Planted a few for the grandkids. I have 3 golf ball sized ones on the vine today. Sugar sweet variety.

What's the timeline to harvest?? I'm thinking 60-70 days.

You must have planted way late. Usually harvest around July 4th

Probably, picked up transplants on a whim at the garden center in early May.

I spent my summers working in watermelon sheds in Pearsall. I can't stand them.

There are three tendrils. ( Curly things )near the watermelon when they all die its about ready to pick

Jbob04 said:

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You must have planted way late. Usually harvest around July 4th

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Thats because July 4th is big watermelon day

You can plant seeds all the way to june

My clients in the Valley had them in the ground in February shooting for a mid June harvest.

On a similar note, I can't find any seedless yellows this year yet.

My dad and mom grew up in southern Mississippi back in the 20's/30's. They told me they would plant watermelon at the end of each row of cotton.

They got to the end of the row and they'd bust open a melon or two or three. I understood why but seemed odd to little me you'd want a hot melon. My dad said it was moisture that's all that mattered.

Yep. Any garden variety that can get out before anybody else can sell a crap ton more

I bet they plant tomotoes in january

Reply to B183

TRD-Ferguson said:

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My dad and mom grew up in southern Mississippi back in the 20's/30's. They told me they would plant watermelon at the end of each row of cotton.

They got to the end of the row and they'd bust open a melon or two or three. I understood why but seemed odd to little me you'd want a hot melon. My dad said it was moisture that's all that mattered.

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How smart

it is unbelievable what the older generation could think of Watermelons at the end of a row for hydration For whatever reason I am just amazed at this

Tell that to Luling and Stockdale.

First thing we would do in the early morning working on fences or in the field would be to go pick a watermelon and put it in the river. By lunch time it was nice and cool to eat. We would sprinkle a little salt on it as well.
I can still see my grandad and my dad sittin under a big cypress tree along side the Guadalupe in the shade….. nice breeze. Take a little siesta then back to work.
We were dirt poor but I would go back there in a heartbeat if I could just spend an hour or two with them again.

maddiedou said:

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Jbob04 said:

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You must have planted way late. Usually harvest around July 4th

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Thats because July 4th is big watermelon day

You can plant seeds all the way to june

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Of course you can, but they are likely to burn up in the late summer heat.

Depends on where you are. My melons don't grow well ever. I have clay soils and they hate life.

What would the board guess is the going rate (today) for a watermelon out of the back of a farm truck on the side of the road in Terrell?

Inflation is wild.

I'd guess $10. Melons are really labor intensive to grow on a large scale. That goes for most produce.

TRD-Ferguson said:

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My dad and mom grew up in southern Mississippi back in the 20's/30's. They told me they would plant watermelon at the end of each row of cotton.

They got to the end of the row and they'd bust open a melon or two or three. I understood why but seemed odd to little me you'd want a hot melon. My dad said it was moisture that's all that mattered.

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That probably didn't work too well because cotton grows best in blackland while watermelons grow best in sandy soil.

Gunny456 said:

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First thing we would do in the early morning working on fences or in the field would be to go pick a watermelon and put it in the river. By lunch time it was nice and cool to eat. We would sprinkle a little salt on it as well.
I can still see my grandad and my dad sittin under a big cypress tree along side the Guadalupe in the shade….. nice breeze. Take a little siesta then back to work.
We were dirt poor but I would go back there in a heartbeat if I could just spend an hour or two with them again.

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We tossed our melons in a creek, in one of the deeper pools. And I always sprinkle a little salt on watermelon!

We too were dirt poor, but so many others had about what we had. I remember no envy of those who had a lot, everyone knew who they were, but so many of us were in the same boat, we just lived our lives.

I hear you on spending and hour or two with them again. My grandparents were all dead when I was born, but I'd go back to spend time with my dad. I dreamed I got that chance, was told to meet him at a certain place on a specific time and day. In the dream, I spent time deciding what I wanted to show him and I got a kid's wagon and loaded it down with awards I'd gotten at A&M, trophies from various sports, those sorts of things, things I thought he might like to see. On the appointed day, I pulled my wagon down this canal bank until I got to some woods. And there he stood. But he was not the man I remember, he was 33 when I was born and he was 69 when he died. But he stood there as a man of around 25 in his Marine uniform (not the dress blues) and, of course, I never knew him at that age, but I recognized him from pictures I'd seen. It was pretty awkward and after a bit of silence, I said to him, let me show you what I brought. After I had pulled out two or three things, he said to me that all those things were nice, but what he wanted to see was me.

So yeah, I'd give a significant amount to be able to spend a day with him. But I wouldn't take a wagon.

A great post. I read it twice. Really hit home for me. Thanks for sharing that. Thanks.

Worked very well! Southern Mississippi soil will grow about anything. I remember well the numerous crops my grandparents grew. Picked and shelled more peas and beans than I care to remember. Tomatoes, corn, collards, mustard greens and, even watermelon!

Holy crap. OSP. I did not want to start the day off crying

Good post

mosdefn14 said:

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What would the board guess is the going rate (today) for a watermelon out of the back of a farm truck on the side of the road in Terrell?

Inflation is wild.

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I would say 10 also

maddiedou said:

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mosdefn14 said:

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What would the board guess is the going rate (today) for a watermelon out of the back of a farm truck on the side of the road in Terrell?

Inflation is wild.

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I would say 10 also

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That's about what I expected, but $15 for a large and $20 for a Jumbo. Good on them though, no one's going to pull off the road and then say "no thanks" over $5.

Not a watermelon story, but cantaloupe.

When I was an early teenager my dad had a combine, and we would harvest milo for several other farmers. I wasn't quite old enough to drive a grain truck, and my dad had hired an old family friend, Thomas, to drive trucks. Every day for lunch brought along a cantaloupe from his garden. He would throw it in the ice chest that morning, and about 2:00 we would take a break, sit in the shade of the truck, and eat cantaloupe. On a hot summer day, a cold, sweet, melon really hits the spot. Maybe it was the circumstances, but 40 years later that was till some of the best cantaloupe I ever ate.

Gunny456 said:

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First thing we would do in the early morning working on fences or in the field would be to go pick a watermelon and put it in the river. By lunch time it was nice and cool to eat. We would sprinkle a little salt on it as well.
I can still see my grandad and my dad sittin under a big cypress tree along side the Guadalupe in the shade….. nice breeze. Take a little siesta then back to work.
We were dirt poor but I would go back there in a heartbeat if I could just spend an hour or two with them again.

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When Pop first started the dairy we didn't have a bulk milk tank but milked into the old style milk cans and then put the cans in a bulk water cooler. The water was at a temp of around 36/38 degrees. We had an old cotton flour sack that he would put a melon in and then submerge it in the water tank overnight to eat the next day. Although we weren't far from the Stockdale watermelon country they didn't raise black diamonds anywhere close but when my maternal grandparents would cone visit from Houston Granpaw Burt would bring a black diamond.

Thanks for posting that. You brought back memories of being a 6 or7 year old that I hadn't thought of in years.