Tips & Tricks for Growing Watermelons

Planting Spot

• Seek out a place that is well-suited for growing watermelons to provide the fruits with the conditions they require to thrive. The Gomestic website suggests selecting a location that is flat and even, as growing watermelons on a slope can cause needed water to drain away and lead to dehydration. Ensure the area provides plenty of space as well, watermelon vines can grow over twenty feet long and choose a sunny spot to keep the melons warm.

Soil

• Prepare the soil to make it ideal for growing watermelons, ensuring a healthy, juicy crop. According to the Georgia 4-H Club website, watermelons require soil with a pH of 6.0 to 6.5, so measure the soil's pH level before planting seeds. Apply lime as needed to adjust the pH level and enrich the soil by working a natural, organic fertilizer into it. Animal manure or peanut hills will add vitamins and nutrients to the soil without chemicals, which is particularly important for edible crops.

Plastic Mulch

• Fight off weeds and keep watermelons well hydrated by using black plastic mulch, a multipurpose tool when growing melons. Laying black plastic mulch over the plants will conserve moisture and keep the soil warm, which is ideal for watermelons and leads to an earlier harvest. Black plastic mulch can also be placed over the soil before planting the seeds, increasing its temperature to make it more hospitable. However, fertilizer and lime should be worked into the soil before covering it with much.

Harvest

• Ensure a watermelon is ripe before harvesting, in order to get the best quality fruit possible. Harvest Wizard explains that when a watermelons take 65 to 90 days to full mature. When the fruits are ready to be picked, the side of it which rests on the soil will turn from white to pale yellow. The end of the watermelon's stem will also develop a sweet scent and the tendrils on its vine will wither and die.