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.

Also, I would look for BOTH, dried tendrils and yellowing. Thumping isn't really an accurate way of doing this, as you will have a different way of thumping. The mistake I made was that I picked the watermelon when it had dried tendrils but was green all around (no yellowing). As I cut the watermelon open, I saw that only the center was red, and there was some green whereas the rest was all white. Yellowing gives you a sense of age. I'm still experimenting as this is my first time growing sugar babies. I just brought in a melon today that had some yellowing and dried tendrils and it was great!I have two more watermelons outside where the tendrils are drying but no yellowing atm. They've been on the vine for quite a while so I'm really curious to see how they come out. Again, this will only make me more knowledgeable for the next growing season (hopefully I won't forget these lessons, lol)

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.

You have a beautiful, healthy watermelon! I have raised Sugar Baby Watermelons in the past. There are 3 indicators I look for to confirm ripeness. First, look at the small curly tendril on the vine, nearest to the point where the watermelon is attached to the vine. If the tendril is green, leave it to ripen. If the tendril is brown & dried, check underneath the watermelon. The underside of a ripe watermelon will be yellow as shown in farmerdill's photo. Sometimes the yellow underside might not be as bright...more of a creamy pale yellow. And last, the outside of the watermelon will lose it's glossiness. If the tendril is brown and the underside is yellow, the melon is as ripe as it will get. Some people thump watermelons to check ripeness. A deep hollow-sounding thud, instead of high-pitched, indicates ripeness. I have never used that method successfully. For me, judging the sound of the thump would require having a known unripe melon nearby to compare the sounds.