Being a native San Franciscan, I don't remember when the soil temperature reached 65 degrees, the minimum recommended for watermelon. Sometimes the air temperature does make it on the bay side of the city. Plant your seeds and enjoy the vine. When watermelons are reasonably priced you can buy one or two and add to your vine. Your vine may produce a small melon of its own that will not get enough heat from the sun to mature, but yours will be the only one on the block. Al

We grow melons (not watermelons) down here in an even cooler zone.

Here's what it takes:

1. choose early ripening varieties developed to grow well in difficult cool weather areas (northern, coastal, or mountain) Â less than 75 days (which will usually turn out to 100+). e.g.: Ambrosia, Earlidew, Earliqueen, Early Hanover, Earlygold, Fastbreak, Flyer, Galia, Haogen, Jenny Lind, Minnesota Midget, Sweet 'n Early, Tropical Passport

2. 4-6 weeks prior to planting in the garden, put down clear (not black) polyethylene over the bed.

3. Use raised or mounded beds and lay drip irrigation lines or soaker hoses down the center of the beds.

4. Start seeds indoors in 2- to 4-inch peat pots in May and

5. Plant 3 seeds to each pot and when they have emerged, thin to the strongest seedling in each pot. Transplant the seedlings when they have two or three true leaves.

6. Keep the seedling plants growing vigorously; do not stress them (put them into "checked growth").

7. Remove the clear plastic just before planting and replace black plastic sheeting.

8. Cut slits in the plastic 18 inches apart down the center of the beds and plant the seeds or seedlings.

Make holes large enough so the young melons can be planted pots and all.

9. Remove the "lips" of the peat pots -- the rims that protrude above the soil surface.

10. Cover the beds with floating row covers.

Or cover with individual cloches or polyethylene tunnels

Remove any covers as soon as daytime temperatures average 70 degrees.

Also, remove the row covers when the plants begin to flower -- to permit pollination.

Once the first fruit ripens, stop all watering.

11. Be prepared to do some hand pollination. In cool climates, bees aren't necessarily as busy as they should be.

Try this method with short-season watermelons.

Joe

Al, thanks. Being a native myself is what I'm finding to be the problem. You know, "Hot temperature? Why yes, it does hit 80 degrees in the summer. We're all in shorts and sweating it up!" It's difficult for me to imagine what kind of heat lots of plants I want to grow need.

Joe, thank you so much for the step-by-step procedure! I've got nothing to lose but space so I will at least try it.