watermelon germination

Well...only two of the three types of watermelon I planted germinated. Unfortunately, I'm not sure which one I planted where, but I'm almost certain that livingston seed's petite yellow is the one that failed. I'm disappointed and very concerned that even the two that germinated won't set fruit before the weather gets cold. Plus, I'm going to have to be very vigilant about pests, after the trouble I've had with the squash - more on that later.

Next year, I will almost certainly start watermelon seeds indoors. Maybe in the south people can direct seed watermelon and it will ripen in their long growing season, but here in zone 6 it doesn't seem like it will be a success - especially since we had such a late start to summer.

They took a surprisingly long time to germinate - at least two weeks for the first one that poked through (pictured below) and even longer for the second.

Sixth planting

Today I did the sixth and final planting - until I start working on fall crops. I was supposed to plant watermelons and asparagus, but the store-bought asparagus still hasn't poked through, and I've decided to wait and see if anything ever happens with it before planting the seeds. I will still be able to compare growth, and this is just easier.

The watermelon turned out to be difficult to plant, only because I have read wildly different recommendations on spacing - everything from 18 inches to 15 feet! I decided to go with the seed packet instructions in case it was specific to the variety, but even those were quite different and it didn't seem to be related to the size of the watermelon. I planted Crimson Sweet from seeds of change, Sugar Baby from territorial, and Petite Yellow from livingston.

Because the soil still hasn't quite warmed to where it should be, I'm using the cold frames to help the seeds along. I did the best with the space I had and planted them 3 feet apart - just one hill of each variety. I'll let you know how it goes!