Big Watermelons

[ga. prime]

Every year, I plant a few of the "Giant" variety in with my regular watermelons. I have grown bigger in years past, but these two are respectable.

 

[Fred]

Those are some nice melons. What the heaviest one you've grown?

 

[ga. prime]

Then biggest I've grown was exactly 100lb. I don't give them any special treatment. The biggest one in the pic is 80lb.

 

[Jogeephus]

Nice melons! What variety are they?

 

[mnmtranching]

MAN! Would I love to have a slice of that. 8)

 

[Just_a_girl]

Wow! :shock: I'm trying to remember if I have ever seen a watermelon that big before......I don't think so.

The guy in the picture looks happy, but that's probably because he knows he can have a slice and the rest of us can only look at the picture and drool. :lol:

Really nice watermelons.....

 

[Tod Dague]

Wow those are nice! :shock:

Nothing livens up a get together better than a watermelon. If I was to pull one of those out of the ice my family would go nuts! :lol:

 

[ga. prime]

Jogee, they're "Weeks North Carolina Giants". You can find them on the racks that sell the small envelopes of seed.

Tod, talk about the family going nuts! When I took John(man in the pic) home I gave him two big watermelons. A lot of his neices, nephews, and so forth were out in the yard and on the porch playing. You should have heard the holloring and carrying on when they saw John unload those melons. :lol:

 

[MikeC]

Nice melons.

Taste good?

With the drought here, the melons have been really sweet but it sure doesn't help the size.

Mine are only averaging about 30-35 lbs. :roll:

But lots of people like them small enough for the fridge.

 

[ga. prime]

Mike, the Weeks Giants aren't near as sweet as the Crimsons or Jubillees or Charleston Greys. They're OK though. Mostly they're just attention getters. Needless to say, they're the devil to load and unload.

 

[Arnold Ziffle]

Wow, I almost thought those were Barry Bonds Jubilees, pumped up with steroids!

Does anybody still raise Black Diamonds or Charleston Greys commercially? Those were always my favorites but it has been years and years since I've seen any of the stores in Houston selling them.

Might still have them in the old traditional watermelon towns like Hempstead and Luling (Texas).

 

[ga. prime]

AZ, I still grow some Greys every year. A fine watermelon. Not grown commercially anymore. Replaced by hybrids, most of which are very good, averaging 20lb or so. Which is what the supermarkets want. I didn't grow any Black Diamonds(also known as Cannonballs) this year but have quite a few times in past years. The Diamonds aren't as sweet as the others mentioned. The biggest problem I have with them is trying to tell when they're ripe. They are striking in appearance, however, and will draw people to a roadside stand.

 

[mudfork]

Help a rookie out. I've got some Sugar Babies and Crimson Sweets. They were planted in mid May. They struggled early but are coming on now. What's the best way to tell if they are ready? I knock on them and such, but they sound just like my head when I do the same.

 

[MikeC]

Help a rookie out. I've got some Sugar Babies and Crimson Sweets. They were planted in mid May. They struggled early but are coming on now. What's the best way to tell if they are ready? I knock on them and such, but they sound just like my head when I do the same.

You can thump them or slap them with your hand. When they lose that "metallic" sound they are getting close to ripe.

Also, look at the white underneath where it is laying on the ground, when that changes to a cream color or looks yellowish, it's ripe.

You may have to bust a few open at first to see which ones have ripened but you'll get the hang of it.

Oh, and they also lose that shiney luster when they get ripe. Get a dull look.

 

[ga. prime]

Good advice from MikeC. There will be a subtle lightening in overall color(lustre related as Mike said)when they're ready. You'll have to field test a few to get the knack of knowing.

 

[hurleyjd]

Help a rookie out. I've got some Sugar Babies and Crimson Sweets. They were planted in mid May. They struggled early but are coming on now. What's the best way to tell if they are ready? I knock on them and such, but they sound just like my head when I do the same.

Check the little curl where the melon stem attachs to the main vine. If it is brown all the way to the stem the melon will be ripe. If it is green the melon will be green and not ripe. If it is half dead then the melon will be pink inside and not completely ripe.