The Tribune

By Gardener Jack One of the great joys of summer is tackling a slice of sweet watermelon, having the juice run down one's chin and the seeds squirted for record distances. The watermelon season occurs during our warmest months but we can make a start in February. Watermelons originated in Africa, probably from the region we now know as Namibia. The vines love the alluvial soil of rivers and so sandy soil is the best medium in which to plant the seeds. Watermelons like their space so should planted two or three seeds to a hill, the hills six feet apart. The most vigorous seedlings should be left to produce the crop. The formula for successful watermelons is plenty fertilizer, plenty water, and plenty sun. When a watermelon nears full size the watering should be abandoned. Too much water at this stage creates dilution in taste and may even cause the melons to split. There were reports from China last year that many of the early watermelon crops exploded in the fields from too much fertilizer and water. Watermelons tend to be either spherical or sausage shaped. They can be small ten-pounders or weigh well over 100 pounds. There is variety in both skin colour, which can range from very light green to a green that is almost black, and the colour of the flesh, pink to deep red, and even yellow and orange. Over the past few years I have grown Sugar Baby and Crimson Sweet as my mainstays. Both are extremely sweet and are reliable performers. A Sugar Baby has round fruits of 10-12 pounds that have an almost black skin and vivid red flesh. The flesh is extremely sweet and satisfying. Because of its size, Sugar Baby can be put in the refrigerator to cool nicely. Crimson Sweet is sausage shaped and has a light green skin. The flesh is more pink than red but is satisfyingly sweet. The fruits usually weigh between 30 and 40 pounds. If you find that those seeds embedded in the flesh of watermelons are too inconvenient you may wish to try a seedless variety. It sounds silly to say you must plant seedless watermelon seeds, but that is how it goes. A week or two before that, however, you should plant seeds for regular watermelons, and more at the same time you plant the seedless watermelons. Seedless watermelon flowers must be pollinated by regular watermelons so you need plenty of them at the flowering stage to ensure a viable crop. The cells of watermelon plants contain 22 chromosomes. The seeds can be treated with an alkaloid that doubles the chromosome count to 44. When this seed grows and is crossed with a regular 22-chromosome watermelon we get seeds containing 33 chromosomes. These are the seeds of seedless watermelon. When the plants are crossed with regular watermelons, a fruit is produced but it is infertile. Instead of seeds, the flesh is embedded with the occasional white seed remnant, called a seed scar. When your watermelons are fully grown you still have a critical decision to make: when to harvest? I have seen a grown man reduced to tears on the discovery of a white-fleshed watermelon that should be pink, or a light pink one that should be red. If you leave a watermelon past its ripened stage the flesh will turn mealy. You have a window of perfection of less than a week. I advise you to err on the side of patience. The last few inches of vine that attaches to the watermelon should be inspected daily once the fruit is full. There should be distinct signs of drying out in this area. Also check the underside of the melon. Where it has lain on the ground is coloured yellow. Once ripe this lightens to the colour of straw. If you have any doubts at all about the ripeness of a watermelon, leave it and inspect it again the next day, and so on. The resistance of temptation is a fine exercise in improving moral integrity. gardenerjack@coralwave.com