Posted: 6/4/2010 4:55:56 AM EDT
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I'm finally going to grow watermelons up north here in Michigan. (Got some Bush Sugar Baby seeds.)
I just made a raised bed like my other ones with: Hauled in topsoil, a few bales of Canadian Peat, a couple hundred pounds of composted manure, couple hundred pounds of growers grit for drainage improvement, some bone meal and Espoma's PlantTone ( this is Espoma's ordinary garden fertilizer 5-3-3). The new raised bed will get full sun for 3/4's of the day. Oh, and I put some wood chips on the soil as mulch. This is the same thing I did for other raised veggie beds over the years. Are there any tricks or advice on watermelons that are specific to them that I need to know about? Thanks for any info. |
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Sounds like you're set. The only caveat I'd add - that may not apply anyway - is to be careful not to use so much Nitrogen that you end up with a maze of vines and no fruit. Should I go for something like a 2-4-2 ratio? I start with a small dose of 13-13-13 at transplanting or planting time, then a handful of 6-12-12 or 5-20-20 later on. Either way, we're talking small amounts. You can't hardly put too much P or K on them, but keep the N to a minimum in the second half of the growing season, or you'll stimulate too much new vine growth. (It's not rocket science - just make sure they get lots of water. Have you done a soil pH test on your potting mix?) |
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Quoted:
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Sounds like you're set. The only caveat I'd add - that may not apply anyway - is to be careful not to use so much Nitrogen that you end up with a maze of vines and no fruit. Should I go for something like a 2-4-2 ratio? I start with a small dose of 13-13-13 at transplanting or planting time, then a handful of 6-12-12 or 5-20-20 later on. Either way, we're talking small amounts. You can't hardly put too much P or K on them, but keep the N to a minimum in the second half of the growing season, or you'll stimulate too much new vine growth. (It's not rocket science - just make sure they get lots of water. Have you done a soil pH test on your potting mix?) No, I haven't done any soil tests. Probably should but the mix I use has worked well with other veggies. Thanks for the info on fertilizer ratios. That will help alot. (I've got some 5-10-10 in the garage.) |
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The more heat, the better.
Loose, well drained soil. Lots of soil ammendments. You really don't need fertilizer if you use lots of organic ammendments. PLENTY OF WATER. Especially during fruit set. PLENTY OF ROOM for the plants to grow. They'll literally take over your garden. You can train them vertically up a trellis or similar structure and support the fruits w/ netting. This works best for me, since it minimizes space, maximizes sun exposure, and keeps the fruits from rotting on the ground. Other than that, they're really easy to grow. I have had problems here recently with aphids decimating all my cucumber-family plants (which includes melons). Squash beetles can be a bitch too. This year I'm skipping them and planting more flowers to attract the beneficial insects. I'm hoping next year I have the population diversity to keep the aphids in check w/o chemical controls. |