fruitnut, you are correct regarding cold soil and in your assumption i am monitoring the water. i haven't planted any seeds since some zuks and cukes fathers day weekend and i have a few seedlings just coming up a few days ago. i don't have a clue as to which planting these are from. last year in april u could pert near cook a pig in the ground and this year in august the permafrost starts about 3 inches deep. kept planting because i figured the seed was rotting in the ground. wet and cold ! i've been watering all my veggies in containers and the in-ground plants in the afternoons so the soil has a chance to recover from the water temp. before nightfall. i doubt the soil has reached and will not make an optimum melon temp this year. i knew when i planted the watermelons they only had a snowballs chance,it was for fun and if i possess seed i gotta plant it. it was a free pack that i rcvd in the mail and with a 90 day wait to 1st fruit,well.... ag man said here whatever the seed pack says add 2 weeks. for the heck of it i will take up the challenge to grow a melon here. we don't get that much sun in the spring as a whole but i think that is one fantastic tip to try a mini-greenhouse over the seeds. i'll also as a backup germinate some inside as i had no problems with that. thanks, wildlifeman

I'm thinking you're right that more heat would be good. Currently, I have a fruit apiece on Crimson Sweet & Bush Snakeskin. Last year I got 2 fruits on my Crimson Sweet. Excellent taste, but in warmer climates I gotta figure you would get more fruit. I'm mid-peninsula of the Bay Area.

Backyardgardener.com has this info on an heirloom variety named "King & Queen" - not sure if it's the same as N20: 'King and Queen' is an heirloom variety of watermelon developed for storage through the winter. The fruits weigh 10 pounds, and have greenish-white skin with dark green stripes running longitudinally. The flesh is red, the seeds black. The melons are not the sweetest available, but if stored over the winter, they will continue to ripen until the following spring.

Looks like Encore to me. Deanna