2014 Watermelon Report/review

9 years ago

2014 Watermelon Report

Because I spend so much time asking for information and help with my new passion of fruit trees, I thought maybe for once I could actually be the provider of information. I�ve grown watermelons for many years with great success. In addition to several common, standard varieties, I always plant a few new and/or unusual varieties and then evaluate them and decide if any will make it onto my list of "regulars". Here are my 2014 selections and results. I have used a very UNscientific, highly subjective 1 to 10 rating scale that is sort of a general score that includes appearance, taste, and productivity. BTW, I live on the TN/KY line in middle TN, zone 7a/6b. This year I bought my seeds from Baker Creek Seeds, which are a bit high but overall I have been very happy with their seeds and service. I suspect that some people, when reading some of my negative reviews, will wonder if the problem was me or the melons. Some may have even had a positive experience with some of the melons I have given poor reviews to. Certainly there are countless factors than can make a watermelon grown in a different area in a different year under different conditions turn out differently. I also do not claim to be a foremost expert or the most knowledgeable grower. But I want you to know that I�ve grown watermelons for 30 years, I�ve won many ribbons at the fairs over the years, and I�ve been featured in our local newspaper 4 times for my watermelons. I am not being boastful because I�m sure many of you are better, more experienced growers, but I really am very well known in my community for my delicious watermelons that I distribute to family and friends as well as donate to churches and other civic groups for their various events. (I don�t sell melons). I say all this only so you will know the following descriptions/ratings are not the results of some newbie who is experimenting and learning how to grow watermelons. The bad ones aren�t just the result of some bad luck or rookie mistakes. I do have a lot of experience and overall I have been successful with watermelons- so those that get bad reviews probably deserve them! These are just this years new melons. I have 5 standard varieties that I grow every year and which serve as my dependable harvest melons. Each year I plant several new (to me) varieties to see if they are worthy of my permanent list. I�m sorry this is so long�.hopefully you can just scan for any melon you might be interested in and ignore the others. All questions and comments are welcomed. I hope in some tiny way this can make up for all the help I�ve received on fruit trees, about which I know so little!

#1) Royal Golden : This is just a visually stunning and amazing watermelon that undoubtedly gets the most comments and its fun watching people shake their head in disbelief. That�s because when this watermelon ripens it turns orange�on the OUTSIDE! (The inside is red). In fact, it looks almost exactly like a pumpkin except for the stem. I will probably grow it again simply because so many people have been shocked and amazed at its appearance, making it very fun to give away. In terms of taste, I would call it good but not great. I also must say it is a very low production watermelon, rarely making more than 1 or 2 melons per vine. The size is medium, which for me means they are between 6-12 pounds. Overall, I rate this as a 6 on my unscientific, highly subjective scale. It gets lots of points for its orange, pumpkin-looking appearance that is unlike any watermelon anyone I know has ever seen, but it looses points for its low productivity and average (or slightly better taste).

#2) White Wonder: Again, the most interesting aspect of this watermelon is it�s APPEARANCE. It looks pretty much average on the outside, except that it is very small. In fact, the majority of mine were only about the size of an average cantaloupe- ie slightly bigger than a softball. The generally weight 2-4 pounds. But when cut open, they are "WHITE". Really. I put white in quotes because they are somewhat translucent and have a tiny, tiny hint of yellow, but do NOT be misled�they really are white. They are also quite prolific, with each vine producing 4-6 small melons each. The taste is not great, to me. I�ve read several reviews calling it "creamy" but I think that is very misleading. The texture is exactly like any other watermelon. The taste, however, I say is not good because it is not very sweet. I don�t mean to suggest it is absolutely bland or lacking any sweetness, but it is far less sweet than almost any other melon I�ve grown. Overall, I�d rate it a 4 on my personal scale. Its extremely small, it doesn�t have much sweetness, but it is very unique due to its color so for that reason alone its somewhat fun to grow.

#3) Cream of Saskatchewan: This melon is almost identical in every way to the White Wonder described above. You can literally apply every single thing I just said about White Wonder to this one, except it is SLIGHTLY bigger. I emphasize slightly because the seed description lists white wonder at 3-5 lbs and this one at 8-10. I disagree. My Saskatchewan melons were about 4-6 pounds, and I almost always have melons that EXCEED the size given in the seed description, so it isn�t just my garden and growing abilities. Again, I�d give this a 4 on my scale. If you want to try one if these 2, I suppose I�d choose this one for its slightly larger size, but I certainly wouldn�t grow them both since they are so similar.

Kleckleys Sweet Watermelon: This is a long melon that is solid dark green. I also found it to be extremely prolific, producing a large number of melons per vine-far above average. The size varies considerably, but ranges from about 8 to 18 pounds, so it is a fairly large melon by my standards. Unfortunately, though, I am forced to rate this melon extremely low because of its bizarre tendency not to properly ripen. The melons would form and grow normally for many weeks, then they would tend to just stop growing and never ripen. And not for lack of time�.they would stay at the "almost ripe stage" for 4-6 weeks, never ripening but not rotting either. Eventually, though, they would start to turn yellow outside and begin to decline, just like an over-ripe watermelon. The flesh never got more than a light pink, and usually was much more white than pink. In other words, at all stages of its life cycle, Kleckley melons look like a � ripe watermelon, and taste like a green (unripe) watermelon. I will concede that what I am saying is the melon�s inability to properly ripen might just be that even when ripe, these melons look and taste unripe. Either way, they are not very good to eat. So, even though these are very productive, beautiful looking melons, I have to give them a rating of 2 because I never grew a single one that I would have enjoyed eating. The 2 points I do give is just for the nice appearance and high productivity of this plant.

Blacktail Mountain: This watermelon is extremely similar to the well known "sugar Baby" in almost every regard. It looks almost identical (quite small, round, dark green melons) an has a very similar growing period (about 72 days). However, I find it to be much better tasting. For me, its considerably sweeter than sugar baby. The flesh is also a bit darker red, making it a little more attractive in my opinion. In short, if you like growing sugar baby because they are small enough to fit in any refrigerator and/or have one of the shortest seed-to-fruit time periods and/or are very prolific, then I strongly recommend you grow Blacktail Mountain instead. It has all the positive attributes of sugar baby but tastes better by far in my opinion. It also tends to be slightly smaller than sugar babies, with most of mine being from 3-6 pounds. Overall, I rate it an 8 out of 10, but if you are a fan of sugar baby then you will rate this melon even higher.

Orangeglo: Hands down, this yellow meat watermelon is my all-time favorite watermelon- including melons of all colors, shapes, and sizes. Orangeglo is absolutely the best watermelon I�ve ever tasted, it is prolific in production, it is large enough for picnics/family outings, etc but not too big to get in the fridge (they are long melons, which I find to be easier to store and handle than large round ones. Mine range from 12-25 pounds for the most part, though I�ve had some in the 30�s and some under 10 that were ripe and good. The sweetness is just incredible. But don�t take my word for it. Google watermelon brix rating and you�ll see that most university agriculture departments have brix tested a lot of melons and the yellows usually are the highest, and orangeglo, if tested, is the very highest. Its not just the sweetness, though, for me. It just has a unique, wonderful flavor that I love. Of course flavor is subjective, but most everyone loves sweetness in a melon and this one has it in spades! It also is one of the juiciest, and when ripe is just perfect. Its one of those that just sort of bursts open as soon as you stick a knife in it-something I almost always find to be a good sign. The only slightly negative thing I can say about Orangeglo is that they have a relatively short field and shelf life-compared to other melons. Once they are ripe after only 1-2 weeks they will start to go soft inside, long before the outside shows any sign of deterioration. One other negative thing about these melons is that it is not uncommon for them to have hollow portions in the middle of the melon. These are much more likely on dead-ripe or overripe orangeglo watermelons. But don�t let these small issues fool you�.there is little on earth any better than a cold, ripe, orangeglo watermelon and it will remind you of why you love melons so much. I must confess that while all the others I am rating in this report are being grown by me for the first time, whereas I�ve grown orangeglo the last 3 years but love it so much I had to include it here. In summary, I rate them as a 9.o out of 10.

Georgia Rattlesnake: It is no accident that I am reviewing this melon right after Orangeglo. That�s because, for me, these are a very close second and may well be tied for my all-time favorite watermelon. Georgia Rattlesnake melons are long, striped melons very similar in appearance to the old standard: the Jubilee watermelon. However, these are a bit thinner and slightly smaller than Jubilee. But I find them to be among the very sweetest watermelons I grow. They also produce like crazy- a small patch of these will be absolutely packed with melons. They also, unlike orangeglo, tend to have a very long field and shelf life. From the time they first are ripe enough to pick, you can leave them on a live vine as much as 3 weeks and they will still be firm and good. Also, in my experience the G Rattlesnakes are one of the most consistently good watermelons I�ve grown. What I mean by this is that with almost all watermelon varieties, there will be some melons of the same kind, grown in the same place at the same time that are better than others. Nothing is more frustrating than cutting 3 wonderful watermelons in a row, then taking one on a picnic to impress your friends, only to cut it and have it be half as sweet as all the others. Out of around 20-25 Georgia Rattlesnakes I cut and tasted this year, every single one was as sweet and juicy as the others. They also have a dark red meat, which I think is more attractive than the lighter pink color than many "red" melons have. In general, I just can�t say enough good things about this melon. I have to give it a 9.5 out of 10 and I really can�t say why it isn�t a 10 other than I�m optimistic that an even more perfect melon is out there.

Kolbe�s GEM: WOW! This is the second largest melon I�ve ever grown (Carolina Cross being #1 for me) but it has a lot more to offer than just size. This is a great tasting, great looking watermelon. I had several that were over 50 pounds and my biggest one was 64, which for me is a VERY big melon (I know the records are much bigger, but I got the aforementioned sizes without taking any of the "Giant Watermelon" special steps (like placing on sand, limiting to one per vine, shading, etc. These are round, striped melons that look a lot like the old standard , Crimson Sweet, but much larger. Again, aside from the giant size, I like this melon because it still tastes good and looks normal and proportional. Personally, I haven�t had the same positive experience with Carolina Cross and find its thick rind and less than great taste to take some of the fun out of growing the giants. For me, Kolbe�s Gem is great because it�s a giant AND it tastes and looks great. That also means that on the Kolbe�s that don�t turn out to be giants, you are still left with a very large but also very tasty melon. It is also a fairly productive melon (in terms of the number of melons per vine, something else I don�t find with Carolina Cross. AS you can tell, I tend to compare Kolbe�s with Carolina Cross even though they don�t look the same. But they are both what I would call "giants", and for all the reasons mentioned I find Kolbe�s to be superior in ALMOST every way. The big exception, of course, is that a TRUE giant Carolina Cross is much, much larger than a true giant Kolbe. However, for my own experience, Kolbe can serve as a great general purpose melon when it doesn�t reach "giant" status, but Carolina Cross can not. For all these reasons, I rate Kolbe�s as an 8 out of 10. One of the downsides is that they do tend to rise above the vines and sunburn fairly bad sometimes. And while I can hardly hold this against the variety type, I have to mention an oddity: on 3 separate occasions this year, while examining a different but very large Kolbe, upon turning it over I discovered a (harmless garter) snake coiled up underneath it!!! 3 times!!! Of course no one should blame the melon type for that, but it is funny that the only 3 times it happened was with a Kolbe Gem!

Malali: I really liked this small melon. It is supposedly from Israel, and I can tell you from personal experience that it was more drought resistant than any other melon I grew. We had a very serious lack of rain in my area this year and the only melon that was unphased and really didn�t need watering was the Malali. It is also the single most prolific watermelon I grew this year. I don�t know the average number per vine, but I plant all my watermelons 2 plants per hill and all are the same distance apart. Since I have the same number of plants per square foot throughout my entire melon patch, its fairly easy to tell which varieties are most productive because those plants will have the largest number (ie most dense) of melons per square foot. No doubt about it, the Malali melons were the most crowded and this variety the most productive. Its productivity and its drought resistance are big positives. The size is also very suitable to me: they run between 8 and 12 pounds and most are right around 10. This would make them a good market melon, I would think. I get my seeds from Baker Creek, and I will point out that the melons are much darker than shown in their artwork. They are very dark green melons, but if you look close you can still see that there are stripes running end to end on these. In spite of all the aforementioned positives, I must say that the taste is just average. Its as good as any supermarket watermelon and most people would probably say it�s a pretty good melon, but compared to many of my favorites it doesn�t hold up. Its just not all that sweet and has no special flavor. Therefore, in my little rating system I can only give it about a 7.5. That�s a shame because the drought resistance is a very powerful quality to me, but it just can�t overcome the average taste (for me)

I hope the above info is a little bit of help to someone who may be trying to decide what to grow next year. You are certainly more than welcome to ask me anything you want to about any of these melons. Also, keep in mine that these are just the new watermelons I grew this year for the first time (except Orangeglo). I grow 5 other melons every year-very common varieties I'm sure you are familiar with and which serve as my "go to", dependable basis for my annual melon crop. Feel free to ask about those above or the standards. THanks. Kevin

Featured Answer

spartan-apple

9 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

Greetings:

I do not grow watermelon due to lack of space. My brother does and his favorite is Crimson Sweet. I do buy Yellow Doll from a farm stand near me and must say it is one of my
favorites.

Alas, I do not know if the kind lady there will continue growing Yellow doll in the future. Everyone here is nuts
about "seedless watermelon". Seedless is all our supermarkets carry anymore. My farm stand lady stopped growing seeded red watermelons due to lack of interest
(I bought them!). Now she is getting flack about yellow doll and even had to post a sign that they contain seeds. Many of her clients will not buy them because they have seeds.

I fear the worst for watermelons to come if I can no longer get a good seeded melon. My daughter took Yellow Doll
to her high school and got ridiculed by the other students because it looked like pineapple due to its color. They were
also distraught that she would even eat a 'seeded melon' once she told them what it was.

While I like seedless watermelon, I find they usually have a
spongier texture and often are not as sweet as a seeded melon. I much prefer seeded types.

What fun are church picnics and family reunions when kids
can't spit watermelon seeds anymore? Glad I am not
a youth in these troubled times. Bring back my seeded
watermelons!

Comments (40)

fruitnut Z7 4500ft SW TX
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
What are your 5 standards? Have you tried Star Brite? Nice report!!
drew51 SE MI Z5b/6a
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Yes, nice report. I want to grow watermelons next year. I never grew them so I researched a lot and have to agree. When I talked to others that grew melons Orangeglow was hands down the winner every time. So I bought seeds already. I'm looking for a small red. As my wife is insistent that watermelons must be red. She doesn't want no fancy colored melon. I made a mistake and grew some odd melons (not watermelons, musk, etc). many were not good.
She just wants what she knows.
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rayrose
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Kevin
I agree with you about Oraneglo, it's my favorite yellow, but you should also try Gold Strike. While Orangeglo is orange inside, Gold Strike is pure yellow and just as good.
I've never had the success that you've had with Rattlesnake, but I might try Kolbe Gem.
My favorite red meater is Big Stripe, and I highly recommend it. I've posted pics of a volunteer that I had grow in a crack in my driveway. Your description of KG very much fits Big Stripe.
ztom
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I grew Yellow Doll and New Queen watermelons this year. Unfortunately I forgot where I panted each one, but one of them was very good. I also grew some Blacktail Mountains and they were very good in spite of our even cooler than normal season. Lambkin was also a nice surprise.
ltilton
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
When I was growing watermelons, Yellow Doll was my favorite.

But they just don't thrive here.
thecityman, Zone 7a/6b near Nashville
Original Author
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
My 5 standard melons are ones you will all be familiar with: Jubilee, Crimson Sweet, Charleston Gray, sugar baby, and Orange Glo. Orangeglo just made the cut last year and as described above, its a real winner. Sugar Baby has long been a staple in my garden mostly because its the first one I can bring in. Where I live, its almost impossible to have 4th of July watermelons without a lot of extra work (greenhouses, tunnels, etc) but I have done it with sugarbaby. HOWEVER....I have decided to exchange sugar baby for blacktail mountain from now on for the reasons listed above. I won't bother reviewing the others that you all are probably familiar with. But I must say, Jubilee and Crimson Sweet are 2 of the most popular watermelons for a good reason They are productive, sweet, dependable, and just never let me down.

Drew51, your post made me laugh because you have no idea how many people I come across who just cannot accept a yellow watermelon! I have good natured arguments with most of them and even get them to agree that if blindfolded, the orangeglo is probably better. But people, including my very own parents, are just so ingrained in the belief that watermelon should be red that they just can't accept anything else. So your wife is certainly not alone! So I suggest you grow some Orangeglo for you and to at least let her try, and some crimson sweets or Georgia rattlesnakes for her!

Rayrose, I will try gold strike! As I've said, every year I plant about 10 new (to me) varieties so I've added gold strike to my list. thanks! Sounds like Yellow Doll may be another one to add since 2 people just mentioned it.
fruitnut Z7 4500ft SW TX
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I think melons must be pretty location dependent. Many have tried my favorite Star Brite and found it lacking for one reason or another. Around here I couldn't give away Sugar Baby. A 7 lb Sugar Baby has more seeds than a Star Brite four times as big.

Star Brite averages 25-27 lbs and 13-14 brix if properly watered and fertilized. I've had melons from the same hill early June until late October. But that takes a lot of work. It's easier with two plantings, one very early and pushed along and another early to mid May. By fall one hill can be 40ft diameter.

Biggest Star Brite has been 52 lbs. I like my melons big because I never put a whole melon in the fridge. Instead I cut out the best part and put it in a large tupperware container. That allows me to get rid of all the rind at once and not over fill the fridge.

Star Brite also has large seeds and not too many. I don't like a zillion small seeds. I've probably tried 20 seedless. Some have been great and many so so. A few even had flesh too hard. But none enough better than Star Brite too make up for all the extra trouble and usually lower yields.
drew51 SE MI Z5b/6a
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Thanks for all these reviews. I agree location is important, but now I have a list of ones to try at least. Most excellent!!
On melons not watermelons I have heard that Ha'Ogen is a lot different. I want to try that one. I heard a radio show at a melon tasting event, and this one stood out. Here is a description from Seed Savers:
Although most likely of Hungarian descent,
this gorgeous melon is generally identified with Kibbutz Ha’Ogen in Israel.
Ha’Ogen is Hebrew for “the anchor.” A true cantaloupe with superbly sweet
and spicy green flesh. Round fruits weigh 3-4 pounds with yellow-orange
rind and shallow green sutures. 75-80 days.
thecityman, Zone 7a/6b near Nashville
Original Author
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Fruitnut, you are absolutely right about sugar babies having too many seeds. If I'd reviewed it I would undoubtedly have made mention of that. It honestly is the least favorite of my "5 staple melons" which is why I'm trading it for Blacktail mountain from now on. I think I have kept it in my rotation simply because it comes in so quickly (comparatively). But you are absolutely right...overall its not a great melon by any measurement. Based on your review and the fact that I know you to be a very knowledgeable fruit grower from seeing your posts over time, I will absolutely be growing star brite next year. One other thing.....I love how you said you don't put a whole melon in the fridge but just cut out the "best part". Without a doubt, my very favorite thing about growing a large amount of watermelons is the ability to just cut them open and eat the heart out or save it for later. I know...terribly wasteful and wrong.....but ohhh sooo good and so fun!

Drew- now you are going make me go and post a review of all the non-watermelon melons I grew this year (cantaloupes, honey dews, etc). But I've taken up enough space for a while, so I'll wait on that. I don't know the Ha'Ogen you mentioned, though. But for me few things are as wonderful as a really good cantaloupe!
drew51 SE MI Z5b/6a
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Cityman, yes make another thread when time permits. I didn't have a good year with melons. First year growing. I only got a small crop because all vines got powdery mildew while I was on vacation. So many melons didn't mature. A couple were great, but I messed up what was what!? So I have no idea which ones rocked? Not a good melon year for me.
thecityman, Zone 7a/6b near Nashville
Original Author
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Nice to know someone else battles powdery mildew with cantaloupe and other melons, but I'm convinced I have the worst P.M. problem in the whole world! Holy cow. Even with me fighting it on a daily basis and having tried everything from raw milk to baking soda to various commercial chemicals (I gave up on 100% organic long ago...sorry for those offended by that), the fact is that my melon patch always dies off sooner than it otherwise would and before all melons are ripe...due to P.M. Don't ask me for the best treatment because I haven't found it! Immunox keeps it at bay the longest but certainly doesn't remove or even stop it from spreading...just slows it down more than other things I've tried. Fortunately P.M. doesn't hit my watermelons at all, just my cantaloupe/honey dew type melons, squash, and cukes. But man is it hard on those things! Anyway, I will post my cantaloupe reviews soon, but I will admit I have had much more experience and tried many more varieties of watermelons than other melons. But its always fun to share experiences so I will do that soon. BTW...thanks for all your expertise on blueberries (and some other fruits). I've learned a great deal from you and after planting my first 20 plants this summer I'm sure I'll be leaning on you more in the future!
drew51 SE MI Z5b/6a
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Well I would get in trouble, but I would spit the seeds back at the kids if I was her, soon the other hids will want seeded melons to defend themselves in the lunchroom. Whining to the parents to buy seeded watermelons. It will become a craze, and farmer's markets will soon run out of seeded watermelons.
thecityman, Zone 7a/6b near Nashville
Original Author
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Spartan-Apple, I could not agree more! I feel quite strongly that seedless melons just do not taste as good, and I would very much love to hear the opinions of others here. ARE SEEDLESS MELONS EQUAL IN TASTE AND TEXTURE TO SEEDED VARIETIES? Again, my vote is no but I'm open to other opinions. For me, seedless melons aren't as "crispy" and tend to be slightly "mushy" (scientific words, eh?). Also, many of them have a lot of those thin, white seeds which I don't like to eat and have to pick out anyway, thereby negating the whole purpose of seedless. I know most people just eat those, but I don't. Anyway, I thought it was a very interesting point you made and I'd like to know if the 2 (3 with Drew51) are the minority? I suppose we are because, as you said, you can't even buy seeded watermelons in most grocery stores now. Just one more reason to grow your own! BTW....Crimson Sweet is indeed an all-time great and is on my "grow every single year" list for that reason.
drew51 SE MI Z5b/6a
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
So I suggest you grow some Orangeglo for you and to at least let her try, and some crimson sweets or Georgia rattlesnakes for her!

Great minds think alike, exactly what I'm going to do!
thecityman, Zone 7a/6b near Nashville
Original Author
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Here are some of my Jubilee melons, along with 2 of the Royal Golden (nope, those are not pumpkins!), and 1 Cream of Saskatchewan
{{gwi:124579}}
eloise_ca
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I grew an heirloom, Klondike, first time this year and found it to be delicious! Out of a starter plant, I got 5 watermelons and have saved seeds for next year. The first fruit wasn't measured, but it was larger than the second one that measured 15 1/2 inches. Brought back memories of when all watermelons were seeded and super delicious!
bart1
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Eloise -
Did grow any other watermelons besides Klondike?

I think they cross pollenate with other watermelons and don't produce true (same as the parent plan) seeds.
eloise_ca
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
bart1, Only grew Klondike and don't know of anyone closeby that is growing watermelons so hopefully the seeds will be pure.
clarkinks
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Great report! We only grow desert king , have you tried it? I would like to try some of your varieties. Thanks
fabaceae_native
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Desert King is great, and very reliable for me, but Orangeglo has been my favorite the past 4 years. It is not as consistent as the former though, in terms of sweetness, but the taste is always very unique and wonderful.

I tried Cream of Saskatchewan several times with high hopes but it never delivered: it was not very productive, ripened late, and had small, often tasteless fruit.

Crimson Sweet is a good standby for me, as well as Desert King, and Blacktail Mountain, although the last one I have only grown twice.

Anyone tried Ali Baba? It is supposedly THE BEST watermelon out there, according to Baker Creek. I think I will give it a go next year, along with Kolb's Gem, and possibly Mountain Sweet Yellow.
rayrose
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I've grown mountain sweet yellow and it's very good, but not as good as Gold Strike.
arizonahopefull
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Everyone loves orangeglo but it hasn't done well for me. I tried it two years and never got a good tasting melon. Didn't sugar up like crimson sweet and tohono o'odaham yellow. I'm wondering if it is my hot dry climate that orangeglo doesn't like. Anyone in a hot dry climate have success with orangeglo?
milehighgirl
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Cityman,

Thanks for sharing your experience. I'd love to plant melons but I have no space left, and I think it would be too much to grow these babies vertically.

Funny, the seeds I have are Orangeglo, Starbright, Blacktail Mountain, and Sweet Siberian.

I need more land!!!!
drew51 SE MI Z5b/6a
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I was on another forum and a watermelon thread there was interesting. In that thread besides many mentioned here
Dark Star Watermelon which was touted to be better than Blacktail Mountain, and Sweet Dakota Rose were mentioned as superior. Both seem to be only at Fedco.
So who knows? Here are descriptions from Fedco
Sweet Dakota Rose Watermelon OG (82 days) Thirty years ago David Podoll (of Dakota Dessert Squash fame, see #1630) crossed the small early-maturing Early Canada with the enormous late-maturing Black Diamond to create this intermediate 8-12 lb delight, skin light green with dark green stripes. A star in my 2007 trials, it matured early and produced 2-3 fruits per plant. One of the sweetest open-pollinated watermelons we know, it has a thin skin, few seeds and stores longer than most others. A strong watermelon flavor complements its sugar rush

Dark Star Watermelon (83 days) “Much better than Jade Star or Blacktail Mountain,” says Welsby who harvested several in the 15 lb range. Our trialers agree, rating it as having larger size, darker red interior flesh and substantially better flavor than Seminis/Monsanto's Jade Star. Dark's high-yielding dark glossy round 10-15 lb fruits feature crisp bright juicy flesh, sweet right down to the rind, and small black unobtrusive seeds. Donna Dyrek's first fruit ripened Sept. 1 in 2010.
rayrose
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I've grown Sweet Dakota Rose and it was one of the biggest duds I've ever had. It was a complete waste of time to grow.
drew51 SE MI Z5b/6a
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
In what way? bad taste? Didn't grow? I have no idea on any of them. Just passing down what I heard. A comment from a user in PA:
Quote:
Originally Posted by kath
My experience with watermelon is limited but I've trialed Ali Baba, Blacktail Mountain, Bush Sugar Baby, Crimson Sweet, Dark Star, Festival, Long Crimson, Moon & Stars, New Orchid, Sangria, Sugar Baby, Sunsweet, Sweet Dakota Rose, Sweet Favorite, Tiger Baby, Tyee, Verona, Yellow Baby and Yellow Doll. Crimson Sweet and Bush Sugar Baby were the winners from the first couple years but they both lost to Dark Star and Sweet Dakota Rose this year. Both were excellent! Dark Star kept ripening melons all summer and I just harvested and ate the last one the other day and it was as good as all the others.

And a response

Kath, that is quite a list of watermelon you have grown. Fedco also gives high marks for Sweet Dakota Rose and Dark Star. The two on your list that surprised me were Ali Baba and Sangria. However, catalogs sometimes tend to hype certain varieties and that is why I like to hear feedback from people who have actually tried them.

Yet another response

Got seed for those two from Fedco because of the hype and wasn't disappointed. I was surprised at Ali Baba, too. They were smaller than I thought they'd be and the taste wasn't as sweet as I like. Maybe I don't fertilize enough or something and the two winners are just more tolerant of my soil's shortcomings. I've trialed watermelons the same way I do tomatoes- I grow lots of varieties at the same time and only the winners are invited back because I want to find the ones that do well every year, not just sometimes.

This post was edited by Drew51 on Wed, Oct 29, 14 at 17:40
fabaceae_native
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
It seems the take home message from all this is: different varieties do well in different climates and growing conditions, and a few seem to be consistently winners. Those widely-adapted favorites are the ones I enjoyed hearing about in this post though...
drew51 SE MI Z5b/6a
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
It seems the take home message from all this is: different varieties do well in different climates and growing conditions, and a few seem to be consistently winners. Those widely-adapted favorites are the ones I enjoyed hearing about in this post though

I agree, but it's still not always clear. it appears the Fedco watermelons do well in colder areas. Ray had bad luck, he's warmer. Seems true with orangeglo too. All watermelons are tropical so you think all would do well in the warmer zones.
Well I have about a decade's worth to try! I can only grow two cultivars a year.
rayrose
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
The six plants that I grew only yielded two melons. It's advertised as having the fewest seeds and the best taste of any melon they sell.
It's a pretty melon, when you cut it open, but it's LOADED with small seeds and has no taste. I'm not a novice grower, and I'll be more then happy to send the leftover seeds that I have to anyone that wants to waste their time with this over hyped piece of crap. I've grown well over 100 different varieties, and this is at the bottom. That's how bad it is.
drew51 SE MI Z5b/6a
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
OK Ray, sounds bad, I don't understand the other reviews though? I'm thinking it's possible to get maybe bad seeds, or not true seeds. Only way to explain the two good reviews. This year I grew Cherokee Purple tomato, and it was not CP, but some pink tomato. It actually was really good! But not Cherokee Purple!.
Since so many other good ones, i will avoid this one, thanks for the report.
thecityman, Zone 7a/6b near Nashville
Original Author
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I have enjoyed this thread so much. It does seem true that the same melons performs differently in different environments, but I enjoy these reports for the melons that seem to be consistently good wherever they are grown. It is clear from this thread, for example, that my great love and positive experience with Orange Glo is shared by most who grow it (albeit not by Arizonahopefull, unfortunately). ClarkinKS - no I haven't tried Desert King but it another melon which seems to have consistently positive reviews (for the most part).
I must say that I am a bit perplexed by the aforementioned topic of "true seeds". I (think I) understand the biology and that my planting of 10-12 different melons just one row apart from each other should almost certainly result in the seeds from the melons I grow to be "untrue"/crosses. In fact, for that reason I order new seeds every year. However, I have a friend across the street who is cheap (his words) and doesn't much care if he gets "true" melons and so I save him seeds from all my melons. The thing is, the melons he grows from my seeds-which should be "untrue" end up looking and tasting 100% identical to whatever melon I grew from true seeds the year before but in my mixed melon garden. In other words, I see no evidence at all of crossing even though I grow 10 melons in about a 2 acre or less area. Perhaps the differences are just slight and a DNA test would prove his melons untrue, but for those who are worried that taking seeds from a melon grown in a mixed patch will result in some inferior or even a much different melon....that just hasn't proven true for me and my neighbor over the years. Just an interesting observation. Comments or explanations welcomed.
fabaceae_native
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
There must be some mechanism of isolation in your garden, whether each variety is flowering at a different time of the season or time of day, or attracting a different pollinator that sticks with one variety, I could not venture to say.

I say this because for the first time this year I had a disaster using saved seeds. From the orangeglo seeds I had saved from the previous year that were grown alongside Desert King and Crimson Sweet, this year I got nothing that was true orangeglo!

The best tasting were still just mediocre, being small round dark rinded (like Blacktail Mtn) orange fleshed melons. I also had a whole lot of small ones that looked like orangeglo with the right shape and striping, but tasted awful (I threw them all in the compost). One tiny melon showed up looking exactly like Desert King, and another like Crimson Sweet, but both were overripe when opened, so I have no idea about their taste.

Like you, from here on out I will always order my seed from a reputable source.
Don Birkholz
8 years ago
I am over here in Southeast Montana and have sandy soil that melons love. When I started raising melons in the 1970's, my Burpee Hybrid muskmelons were simply delicious, now I cannot get hardly anything good out of a muskmelon. The exception was the Sunder which was superb, but Willhite quit selling. I can get good-tasting Savors in the early part of the season, but the later ones rot before they taste good. As for watermelons, some do not do well for me (Desert King). I have had only two watermelons that had a "perfume" when eaten. The one I remember the most was a White Seeded Simpson. I used to grow lots of watermelons, did not rotate and eventually my field got too diseased. Now, years later, I start on new ground, till in lots of leaves and I have vines all over the place. I really like the Sweet Favorite. They ripen early (around a month after setting on), and I can turn around and get two crops off the same vine. Some Sweet Favorites do not get the sweetness of the others, I wonder if one should withhold the water for a few weeks before ripening. To tell when a melon is ripe: I used to scratch the melon with the date it set on. For example, if a melon set on July 19, I would take a knife or nail and scratch "J19 on the skin and the resulting scar would remain. Then, since it takes six weeks for most watermelons to ripen, I would harvest the melon six weeks later (September 1st for the above J19 melon. Now, I think I will take an ear tag (that they use in a calf's ear), and if a watermelon sets on July 19 th, write that on the ear tag and set it beside the melon. I actually would go out July 23 d, see a watermelon the size of a chicken egg, and subtract a few days and write J19 on the tag.

But I do agree that the Orange Glo is a very delicious watermelon. And it has a taste that is more than sweet. This year my Orange Glos tailed off in sweetness at the end of the season. I tried the Moon and Stars a few years ago and was impressed with their earliness. But I ran into problems this past year as I picked the first ones too early. I think that in excellent soil, they ripen later than if they are on just average soil. And they do taste very good. This year, I will plant around 50% Sweet Favorite and 50% Moon and Stars. With a few new ones. I finally found a source for the Tiger Baby (Anderson Seed and Garden Logan Utah.) The Tiger Baby is a small melon, short vines and ripens in 30 days from setting on for me. The flesh is only pink, but I am going to try plastic tunnels, underground heating to try and get very early melons. I like to take a heat lamp (put in a 100 watt bulb), and set it next to the watermelon plants in the plastic hot kap for overnight heating of the soil (heat lamp is face down on the dirt). Sometimes the bulb breaks due to moisture on the bulb. But the plants really thrive and grow fast if it is 100 degrees in the hot kap at night. I like the Tiger Baby's short vines because I have to cover all my watermelons with wire with small holes due to the hail we seem to get every year. Is that called hardware cloth?
michael_lackner55
6 years ago
My best tasting watermelons in order have been Orange Glo, Crimson Red and then Sangria.
chuckurso1
7 months ago
I am growing a crop of watermelons now and as usual, always look for more info on where to get a certain type of seed and new upcoming varieties. Still trying to find a source for my favorite melon, Gold Strike. I pray that melon is not discontinued for it has been a few years plus since I have seen seed for it. I went with a new trial this year of Leeanau Sweetglo, which is an Orangeglo crossed with Crimson Sweet so I have a good feeling about it. Very good info coming from many and am impressed by thecityman in Nashville for what he detailed. Georgia Rattlesnake is worth a try and will put it in when I start my Spring crop for I have 2 seasons here. Orangeglo is in now and it has been a long time since I grew it for Gold Strike is just a much better performer out here. I think it has to do with the eternal breakdown of Orangeglo in the heat. That is why it will probably be used only for my fall crop when the humidity and temps are much lower. Unlike most in the U.S, I am getting my main crops in at the end of Sept except for my watermelon, which are in now and just started. Actually I wish I had started them 2 weeks earlier but next year, I will be on target. Here is my grow out for Zone 10 on the West coast of South Florida.

1. Sugar baby (I produced whoppers and one at 20lbs a few years back) These were Grown with Bat Guano I harvested!

2. Oangeglo

3. Crimson Sweet

4. Leelanau Sweetglo

5. Bush Sugar Baby

6. Legacy

7. Jubilee

8. Orange Crisp

9. Golden Honey

I may put in a Yellow Doll for that was my best Yellow type I ever grew.

This is an old thread so just wanted to continue it from 5 years ago. Like to hear back and reinvigorate this topic with new thoughts or whatever else.
vgkg Z-7 Va
7 months ago
chuckurso1 if you find a source for Gold Strike please let me/us know, I used up my last 6 seeds this year. GS has been the sweetest and most productive watermelon here. I may have to try Orangeglo again but it did not do well for me a few years ago.
chuckurso1
7 months ago
last modified: 7 months ago
vgkg Z-7 Va I will let you know if I do! That Leelanau Sweetglo could be a winner. Since we both think Goldstrike is the best, I will give you an update through the whole process with pics. It is the one I feel may be our Gold strike replacement or at least pacify us. lol
chuckurso1
7 months ago
michael_lackner55 I have never heard of Crimson Red? Typo?
chuckurso1
7 months ago
Has anyone heard of #4456 watermelon? It is sold in Georgia under the highmark seed label to commercial growers only. That watermelon I would bet my life on, has Gold strike genes in it. Same identical look. If anyone wants to buy into seed, I would surely order it if I had enough interest. 11 people with $15 will get a nice seed packet. It is sold with a minimum of 1,000 seed.

2014 Watermelon Report/review

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