Wow PG, I envy you for your gardening skills and wonderful garden and its fruits and veges. Are your watermelons nice? I tried growing that variety for the first time last summer but the season was too short and they never ripened properly. - Dave
I haven't tasted a home grown watermelon yet! Last year I had one plant, but it was in too shady a spot, so without the heat the plant didn't thrive and the one tiny fruit that did grow, was eaten by snails!
This year I have put in a few plants in different locations. The watermelon pictured was in one of my children's garden beds and uncovered by scratching chickens. They tore up some of the vine and I was worried for a while that they may have broken the vine that this watermelon was growing on.
The other vine is growing in amongst the blueberries and boysenberries, with pumpkin vines covering the wire stopping the chickens. Quite a combination there, and difficult for me to search for growing watermelons. I hope there are more hidden in that garden bed.
I also put in a few watermelon plants at my daughter's play school garden last year which are growing exceptionally well and have several well developed fruit. I'm a bit jealous actually, but as my husband and the play school teacher say, that really is my garden too as I did most of the maintainance and facilitate most of the planting and harvesting lessons.
Dave, next year you could try starting your seeds off earlier inside or buying a patio harvest variety early in the season and keeping them protected from frost (do you get much frost where you are?). They like warmth, so perhaps you need a different position in your yard like I did? They also like organic matter and benefit from liquid seaweed or worm tea. Pumpkins will ripen off the vine in the sun, and taken inside to protect from frost at night, but I am unsure about watermelons ripening off the vine.
I think it is worth trying growing things several times to try and get it right. Second time lucky?
Thanks PG, your idea of trying different spots makes sense. I actually bought the plants last year, but I think it was because our summer was too short. Yes, we do get frosts in winter and occasionally in spring. - Dave
You should be able to buy frost tender plants raised in greenhouses by the nursery at a home improvement store (do you have Bunnings?) or a garden centre in early spring. You can then either protect from frost by keeping them indoors, in a green house or in the garden planted out but covered with a cloche such as a plastic bottle with the base cut off and lid removed, or similar protection until the risk of frost has passed. Here we need to be wary of a mid November frost, probably similar for you?
I do this, or raise seeds in my green house for all frost tender plants then cover with bottles when I plant them out until after Melbourne Cup. Even then I often leave the cloches on and they act as a mini greenhouse and provide snail (and chicken protection).
Wow PG, I envy you for your gardening skills and wonderful garden and its fruits and veges. Are your watermelons nice? I tried growing that variety for the first time last summer but the season was too short and they never ripened properly. - Dave
ReplyDeleteI haven't tasted a home grown watermelon yet! Last year I had one plant, but it was in too shady a spot, so without the heat the plant didn't thrive and the one tiny fruit that did grow, was eaten by snails!
ReplyDeleteThis year I have put in a few plants in different locations. The watermelon pictured was in one of my children's garden beds and uncovered by scratching chickens. They tore up some of the vine and I was worried for a while that they may have broken the vine that this watermelon was growing on.
The other vine is growing in amongst the blueberries and boysenberries, with pumpkin vines covering the wire stopping the chickens. Quite a combination there, and difficult for me to search for growing watermelons. I hope there are more hidden in that garden bed.
I also put in a few watermelon plants at my daughter's play school garden last year which are growing exceptionally well and have several well developed fruit. I'm a bit jealous actually, but as my husband and the play school teacher say, that really is my garden too as I did most of the maintainance and facilitate most of the planting and harvesting lessons.
Dave, next year you could try starting your seeds off earlier inside or buying a patio harvest variety early in the season and keeping them protected from frost (do you get much frost where you are?). They like warmth, so perhaps you need a different position in your yard like I did? They also like organic matter and benefit from liquid seaweed or worm tea. Pumpkins will ripen off the vine in the sun, and taken inside to protect from frost at night, but I am unsure about watermelons ripening off the vine.
I think it is worth trying growing things several times to try and get it right. Second time lucky?
Thanks PG, your idea of trying different spots makes sense. I actually bought the plants last year, but I think it was because our summer was too short. Yes, we do get frosts in winter and occasionally in spring. - Dave
ReplyDeleteYou should be able to buy frost tender plants raised in greenhouses by the nursery at a home improvement store (do you have Bunnings?) or a garden centre in early spring. You can then either protect from frost by keeping them indoors, in a green house or in the garden planted out but covered with a cloche such as a plastic bottle with the base cut off and lid removed, or similar protection until the risk of frost has passed. Here we need to be wary of a mid November frost, probably similar for you?
ReplyDeleteI do this, or raise seeds in my green house for all frost tender plants then cover with bottles when I plant them out until after Melbourne Cup. Even then I often leave the cloches on and they act as a mini greenhouse and provide snail (and chicken protection).