This is probably heresy, but I grew five sugar babies one year and five tiger babies in each of the past two years in a 25-gallon whiskey barrel. In each case, I got two melons per plant on three of them and one per plant on two of them (8 total). I would think you could grow two in 10 gallons. I would start with three or four and only cull all but two when the first fruit starts to form. There can be so many problems when they are young.

Some of your questions are a bit controversial, yipla. By that I mean not everyone agrees ;-) Wayne, on the veggie gardening forum is a melon growing guru. I don't think he does any in containers, but he has a wealth of knowledge on all things melon. My guesstimate on number of fruit per plant is 'as many as grow to size in a reasonable time.' Kind of generic answer, huh? Generally pruning off fruit is done with the varieties one wants to grow to the largest size possible or to get fruit ripe in advance of a frost , but this isn't the case with sugar baby. Also, it should be a fairly vigorous vine so should be able to mature all fruit it produces, but I would pop over to the veggie forum and seek out Wayne for more experienced guidance on this. Should you cut off side branches on vine crops after you have selected the fruit you wish to keep? Again, a controversial question, but my answer is 'no'. The leaves are feeding energy to the plant so leave them alone. The contrasting answer is that the more leaves, the faster the plant loses water so kind of balance those priorities as you see fit.

I had a feeling you were in Australia. :) When you say 25-30 degrees, I assume you mean Celsius, if so then that would be 77-80*F. Those temps are fine to plant watermelons outside. Just as long as the lows don't drop below 10*C. Soil temp also plays a factor but I assume the soil is sufficiently warmed. So plant them outside if you want. Just harden your seedlings off before planting. As for starting plants inside with lights, the length of time seems okay (keep it consistent!) but the light needs to be directly above the leaves of the plants. As close as possible without burning the leaves. A fan blowing gently on the seedlings also helps to make them stockier and less leggy. And if I were you, I'd do a search here about using peat pots for starting seeds. In theory they sound like a good idea (you plant the whole pot and don't have to disturb the plants' roots) but in practice they don't seem to be. Lots of people have had problems with them. The main issues are that they dry out too fast when starting seeds. They restrict the plants roots when planted whole in the garden because they don't compost quickly enough. And if the rim of the pots aren't completely buried below ground then the peat wicks away the moisture from the roots and dries them out. So cut or tear away the peat pot before planting. Rodney

lol fortunately we live in a micro climate corridor and only peak at about 110 a few days and avoid the 116.5 averages :) I grow year around. Most Tomatoes, peppers, gourds, egg plants, melons, sunflowers, most varieties of beans, corn, all do well in full sun so the temps really do not bother my plants as long as the there is sufficient moisture. The heat WILL ruin growth in most cruciferous vegetables so it is important that you start them indoors about 5-6 weeks indoors so they can finish outdoors right before the heat wave. I do not have room for a greenhouse but I would love to have one! Perhaps in a a few years, we may locate to a larger property where one could be built. To combat the heat, I grow herbs and greens on the north end of my property about 4 feet away from the house. This allows morning sun, but shades out the afternoon heat. Growth was great but the arugula was intolerably spicy during the summer (although a chef friend tried it and was in heaven, so each to their own...). Another thing I have done this year is move my tomato bed under the shade of some trees. (See photo. Sorry for how awful the photo looks. We had a storm last night and are expecting another for the next 2 days). With 8 plants in a 10.5'x3.5'x6", I've set up 7' cages and with the combined tree shade (NOT VERY SHADY!) and tomato foliage, I anticipate natural heat management will increase yield. Keep in mind that I did not have problems growing in full in 110F, but I believe this may also have been due to the variety of the tom. I've read you have to be careful about temps in the mid 90's, this is the reason for the move. Yes, I tend to grow sun loving veggies in full sun and then not so sun loving like greens in the back as previously mentioned or start them inside and transplant to finish in the first few months after the anticipated last frost. I try to grow year around but you have to be selective as to what you will grow during what season. This past year, my winter growing was limited to collards, kohlrabi, onion, and garlic. Not exactly the good eats ;) but never the less, I grew something! Gardening is an adventure and each year its important to learn and make adjustments. Installing a drip system has ultimately made growing here possible. Watering at 5am/pm 11am/pm for 7 minutes worked well. The auto timer is a life saver. Also don't discount the enriching power of soil microbes and fungi. I'm a strong believer in compost teas to inoculate the soil and foliar feed with micro nutrients for vigor.