We grew one watermelon this year and it was a volunteer. We never have good luck with watermelons or cantaloupes, but this year was a failure. The biggest reason is the lack of sunshine here on the north side of the mountain, well at least that’s what I tell myself.
This year I planned to try all the tricks folks have shared with us to be successful with our watermelon growing. Things like adding sand to the soil, planting them in a mound with a jug inserted beside them to water slowly, and heavily fertilizing the plants.
Our mistake this year was planting way too late in the summer. We never managed to get any of the things ready for our experimental planting, like the sand, so we finally just had to plant them.
We put a couple in the cold frame turned raised bed but they didn’t do much more than sprout.
The next ones we planted nearby in the remains of a compost pile. They were looking pretty good and even had small watermelons on them, but the winter squash I planted nearby over shadowed them and they quickly shriveled up and died.
The volunteer plant that produced the watermelon came up in one of the raised beds we planted sweet potatoes in during the month of June. Prior to planting I had been throwing some of my compost items directly in the bed. I’m bad to do this and Matt says we end up planting in a landfill 🙂 But the method does help enrich the soil quickly.
I’m sure the plant came from a seed from one of the watermelons I purchased early in the summer and enjoyed.
I’m always amazed at the health and production of volunteer plants. They often outperform the ones we plant carefully and tend.
We still have a few volunteer tommy-toes here and there and our malabar spinach that volunteers each year has a little new growth, but for the most part even the summer volunteers have succumbed to the cooler temperatures of fall of the year.
The watermelon was unusually heavy with a very sweet taste although we should have eaten it a little sooner.
Last night’s video: Matt Brought Me a Surprise from Deer Camp, Fall Leaves, & Eating Our 1 Watermelon.
Tipper
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Y’all look like proud parents in this photo. I watched the video and I agree with you that it was a gift from GOD. I love how Matt, determined as he was to get away for some Man Time, brought you back a precious gift. He was thinking of you all along. It is such a blessing to me to see so much love in the Homes of Wilson Hollow. That is a rare commodity these days. You make me feel loved too. TY. I keep you all in my prayers. I love Y’all.
Made my mouth water. The meat of the watermelon was very pretty and looked delicious. God’s reward for your efforts. Love and blessings to everyone today, tomorrow and always. Hoping Miss Louzine is having a good day today and everyday. Prayers up for all in need today and always.
Really enjoyed this video! Glad you have a watermelon to enjoy this late in the season, you are being rewarded with a volunteer that made it! I also enjoyed seeing the glass jugs that Matt brought home for you (sorry about the one you dropped). My husband has worked for a village water and sewer deaprtment in our area as well as being a heavy equipment operator. He has found all types of old glasswear and just recently found an old beer can floating in a lake that comes from a long while back and had hardly any rust. We enjoy those types of things too!
HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!!
That’s a good-looking watermelon! One is better than none as they say. When I was young, I remember daddy growing both watermelon and cantaloupe and he always had a bountiful crop. I don’t recall that he did anything special, but I do know he grew them in the sun. Our garden was in a sunny spot, and he may have used fertilizer, I just don’t remember. We didn’t have deer so that was a plus. Hope next season is better for you.
In a recent True Grit video, Meagan and Andy were talking about how much better volunteers generally do than what they intentionally plant. Meagan says she believes they grow better because it’s their own idea. I think that makes good sense. You all have a lot in common, as you know.
I was glad it was at least sweet. You both work so hard at your garden. It was a nice treat.
As always, praying for granny.
In my experience watermelons that are ripe and juicy are the heavy ones.
Don’t listen to those folks who tell you to add sand to your soil. Watermelons grow well in sandy soil but we’re talking about soil that has sand as a base. You have clay and rocks just like I do. It would take a tremendous amount of sand to make your soil into something near what watermelons (or any melons) prefer.
We live in a land where the sand all washes down the branches, into the creeks and rivers until it is deposited in bottomlands or carried on out into the ocean where it becomes dunes and beaches.
You can grow watermelons in raised beds, in compost mixed with sand but the cost to grow exceeds the value of the harvest. The vines will have to grow out of the beds and spread out in order to get enough sunshine to grow the fruit. That takes up space that can be much better used for other crops.
I have problems growing watermelons also. Year before last mine did well except for the deer. They would stomp a hole in one, eat a little then stomp another one.
My wife and I collect old bottles also. We were lucky enough to find a soft drink bottle from a bottling company in the little town near us, Farmville NC. The company closed in the 1940’s.
Volunteer plants are amazing! I planted several zucchini seeds and not one produced, but 7 volunteer zucchini plants came up and thrived. We had plenty for us and was able to share with family and friends. We also had volunteer pumpkins, squash and tomato plants. The volunteers seem to be much stronger plants than what we plant each year. We also throw all our compost into the garden in winter.
We had our first snow fall this past Sunday and with the freezing temperatures we’re getting, it’ll most likely stay until spring. Have a great day everyone!
I planted my cantalopes too late and had given up on them. Went to clean out the garden for the year and had 8 little cantalopes. Our puny Roma tomato plants also got a late start and are loaded down. Our other tomato plants that thrived but weren’t producing tomatoes are loaded down with green tomatoes. Frost is coming this weekend so guess I’ll pick and make relish. Continued prayers for Granny.
I watched the video last night and was so glad your watermelon turned out sweet. Enjoy the last sweet harvest of the summer!
That’s nice looking watermelon! Better luck next year ❣️
My favorite melons are honeydews and orange watermelons, and my ground loves to grow them. I don’t do anything special when I plant them, unlike my mom. Mom used to plant her watermelons on the sandy bank close to the creek. She dug a big, rounded hill, scooped dirt out of the center, and filled it with chicken manure before adding dirt on top and planting the seeds. When I was a young girl, Mom grew a watermelon that was so big, she tried to find out how to enter it in the county fair. Someone stole that melon off the vine, and she talked about that dirty, rotten scoundrel the rest of her life.
So glad to hear Matt got a deer and most of all had what I call special family time with his Daddy! Yay for him. Love to see that beautiful creek, and my goodness it looks like there are just big slabs of limestone, one after another at that site:)
Tipper, years ago, my Husband and I decided we would try to plant watermelons, but we didn’t think we had a hot enough or long enough summer to do that. We laid down black plastic material around the plant to heat it up and it worked for us. When my Daddy retired and moved back south he grew beautiful watermelons, red and yellow meated.
This year I went to the Dillsburg, PA., Farmer’s Fall Fair this year and didn’t see any watermelons but a farmer got First Place for growing a pumpkin that weighed 570 lbs. Yes, I saw it with my own two eyes.
My late Papaw could grow just about anything except watermelon. He would get so aggravated! My friend lives near Charleston, SC and her tommy-toes are still producing hand over fist. Folks here in NW Ohio have put their gardens to bed for the season. Best of luck if you try to go them again next season, Tipper.
Fall blessings from Ohio!!
When I was a kid, DAD planted the watermelons in the corn field in bottom. They liked the rich soil next to the creek. Always a bountiful supply.
Oh, the size of that watermelon is very impressive! I’m so glad you were able to grow one this year & equally glad that it tasted good! Congratulations!!
Have a blessed day! I’m still praying for comfort for Granny.
Wow! It is (was) a pretty one! Volunteers fascinate me. As for you, they seem to do better for us than the things we plant. We picked the last green tomatoes off a volunteer yesterday since we get our first freeze tonight.
Praying for Granny and you all! ❤️
As I look at your lovely photograph, I find myself laughing and wanting to say CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR NEW BABY BOY!!! You both look so proud and happy holding up that watermelon that it absolutely made my day better and brighter! I’d be proud myself if I grew a PURTY watermelon like that one! I’ve never grown a melon period myself. I sure hope it was as tasty and sweet as it looked! I need to start a compost but so far I’m composting to the dump. They say worms love coffee grounds. After hearing and seeing you, I got no excuse but sorriness. Lord comfort granny Louzine this day. Bless you all today and above all I wish you peace of mind and contentment. Thanks for the laughs and contemplative thoughts that stay with me all day long as I putter about…
I enjoyed reading the watermelon stories.
I’ve probably posted this before, not sure. When I was a boy (long ago), my uncle dumped a load of straw out in the pasture. For a year or two nothing much happened. Then suddenly one year there was a pumpkin vine and big pumpkins. Then the next year no pumpkins but a big watermelon vine and big watermelons. And that was that. As you say, Randy, there must be some good match with compost and vining plants. Groundhogs got into my watermelons and ruined the best ones. We still have two in the house that I may have picked green to keep them from chewing on them. The vines tried to have more but it was way too late for them to make.
Not a complete failure. I consider that one beauty a success. I have no luck with melons either. I buy mine from a local Amish farmer.
I was impressed by the watermelon you grew, even if it was a volunteer. We have never grown watermelons…we were lucky to have gotten a few small pumpkins this year. I made a pie from one of our tiny pumpkins last evening. I just had a piece for breakfast with a cup of coffee and it was yummy. Just waiting on my grandchildren to arrive. They spend every Wednesday all day with us. It’s gonna be cold and rainy, so I think we will bake some rolls for lunch. The kids love to bake and especially to roll out their own rolls. We make a mess for sure but it’s worth it. Have a wonderful day everyone.
We live in SE Alabama( some folks here call it LA- Lower Alabama) and we also don’t have much luck growing Watermelons. And we are in an area were the farmers grow lots of watermelon.
I saw that on u tube,yhea I’m glad it was sweet
I have no suggestions for you. Because of the problem we have with deer , I no longer try to plant watermelons or cantaloupes. When I did plant them, I would plant Charleston Gray watermelons and Athena cantaloupes. How many of you have heard of the old time Petoskey cantaloupe? Some of them would get soccer ball size, but they were known not only for their size but cracking open on the bloom end. I wrote about this before, when I was growing up we had a spot in our garden where volunteer citrons would come up each year from the ones we left and didn’t use. They look like watermelons but have clear/yellowish meat and are very hard. I have been told deer won’t even eat them. Mother would use them to make citron preserves, that I loved.
Tipper and your compost plies. Back in the past in my area when mules were still be used for farming and before deer, many farmers would lay off a deep furrow row, fill it up with compost/cow or horse manure, then cover it and mound dirt over the row and plant their watermelon seed on the mound. As long as they could get rain , they would grow watermelons that would weigh over 50lbs. I have heard of some being in the 75-100 lb range. I think the farmers would like to have sort of a bragging contest between them to see who could grow the largest watermelons.