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WATERMELON AT A GLANCE

COMMON NAME: Watermelon

SPECIES: Citrullus lanatus

SIZE: 5-45 pounds, depending on variety.

VARIETIES: Many from small ``icebox'' types to large oval fruits. Choose compact varieties for small home gardens.

DESCRIPTION: Firm rind in light green, mid-green, green-black or golden with pink, red or even yellow flesh, all sweet and juicy. Three shapes: round, oval and oblong.

CULTURE: Sun; well-drained soil with some organic matter and coarse sand. Moisture crucial for seed to germinate, set fruit and develop deep roots. Plant seeds or seedlings after frost danger has passed; melons like warm day and night temperatures and soil. Plant 6 to 8 feet apart in hills; read label on variety for specific instructions. Mulch of straw or black plastic keeps weeds down. Place board or straw under ripening fruit to prevent rotting or insect damage on bottom.

FERTILIZER: Use starter solution for transplants, fertilize at time of flowering and fruit set and again at 3-4 week intervals. Too much nitrogen will promote excess foliage and little fruit.

HARVEST: Requires long growing season, 80-100 days. When first female flowers open and bees pollinate, count 35 days from that date and a ripe watermelon should be found. Or, melon's ground spot, where it rests on the soil, is white during growing season but turns creamy or golden color as melon ripens; also curly tendrils on vine closest to watermelon dry and brown when watermelon matures.

PROBLEMS: Aphids, insecticidal soap if necessary; cucumber beetles, cover plants with netting; avoid planting watermelons where cucumbers, cantaloupes and squash grew previous year because soil-borne disease could overwinter and attack. Always keep gardening tools clean by washing in mixture of 10 percent bleach and water.

Sources: National Garden Bureau, Virginia Cooperative Extension

June 1998

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