Anything but melon-choly

Summer seems to finally be here and the idea of sunning pool side and biting into a juicy watermelon slice is nothing less than salivating. And wouldn’t it be nice to be able to walk a mere few feet to your greenhouse to get some of that red, juicy goodness? I think so.

If you’re familiar with growing cantaloupe, then growing watermelon will be a little bit of the same dance. Because of their size, ample growing space will be helpful. Besides space, the other key ingredient to growing watermelons is a warm greenhouse. Watermelons like to be cozy and prefer a night temperature of 50 degrees Fahrenheit or higher.

Like cantaloupe, watermelon can be trellised and require pollination by hand to get the fruit development going. Be sure to construct a strong trellis because the weight of the fruit can easily pull itself from the trellis if not sturdy enough. You can choose to grow the smaller icebox variety if you don’t want to deal with the larger fruit.  

One of the hardest things about growing watermelons is knowing when they’re ripe. There are tons of books to consult, experts to question and various ways of knocking, tapping and thumping watermelons to get an idea of when they’re ready. Unfortunately, after all that you may still find yourself picking too soon or too late. Picking a perfectly ripe watermelon will come with time and practice, maybe in time for next summer!