Market Farming

["Bill Shoemaker" <wshoemak AT inil.com>]

Pam

    I used to do a lot of work with watermelons. The key to earliness with
them is heat. It's fundamental and you can't get away from it. You use row
covers. Do you use plastic mulch too? It could make a big difference, even
though you already use row covers. There's an additive effect from using
both. Try black plastic mulch film. If that's not good enough, try clear
plastic mulch film. It generates even more heat. But you have to be careful
using clear to make sure weeds don't grow underneath it. If you apply it
tight to the ground and seal any holes you make with some soil, the weeds
generally burn off underneath the mulch. But the watermelons love the heat.
Another big advantage comes from growing them in sandy soils. Sandy soils
warm up much quicker in the Spring so warm-loving crops like melons jump off
to a quick start.

Bill Shoemaker
Sr Research Specialist, Food Crops
Univ of Illinois - St Charles Hort Research Center


I'd love to get earlier watermelons. We like Crimson Sweet
best (this is zone 6b).