I’d say zone 3 could be tricky for melons. Especially with our unpredictable weather of late. How many months will you have warm weather to grow without chance of frost? I may have some suggestions depending. Thanks for commenting!
So after I harvested all I thought I would have, they decided to fruit again and I have more melons starting! Looking forward to seeing if they will finish before seasons end. I’ll make an update video soon.
I would use an irresponsible amount of water here with the size garden I have if I used fabric pots. Too many dry spells that would deplete my spring fed pond pretty quickly and require much more attention I can’t always give them due to work. I usually only put a few things in containers but I do like how smart pots, fabric, and my vinyl with holes keep roots healthy. Though once I set up my drip irrigation I could use anything I want. I just got 2 300 gallon tanks that will be fed by an overflow from the pond. I’m planning on running pvc pipes to each section of garden and let the gravity from my hill do all the work.
I lay sticks from the pots to the ground as a trellis and let the vines use them. My melons don’t like climbing up the trellis I used in the past. Most of the time I make hammocks for the fruits hanging from the makeshift trellis and it works just fine.
It's interesting you say that fabric bags dry out too much. Mine seem to hold onto water too long and all my garlic rotted. I lost about 30 bulbs after it rained so much and the high humidity. My herbs don' do well in a fabric pot either. Broccoli does, though. I'm growing my watermelon in the ground; 2 small fruit varieties on an arch trellis, and have one that creates medium large fruit on a black landscape fabric like you have. I just cut an X and planted the root ball in it.
Really, I guess it’s what zone you’re in. We get weeks of drought sometimes here in WV and I’m not able to water everyday. My fabric pots would dry out every single day if I didn’t water, creating an issue for me time wise but I like decently drainable soil and that may have played a role. When I swapped to vinyl pots the watermelons retained water for days after watering so it was a no brainer for me. If I ever redo the video I’ll mention these things. I have my broccoli in a raised bed and I’ve already harvested 6 of the 8 heads I planted. Still having to water it regularly but luckily it’s been raining every few days to help me out. I guess when it comes to the zone and climate it’s not guaranteed that fabric is a good choice. Substrate will play a big role in water retention as well. Happy gardening friend and thank you for the comment!
@@Grambo304 It's been like a steam bath here in Georgia, and with climate change we are becoming more and more tropical every year, LOL. I hink today and yesterday it was 80-90% humidity even without raining. I am going to have to invest in some fungicide because these conditions make disease a high risk. So far my melons, Peppers, and China Jade cucumbers are dealing with it well probably because they have plenty of airflow on the cattle panel. So far that is my most successful garden area. I will probably ha to hang pantyhose or something when the melons fruit to support the weight so they don't break off the stem. I wouldn't try to hang my larger fruiting one, but hoping it does well on landscape fabric on the ground. Need to fence it in, because a repairman trampled my young roselle that was under my bedroom window near the one larger variety watermelon seedling and broke the central stems of 3 plants yesterday. I found them snapped this morning and was pissed, as it took me about 6 weeks to grow them a foot or so tall and ready to plant (I wait until seedlings are more established before planting so they can withstand this weather better and are less likely to have transplant shock). I propped them up with sticks in hopes they can heal since the stem is still attached and not completely severed but may try some painters tape to see if the stems will knit back together. That has worked for me with a tomato plant.
Thanks for the questions. Last year I didn’t prune and just let them go. I ended up with 16 nice melons and a few that didn’t fully develop. This year I will be trimming and getting rid of extra small fruits and vines so more energy goes to the ones I want. I’ll be making a new video soon on my progress so far.
The deer totally destroyed my garden last year. That’s why I haven’t uploaded any garden videos since the last one. I built a 4ft fence with livestock fencing with a strand of barn wire this year and not only does it look great, the deer won’t be able to access it at all. I plan on doing an update on the garden soon I hope. Everything has changed
Roughly 20 inches in diameter but other factors may affect that. It also depends on the exact type of sugar baby, like seedless or with seeds. Some you’ll see at the store are only about 17-18 inches on average and others could be much larger in the 20 inch range. The species I grow range from about 20-24 inches. Sorry it took a bit to respond and I hope that helps! Thank you for commenting!
Thank you just got free seeds from The Rusted Garden and I have never grown watermelon but I’m gonna give it a try this yr. What bugs did you have to deal with?
We had Japanese beetles on the green beans but luckily they didn’t mess with the melons. We also had cabbage worms on the kale and lettuce. It’s good to have a couple bag traps for the beetles but the worms you have to remove the entire infested area from the garden. I look forward to doing another video this spring and I’ll break down each step for the viewers.
I live in the Caribbean, so what's the best month to start planting watermelon??? watching from the Caribbean Island 🏝️ of St Kitts and Nevis 🇰🇳 thanks much
The tendrils closest to the fruit will start to turn brown and curl up. This year I only had a few plants but I got several fruits and this is the method I used. I also feel the melons when I see the tendrils turn brown. It shouldn’t be rock hard but it shouldn’t be very soft either. The bloom end of the fruit should be a little softer than the rest of the melon. Also, the spot where it sits on the ground (if they’re not climbers which all depends on your setup) will be a darker yellow color. Half of mine were on the grass and the other half were on landscaping felt. All had a little yellow spot where they touch the ground. Hope this helps.
I planted sugar baby watermelons last year for the first time in a 5 gallon container. We drilled holes on the bottom (not the sides though) and while the vines grew and we had blooms and even a tiny little watermelon, it was never harvested because it never grew to full size. We had one plant per 5 gal. It was watered daily. We live in Texas. The only thing I am unsure of is if I fertilized enough. I had a fert. Schedule, but I’m not sure if I used enough. Should I grow them in partial shade this year? We also planted cantaloupe, in mostly shade (hot sunny summers here) and we got 2 cantaloupes per plant. Which we were happy with! I would love to get watermelon this year. Any ideas?
From my experience full sun for watermelons is essential. It sounds like lack of nutrition may have been the culprit. I was opposite of you. My watermelons did great but my cantaloupes got a later start and didn’t do well but still had some decent fruit. I did two sugar baby plants per 5 gallon pot. I think we got about 16-18 nice melons with 8 plants. This year should be even better. The watering everyday is good especially in your dryer heat. I’d mix a low amount of granular in your pots before planting and keep adding the proper ferts every other watering or so. Once they bloom the melons take a lot of energy to grow. They can handle a little extra food for time to time. I also found that letting some grass or weeds grow on top of the pots keeps moisture from escaping on direct sun. Looking forward to making my melon video soon!
Hey This is the first time I am going to sow watermelon. Can you please let me know what fertilizer/food you used for watermelons for better nourishment This will help me , thank you
@@Grambo304 the home grown cantaloupe were unlike anything I have ever bought in stores. Sooo sweet, fleshy, and absolutely delicious. My only wish was that I had planted more of them 😅
So drilling the holes in the bottom caused me problems with the cantaloupes in buckets but I have a plan to put something under to drain into and hold water. For my choice of soil and layers it’s important to keep the catch basin on the bottom of the pots and let it gather in the bottom. It keeps it moist. With the holes on the side it’ll air prunes roots but not too much like a smart pot. It’s 29 degrees today with wind chill but I’m going to make a video lol. I hope to have up by this evening. May have to be a part one and part two style vid. Also, thanks for commenting on the page!
I had some green worms on my kale and Japanese beetles on my beans but luckily nothing was eating my melons. I’ve heard that making a tea with tobacco is a great insecticide because nicotine is produced by tobacco as a way to protect from insects which I found interesting. Might give it a shot this season.
I’ve heard that if you take some really hot peppers and crush it into a powder you can sprinkle it around plants and most critters won’t brave it. I haven’t tried it except for on house plants to keep cats from eating them. It worked but outdoors may be a different story. Thanks for commenting!
@@Grambo304 As a serious prepper I`ve collected a BUNCH of battery powered radios over the years, mainly to have plenty for barter and to give out in my community in case of a disaster. All have their own sets of rechargeable batteries. I think I can scare the raccoons away by putting a couple of radios out there each night if I protect them from the weather. I have some I got free as a product tester that are really disappointing so if they get destroyed it would be putting them out of their misery. But I do have some pepper oil in my cart right now to try. I used to make it from the extra hot peppers by drying them then soaking them in jars of alcohol for a few weeks, then evaporating the alcohol. You can use it mixed with water and dish soap to deter some garden pests. They say red pepper powder may work. I`m planting several types of heirloom corn and melons this year. Man I hope I can eat some and get more seeds from it too.
I had this problem once. I bought a rose bush for my girlfriend and it was loaded with them and contaminated my entire garden. This may sound a little weird but you can order ladybugs and lace wings and they’ll take care of them. 100% natural way to get rid of them. Hope this helps
Thank you for taking the time to do this video! I'm a new gardener and appreciate the advice ❤
You are so welcome!
It's a dream of mine to grow watermelon here in Zone 3 garden! Thanks for this tip! I am so excited!
I’d say zone 3 could be tricky for melons. Especially with our unpredictable weather of late.
How many months will you have warm weather to grow without chance of frost? I may have some suggestions depending.
Thanks for commenting!
Good job explaining your method
Thank you!
So after I harvested all I thought I would have, they decided to fruit again and I have more melons starting! Looking forward to seeing if they will finish before seasons end. I’ll make an update video soon.
I love fabric pots they do hold moisture. I water once a day twice if the top gets dry. They drain good but don’t dry out .
I would use an irresponsible amount of water here with the size garden I have if I used fabric pots.
Too many dry spells that would deplete my spring fed pond pretty quickly and require much more attention I can’t always give them due to work.
I usually only put a few things in containers but I do like how smart pots, fabric, and my vinyl with holes keep roots healthy.
Though once I set up my drip irrigation I could use anything I want. I just got 2 300 gallon tanks that will be fed by an overflow from the pond.
I’m planning on running pvc pipes to each section of garden and let the gravity from my hill do all the work.
7:10 I'm loving the closed captions. ;'D
They love their nudes 😂
So you don't build a trellis for your melons? You just let them grow on to the landscaping felt?
I lay sticks from the pots to the ground as a trellis and let the vines use them. My melons don’t like climbing up the trellis I used in the past. Most of the time I make hammocks for the fruits hanging from the makeshift trellis and it works just fine.
Great tips! Thank you bearded one.
Any time!
New subscriber here! ❤️❤️❤️Thanks for the info!
Welcome!!
Looks good. Great video!
Thank you! 🍉🔥
It's interesting you say that fabric bags dry out too much. Mine seem to hold onto water too long and all my garlic rotted. I lost about 30 bulbs after it rained so much and the high humidity. My herbs don' do well in a fabric pot either. Broccoli does, though. I'm growing my watermelon in the ground; 2 small fruit varieties on an arch trellis, and have one that creates medium large fruit on a black landscape fabric like you have. I just cut an X and planted the root ball in it.
Really, I guess it’s what zone you’re in. We get weeks of drought sometimes here in WV and I’m not able to water everyday. My fabric pots would dry out every single day if I didn’t water, creating an issue for me time wise but I like decently drainable soil and that may have played a role.
When I swapped to vinyl pots the watermelons retained water for days after watering so it was a no brainer for me. If I ever redo the video I’ll mention these things.
I have my broccoli in a raised bed and I’ve already harvested 6 of the 8 heads I planted. Still having to water it regularly but luckily it’s been raining every few days to help me out.
I guess when it comes to the zone and climate it’s not guaranteed that fabric is a good choice. Substrate will play a big role in water retention as well. Happy gardening friend and thank you for the comment!
@@Grambo304 It's been like a steam bath here in Georgia, and with climate change we are becoming more and more tropical every year, LOL. I hink today and yesterday it was 80-90% humidity even without raining. I am going to have to invest in some fungicide because these conditions make disease a high risk. So far my melons, Peppers, and China Jade cucumbers are dealing with it well probably because they have plenty of airflow on the cattle panel. So far that is my most successful garden area. I will probably ha to hang pantyhose or something when the melons fruit to support the weight so they don't break off the stem.
I wouldn't try to hang my larger fruiting one, but hoping it does well on landscape fabric on the ground. Need to fence it in, because a repairman trampled my young roselle that was under my bedroom window near the one larger variety watermelon seedling and broke the central stems of 3 plants yesterday. I found them snapped this morning and was pissed, as it took me about 6 weeks to grow them a foot or so tall and ready to plant (I wait until seedlings are more established before planting so they can withstand this weather better and are less likely to have transplant shock). I propped them up with sticks in hopes they can heal since the stem is still attached and not completely severed but may try some painters tape to see if the stems will knit back together. That has worked for me with a tomato plant.
thx for the video. how many do you get on one vine? Do you prune your vines to a single vine like with some tomatoes or cucumbers?
Thanks for the questions.
Last year I didn’t prune and just let them go. I ended up with 16 nice melons and a few that didn’t fully develop. This year I will be trimming and getting rid of extra small fruits and vines so more energy goes to the ones I want.
I’ll be making a new video soon on my progress so far.
I hope to see more melon videos next year!
I’ll definitely be doing more next year. Perhaps some others as well.
The deer totally destroyed my garden last year. That’s why I haven’t uploaded any garden videos since the last one. I built a 4ft fence with livestock fencing with a strand of barn wire this year and not only does it look great, the deer won’t be able to access it at all. I plan on doing an update on the garden soon I hope.
Everything has changed
Thank you for the video. I do have a question. On average what is the diameter of a fully ripe and ready to pick Sugar Baby melon.
Roughly 20 inches in diameter but other factors may affect that.
It also depends on the exact type of sugar baby, like seedless or with seeds. Some you’ll see at the store are only about 17-18 inches on average and others could be much larger in the 20 inch range. The species I grow range from about 20-24 inches.
Sorry it took a bit to respond and I hope that helps! Thank you for commenting!
Nice video..
Very quickly.. how many fruits did you harvest from each plant?
Thanks.
From each plant? At least four. They actually started fruiting again and I have 3 more nice ones out here. Altogether about 16 healthy melons.
@@Grambo304 waoooo.. that's spectacular. I plant sugar baby and kaolack.
Thanks for your response!
Thank you just got free seeds from The Rusted Garden and I have never grown watermelon but I’m gonna give it a try this yr. What bugs did you have to deal with?
We had Japanese beetles on the green beans but luckily they didn’t mess with the melons. We also had cabbage worms on the kale and lettuce.
It’s good to have a couple bag traps for the beetles but the worms you have to remove the entire infested area from the garden.
I look forward to doing another video this spring and I’ll break down each step for the viewers.
I live in the Caribbean, so what's the best month to start planting watermelon??? watching from the Caribbean Island 🏝️ of St Kitts and Nevis 🇰🇳 thanks much
anytime lol u live in the carribean
How do you ķnow When they are ready for harvest, i would like to know
The tendrils closest to the fruit will start to turn brown and curl up. This year I only had a few plants but I got several fruits and this is the method I used.
I also feel the melons when I see the tendrils turn brown. It shouldn’t be rock hard but it shouldn’t be very soft either. The bloom end of the fruit should be a little softer than the rest of the melon.
Also, the spot where it sits on the ground (if they’re not climbers which all depends on your setup) will be a darker yellow color. Half of mine were on the grass and the other half were on landscaping felt. All had a little yellow spot where they touch the ground.
Hope this helps.
@@Grambo304 Thanks for your reply 👍
Thx Tom Hanks! 😂
You bet!
How many holes did you drill?
About 30-40 small holes around the middle section of the pots. About 1/8 holes or a little bit smaller.
@@Grambo304 thanks!
I planted sugar baby watermelons last year for the first time in a 5 gallon container. We drilled holes on the bottom (not the sides though) and while the vines grew and we had blooms and even a tiny little watermelon, it was never harvested because it never grew to full size. We had one plant per 5 gal. It was watered daily. We live in Texas. The only thing I am unsure of is if I fertilized enough. I had a fert. Schedule, but I’m not sure if I used enough. Should I grow them in partial shade this year?
We also planted cantaloupe, in mostly shade (hot sunny summers here) and we got 2 cantaloupes per plant. Which we were happy with!
I would love to get watermelon this year. Any ideas?
From my experience full sun for watermelons is essential. It sounds like lack of nutrition may have been the culprit.
I was opposite of you. My watermelons did great but my cantaloupes got a later start and didn’t do well but still had some decent fruit. I did two sugar baby plants per 5 gallon pot. I think we got about 16-18 nice melons with 8 plants. This year should be even better.
The watering everyday is good especially in your dryer heat. I’d mix a low amount of granular in your pots before planting and keep adding the proper ferts every other watering or so. Once they bloom the melons take a lot of energy to grow. They can handle a little extra food for time to time.
I also found that letting some grass or weeds grow on top of the pots keeps moisture from escaping on direct sun.
Looking forward to making my melon video soon!
Hey
This is the first time I am going to sow watermelon. Can you please let me know what fertilizer/food you used for watermelons for better nourishment
This will help me , thank you
@@Grambo304 the home grown cantaloupe were unlike anything I have ever bought in stores. Sooo sweet, fleshy, and absolutely delicious. My only wish was that I had planted more of them 😅
@@Kelly_Mae what variety?
So drilling the holes in the bottom caused me problems with the cantaloupes in buckets but I have a plan to put something under to drain into and hold water. For my choice of soil and layers it’s important to keep the catch basin on the bottom of the pots and let it gather in the bottom. It keeps it moist. With the holes on the side it’ll air prunes roots but not too much like a smart pot.
It’s 29 degrees today with wind chill but I’m going to make a video lol. I hope to have up by this evening. May have to be a part one and part two style vid.
Also, thanks for commenting on the page!
Dont use Billy made products. Also, cover your plants with mesh to keep bugs out until they are mature.
I had some green worms on my kale and Japanese beetles on my beans but luckily nothing was eating my melons.
I’ve heard that making a tea with tobacco is a great insecticide because nicotine is produced by tobacco as a way to protect from insects which I found interesting. Might give it a shot this season.
@@Grambo304 please let us know your results. I have quit the MG products and have had great success in both veggies and fruits with little pests.
@@Dasani_water_drinker I sure will. I plan on giving updates through out the season.
Dang raccoons get my corn and melons the day before I pick it.
I’ve heard that if you take some really hot peppers and crush it into a powder you can sprinkle it around plants and most critters won’t brave it.
I haven’t tried it except for on house plants to keep cats from eating them. It worked but outdoors may be a different story.
Thanks for commenting!
@@Grambo304 As a serious prepper I`ve collected a BUNCH of battery powered radios over the years, mainly to have plenty for barter and to give out in my community in case of a disaster. All have their own sets of rechargeable batteries. I think I can scare the raccoons away by putting a couple of radios out there each night if I protect them from the weather. I have some I got free as a product tester that are really disappointing so if they get destroyed it would be putting them out of their misery. But I do have some pepper oil in my cart right now to try. I used to make it from the extra hot peppers by drying them then soaking them in jars of alcohol for a few weeks, then evaporating the alcohol. You can use it mixed with water and dish soap to deter some garden pests. They say red pepper powder may work. I`m planting several types of heirloom corn and melons this year. Man I hope I can eat some and get more seeds from it too.
My brother uses fox urine to keep all sorts of critters away from his garden. Just sprinkle a little around the perimeter.
Seeded healthy
My plants suffer from spider mites
I had this problem once. I bought a rose bush for my girlfriend and it was loaded with them and contaminated my entire garden.
This may sound a little weird but you can order ladybugs and lace wings and they’ll take care of them. 100% natural way to get rid of them. Hope this helps
Recorded with a potato
If you don’t like it don’t watch it, sunshine.
@@Grambo304they watched anyways lol
Ridiculous
Why ridiculous?