Early seedless varieties did not have the sugar and flavor levels of seeded types, but plant breeders have improved these traits and new varieties no longer have these problems. However, one problem that does continue is seed germination. Initially, seed germination of seedless watermelon was quite low.
Each time the seeds are watered it lowers their temperature. On a small scale, warm temperatures can be maintained by watering transplant flats, covering them and letting them heat up in the sun in the greenhouse for a day or more.
Then, plant the seed and cover them again until seedlings emerge. Either process will take four to five days. After emergence, seedlings are then finished off in the greenhouse for three weeks and then transplanted to the field late May or early June. Following these steps generally produces a more than 90 percent germination rate.
High germination rate is important since seed of seedless types is quite expensive compared to seeded varieties. The standard number of chromosomes in watermelon is This is called the diploid number di meaning two, as in dissect — cut in two.
Water sparingly, if at all. Although the seeded melons are easier to germinate and do not require as much special attention to germinate, it makes sense to save time and effort by starting the seeds simultaneously. As long as both types are ready to transplant at the same time, there is no harm done by starting them at the same time. Inspect plants frequently to avoid losing your crop to typical problems such as anthracnose or gummy stem blight.
Greetings, Lesley! I hope you and your granddaughter have lots of fun growing plants in the eggshells. For some reason, kids really seem to get a kick out of these: Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to read and comment on this gardening article.
Hello Donna, what a wonderful hub, this is certainly something I will try with my granddaughter, what a novel way to plant seeds in eggshells! Thanks for commenting on this article about growing watermelons, TrahnTheMan. I hope you can get your wayward mint plant under control before it heads out on its own to star in a remake of one of my favorite cult science fiction movies, "The Day of the Triffids!
This hub keeps flourishing just like your watermelons Donna! I'm stopping typing and getting out to the garden to deal with my Vietnamese mint which is imitating a triffid, inspired by your helpful articles no doubt! Hi mizjo; that's a really good question about how quickly the eggshells will decompose. We crush the shells slightly when we plant them, and we find that they breakdown pretty quickly in our soil.
However, it probably depends on the composition of the soil in your area. I've been working on this garden patch for years and the soil is really enriched. However, most of the other soil is the yard has a high percentage of clay so I suspect the eggshells would take a season or two to really decompose thoroughly. Thanks for asking! Hi, Donna, I enjoyed reading your hub very much. I've never tried growing seedless, but have grown mini watermelons when I had a garden in my past life.
Regarding the eggshells though, do they break down fast enough to feed the crop sown in them, or did you mean they will break down eventually to feed the soil and subsequent crops? Very well written hub, with lovely photos.
Many thanks for your kindness in coming back to read this gardening article, sen. The eggshells work well on just about any seedlings that we have tried so far so while I haven't started any herbs from seeds, I don't think you will have any problems. If you do, please let me know and I'll see if I can dig up an answer for what might have happened. Thank you as well for the votes of confidence:. You're most welcome, DietForDiabetics! Thank you for being considerate enough to let me know that you enjoyed the information:.
Hey, pstraubie48, thanks for sharing your thoughts! Honestly, I think the reason gardening appeals to me so much is due to my abysmal results at keeping a houseplant alive. I'm at a loss to figure out how I can grow just about anything outside but kill any plant that crosses my threshold.
Anyway, give the watermelons another shot, and do come back and let me know how it went, please:. Oh, wow! Thanks for the votes and the kind words, TrahnTheMan.
Aww, thanks so much, MosLadder! I appreciate the votes of confidence and support, and I hope you have a better experience with your watermelons this year. I'm glad that this information was useful for you, johncimble. Thank you for taking the time to leave me some constructive feedback. Hi klm, and thank you for sharing your thoughts and feedback on this gardening article. We do enjoy dabbling in the garden and enjoying the fruits as it were of those labors. However, we can't seem to keep a houseplant alive no matter how hard we try:.
Thank you for the well-wishes and nice compliments, honeybee2u. I'm so glad you enjoyed this, and thank you again for taking time to share your opinions. Hi Sunny - thanks for reading this article on growing seedless watermelons. I wish you much luck if you decide to try your hand at it:. Oh, cool - thanks for the pollination tip, brsmom68! I usually don't plant squash anymore because we live in squash bug heaven and it is just so devastating to lose crop after crop, but if I ever do try again, I'll know to keep them away from my watermelon babies.
Thanks for reading and commenting, ktrapp! We usually poke a hole in both ends of the egg and "blow out" the egg. Then, you can just tap around the narrow end to make an opening for the potting soil. You can also trim around them with kitchen shears to neaten up the edges; I did that for this batch so we would get nice pictures, but I usually don't bother. Just plant the whole thing and you are done:.
I started to read this interesting Hub last night, but as I was tired and did not want my concentration to lapse, I kept it for this morning. Wonderful Hub.
I particularly loved the novel idea of the egg-shell seed bed. I will use it for other kitchen herbs to see how it works. And yes, looking forward to having some melons from my kitchen garden this year. Voted up- useful and interesting. Okay so I admit it. I am not an excellent watermelon grower However you have inspired me to try one more time because I love the soil and love growing things I need it..
I now have a nice sized area where I can plant some melons. And seedless too I can munch down some juicy, crunchy yummy WM Do you have any tips for growing cucumbers? PS voted up! This was well done Donna! I have tried to start watermelons before, but I am bookmarking this so I can go back and try again.
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