Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 8, 1994 TAG: 9405090168
SECTION: HOMES PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: John Arbogast
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Now is the time to plant seeds of watermelon varieties you want to try in your garden spot, since seeds of this vegetable need both warm soil and warm air temperatures to germinate. The soil should have reached a temperature of 70-75 degrees.
Folks with limited garden space might believe they can skip reading this week's Dear John, which addresses watermelons, but watermelons come in varieties that take up varying amounts of space - from the small bush vine types to those varieties that produce a vine 6-12 feet in length.
It is true that if a regular-length vine variety is chosen, the gardener must allow about 6 feet between watermelon plants or hills, and space rows 6-8 feet apart. However, the bush-type watermelon vines reach a length of only 3-5 feet. The compact plants produce two to four fairly small melons. As an added space-saving measure, the short-vine watermelons can be grown on a trellis or A-frame structure with a sling to hold maturing melons.
The six major watermelon classes are:
Ice box: produces little melons that weigh from 5-15 pounds; may have red or yellow flesh and a dark or light rind; melons mature early.
Sugar baby: an early ice-box type that matures in about 75 days; flesh is finely textured and bright red; rind is thin, hard and greenish-black when mature; melons are round, 8 inches in diameter, and from 8-12 pounds.
Crimson sweet: midseason ripening; deep red, firm, finely textured flesh with a high sugar content; round to oval-shaped melons, 12-15 inches in size and 15-25 pounds in weight; rind is thick, light green with mottled dark green stripes.
Charleston grey: greyish-green rind with small darker green veins; pink to crimson flesh with little fiber and large brown seeds; cylindrical shaped melons are about 24 inches long and weigh 20-30 pounds.
Allsweet: flesh has distinct color of deep red and is crisp and firm; melons are elongated, have a tough dark green rind with narrow, light green mottled stripes, weigh 20-35 pounds, and can be up to 19 inches long.
Seedless: oval to round melon shape with either red or yellow flesh; melons weigh from 10-20 pounds and mature in 75-80 days; melons may produce some white seed-like structures that are edible.
Most gardeners prefer to grow watermelons in hills. Loosen the garden soil, mix in a small amount of 5-10-10 fertilizer, and make a circular mound of earth a foot in diameter and about 6 inches high. Then make a shallow bowl in the top of the mound. Plant six or eight seeds in the bowl at a depth of 1 inch. Water thoroughly through the germination period and continue to provide adequate moisture, as watermelons need ample water during early growth.
Gardeners who might consider planting watermelons but don't include them because of inability to determine melon ripeness by "thumping" should take heart. Two easier-to-follow indicators of a ripe watermelon are the curl, a string-like, curled tendril near the stem attachment to the watermelon fruit, which should be starting to shrivel and dry up; and the color of the rind where it touches the ground when the melon has reached the size described in the seed information - a ripe watermelon will have a cream or yellow color rind there, not white.
Q: What can you tell me about a new type of tiny beneficial worms that are being used to control outdoor soil insects? Is this something that is available? Does Virginia Tech have any recommendations regarding this? Roanoke
A: Those tiny worms you are referring to are nematodes. Nematodes are usually discussed in terms of plant diseases, since many species of these microscopic eel-like worms live in soil and invade plant roots, causing plants to be stunted or deformed. The nematodes that you're referring to are good guys, so we call them "beneficial." I have seen a news release and also received some information from my veterinarian about this new beneficial nematode species, supposedly used to control soil-dwelling insects plus outdoor fleas.
The beneficial nematodes must be available somewhere, although their use for the purpose you mentioned does not appear to be widely known. In the 1994 Pest Management Guide for Home Grounds and Animals from Virginia Tech, predatory nematodes are listed under "Organic Controls for Insects" to control "many ground dwelling and boring insect pests."
Send short questions about your lawn, garden, plants, or insects to Dear John, c/o the Roanoke Times & World-News, P. O. Box 2491, Roanoke, Va. 24010-2491. We need your mail, but this column can't reply to all letters. Those of wide appeal will be answered each week. Personal replies cannot be given. Please don't send stamps, stamped envelopes, samples or pictures.
John Arbogast is the agricultural extension agent for Roanoke.
by CNB