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Ellenville NY

Greetings all --

I've been reading the older posts on the list and am looking forward to trying my hand at some watermelon crosses, but I'd like some advice.

First, in "Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties", Carol Deppe mentions that Glen Drowns (when breeding his variety 'Blacktail Mountain') taped watermelon flowers shut the evening before he thought they'd bloom. After pollination the next morning, he'd retape the female which would later drop off.

How are you all handling this? Tape? Paper covers? Styrofoam cups? Netting? I'd love to know your techniques and any tips you'd care to share.

Second, are there any trends in breeding CC watermelons? Deppe mentions that while watermelons are outbreeders, they don't tend to suffer from inbreeding depression and inbreeding from a single originating plant can be successful.

This year I'm growing 2 238 Nyegards and 2 168 Crosbys. The 238 Nyegard was an open cross. The 168 Crosby is 228 Edwards x self or sib (I'm not sure which).

What should my ideal crosses be? Self or sib? In the future should I be looking for seeds from plants that have succeeded in cooler areas?

Of course, all this depends on my plants surviving the wacky weather and ever actually flowering....

Thanks for the help!

Liane

6/24/2009 3:00:28 PM

sevierville, Tn

The tape idea sounds good,I think i will try that. Did they say what kind of tape?
I have been using Styrofoam cups, but they are hard to use on the females. I just notch the cups to fit over the vine. I pick the males the night before & bringing them inside. Watch the females closely, they will open before you know it, any color usually means it opens the next day. Better to cover twice than miss the opening !

As for crosses, without knowing what the parent of the Nyegards is, i'd cross the Nyegards with the crosby's.
Hope you get some good weather, i hear its not been much of a summer up north !

6/24/2009 4:32:50 PM

Rochester, Minnesota

The watermelon flow is very fragile. I would not tape for fear of breaking the flower portion off. I would just set a small piece of remay blank over the flower, or something. I do tape the flower shut after pollination.

I often have problems pollinating within one plant, so I make it a point to pollinate between plants. I am not saying it doesn't work, I am just saying I have had problems.

I pollinated a 238 Nyegard with a 214? Vaughn this morning.

Being in Minnesota, I like to concentrate on plants that survive well in the cold, but I do like to bring in some of these monster melons that did well in other places. The Vaughn is a really long melon. The Nyegard is just plan big.

6/25/2009 10:50:18 AM