It happens when a drought which stunts growth is followed by a heavy rain which ignites a growth spurt. Don't know how it has been in your area, but we are already 9 inches behind, just have not had any rain or I am sure I would be experienceing splitting also. I got one round of halfway decent melons but that is all I am going to get.

I am in Upstate SC and have had to throw three away due to splits.

What farmerdilla said. Just like a cabbage will do the same thing.

Farmerd

I'm just 60 miles from you and have had the same drought.
If I stop watering, will that stop the splitting? My melons
are just starting to ripen and it looks like I'll get a second crop, but if I stop watering, I doubt if I will.

Ray, if I had irrigation on my watermelon patch I would be using it. The problem is the drought plus the triple digit temperature. If the vines are wilted to the ground in late afternoon and then recieve a good dose of water they are prone to split. Watch for wilting and schedule irrigation to keep it to a minimum. Hopefully the worst is behind us, but it has been so crazy for the past five years, I take nothing for granted. Lots of culls this year, plus deer have taken out some of the better ones.
This was one of my largest this year. But a deer nicked just a little piece out the rind and it fermented from the inside. {{gwi:88742}}

Farmerd,

I've had the same thing happen to me. What a waste of a
good melon. BTW, what variety is that?

Ray

I.ve got some watermelons nearly ripe but not yet. So I bought another one at the store...whoopie!...real big and grown in Vincennces, Indiana.

Abbot and Cobbs Summer Flavor # 710 a diploid hybrid that I am trialing this year. Like most hybrids no advantage for me over open pollinated equivalents, in this case Jubilee. Charlene and Greystone were better performers this year, but that may have been because they were white melons and less affected by the intense sun. Charlene is blockier than Charleston Grey and more uniform. Greystone looks like a Charleston Grey but does load up much faster on crown set. Seed cost may be justified by having more melosn for early market.
{{gwi:88743}}

Ahah!
We're growing our first melons this year
and they've been splitting under exactly the conditions you guys mention

Until I read this thread,
I thought it was because we're inexperienced and they're small Charentais melons

We're in the drought too--it's been alternating between very hot
and thunderstorms which dump rain very quickly (usually in the late afternoon)

We also have very well-drained sandy soil,
so it's hard to water the melons enough that they don't wilt in the heat

Do you experts have any suggestions on how we could do better?

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:88740}}

Farmerd

I tried Summer Flavor 420 last year and was not impressed.
I'm trying Sweet Princess this year, upon your recommendation, and have gotten a fairly good yield, so far, but none of them are ripe enough to harvest. Any tips on signs of ripeness.

caroliniannjer,

What I like to mix in the soil to help even out moisture is the local spaghnum peat moss...it comes well hydrated and holds moisture well.

Thanks Wayne_5!

We definitely need to add something more.

caroliniannjer; One trick that helps for a small patch is mulching. I do all of C. melo this way (cantaloupes, galias, honeydews, Spanish melons). I collect leaves, pine straw and yard waste. Takes about 20 pickup loads, and I have gotten too old to collect and distribute enough for the watermelons. Too poor to buy fancy amendments or storebough straw.

Thanks FarmerD!
Our strategy was to mulch the raised beds and count on it to break down to provide much-needed organic material. Plus we planned to supplement it with our compost.

But the cycle goes so much faster down here because of the heat! Our shredded bark mulch is already pretty much broken down. And no matter how much creative compostables I put in, the level of our compost heap never seems to rise.

This hot climate gardening really is very different!

I find that early mulching of heat loving crops is detrimental up here in the north but might be helpful in sandy soil with extra high heat....too wet here until late June!!!

Best info search YouTube I found great videos!!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Christian Books