How to Trim Watermelon Vines in a Home Garden

Inspect your watermelon vines approximately 60 days after planting to locate and distinguish the main stems. These stems start at the point where the seed or seedling was planted and contain the lateral branches that hold the leaves of the plant.

Lift the leaves and check the main stems for small, green, forming melons. Look over the melons developing on the vine and choose the best looking two or three to grow into mature watermelons. Ideal melons will be evenly rounded, without cracks or bruises or signs of disease.

Cut away all but the two to three melons you have chosen from each main vine with a pair of hand pruners. Make a clean cut just above the undesired fruits to avoid clipping the main stem. Don’t yank or twist the fruits to remove them or you risk breaking the main stem.

Check the plants every one to two weeks and trim off any new flower buds or fruits as you see them to continue to only allow the selected melons to form. Clip main stems at their base to remove them from the garden if they haven’t produced fruits within a few weeks because they will only rob the growing melons of water.

Trim off any leaves or vines that begin to show signs of powdery mildew disease, which starts as a dusty white powder over the leaf surface. Cut away and remove any dead vines you spot anytime you’re working around the watermelons to decrease any spread of disease and improve air circulation around the healthy stems.