How Long To Grow Watermelon From Seed?

Depending on the type of watermelon, the time between planting and harvesting might range between 70 and 100 days.

How long does it take to develop a watermelon to its maximum size?

Summer is incomplete without biting into a luscious piece of fresh watermelon. It is nearly impossible to have a BBQ or picnic without a platter since it is so refreshing on a hot day. But if you’ve only ever purchased watermelons from the grocery store, you’re severely losing out on flavor.

• Growing your own watermelons and allowing them to mature in the sun is a must for any genuine watermelon aficionado; they will be more flavorful and you may eat them directly from the garden.
• You only need a sunny space in your yard and some seeds to get started.
• Choosing the variety of watermelon to produce is the first step in cultivating juicy, delectable melons.

There are three primary types of watermelons: early season, main season, and seedless. Within these categories, you have the option of selecting red, pink, yellow, or orange flesh. Early-season watermelons are frequently referred to as icebox melons due to their little size, which allows them to fit neatly on a refrigerator shelf.

It matures in the shortest length of time, around 70 to 75 days. Main-season watermelons are bigger and take longer to mature, often between 80 and 90 days. Watermelons without seeds are a fascinating example of plant genetics. Plant breeders manufacture seeds for watermelon plants that cannot produce their own seeds but can produce fruit when their flowers are pollinated by neighboring regular-seeded watermelons.

Seedless watermelons grow like other varieties of watermelons, but since they’re not busy putting energy into developing seeds, seedless versions are frequently sweeter and the vines get more vigorous throughout the summer. Blaine Moats

As you gather clues and reach a conclusion, it resembles a Sherlock Holmes-style art. Try these eight techniques to determine whether a watermelon is ripe and ready to be harvested. A watermelon vine features spiraling tendrils. Find the nearest one to a ripening watermelon.

1. This tendril provides great ripeness indicators for watermelons.
2. When the melon is maturing and still tiny, the tendril is green and flexible.
3. As the watermelon matures, the tendril loses its green tint and turns brown.
4. The tendril of a fully ripe watermelon is dark and dry.
5. A mature watermelon with brown tendril can remain on the vine for up to two weeks if there is no severe rain, which causes ripe melons to break apart (like tomatoes).

The exception to the brown tendril rule is the icebox-type watermelon ‘Sugar Baby’ When the tendril turns brown and dries, you must wait seven to ten days longer before harvesting. Utilize an industrial marker (available in the tool area of home improvement stores) to date the melon when the tendril turns brown and dries up.

Then it is simple to monitor the following week to ten days. How long a watermelon has been growing is an additional indicator of its ripeness. The seed packaging specifies the number of days between planting and harvest for a watermelon. Typically, the range is between 80 and 120 days. When growing watermelon from purchased seedlings, simply observe when the blossoms emerge.

Typically, it takes around five weeks for a watermelon to mature from blossom to fruit. When a watermelon is immature, its rind appears glossy. As a watermelon ripens, its gloss vanishes and its rind turns matte. According to seasoned watermelon producers, the surface texture changes from smooth to nearly undulating or rough.

1. If your watermelon type has stripes on the fruit, you will notice a stark difference between the color of the stripes and the background when the fruit is ripe.
2. Where a ripening watermelon lays against the ground, a spot emerges.
3. As the watermelon ripens, its color progressively changes from white to a variety of other hues.

It often acquires a brilliant golden color, however some kinds may seem beige. This watermelon has a yellow ground patch, but it’s not totally ripe since there are still green specks in the yellow field. ‘Sugar Baby’ and a few other dark-skinned melons produce a brilliant ground spot early in growth, well before they are ripe.

1. In order to determine if a watermelon is ripe for plucking, it is necessary to consider many indicators.
2. All-America Selections is accessible via All-AmericaSelections.com.
3. A fully ripe watermelon produces a unique sound when tapped.
4. To thump a watermelon, hold the tip of your middle finger against your thumb and flick it against the fruit.

(It’s the same action you likely used as a youngster to thwap a sibling or buddy.) This generates up a type of seismic wave inside the melon and makes a sound. A dull or hollow ringing sound (a plunk) indicates that a melon is ripe, but a high-pitched, metallic plinking or pinging sound indicates that the melon needs ripen more.

• You may train your ear by listening to unripe melons to learn their sounds.
• A ripe watermelon should weigh according to its size.
• Most seed packs or seedling pot stakes include the expected size of mature watermelons.
• Use this information as a reference, keeping in mind that, depending on the growth conditions, melons may occasionally reach maturity larger or smaller.

When a watermelon is completely ripe, it is simple to pluck it off the vine. It won’t come off as easily as a watermelon, but you won’t have to use all your effort to remove it. With a light tug, it should fall loose. Several applications measure the maturity of watermelons: Melony watermelon ripeness app for Android.

Do watermelons enjoy sun or shade?

Place your potted plants in a place where they will receive a least of 8 hours of direct sunlight every day, regardless of the species you choose to cultivate. Insufficient sunlight prevents watermelons from producing blooms and fruit.