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WATERMELON 

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[ Crimson Sweet WATERMELON  3g seed, USDA Certified Organic ]
Crimson Sweet WATERMELON 3g seed, USDA Certified Organic
Crimson Sweet WATERMELON 3g seed, USDA Certified Organic
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85 days. [Introduced 1964. AAS winner.] Medium-sized, striped melon with tolerance to anthracnose (race 1 and 3) and Fusarium (race l and 2). Melons are typically l0" x 12", weighing in the range of 23 to 27 lbs. Requires more space but has advantage of disease tolerance where disease is a prob ...
 
[ Amish Moon And Stars WATERMELON  3g seed ]
Amish Moon And Stars WATERMELON 3g seed
Amish Moon And Stars WATERMELON 3g seed
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[Re-introduced 1987 by SESE. This Amish heirloom is possibly a variant of 'Sun, Moon, and Stars' introduced by Peter Henderson and Co. in 1920] Fruits have large yellow moons and small stars on a dark green oblong rind. Foliage is covered with yellow stars. This strain has a smooth, slightly rid ...
 
Moon and Stars, Long Milky Way WATERMELON 2g seed
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95 days. [Developed by breeder Glenn Drowns. Introduced 1992 by SESE.] This elongated version of 'Moon and Stars' has a large yellow moon and a dark green rind, speckled with bright yellow pinpoint stars (resembling a panorama of the Milky Way). Selected especially for color and flavor this variety ...
 
[ Moon and Stars, Yellow Fleshed WATERMELON  3g seed, USDA Certified Organic ]
Moon and Stars, Yellow Fleshed WATERMELON 3g seed, USDA Certified Organic
Moon and Stars, Yellow Fleshed WATERMELON 3g seed, USDA Certified Organic
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[Early 1900 family heirloom from Georgia. Introduced 1987 by SESE. Years ago, a melon of this description was routinely shipped from Bermuda to some southern states around Christmas time.] This rare white-seeded, yellow-fleshed variety has good flavor though it is not quite as sweet as other melo ...
 
[ Strawberry WATERMELON  3g seed, USDA Certified Organic ]
Strawberry WATERMELON 3g seed, USDA Certified Organic
Strawberry WATERMELON 3g seed, USDA Certified Organic
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85 days. [Selected from a Florida heirloom by Walt Childs and introduced by SESE in 1989.] An excellent garden variety watermelon with intensely colored, strawberry-red flesh which ripens to within 1/2" of the rind. The texture is delicate and the sweet flavor is outstanding and distinctive, one o ...
 
[ Sugar Baby WATERMELON  3g seed, USDA Certified Organic ]
Sugar Baby WATERMELON 3g seed, USDA Certified Organic
Sugar Baby WATERMELON 3g seed, USDA Certified Organic
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77 days. Space saving variety. [Introduced 1959.] Produces icebox-sized, 6 to 8" melons with a hard rind which turns green-black when ripe. Handles drought well. Fruits range from 6 to 10 lbs. with red flesh and small seeds. 'Sugar Baby' is a consistently reliable and widely adapted icebox melo ...
 
[ Black Tail Mountain WATERMELON  1g seed, USDA Certified Organic ]
Black Tail Mountain WATERMELON 1g seed, USDA Certified Organic
Black Tail Mountain WATERMELON 1g seed, USDA Certified Organic
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73 days. [Developed by Glenn Drowns in 1977.] Small fruited, earliest of all. An excellent small fruited, fast maturing, highly productive watermelon that can be successfully grown in northern, cool short season areas or southern hot, humid, areas. 'Black Tail Mountain' was the earliest of 114 ...
 
[ Quetzali PVP WATERMELON  2g seed ]
Quetzali PVP WATERMELON 2g seed
Quetzali PVP WATERMELON 2g seed
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83 days. This new watermelon topped our 1999 taste trials. The fruits have a pleasing texture and are very sweet. The rind is unusually thick, so loss to splitting tends to be low. Fruits are covered with alternating dark and light green stripes. Produces small (7 to 13 lb.) fruits. Pkt. (2 g) ...
 
[ Northstar (Planet and Stars) WATERMELON  2g seed ]
Northstar (Planet and Stars) WATERMELON 2g seed
Northstar (Planet and Stars) WATERMELON 2g seed
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100 days This white-seeded “Moon and Stars” selection from grower Merlyn Neidens is an excellent producer. Large melons with sweet pink flesh and dark green rind covered with small dots and speckles can weigh in at up to 40 pounds. Perfect for family get-togethers and summer picnics. Pkt. Limit 2 p ...
 
Stone Mountain WATERMELON 2g seed
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[1923. A commercial bestseller from the ‘30s and ‘40s – thanks to grower Rodger Winn for bringing back this old Southern favorite.] Slightly oval 30-lb fruits with a dark green rind and sweet, juicy red flesh. Thick, split-resistant rind makes it great for shipping and storage. Pkt (2g) Limit 2 pack ...
 
Crimson Sweet, Virginia Select WATERMELON 3g seed
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It's hard to improve on Crimson Sweet's vigor and great flavor, but Pam Dawling is at it! Since 2001, she's been saving this locally adapted strain, selecting for large, early melons with good flavor and healthy foliage. Pkt. Limit 2 packets ...
 
White Wonder WATERMELON 2g seed
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80 days. [Rare today, white-fleshed melons were common in the 1800s.] This rare variety produces a good crop of 3-10 lb icebox-size melons. Creamy white flesh is crisp with a fresh sweet taste. Green with darker green stripes this unique white fleshed melon will be a hit at farmers market or on the ...
 
Wilson Sweet WATERMELON 3g seed
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85 days. The sweet red flesh and crisp juicy texture of this melon draws comments like “the best melon I ever tasted.” The unusual green mottled rind protects from sun scald. Thanks to Sandhill Preservation Center and grower Merlyn Niedens for saving this excellent melon from near extinction. Try it ...
 
Katanya WATERMELON 2g seed
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85-90 days [Russian heirloom] Produces lots of 10-20 lb round green melons. Reddish-pink flesh is very sweet with small seeds. Needs a fair amount of room to grow, but isn’t as aggressive as melons that bear larger fruit. Pkt. Limit 2 packets ...
 
Early Moonbeam WATERMELON, YELLOW 2g seed, USDA Certified Organic
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76 days. [Alan Kapuler] Sweet, crisp yellow icebox melon, 5-8 lbs. Thin, light green rind. Short vines make this a great melon for small gardens. Pkt (2g, 38 seeds) Limit 2 packet ...
 

WATERMELON (Citrullus lanatus) CULTURE:

Culture of watermelon is similar to cantaloupe. Watermelon vines require anywhere from 36 to l00 square feet of vine space per hill, depending on variety. Be careful not to disturb watermelon vines while cultivating around them. Watermelons are planted in cool soil and seedlings emerge over a period of several weeks. When planted in good melon soil under good environmental conditions melons will do well but are not as consistent producers as some other crops.

HARVEST: For most varieties, fruit is mature and most desirable during a 10- to 14-day period. It may take some experience to tell when a watermelon is ripe. There are four methods commonly used to determine peak harvest stage: (l) The spot where the fruit touches the ground turns yellow. (2) Look for the presence of a dried-up tendril on the portion of the vine nearest the fruit. (3) The rind feels slightly rough and has a dull, opaque appearance, whereas immature fruit are smoother and glossier. (4) When a watermelon is ripe, it will have a hollow sound when you thump it with your knuckles: the melon sounds more like your chest when it is ripe; when green, it sounds more like your head; when over-ripe, it sounds more like your stomach. Mark Twain described it this way: A ripe melon says "punk" when thumped, a green one says "pink" or "pank".

SEED SAVERS: Isolate varieties by at least 1/8 mile for home use, or 1/2 to 1 mile for pure seed.

PACKET: 2 to 4 g (about 20 to 77 seeds, depending on variety, average 39 seeds). NOTE: All watermelons are limited to two packets per variety.



This page was updated 03-01-2009.
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