Here I am a grower of ornamentals and start lots of seeds, mostly perennials and biennials outdoors in the summer. I have a plastic covered area 10x20 feet open on both ends, mostly shaded by tall trees. The summer temperatures are just about right and the fluctuating day/night temperatures actually seem to help the germination. The seeds are kept plastic covered to maintain moisture until germination, when the plastic is then removed. Al

Just one Cherokee Purple so far.

I have no experience with Ernest Markham but I have Rouge Cardinal. Mine is blooming now, and has been for about a week, this year everything is late so you can figure a bloom in mid June. The flowers are primarily at the top growth of my plant, but the way it is connected to the trellis it looks as if they cover the plant. The one I have is three years old, I have had problems with blight after the first flush of bloom, but I don't think that this has as much to do with the particular plant as is does with my garden and situation as I have not heard of it being exceptionaly incline to the problem. The color is much more purple-red than the picture on the tags or web indicate. It tends to have a really good first flush of blooms and then the flowering is spuradic rather than constant. I hope this helps a little. Helen.

Probably. Our growing season in Love County (in an average year) is about 225 days, with our average first fall frost occurring on Novermber 7th. So, you have roughly 97 days left from today to the day of our average first frost. Crimson Sweet usually matures in 81-90 days, and Sugar Baby in 80 to 85. The problem is that those DTM numbers are generally recognized as the number of days it takes the plant to produce the first ripe fruit from the time the plants either sprout or are transplanted, so add on a few more days to allow for how long it takes your seeds to sprout. If we have an early killing frost (and the earliest I have seen one since moving here in 1999 is September 30th), your plants might freeze before producing ripe watermelons. However, if the first killing frost is late (the latest one I remember since moving here was in mid-December), you might get a good harvest. For what it is worth, if the rain ever stops and the sun begins to shine, your plants will probably grow just fine and provide you with a good harvest. I have found that our intense summer heat and sunlight often produce ripe fruits and vegetables more quickly than the officially stated "days to maturity" on many seed packets. So, if you are in the mood to gamble, go for it. A lot will depend on how much sunlight the plants receive once they are growing. If it were me, I would probably try to sprout them in paper cups and plant them in the garden once they have a couple of leaves. I'd plant them cup and all 'cause watermelons don't really like be transplanted. Seeds planted directly in the ground would probably rot before they could sprout. I have planted watermelon as late as mid-July and had ripe ones by October. It just depends on what Mother Nature does for the rest of our growing season.