Wonderful Watermelon: How to Grow the Fruit that Means ‘Summer’

By Bill Dugan, Executive Editor

In this month’s Food Gardening Magazine, you get everything you need to know about growing watermelon in your home garden—from planting watermelon and how to pick a watermelon to how to tell if a watermelon is ripe and even how to create a watermelon trellis if growing watermelon vertically is your plan. How long does it take to grow a watermelon? Check out our “days-to-harvest” chart that covers many varieties of watermelon.

You get all the tips, techniques, and advice about how to start and maintain an awesome watermelon garden when you read this Gardening Guide. If you want to know how to grow watermelons, this Gardening Guide is absolutely for you!

Plus, you get specific advice about fertilizer for watermelon, when is the best time to plant watermelon, watermelon companion plants that help pollination efforts, when to harvest watermelon, and all the watermelon growing tips you need to ensure a bountiful and delicious harvest!

This Gardening Guide about watermelon is your #1 guide for being the best watermelon gardener you can be! You should refer to this Gardening Guide whenever you have questions about your watermelon garden—from planning to planting and from maintaining and nurturing to harvesting and reaping the rewards in your kitchen.

First, you get a full Introduction to Watermelon—including the history and background of this luscious fruit. Did you know that watermelon originated in West Africa, where it still grows wild? Have you ever seen or grown a square-shaped watermelon? Find out cool watermelon facts you never knew—and get some practical tips about the right way to cut a watermelon (yes, it can be dangerous if you don’t do it right).

Then, you get Feature Articles about Watermelon that include:

Types of Watermelon Plants—did you know that there are three main types of watermelon? Learn all about the three types and what the #1 challenge is for growing seedless watermelons. Hint: You must control this one thing while growing seedless varieties, until the watermelon emerges, or your harvest will be lost.
Pollinating Watermelon Plants—while pollinating watermelons is usually rather easy, what should you do if you have low bee activity in your garden? Get several terrific tips for ensuring proper pollination, and learn the secrets to growing seedless varieties that are naturally sterile and need a little more work to pollinate.
Varieties of Watermelon and You—do you know the key considerations for deciding the best watermelon varieties to grow? Find out how to choose the best variety for your garden, and get a list of twelve specific watermelon varieties for your consideration—complete with “days-to-harvest” guidelines.
Choosing to Grow from Seeds or Seedlings—find out what it takes to grow your watermelon plants from seeds, or whether you’re better off starting your watermelon garden from seedlings. If starting from seeds, do you know the difference between open-pollinated and hybrid seeds? You need to understand the distinction to know how your harvest will be affected. And for seedlings, this one factor is crucial to ensuring healthy plants. Find out now!
Growing in Open Land, in Raised Beds, or on a Trellis—if you didn’t already figure this out, it’s nearly impossible to grow watermelons in containers; they simply need much more space to properly grow. Find out which type of watermelon garden is best for your needs and situation—open land, raised beds, or on a trellis. And get specific tips for growing the oh-so-unique, square-shaped watermelons—you’ll impress everyone when you master this!
Ensuring the Right Soil, Sunlight, Fertilizer, and Water for Your Watermelon Plants—get specific advice about the best soil and sunlight conditions for growing your watermelon. Do you know the soil temperature threshold that determines whether your plants will thrive? Find out now! Plus, specific advice about how to plant, water, and fertilize your watermelon plants to optimize your harvest.
Watermelon Care: Pests and Disease—this is your guide to ensuring that your watermelon plants don’t suffer from common plant pests and diseases. Prevent diseases in the first place—plus, best tips for treating any affected watermelon plants. And get this reference key to buying disease-resistant watermelon plants.
When to Harvest Watermelons—make sure your watermelon harvest is bountiful when you pay attention to the seven tell-tale signs about picking your fruit. Plus, get watermelon storage tips you might never have heard of—where to store them (not the refrigerator!); how to store them; and, once cut, how long to keep in the fridge. Find out now!
Essential Tools and Equipment for Growing Watermelons—get the full list of essential gardening tools and equipment for growing watermelons … and for almost all of your gardening needs.

Next, this premium Gardening Guide highlights six popular watermelon varieties to help you choose the varieties you want to grow—this is just a sampling of the many varieties available, but this will guide you about the varieties that will work best for you:

And all your watermelon-gardening efforts are made more satisfying when you have quick and easy-to-make recipes, to ensure your harvest is enjoyed by everyone you serve at your home. Food Gardening Network is all about providing delicious recipes for making yummy dishes. Try these recipes and enjoy your watermelon harvest—and not just in the “slice and eat” way:

Next, you’ll learn all about the health benefits of watermelon—and why some people consider it the #1 fruit, nutritionally speaking—with Nutrition Facts about Watermelon and Home Remedies & Health Benefits of Watermelon. Learn about all the beneficial attributes of watermelon—and how you can use watermelon to boost your overall health, from improving skin and heart health to preventing cancer and inflammation.

And to be sure you have everything you need to grow your own watermelon, we’ve included a Resources about Watermelon section—so that you can easily find additional tools and information about watermelon.

Finally, our Glossary section gives you the explanation of key watermelon-gardening terms and concepts—do you know what “cucurbits” are, for example? You’re never in the dark or confused about important watermelon-gardening ideas with this handy reference guide.

Check out this premium Gardening Guide now—Wonderful Watermelon: How to Grow the Fruit that Means ‘Summer’—and you’ll really learn everything you need to know about watermelon!

Mary Van Doren, Norann Oleson, Victoria Arnold, and Samantha Pulcherz contributed to the creation of this Gardening Guide.

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