016 7:54:09 GMT -5
For a red watermelon variety one might look into Sweet Dakota Rose. It was included in my landrace more than once and it may be responsible for some of the better reds, but i've never grown it by itself.
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Post by glenn10 on Mar 24, 2016 20:31:10 GMT -5
Its nice to see this thread starting up again for this coming season. I'll be starting some "just in case"plants early in my walk in grow room next week. I will also be doing several long rows of direct seeded under clear poli hopefully in early May weather permitting.
Looking forward to everyone's postings of progress as the season moves along!
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Post by tomatohat on Apr 10, 2016 20:09:02 GMT -5
I have put up a post on my blog about my watermelon crop this year. Since it is quite long and has a lot of pictures, I will direct you there instead of repeating it here. seasonalontariofood.blogspot.ca/2015/10/crazy-about-watermelons.htmlI'm looking for some advice on how to proceed next year. I have individual watermelons I'd like to grow out as distinct line, and I have groups of melons I'd like to grow out. - Orangeglo x Sweet Siberian (ORNGLOxSWTSIB) Do I grow just the one best crossed melon? Or a selection of 3 or 4 of the best, letting them cross amongst themselves (so far as I am able to keep them as a separate group). - My golden ripening gene melon. Isolated, for sure, if I can do it, by itself. Right? Or interplanted with pure Golden Midget? - That volunteer melon. Last winter was the worst winter on record around here, with 2 weeks of -36°C temperatures. Good snow cover though. That seeds survived in the open garden and grew quickly enough to produce a full size melon - in our top 5 for size - in our season is amazing to me. I probably left hundreds of seeds in the garden, and 6 came up, probably all from the same melon. (They were quite close together.) But is it actually amazing? Do watermelons do this regularly, no biggie? - There was quite a little crew of small (3 poundish) round netted melons in varying shades of green, with thin rinds, crisp flesh of varying colours but generally pale, small seeds in varying quantities, surprisingly good flavour for the size, and very good keeping qualities. I think these are mostly Grover Delaney offspring. 12540dumont , does that sound right to you? I'm not sure if these were on the late side or if I just left them for last because they were so small. They seem like a good basis to go on with, but I don't know about the size. Maybe grow them out interspersed with Small Shining Light, and/or Early Canada, which have many similar qualities but are bigger. Ideas? philip , these are all from the same set of seeds I sent you last spring, so you can probably expect similar results, minus the volunteer. Anyone interested in growing out the seeds from one promising melon in isolation and reporting on results? Not necessarily one of the above. For instance, I had an oval, light green speckled melon with orange flesh that was unique, unlike anything I have seen before. Unfortunately small and a little overripe when I picked it, but I'd be very interested in seeing what its offspring do. I'm in zone 5a and am planning to grow Early Moonbeam and an orange picnic size watermelon. I was thinking either Orangelo or Sweet Siberian. I've seen taste tests that go either one way or the other between the two. Baker's claims Orangeglo for example is the tastiest of their orange-fleshed watermelons. The only trial i've seen that has a direct comparison was UC Master Gardener trial. Orangeglo was earlier, but less prolific (lower yielding), and rated slightly lower in taste test relative to Sweet Siberian. Is this common? I thought Sweet Siberian was suppose to be the earlier one, on average? I read ferdzy blog post, it seems like the goal of her Orangeglo x Sweet Siberian cross was to achieve the taste of the Orangeglo but the earliness of Sweet Siberian. However, I'm kind of wondering how the rest of you guys who have grown these two actually rate taste of the pure parents. Is one more mellow than the other? Higher brix? |
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Post by glenn10 on Apr 12, 2016 18:39:35 GMT -5
welcome to the forum tomatohat!
I can't speak for the flavor of early moonbeam as I have not grown it. I did grow sweet Siberian last year to add some pollen to the breeding patch and the fruit was just ok. It was a really cool year so maybe that was a big factor in developing flavor. I plan on planting some more pure sweet Siberian again this to see if it is any better this year.
I just got around to planting my early starts last night and will hopefully be planting out mid May weather permitting.
Do you also grow musk melons? I have a bunch of varieties from the Ukraine that I am adding to the gene pool this season.
Glenn
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Post by templeton on Apr 14, 2016 16:59:50 GMT -5
A somewhat late question: I'm growing out some farthest north C.melo selections, planted mid-season here. I've got some nice melons formed, but as the days are cooling, they seem quite reluctant to ripen. Vines are still green. What triggers fruit ripening - light, max temp, minimum temp, or photoperiod. Supplementary question- should I cover them under plastic hoop row covers to get them ripe?
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