I've just been looking for info on how to tell when my watermelon is ready for picking and found this. Thought it might be of use to others too :-)
http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/cornucop/2002071935010165.html (http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/cornucop/2002071935010165.html)
Interesting link sweet-pea. I have several watermelons, but they are only golf ball size so I am not expecting much :'( However, if the Indian summer we have been promised lingers into November, I could be onto a winner! :)
I wish I had more than just the one, which is why I'm a bit anxious about picking it too early, if I get it wrong I haven't any others to fall back on! Will definitely be saving the seed to grow again next year though as it's been really exciting watching it grow.
I went to the allotment today to pick this watermelon... and then chickened out... :P
thanks for that link Sweet-Pea I think tomorrow I'll yank it out of the ground and have a little taste ;D ;D can't wait!
vaca
(http://www.fubinibrothers.com/images/watermelons.JPG)
Wow, that's much bigger than mine, and mine seems to have stopped growing. Is it the 'Black mountain' one you sent me some seeds of?
I've been growing mine in a ring culture pot in the greenhouse so maybe next year I'll try it outdoors so it has more room to romp away :-)
Quote from: sweet-pea on August 10, 2006, 11:06:08
Is it the 'Black mountain' one you sent me some seeds of?
Yes, it's Black Mountain just like the seeds I sent you (came out the same packet) :)
Mine were sown on 15/04 in pots and transplanted under a polytunnel which came off when they started flowering. I've then just let them be and have occasionally fed them with liquid seaweed.
I'll let you know how it turns out once I pick it...
vaca
Wow! Seriously impressed Vaca! So yours in is a tunnel....mine is in the open...hmmm....
Quote from: vaca on August 10, 2006, 15:21:59
Mine were sown on 15/04 in pots and transplanted under a polytunnel which came off when they started flowering. I've then just let them be and have occasionally fed them with liquid seaweed.
I'll let you know how it turns out once I pick it...
vaca
Ah, I sowed mine 08/05, so might try sowing a little earlier next year too. I've been trying to hand fertilise the flowers, but without much success, and even though I've been leaving the door open to the greenhouse so insects can get in, there doesn't seem to be a huge amount of successful fertilisation going on.
Will be interested to hear what it tastes like.