Fruitnut: In FL research, we found the black poly mulch + clear rowcovers to be the winner but, black poly mulch + spunbonded floating rowcovers were a close second. For a grower with many acres, the floating covers were easier to deal with and less subject to over-heating later, they could be left on longer and excluded thrips during that time. Your call!

Michael

Thanks Michael. I may try the floating row cover next year. A few people around here are using that for year around gardening. So they are growing greens under it all year long.

I tried to measure the air temperature under the clear poly today and was getting 105 to 140F. Kind of hard to measure air at plant level with my crude tools. But I started opening ventilation holes.

Did you find the row covers gave much frost protection?

Fruitnut: yes they did but I don't remember which weight covers we were using, they weren't the really heavy ones and they weren't the thinnest ones.

The tunnels were a pain in the rear the way we used them as we had to cut progressively larger holes to accommoate the increasing temps. as time passed. The next thing you know you have created giant sails that the wind loves to pull out of the ground if not very securely held down.

Michael

Sounds great, Fruitnut. What varieties are you going to grow?

I sprout melon seeds indoors in a Root Trainer and plant them out as soon as the seed leaves appear. Doesn't give me much of a head start, but some of my seeds are either in short supply or are expensive, and I can place each seedling just where I want it (nice when using black plastic).

I have used silver mulch or aluminum foil under young plants when the weather heats up - deters whiteflies, aphids, etc.

Carolyn:

Star Brite is my main watermelon variety. Also trying Royo Grande and Raspa watermelon. A new cantaloupe for trial this year is Honeydew Greenflesh. I've about given up on seedless watermelon. I've tried a lot that aren't as good as Star Brite.

I'm also trying a mulch that is black on the bottom and white on top. Should control weeds and might deter aphids. I'll never grow again without something for weed control. Last year my early planting ran from mid March into October. Could never have done that without a weed barrier.

I know most of you probably think I'm crazy in my quest for early watermelon. But we had an awful week of weather 30-50 mph winds all week, three nights freezing, and my melons are doing great. The cotyledon leaves are huge and you can see the growth every day.

I have ventilation holes in the clear poly and openings at the bottom to hold daytime highs at about 40C or 104F. At night they are covered with 2 inch thick foam. When I remove the foam in the morning the temperature under the foam is about 58F after a night in the 30s.

Our weather sucks. This is my way of making lemonade from lemons.

Fruitnut, How's the melons coming?

joe-il:

This project turned out to be a real struggle. We had a very cold spring with 13 freezes after planting. I found out that having black plastic or weed barrier on the soil surface was essential to maintain sufficient soil temperature. Also figured out how hot to maintain the mini greenhouse, about 105-115F on my thermometer which wasn't well shielded from direct radiation, actual about 95F.

But there are seven big watermelon on the four vines and six smaller ones. The biggest is over 30 lbs and will be ripe in the next two weeks. My second planting is starting to bloom.

I've learned a lot and am very pleased with the crop prospects.

Fruitnut, I'm trying Starbrite this year after hearing you rave about them. Also have Au Producer and Mickeylees. The vines are taking over my property and I no longer feel in control. Hope the melons make it all worthwhile. Misterbaby.

Misterbaby:

Lots of vines means lots of melons to follow. I hope Star Brite works for you.

Fruitnut: a great deal of research has already been done on melons and plasticulture. You might find the reading illuminating in back issues of the journals HortScience and The Journal of the American Society of Horticultural Science in addition to HortTechnology. There are other journals reporting research on the topic overseas but I don't remember their names, oh wait, Actahort might be one.

There is enough stuff in just one of those to keep you busy for a long time, the downside is you have to be a member to get access to the full papers but may be able to at least whet your appetite by reading the abstracts.

Michael

fruitnut,

I find that Starbrite is a vigorous grower. Several years ago I pondered in the Willhite catalog over whether to choose Starbrite or Stars and Stripes. It was a close call and I chose the latter, but never did well with it.
I have hand pollinated a couple Starbrites the last few days.

I used IRT 100 opaque plastic for the earliest melons. Also I still have 9 plastic square cloches with pin down flanges[necassary on plastic] that are so helpful on the earliest ones. Instead of wimping the first few days if the weather is chilly and wet, they grow!

Sweet Slice Plus seedless did well for me a couple years ago. Also Pinata was a super grower, but not quite as sweet as the best ones.

Wayne:

My second planting of Star Brite is almost too vigorous. I may have applied too much nitrogen at planting. But they'll settle down soon and put on a big bloom.

Where do you get the IRT 100 and what sizes do you use? Will that warm the soil more than black poly? Are you using clear poly cloches over the IRT 100?

I'm planting my melons in level basins surrounded by dikes about 6 inches tall. This allows flood irrigation once a week. If it's hot with no rain the plants need irrigation once a week or they quit growing and in a few days start to lose leaves. I also need to apply more nitrogen once a month or growth stops. Last year I had Star Brite from the same hill from June 20th until the end of October. The quality was great throughout.

Do you get any foliar disease? We do during the rainy season: August and September. It's some kind of leaf spot and will really knock the leaves off if not sprayed. I'm not sure what's the best spray.

I like seeing your posts. Let me know how you are doing.

I got the IRT 100 from Fedco...4 ft wide..thin but tough. Yes I pin the cloches over the IRT 100. Yes, it is reputed warmer than black as it lets heat rays through, but no weeds.

I actually have to mound soil here as our rainy season is in the spring until about the 18th of June....quite a bit of rain...nearly 4 inches one day.

I have had frustrating duseases in the past. I first noticed the "sudden wilt" problem in 2005. Now it is different than fusarium wilt. Purdue finally chimed in about it last year and did not know the reason for it.
What happens is like '05...one day the vines are beautiful [Aug.6th] and the next day the whole lower 2/3 of that patch was wilted in the heat of the day. I thought they needed watering...wrong! The leaves may recover perfectly in the evening and look fine on cloudy days, but fruit growth stops and many of the plants will slowly die though some may get a sercond life after a while.

BTW, Fruitnut, why don't you grow melons in your greenhouse? Misterbaby.

Fruit-

I'm eating watermelon grown in San Ygnacio, TX...why are u behind :)!?

Pretty good melon for $2.50

No room in the greenhouse but it would be good. Actually I'd like to have a high tunnel to grow them in. That would take care of the foliar disease issue and provide more heat. But pollination would be an issue. The bees still haven't found my patch this year because I have it covered with hail netting, open on one side. Four hails so far this year and six last year.

San Ygnacio must be in the valley, far south Texas. They are way warmer than we are and would have melons by now.

Fruitnut: I just remembered a method a melon grower in north central FL used for early planting watermelons. Somehow, he acquired a very large number of used tires and made shelters out of them like this -
1) cut out 2 tire beads of the same approximate size
2) cut a piece of clear poly larger than the tire beads and sandwich the poly between the 2 beads
3) bolt the beads together with the poly held tightly between the 2 beads making a lid to go on a tire
4) put a tire over a newly planted melon plant and put a bead lid on it.
5) adjust the lids as per prevailing weather.

Aside from being labor intensive, the method worked very well for speeding up plant growth and was very effective at preventing frost damage. The plants were on black plastic mulch raised beds with drip irrigation. By the time the vines were outgrowing the tires, the threat of frost had past and the vines were off and running.

Michael:

Thanks for the ideas. I managed to get the melons by all 13 freezes without any heat other than the suns power. But after that temperatures continued way below normal and my problem was keeping the soil warm enough. It didn't really warm up until early May, 60 days after planting. Thirty days of cool weather is pretty easy to deal with if the sun shines a lot, not 60.

Was just looking at the melons and the biggest is pushing 35 lbs. Seven over 15 lbs. And it's only been melon warm for 5 weeks.