Melons

CarolynPhillips 7/10/2011, 11:07 pm

I am currently watching my Banana Melons. I got the seeds from Baker Creek.
I have several on the vine that are pretty big, averaging about 16 inches long.
I have no clue where my catalog is and no idea how big they normally get. I must visit their web site. With all this construction I did not keep up with pollination dates.
Its pretty long and getting fat. I need to support it so it doesn't crack open if it ripens and
falls to the ground before I catch it.

Please , share your melon pics.

Melons 100_1273

**camprn** 7/25/2011, 8:38 am

My melons finally succumbed to the dreaded evil striped cucumber beetle. maybe I will be able to post photos next year.

quiltbea 7/25/2011, 12:36 pm

Here's my first Sugar Baby. I now have 4 others on the vines.

I put a piece of white insulation foam beneath all my melons so they are easier to find among the huge leaves and also to keep them off the wet ground which can rot the little darlings. The foam worked great last year.

Goosegirl 7/25/2011, 1:51 pm

It's adorable! I have my first ever watermelons on the vine now too (see avatar). I can't wait to slice one open and slurp!

GG

quiltbea 7/25/2011, 3:00 pm

Goosebirl,

What variety is yours? Its so cute.

Goosegirl 7/25/2011, 7:41 pm

quiltbea wrote:Goosebirl,

What variety is yours? Its so cute.

It's a Sugar Baby as well! I count 8 on my trellis, but this is the largest, at 3" Melons 410210

GG

Dunkinjean 7/25/2011, 8:07 pm

I bought my 1st sugar baby watermelon at the local farm market in town and it is the best tasting!

I did plant watermelon seeds - 2 plants are growing but very slowly. They are not sugar baby but they are suppose to be small.

Next yr I will try to grow sugar baby watermelon.

Yum.

Dunkinjean

Goosegirl 7/25/2011, 8:16 pm

Dunkinjean - how long ago did you plant your seeds? It felt like the first month or more my plant did not change in size at all. Then, all of a sudden, BOOM! It was shooting up the trellis! Since my trellises are only 5', I am going to have to start bobbing it soon.

I am looking forward to tasting my first Sugar Baby. I have never had one before, but I wanted to grow one that would stay reasonably small (only 2 of us, because the cats turn their noses up at fruit...

)

GG

Dunkinjean 7/25/2011, 8:29 pm

Goosegirl,

I planted mine May 7th. But I did plant my Potato box next to them. But the watermelon plants face west so I would hope they still get alot sun. Now that my potato vines are dying, they should get more sun. If not, live and learn and will do better next yr! Smile

Good luck with your sugar baby watermelon!

Dunkinjean

Goosegirl 7/25/2011, 8:57 pm

Dunkinjean - good wishes for yours as well!

GG

quiltbea 7/26/2011, 9:24 am

I planted Sugar Baby watermelon seedlings on 5/30 and seeds the same day.

My first baby showed up 7/20 on seedling plant and 7/24 on sown seed plant so very little difference and its much less trouble to just sow the seeds instead of growing a seedling.

It took 51 days and 55 days.

The variety is very sweet and delicious. We had them last year. Mmmm good.

Goosegirl 7/26/2011, 8:18 pm

quiltbea wrote:I planted Sugar Baby watermelon seedlings on 5/30 and seeds the same day.

My first baby showed up 7/20 on seedling plant and 7/24 on sown seed plant so very little difference and its much less trouble to just sow the seeds instead of growing a seedling.

It took 51 days and 55 days.

The variety is very sweet and delicious. We had them last year. Mmmm good.

Thanks Quiltbea - that is good to know! I am going to try that next year. I killed my cucumber plants and was given some seeds from our local nursery when I got some other things. I stuck them in the ground and they have now covered almost half of my trellis. Note to self: Don't bother with seedlings for cukes and watermelons!

CarolynPhillips 7/27/2011, 10:22 am

I bought sugar baby watermelon seeds but ended up with some tiny melon the size of a soft ball. They were sweet but not what i was expecting so I pulled the plants up.

My banana melon still isn't ripe yet. Someone told me it would change colors whenit was ready. They are still green. Impatiently waiting.

quiltbea 7/27/2011, 10:48 am

Carolyn,

These are what Sugar Baby watermelons from Johnnyseeds look like at harvest....

These 3 were 8 lbs, 7 1/2 and 15 lbs front to back on Sept 3, 2010..

This one picked 2 days earlier on Sept 1st weighed 14 lbs and was nice and sweet.

**camprn** 7/27/2011, 2:18 pm

I love watermelon and I do not like Melons 225728

stoopid striped cucumber beetles :!:

CarolynPhillips 7/28/2011, 1:35 pm

I don't know what I ended up with but I was extremely disappointed. My catalogs say the Sugar Baby is round and and solid dark color.

Too late to try again but hopefully there is always next year.

quiltbea 7/28/2011, 1:47 pm

There must be different brands of Sugar Babies, because all ours, including in the community garden last year, were oblong and with wide dark and light green striping like you see mine above. They say avg 6-7 lbs but they grow larger. They are more oblong as they get bigger.

CarolynPhillips 7/28/2011, 4:05 pm

ah- ok

the seeds i ordered were for a Sugar Baby (ice box midget) and were suppose to be dark dark green and round and weight around 8 pounds.
I ended up with a softballl green striped melon.

a cold watermelon would be so great right now..... Cool

jazzymom 7/28/2011, 4:19 pm

Mine are still very small, sort of like I was hoping...the size of a cantaloupe....I guess. I think the ones that grew last summer were the 3-6 lbs size....but we had more rain and I had more time! cheers

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