Tag: strawberry watermelon

Picking and Eating Watermelon From My Garden

I managed to grow three watermelons in my Florida backyard this year. Here is how they turned out, and how I figured out when to pick them.

On April 8th I planted watermelon seeds. On June 30th I pick three watermelon from my backyard garden.

As I do every morning, I walked the yard and inspected the vegetable garden. Usually I have a couple of okra to cut (yuk), but my main inspection goes to the beautiful watermelons growing. I’ve never in my long life be able to grow watermelon. This year I had four beautiful melons growing.

As I came to the garden I saw that one of the watermelon vines was pulled back from its usual spot, and then I saw the chewed melon. It was the smallest of the four melons, and probably the easiest for the raccoons to get into.

raccoons broke into a watermelon
Watermelon disaster

I had three more watermelons which were still okay, but they did show signs of claw marks.

I’d been wondering if I would be able to tell when the watermelons were ready to be picked. The seed packet mentioned a browning of the tendril closest to the melon. I wasn’t sure what that meant, so I watched a video and then realized it was the little, curly thing coming off the vine. Sure enough, the ones nearest all my watermelons were brown. So they were all ready to be picked.

watermelon tendril brown
Brown tendril – a sign the melon is ready

Watermelon, From Baby to Being Picked

It took nearly three months, but was worth the wait to have delicious fruit right from the garden! It’s what we gardeners live for.

  • baby watermelon growing on the vine
    Baby watermelon
  • June garden with watermelon
    June 14th garden photo
  • Raccoon marks on watermelon
    Raccoon markings
  • watermelon from the garden
    June 30th, picked my three watermelon

Cutting and Eating

I decided to cut the watermelon outside on the patio table. This mainly comes from my fear of slush pouring out instead of the inside being solid.

Cutting home-grown watermelons from the garden on my outdoor patio table.

Many years ago I worked in the produce section of a grocery store. My job one day was to slice watermelon and package it. As I cut into a big melon, all the insides gushed out all over me and the floor! I never forgot it, and always worry whenever I cut a watermelon.

So I did my cutting outdoors, and I was so happy to see the red inside when I first opened the big melon. Then I tasted it, and yum! I’d grown my very first edible watermelons!

  • inside the watermelon
    Perfect!
  • watermelon cutting board sliced fruit
  • bowl of red watermelon to eat
    Yum!
  • watermelon eating

I’ve only cut the largest watermelon, but it is delicious. Even if the other two are not good, I am so happy to have had one that is perfect.

I saved a bunch of those big, white seeds. I may try to grow more before Fall because we have months of heat still ahead of us.

This type is the Strawberry Watermelon and I bought the seeds from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange (the link goes there).

watermelon seeds on glass plate
Saving watermelon seeds

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Watermelons Are Growing Big in June

Today I took some photos of the watermelons growing in the backyard garden. I have four, and they are various sizes. These are the seedlings which were thinned once I chose the best to leave.

Watermelon seedlings
Watermelon seedlings – were thinned down to 4 plants
baby watermelon growing on the vine
Baby watermelon

The watermelons grew from seeds I planted April 8th. I wrote the date on the seed packet. When ordering seeds from The Urban Harvest, a Florida based grower, some seeds, like these watermelons, came from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange.

watermelon in Florida garden
The first melon to grow

The seed packet was set next to each watermelon, for the photos, to help show the size. There is lots of good info on the packet too. And, I still have seeds, which I may pop into the ground around the yard. I don’t really have space for long trailing vines. And do start them directly in the ground (as the packet says). I had a couple of seeds in pots and they didn’t do well at all.

A couple of melons are pretty small still, but the other two are bigger, and I saw a baby on the vine today. I’m trying to train the vines to follow the garden edges. One vine was destroyed by the roofers who were all over the place when replacing our roof recently. Grrr…

Small watermelon in Florida garden

These are Strawberry Watermelons and the seeds came from The Urban Harvest / Southern Exposure Seed Exchange

The Southern Exposure Seed Exchange has a great website for anyone growing food in the southern part of the US. I really need to spend some time reading their pages. They have suggestions for growing successful crops in our humid and hot region.

The Urban Harvest will get your seed orders out quickly, and I’ve had great results with their seed packets as well (Moringa and Seminole Pumpkin). They also have wonderful videos and information for those of us beginning the Florida gardening journey. They are based in the Tampa area so the info is specifically for us Floridians.

small watermelon on vine

When is it time to pick my watermelon?

According to the back of the seed packet, the time to pick the watermelon is around day 85. I am at day 66 since planting, so maybe around the end of this month or the beginning of July. The Watermelon Growing Guide, at the Southern Exposure website, has great info.

If I’m lucky they will survive and grow, but I have my doubts. I’ve never grown watermelon before because the vine usually dies very quickly from that white moldy stuff vining vegetables get. The seed packet does say, “Very good disease resistance”. So far I am very impressed with the plants.

watermelon

Many vegetables and flowers I’ve planted are doing really well, but the weather is turning very hot now. This will be the test to see which things can stand the heat.

There were loads of little yellow flowers along the vines, but now I am not seeing as many.

My Little Garden

I began the garden this year, and it is an ongoing process. I am one person, in her sixties, so the going is slow. My son tilled the space and I have done everything else.

I love gardening, but never even thought to grow vegetables in this climate. Now, I am enjoying gardening again. Each day there is something new to see. I can put up with the mosquitoes, humidity and blazing sun for a short time, but it’s enough to get something accomplished each day.

June garden with watermelon
June 14th garden photo – 2023
watermelon next to foot
Garden watermelon

The gardening stories continue…

My First Moringa Tree Drumstick Bean

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Mid-summer Update on the Vegega Raised Beds

It’s mid-summer and here in my Florida backyard I have mostly flowers growing. I’ve used my three Vegega raised beds to hold some things and some are doing better than others. More amendments for Fall will be needed.

One Summer Morning

July is nearing an end and the garden is teeming with living things.