Things You'll Need:
- Compost Makers
- Fertilizers
- Floating Row Covers
- Garden Hoses
- Garden Trowels
- Mulch
- Plants
- Seeds
- Shovels
- Seeds
- Plants
- Shovels
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Step 1
Choose a site that gets full sun, is protected from chilly winds - especially in spring and fall - and gets good air circulation. A gentle, south-facing slope is ideal.
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Step 2
Dig plenty of organic matter into the soil to provide the conditions watermelons need: a light, sandy, fertile loam that is well-drained yet retains moisture. A near-neutral pH is best, but watermelons will tolerate soil as acid as 5.5.
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Step 3
Buy watermelon plants at a nursery; plan to plant them after both air and soil temperatures have reached 65 degrees F (usually two to three weeks after the last frost). Otherwise, sow seeds directly into the garden. Direct sowing is best if your growing season is long enough for the plants to mature (check your seed packet). Watermelons don't like to be transplanted.
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Step 4
Prepare the soil well at planting time, even if you've added plenty of organic matter earlier. For each plant, dig a hole two feet in diameter and a foot deep, and add at least a shovelful of compost or well-cured manure and a trowel or two of bone meal.
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Step 5
Set hardened-off transplants into the ground at the depth they were growing in their pots. Sow seeds an inch deep in hills. (See "How to Harden off Transplants" and "How to Start Vegetable Seeds Outdoors.") Water thoroughly with compost tea.
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Step 6
Allow plenty of space between plants. Depending on the variety, they should be anywhere from 3 feet (for small bush types) to 12 feet apart (for giant ramblers).
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Step 7
Apply a thick organic mulch to hold in moisture, deter weeds and keep the melons clean as they grow. Or, if you don't care how your patch looks, use a black plastic mulch, with slits cut for the plants. It will hold in heat better than any other soil covering.
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Step 8
Cover the plants with floating row covers to keep the air warm, and give young plants an inch of water a week.
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Step 9
Remove all covers as soon as flowers appear so that bees and other insects can pollinate the plants, and begin fertilizing with compost tea every three weeks.
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Step 10
Note when the plants are in full bloom: watermelons should be ready to pick about 35 days later.










Comments
masheila said
on 8/11/2009 how to care for and prevent bloom end rot and splitting of my watermelons before maturity
philb00 said
on 10/26/2008 yeh me tooo i got lots of big huge vines but sadly only couple little melons started to grow yhen the cold came.... all over
texasclaw said
on 8/9/2008 Any idea on how to combat "Blossom End Rot" and or splitting of melons before maturity?
Tinaj said
on 7/5/2008 This is my first time trying to grow watermelon and I live in Ohio, The plant's have flowers on them just want to have some tips on how to keep plant's healthy and on how much to water. I am just so happy that they grow at all. Thanks
Sp1d3r said
on 5/5/2008 I love watermelon :P