Watermelon

Popular Watermelon Varieties

‘Sugar Baby’– Abundant red flesh Heirloom variety. Compact fruit with matte green hard outer skin to prevent splitting. 10-week harvest. 4 Fruit per plant. 3kg per fruit.

‘Moon & Stars’ – Heirloom pinky-red flesh variety with yellow “stars” over the fruit and leaves and one large “moon” speck. Thich skin to prevent splitting. 14- week harvest. 3-4 fruit per plant. 25kg per fruit.

‘Crimson Sweet (War Paint)’ – Very popular with deep red flesh and white paint-like stripes on the skin. 12-week harvest. 10kg per fruit.

‘Candy Red (Charleston Grey)  – Heirloom. Large oval fruits with deep red flesh. Light green skin. 15+ week harvest. 15kg fruit.

‘Bush Jubilee’ – Old variety with red flesh and green striped skin. High sugar content. Compact bushy vine, great for small space gardening. 14-week harvest. 5kg fruit.

‘Blacktail Mountain’ – Large round fruit with red flesh. Dark green skin. Extra Sweet. Great for colder climates. 15-week harvest. 4 fruit per plant. 5kg per fruit.

‘Sweet Siberian’ – Heirloom with a green outer skin and sweet orange flesh. Great for colder climates. 10-weeks harvest. 5 fruit per plant. 4kg per fruit.

‘Golden Midget’ – Skin turns yellow when ripe. Sweet red flesh. Prefers warmer climates. 14-week harvest. 7 fruit per plant. 2.5kg per fruit.

How to Grow Watermelon

Watermelon likes a full sun location, with approximately 6-8 hours of sunlight. Plant seeds when daily temperatures start to average 20-25 degrees Celsius per day (less for colder varieties). Watermelon does not like their roots being disturbed. So if possible planting them directly in the ground can be beneficial. Create 30cm high mounds of soil using rich compost and composted manure. Plant your seeds 1 inch deep on the top or plant your seedlings if you have germinated inside.

When to Plant Watermelon

Plant your watermelon seeds from Spring to early Summer. Watermelon can take a while to produce so it is a good idea to get them in the ground early. As soon as temperatures average 20-25 degrees Celcius.

Care/ Maintenance

Young watermelon plants will need regular watering. Especially in the height of summer. The leaves will curl up and notify you that they are too dry. Avoid watering the leaves as this can allow powdery mildew to form. It can be a great idea to put a stick or marker where you plant the seeds. Once the plant is established, it can be hard to see where the main stem and roots are to water correctly. Placing a marker will help you water the correct part of the plant for maximum efficiency. Cover your soil with mulch – pea straw or lucerne can be a great option as it will start to break down and feed your plants.

Feed your plants regularly (every 2 weeks or so) with a liquid seaweed fertiliser for an extra boost of nutrients.

Heavy rain or excess watering when the fruit is nearing maturity, may cause the melon to crack open. Keep an eye on your ripening melons.

Watermelon can also be grown vertically! Especially the smaller fruiting varieties. Plant them near a trellis or frame and move the vines as they grow to latch onto the frame. They have strong tendrils that will hold them in place. Once the fruit starts to form you may need to support the weight so that they do not snap and fall. A mini hammock under the melon using a stretchy, breathable fabric such as a stocking can be useful.

Pollination/ Fruiting

Watermelons require pollination from a male to a female flower to form fruit. If you have plenty of bees in your garden, they should be able to do this for you. If you notice small watermelons forming and then dying off, this may mean you have a pollination problem. This can be aided by using a small paintbrush to dust the pollen of the male flower (single flower with no baby melon forming) to a female flower (flower with a baby melon at the base). This can help boost your success rate and grow more watermelon. Be sure to plant lots more flowers in between your plants to attract the bees if you ever have pollination problems.

Pests / Disease

Watermelon is relatively pest-resistant. They can get some fungal diseases in humid weather. It is important not to wet the leaves to prevent powdery mildew from forming. If you do start to see some powdery mildew, remove the leaves (if it is only a few) or create a spray of 1 part milk to 9 parts water and spray over the affected area. Once the fruits start to mature be aware of rodents or other animals finding your fruit.

How/ When to Harvest

Harvesting watermelon can be tricky! And devastating when you get it wrong (be prepared it may happen from time to time..). Under-ripe watermelon will be bland and lack flavour, whereas, over-ripe watermelon will be floury and granular.

Some ways to determine if your watermelon is ready:

• Look for the curly tendrils closest to the watermelon stem. They should turn brown and dry when the watermelon is ready.
• A light knock on the watermelon, it should sound slightly hollow when ready.
• Carefully roll the melon over and the part that was touching the ground should be turning yellow.

Reproducing

Watermelon seeds are the easiest way to reproduce watermelon. Choose seeds from your best mature melons. Wash off the flesh and allow it to dry before storing it in a cool, dry, dark space. Watermelon can also be grown from cuttings. Do this early in the season otherwise, the vine will not have enough time to produce before the weather gets cold. Cut a 10cm piece of a side shoots off. You want to let the main leader vine grow so do not cut this. Cut just below a leaf as this is where the roots will form. Place in a jar of water until you see some roots form. Then plant it back out into the garden. This is more for a bit of fun as you will get the best crops from direct-sown seeds.

Cooking and Using Watermelon

Watermelon is so delicious eaten fresh but there are many other ways to prepare watermelon to use in both sweet or savoury dishes.

Watermelon Pairs well with: Mint, Lime, Basil, Citrus, Red Onion, Feta Cheese, Coconut, Yoghurt, Almonds, Jalapeno, Haloumi, Ginger

Watermelon ideas:

• Fruit salad
• Juice
• Iceblocks
• Salads
• “Chips” or “Wedges” with dipping sauce
• Fruit kebabs
• Watermelon jerky
• Grilled watermelon
• Cocktails
• Serving Bowls using the skin/shell
• Cocktails and Mocktails
• Carvings
• Sorbet
• Watermelon Cake
• Flavoured Water
• Salsa
• Fruit leather
• Syrup

Preserving the Harvest

Watermelon is best eaten cold and fresh but sometimes we can’t keep up with their generous yields. Dehydrated watermelon is a great way to use up a lot of extra watermelons. Watermelon jerky is extremely sweet and could make a good substitute for natural lollies. Other ways you could preserve your watermelon are Freezing cubes, juicing and freezing cubes or making syrup or chutney.

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