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Mount Vision, NY

I'm prepping patches for next season and here's my question. Is 12' X 16' enough for each watermelon plant and what kind of pruning do you do for the watermelon plants? I have no idea how the vines grow. Should I be figuring on planting near the patch edge and letting the vine grow acrossed (like pumpkins) or should I plant in the center and will the vine creep out in all directions and fill the patch? TIA.

10/18/2011 6:00:06 AM

Corryton, TN

Not sure if anyone has found the best way yet or not. I allowed 225 sqf last year and planted in the middle. Like pumpkins they will spread in all directions if allowed to and that is what mine do. I only pruned where I needed to walk anound edges. Plants that were beside each other did not get pruned on that side. I'm sure there are many better ways but not much time here.

10/18/2011 7:02:51 AM

Muddy Waters

Its any bodies guess at this point,most of us are keeping plants around 300 feet.You can let plant go wild,I did or prune like a kin,The top 3 this year were grown not pruned,we call it Spaghetti style!I think moat important is use Mycorr,with soil test & add amendments.DONT FERT like a kin,you will kill the plant,or slow it down to no growth.Make sure your calcium is up,have a X-purt look at your soil sample.If Dave Cantrel grows spaghetti style then I think its Top 5 grew this way.I know I will be corrected if Im wrong.LOLI would plant where the roots shooting out 30 feet from stump will get maxium water & your best soil.

10/18/2011 8:04:31 AM

Mount Vision, NY

Thanks Brotherdave, I now have a better understanding of how they grow. I'm sure most of you have read Bernard Lavery's book HOW TO GROW GIANT VEGETABLES. Here's what he says about pruning/training watermelons...
"Watermelons grow much better on the plant's sub-laterals - the secondary side shoots that grow from the main laterals or side shoots of the plant. This is the method I recommend for producing strong sub-laterals: as each plant starts to develop, you should train the main growing stem in a straight line on the surface of the soil along one of the longer sides of the allocated growing area. When it reaches the end, pinch out the growing tip. The first lateral (side Shoot)that appears on the main stem should be trained to grow at 90 degreees to it, and all the other laterals which develop further along the stem should be removed as soon as they appear.
Once this first lateral has reached the boundary of the growing area, its growing tip should also be reomoved, and two of the sub-laterals which develop from this should be allowed to grow on to produce one watermelon each. The length of these two fruit-bearing laterals can be governed by the space you have available, with a maximum of 10ft each. Any new side growths should be cut off from these two sub-laterals as they appear."
Comments on this?

10/18/2011 8:17:01 AM

Mount Vision, NY

Thanks HH, you has posted while I was typing the post. This is what I find so fun, figuring out what works. I plan on growing two watermelons so I may try a different way with each.

10/18/2011 8:20:13 AM

formerly RGG

Mark,I am pretty sure Both of the top 2 did prune ( Todd and Chris). Todd and Chris both confined their vines to a certain area and pruned them once they grew outside that area.Mark, you may not have pruned but the did not fact that your plant was inside a greenhouse limit it in size ?

10/18/2011 8:28:15 AM

formerly RGG

Shouck, the debate over Carolina Cross watermelon vine size is still out as it is with Atlantic Giant pumpkins. But the fact is most of the heavy hitters do control vine size. Two more of the top growers in the world who control vine size are Bill Edwards and Marvin Mitchell.

10/18/2011 8:34:24 AM

formerly RGG

If left unchecked, these vines can sometimes run as much as 50' in each direction. That is a plant 100' across or filling up an area of close to 10,000' sq. I believe the top can outgrow the root system and melon size will become limited when the roots are giving their all to sustain a huge amount on vines and leaves.I have heard of huge melons being grown on a plants as small as 225' sq.

10/18/2011 8:42:38 AM

Mount Vision, NY

Interesting stuff coming out in this post. I kind of like the sounds of spaghetti style. I can see it hampering access to the stump and fruit or making pollinations a real workout though as well as watering/fertilizing. Thanks guys, I'm jotting down plenty of notes!

10/18/2011 8:48:17 AM

Garner, NC

TD your right, I prune to keep the plant from going wild. Not to crazy, but a trim here and there! I also think location plays a huge roll in how much to prune. I can prune heavy, and still have time to add more growth, where as far north growers have a cooler growing season.

10/18/2011 9:09:35 AM

Ontario

Great post....soaking it up like a sponge!! Thanks!!

10/18/2011 9:10:04 AM

Sevierville,tn

The one thing I did not do a great job this year is weed out those weeds early! So they don't mess up your spaghetti
later...

10/18/2011 9:25:00 AM

formerly RGG

I hate messy spaghetti! lol

10/18/2011 9:58:53 AM

formerly RGG

On second thought all spaghetti is messy and I like it very well. lol

10/18/2011 12:40:43 PM

Muddy Waters

Yes TD We all prune a little,you always take things so literal.If you didnt stop plant at edge of garden you couldnt mow your lawn.But we dont stop all plant growth,like the kin growers do.The top 5 I do believe let plants grow wild with some pruning.Bill& Marvin & Darrell stopped all plant growth & buried vines in soil,This is totally different then Spaghetti style.This is the 2 styles of growing,Wild(spaghetti style) or pruned stopping all plant growth at some point in late July to Mid August,I did prune some growth but never stopped plant altogether not even close.I always had dozens upon dozens of vines growing by mid summer till the end of season.I would call Todds plants Wild growing from all the pics Ive seen.

10/18/2011 8:16:03 PM

Muddy Waters

To clear up the confusion I would say the spaghetti growers Trim there plants to stay inside a certain area,but continue to let inner plant grow wild. The other way is to prune plant to stop all new growth & that point & when plant reachs a certain size all growth is stopped, like kins.I hope this helps new growers to understand the difference.

10/18/2011 8:48:04 PM

sevierville, Tn

Like a plate of spaghetti, lots on the plate, none on the table.

10/19/2011 2:36:19 PM

Garner, NC

Don't forget the big meatball!!

10/19/2011 3:45:49 PM

formerly RGG

A big green striped meatball and pink on the inside. I will take mine well done thank you. lol

10/19/2011 4:42:38 PM

Ut

So the begging question is…. Who has done the stop-all-growth method on melons and how has it worked? Has anyone done a Christmas Tree or something similar? Man these are unruly plants.

10/19/2011 7:00:43 PM

Linden, Mi.,

I stopped all growth and grew a 234

10/19/2011 7:48:03 PM

Mount Vision, NY

Darrel, can you explain more of what you mean by "all growth" and do you know the square footage of the plant? TIA

10/19/2011 8:40:42 PM

Linden, Mi.,

250 + - sq. ft. after setting melon, I let plant grow tell end of August, then stop all vines. I don't have much room to grow, so I try to make the most of what I have.

10/20/2011 2:45:32 PM

Ut

I find it very appealing to keep a plant pruned down for insect control, space, and other reasons. In fact I’m imagining a bug-net box over the top to prevent culls(a bee stopper) which would be easier over a smaller plant. I could try more seeds in a smaller space, and don’t you think a lot of energy goes into all those dozens of flowers in the late season? I had dozens popping up all around. A 234 melon in 250 sq ft? Sounds good to me! You almost got a pound per sq. foot there!

10/20/2011 8:06:41 PM

formerly RGG

I think one of the advantages of a small plant is the roots are never stressed by a vine that just keeps getting bigger and bigger. More top takes more of everything to keep it happy and does not equal producing a bigger melon. Keep your tops trimmed, sprayed and healthy and hope you are growing monster roots. I think that is the route to a big melon.

10/20/2011 8:14:03 PM

Ut

Interesting- so I wonder if by having a smaller plant with the same large roots makes for having less places for the roots to distribute the water and nutrients too, and could this be a bigger factor and reason for stopping vines than for having less growth/flowers/culls to spend energy on?

10/20/2011 8:28:36 PM

formerly RGG

That is absolutely correct in my humble opinion. The smaller vine being easier to care for is of secondary importance. A vine left to unlimited size will often grow to the point that the root system can no longer properly supply it, especially in times of heat stress or drought. The vine will quit growing and will start to die. Pruning a vine will nearly always stimulate new growth. A melon will grow only if the vine is growing. A large healthy root system feeding into a small vine should create favorable conditions for fat melons.

10/20/2011 9:02:32 PM

Mount Vision, NY

Great information. Here's another question. I know that I've seen it mentioned that the vines will send out roots at the leaf nodes. How important do some of you think this is for growing a large melon?

10/21/2011 8:10:23 AM

formerly RGG

I think all of the heavy hitters agree that rooting at least some of the leaf nodes is very important. I cut holes in my landscaping fabric (for weed control)at several nodes so emerging roots could get easier access to the soil. For a big melon you have to have both weed control and leaf node rooting.I think the other huge factor in growing a big melon is vine health. And to maintain a healthy vine(at least in the southeast) a grower has to keep on a good spray schedule. A fungal disease is capable of completely wiping out a nice vine in just a few days if left unchecked.

10/21/2011 8:27:43 AM

Mount Vision, NY

Dennis, what are some good fungicides and insecticides to use? I think I had heard not to use Sevin?

10/21/2011 12:19:06 PM

Muddy Waters

Root nodes are very important to be rotted in.

10/21/2011 3:31:13 PM

Muddy Waters

Rooted. lol

10/21/2011 3:31:36 PM

formerly RGG

Quadris is one, daconil is another, and cupro is a good one. Try asking your county agricultural extension agent what works good for watermelons in your area. Being a lot further north than Tennessee you may not need as much as we do here.

10/21/2011 10:04:13 PM