I grew my first ever watermelon vine over the summer and I only got 1 melon
from it, which was a very nice one but it just didnt seem worth the few
months of watering id put in. Any tricks as to how to get more melons? Do i
just need more bees in the area? I noticed there was always plenty of ants
crawling over the flowers

Also, there arent any flowers on it anymore so is this vine finished/should
i rip it out?

Dave Turner wrote:

btw ive seen a few wasps in my garden but i dont think ive ever seen any
bees! which cant be good




Sounds like the old paintbrush trick, pollinate the flowers with this.
Also found that lavender attracts bees better than anything else and
will help.
Youre doing better than I, as the 2 tiny water melons I grew were about
2.5 inches in diameter,
and were a great talking point at our garden club, which, if I dont grow
bigger ones will probably be thrown out of....(grin!!!)
I reckon some one slipped in a dwarf variety.... It would certainly only
feed a dwarf... Tated quite nice.
Kept the seeds for next world attempt at tiny watermelon growing
competition...

Sounds like the old paintbrush trick, pollinate the flowers with this.
why didnt i think of that! lol. I had read that watermelon was basically
"self-pollinating" or whatever its called - in other words its own pollen
can fertilize itself as if it was a hermaphrodite (you know what i mean), so
using a paintbrush to manually brush the pollen should certainly work i'd
imagine. But I guess ill have to wait for next summer now

Also found that lavender attracts bees better than anything else and will
help.
Interesting tip, thanks

Youre doing better than I, as the 2 tiny water melons I grew were about
2.5 inches in diameter,
and were a great talking point at our garden club, which, if I dont grow
bigger ones will probably be thrown out of....(grin!!!)
Actually there was also a second melon that was growing - it got to
approximately the size of a lawn bowls ball, but it looked very dried up and
a bit shrivelled, whereas the other melon grew perfectly so im not sure what
the deal is with that - not enough water maybe? although I water every
Monday and Friday (my two sprinkler nights)

"Dave Turner" wrote in message ...
I grew my first ever watermelon vine over the summer and I only got 1 melon
from it, which was a very nice one but it just didnt seem worth the few
months of watering id put in. Any tricks as to how to get more melons? Do i
just need more bees in the area? I noticed there was always plenty of ants
crawling over the flowers

Also, there arent any flowers on it anymore so is this vine
finished/should i rip it out?


My first attempt at watermelons was with moon & stars and I only got one
19Kg. Fed the 5 anklebiters and the kids across the road. Don't give up got
3 next time but miles smaller.
Jim

SG1 wrote:

"Dave Turner" wrote in message ...


I grew my first ever watermelon vine over the summer and I only got 1 melon


from it, which was a very nice one but it just didnt seem worth the few


months of watering id put in. Any tricks as to how to get more melons? Do i
just need more bees in the area? I noticed there was always plenty of ants
crawling over the flowers

Also, there arent any flowers on it anymore so is this vine
finished/should i rip it out?




My first attempt at watermelons was with moon & stars and I only got one
19Kg. Fed the 5 anklebiters and the kids across the road. Don't give up got
3 next time but miles smaller.
Jim




Mulch well and water more often till you see it smile?
Use the paint brush and make it have sex often. Once as you, know is
never enough....
You gotto get em in the mood...

How did you get the plant? Did you start if from seed or did you get a
watermelon plant? If you started it from seed, did you start it inside or
did you plant it direct? What kind of climate are you in?

I once lived in the tropics for 2 years. I planted melon seeds and they
didn't do anything for nearly 3 months. I got a stick with a piece of
cotton on one end and started poking it into the blooms. Finally I got 2 or
3 melons to form. I think they like warm weather, but not the tropics. If
that is where you live, keep trying.

If you started them by seed indoors, the tap root may have become
underdeveloped and couldn't do what it was intended to, provide enough water
to the plant. I recommend starting them in the garden (Unless you have a
short summer season). Melons that grow to be large need longer to develop
than small ones.

If I remember correctly, the male blossoms develop first and then the
female. Sometimes you have to wait and let nature take its course.
Providing flowers to attract bees will certainly help. I have never heard
pro or con, but I would think that ants can help with your pollination also.

How much longer will your summer last? If you still have 2 or 3 months,
leave the vines, otherwise, cut them off.

Dwayne






"Dave Turner" wrote in message ...
I grew my first ever watermelon vine over the summer and I only got 1 melon
from it, which was a very nice one but it just didnt seem worth the few
months of watering id put in. Any tricks as to how to get more melons? Do i
just need more bees in the area? I noticed there was always plenty of ants
crawling over the flowers

Also, there arent any flowers on it anymore so is this vine
finished/should i rip it out?

Dwayne top info, thanks mate

How did you get the plant? Did you start if from seed or did you get a
watermelon plant? If you started it from seed, did you start it inside or
did you plant it direct? What kind of climate are you in?
I grew them from a pack of seeds i bought at the supermarket, i just sewed
one row of about 20 seeds. 2 sprouted, i ripped the smallest one and let the
other keep growing. Im in Perth so the cooler temps are starting to kick in
now

If I remember correctly, the male blossoms develop first and then the
female.
Now ill just have to figure out which flower is which gender! Well, either
that or simply brush every flower which i guess would be almost equally as
effective

I have never heard pro or con, but I would think that ants can help with
your pollination also.
yep ants are good pollenators, but obviously have a very limited range
compared with bees and flying pollenators, but in the case of watermelon
which can pollenate itself I wouldve thought the ants wouldve done a better
job ... one melon, pfft! Anyway next summer ill get a paintbrush and get
kinky with the flowers

Hi Dave. I would try to get some different kinds of watermelons. Here, I
like to grow Crimson Sweet, a medium sized melon (Maybe 8 to 10 K) that is
very good. Sugar babys are not my favorite (2 to 3 K) and hard for me to
tell when ready to pick. Black diamonds are large 12 to 20 K, and are very
good. They need a longer summer to develop (100 to 120 days if I remember
correctly).

If I were you, I would plant one or two packs of seeds next year if you have
the room. Plant them the proper distance apart, but next to each other.
That way they can all be pollinated by few busy bees or ants. Easier for
you to do your thing also.

Ask someone else, but I think the male are the ones that are longer and not
as big around, and the females are shorter and wider. It doesn't make much
difference because the more you do it the more pollen you pass around.

Dwayne


"Dave Turner" wrote in message ...
Dwayne top info, thanks mate

How did you get the plant? Did you start if from seed or did you get a
watermelon plant? If you started it from seed, did you start it inside
or did you plant it direct? What kind of climate are you in?
I grew them from a pack of seeds i bought at the supermarket, i just sewed
one row of about 20 seeds. 2 sprouted, i ripped the smallest one and let
the other keep growing. Im in Perth so the cooler temps are starting to
kick in now

If I remember correctly, the male blossoms develop first and then the
female.
Now ill just have to figure out which flower is which gender! Well, either
that or simply brush every flower which i guess would be almost equally as
effective

I have never heard pro or con, but I would think that ants can help with
your pollination also.
yep ants are good pollenators, but obviously have a very limited range
compared with bees and flying pollenators, but in the case of watermelon
which can pollenate itself I wouldve thought the ants wouldve done a
better job ... one melon, pfft! Anyway next summer ill get a paintbrush
and get kinky with the flowers

In article , "Dave Turner" wrote:

I grew my first ever watermelon vine over the summer and I only got 1 melon
from it, which was a very nice one but it just didnt seem worth the few
months of watering id put in. Any tricks as to how to get more melons? Do i
just need more bees in the area? I noticed there was always plenty of ants
crawling over the flowers

You can try hand-pollinating with a brush, or pull off a male flower (long
stem) and dust the female flowers with it.

Also, there arent any flowers on it anymore so is this vine finished/should
i rip it out?

It will die off shortly -- they're annuals.

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

"Parenthood is like the modern stone washing process for denim jeans. You may
start out crisp, neat and tough, but you end up pale, limp and wrinkled."
Kerry Cue

In article , "Dave Turner" wrote:

Actually there was also a second melon that was growing - it got to
approximately the size of a lawn bowls ball, but it looked very dried up and
a bit shrivelled, whereas the other melon grew perfectly so im not sure what
the deal is with that - not enough water maybe? although I water every
Monday and Friday (my two sprinkler nights)

I think it's the vegetable equivalent of a miscarriage -- perhaps it was not
fertilised.

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

"Parenthood is like the modern stone washing process for denim jeans. You may
start out crisp, neat and tough, but you end up pale, limp and wrinkled."
Kerry Cue