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Where should my watermelon go next year - in the greenouse or outdoors (don't have a poly or cold frame)? Before I decide to do all out, in or a mix of the two, how far North have people had fruiting watermelons in the UK:

a) outdoors
b) in the greenhouse?

If you have any foolproof tips, I'd be grateful for them - watermelon newbie here :)

I grew mine in a walk-in greenhouse last year up in York and managed 1 fruit...  I'm hoping for more this year, and I'm going to try them outdoors too.

I think how well they'd do outdoors will depend on the variety, I think some are more suited than others.

As for tips, I was a novice last year and just thought I'd see how I got on.  I have no tips as such, except that I read somewhere that once one fruit has set, no more will on that plant, so if you want more than one fruit on a plant you need to prevent pollination until you have a few female flowers ready at the same time and then pollinate them all at the same time.  I did have some links to some useful sites, if I can find them I'll post them later.

SP x

Hi supersprout,

I grew melons successfully for two years in a cold frame in Norwich. Not the big green watermelon, I think they are called Gaia, they are smaller and paler. Books say you have to hand pollinate them, but sometimes if the right insects are around they`ll do it anyway.

I had beautiful ripe melons at the end of August.

Col

Just to add to this I know one or two of you folk out there have grown watermelons-and SS has had the benefit of my little knowledge. Can anyone describe to her what a ripe watermelon sounds like?-I would never had made  a wheel tapper :-[

I picked them as the warmer days ended and ripened them on the kitchen windowsill, I knew they were ripe when i woke to their fantastic smell each day.
Squeeze `em gently and eat them. Actually I had so many some went in my mixed fruit jam

Col

(reading forum at work today)(new idea take breaks) :D

This might be of use. I can't remember how I tested mine, but I think in the end I just took a chance! 


http://www.almanac.com/food/watermelonripe.php

I grew 2 melon plants and one watermelon in the greenhouse + 2 melon plants and 2 watermelons in cold frames last year. In the green house each plant had 3-4 melons on it, i shook them now and again for pollination. In the cold frames they had 2 melons on each plant, these ones i left for the insects to pollinate. The year before i grew them only in a poly tunnel and had only 1 melon per plant. I don't think they would do very well outside but you could allways try one. gl

I grew mine out, and got one fruit...the size of a golf ball.  I will be better organised this year.  ::)

we grew 3 in the poly last year, got 7 off each, small ones though, sweetheart and galia, lovely flavour,
I read in Bob Flowerdew, when the leaf nearest the melon goes pale green that's when you pick, did that and they still needed 2 weeks to ripen, they did though  ;D

I grew mine this way; http://tinyurl.com/ykmmlu two years ago  and kept them to two fruits per plant.

The following year I didn't have much success indoors or out.

When I compared notes on both I would say 'light' as well as temperature had a great bearing on success.

To explain I have three greenhouses one which gets good light all day the other only gets good light for part of the day. Needless to say they were in the 'darker' greenhouse last year.

This year I will be reverting back to to the first greenhouse.

Outdoors in an open coldframe I found they grew more leaf at the expense of flowers, this year I plan on covering with fleece or clear plastic to up the temperature a bit.

I have also noticed that most of my curcubits don't fair as well in the partially lit greenhouse.

But this is the price I have to pay to keep up with my rotation programme (much easier than changing soil)

Thank you all, have bookmarked all those links in readiness for Week 16!
If the coming summer is like the last, I can't imagine much to beat chomping into a cool, fragrant, drippy chunk of watermelon ;D


preferably in the shade of the squash arbour

Quote; I can't imagine much to beat chomping into a cool, fragrant, drippy chunk of watermelon

Will this help?

Waaaugh! How many weeks to harvest time again?

Not enough SS looking at the mountain of seeds waiting to be sown!
;D

Hello have'nt posted for ages hope everyones well. I grew minnesota midget outdoors last year got tennis ball size fruit really nice i'm trying them again this year. oh were in sunny Barnsley

This is an interesting thread. Unfortunately, most posters have not given their location. This is important as melons and watermelons require warmer conditions than most crops grown in this Country.
IN GLASGOW this year, in my Greenhouse, I tried growing varieties claimed to require a shorter growing period to fruiting.
Watermelon Golden Midget (70 days from transplanting claimed, actually about 95days). I got one small watermelon from 2 plants. Would not grow it again, as I thought that the taste was insipid.
Melon Minnesota Midget (60-75 days from transplanting claimed, actually about 90 days). One large 10 ins sweet fruit from one plant. The catalogue claims fruits up to 4 ins fruit. This I would grow again.

I tried 'small shining light' watermelons in my greenhouse last year, only got two fruit the size of tennis balls; but they were very nice!
I'm in Derby by the way.

I also grew a watermelon in the greenhouse but did not realise. Sowed cucs and watermelon never labelled up then forgot i'd sowed watermelon. Put into greenhouse what i thought was a cucumber plant. GRew lovely but the leaves did not look cucumbery, got 1st cucumber off it tasted bitter and so did all the others i got off, so i just left the plant. When clearing greenhouse at backend of Autumn discovered a football sized cucumber cut open to discover a beautiful watermelon. Ahh deep joy

wonderful story Northerner :D whereabouts in the country are you?

only another few weeks and my kitchen window will be home to baby melon plants. Ordered a new veriety this year called Magenta (5.50 euro´s for 7 seeds) it has suger sweet orange flesh and i can´t wait. I´ll also be growing Oranje Ananas (Tigermelon) which is also very nice and my water melon veriety is red moon f1 hybride. The last two i grew last year and had a good crop with most melons reaching the size of a bowling ball. I live in Holland and we usually get a good summer.