watermelon informatuin

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I live in Ford Washington about 25 miles NW of Spokane Where can I find a link or information about growing watermelons in my particular area?

-- bob jones (savicci@earthlink.net), March 30, 2001

Answers

I would suggest you contact your local county extension agent. If watermelons can be successfully grown in your area, they should have information as to the correct varieties to use.

Just my opinion, but watermelon are a warm season crop that take quite a while to produce. I doubt you have the daily warmth for enough days for any variety to really produce well. Same for okra, sweet potatoes, and peppers--they all like heat.

-- Notforprint (Not@thekeyboard.com), March 30, 2001.


Contact ATTRA at the USDept of Ag through any search engine; its a free site with megga info about animals, crops, ect.

-- mitch hearn (moopups1@aol.com), March 30, 2001.

I agree that watermelons need quite a bit of warm weather - and the other suggestions are great. But I moved up here to NW Minn and tried to grow melons for the first time outside of eastern OK and didn't have any luck. This year I ordered seeds from Jung catalog that are from a variety that takes a lot less days to mature than standard varieties. I picked New Queen hybrid - they have several short-season choices. Starting these warm weather crops in a cold frame type situation and putting down black plastic mulch, etc. can also help them along. Hope to have better luck this year on these. Good luck to you also.

-- Cynthia Speer (farmsteader@gvtel.com), March 30, 2001.

hi, i'm going to try with sugar baby seeds. i'm not going to let the weather be a detterant, as i love watermelon! i'm starting the seeds indoors til may, then transplanting them. i think sugar babies take 75 days from germination, and that's another week, so we're into june, and i live North of spokane as you do, except farther! i think it can be done, i'll let you know. with a cold night, just throw a tarp over the plants if they're already in the ground. zone 5 is where it's at!

-- jeannie (mmp@theofficenet.com), April 08, 2001.

If you are into watermelon carving, please go to www.yankeeharvest.com They have some really neat carving kits for both watermelon and pumpkin, along with pattern books and all the accessories.

-- Kathy Anderson (member@yankeeharvest.com), June 17, 2001.


you can cheat the season by preheating the ground too, lay clear plastic, not black, it gives a greenhouse effect to the soil,you can get 2 more weeks on the spring end and 3 maybe even 4 weeks on the autum end of the season. Then use the top side covers as well to hold the frost at bay. Water jugs can hold more heat for over night too.

-- Thumper (slrldr@aol.com), June 17, 2001.

I start all my melons inside in flats and then set them out. This year I even did sweet corn and I am sure thrilled with the results. We had such a wet, cold spring here and I have a fairly mature garden for this part of the country. (michigan)

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), June 18, 2001.

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