15 Tips for Growing Watermelons!

Cassandra said: “Lots of room and sun. Keep the dogs away, at least mine liked to use mine as pillows. LOL.”

DogMelissa said: “Do not plant them anywhere near your patio if you plan on going out on your patio this summer!!! I learned that the hard way…”

Sheri said: “Make sure you don’t let it dry out.”

Dee said: “Lots of water. Once a melon forms, I put either straw or newspaper under it so it isn’t sitting in the wet dirt.”

NewspaperLisa said: “Plant near air conditioner. The condensation does wonders.”

Neita said: “Plant underneath an inch or so of hay. It’ll stay wet, and before you know it… red sunshine happiness!”

Cindy said: “Plenty of room, because they spread like mad! My father-in-law liked to turn his often to get nice round melons and no soft spots.”

Michelle said: “The Sugar Baby (icebox) Watermelons are small round watermelons. Easy to grow. Nice flavor. Just make sure you allow room for the vines to spread.”

Jen said: “I started my seeds indoors and have some good sized sprouts already.”

Julie said: “Plant one plant in a large pot and let it grow where it wants. My father-in-law always does this and has great results.”

Dana said: “My husband grows lots of big watermelons. Of course the deer and wild hogs eat more of them than we pull!

• 1) Plant them 6 ft apart in a place that will stay damp.
• 2) Drop 8-24-24 fertilizer in a 6 inch deep hole
• 3) Put a couple of inches of dirt in, then put 2 or 3 seeds in, then cover the seeds lightly.
• 4) Keep the ground around them loose, either disk it with the tractor or break it up with a hoe if you have a small area.
• 5) When they’ve vined, but have not bloomed yet, you can add some ammonium nitrate a couple of feet from the plant.”

Sarah said: “My grandpa always says that you shouldn’t keep them too wet, that they like heat and sun. He did use straw to keep some moisture in.

He grew delicious watermelons for years, in Gaylord, KS – home of the Watermelon Day festival. Good Luck!”

Jamie said: “Don’t plant next to cucumbers, messes with their flavors.”

SquashBeth said: “Keep them away from squash too! We ended up with these crazy half watermelon half squash things… total waste!!”