Watermelons will occasionally be planted, and while you will get a melon, it will be squeamishly small and stunted.
For a variety of reasons, watermelons fail to grow to their expected size and, in some cases, fail to ripen at all.
This article goes over several factors that contribute to small watermelons. We’ll go over how to avoid stunting the growth of your watermelon so you can enjoy that refreshing summer treat.
Here are five reasons why the growth of your watermelons may be slowed:
- Watermelon Maturity and Varieties
- Watermelon Transplant Injury
- Factors Influencing Pollination
- Environmental Aspects
- Plant Malfunction and Disease
Why Do Some Watermelons Stay So Tiny?
1. Melon maturity and variety
Watermelons mature at different rates, ranging from 70 to 130 days or longer, depending on a variety of environmental factors.
The maturity date can be found on the seed packet.
The size of the variety you planted is the second factor to consider, assuming they have reached maturity according to the cultivar. Are you certain you didn’t plant a mini or personal-sized watermelon?
2. Injures from Watermelon Transplantation
You may have damaged the roots of your watermelons if you started them from transplants rather than direct seeding.
The roots of watermelons cannot always absorb enough nutrients to support their rapid growth.
Deep cultivation too close to the plant can also damage the roots.
3. Pollination of Watermelons
Watermelons require high quality pollination. If the weather was bad during pollination, your vines may not have received as much attention as they should have.
Watermelons produced by poorly pollinated plants will be scarce, small, and of poor quality. Planting a variety of bee-friendly plants nearby attracts pollinators and reduces the risk of inadequate pollination.
4. Environmental Considerations
Temperature
High temperatures are the primary cause of small melons. Watermelons love the heat and thrive during the summer months.
A temperature of at least 60 degrees Fahrenheit, but preferably slightly higher, is required. Lower temperatures slow plant growth, resulting in stunted melons that are frequently inferior in other ways.
Watermelon growth requires temperatures ranging from 80 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and no lower than 60 degrees Fahrenheit at night.
Water
Who threw in the watermelon? I really hope you did. If you don’t, your watermelons will be stunted and of poor quality.
Watermelons enjoy the heat, but they also require moisture. Watermelons of high quality must be watered. Watering is especially important between the time the fruit appears and when it is half-grown.
Reduce watering as harvest approaches to allow the fruits’ sugars to concentrate. Excessive watering too close to harvest reduces the sugar content of the fruit and results in hollow centers.
Check the soil moisture daily, or more frequently in hot, arid weather, and water as needed. Allow at least one-and-a-half inches of soil to dry between waterings.
Watering in the early morning ensures that the leaves are dry by sunset, which aids in the prevention of fungal diseases. Organic mulch would also be advantageous. Just beneath the surface
5. Plant Injury and Disease
Insect’s aphids
Small melons are frequently caused by aphids. When there is an aphid infestation, the fruit is usually distorted and misshapen. [See also Aphid Management]. Aphids also spread the Watermelon mosaic virus, which causes stunted growth in plants.
Nematodes
They are microscopic worms that live in soil and feed on the roots of host plants, preventing them from absorbing the nutrients they require to grow. Beneficial nematodes introduced into the soil will help to prevent this from happening in the future.
8 Tips For Growing Fantastic Watermelons
In this article, I’ll show you how to grow sweet and substantial watermelons.
In my opinion, growing them yourself always tastes better than buying them at the store.
Most importantly, I’ll show you how to tell when a watermelon is ready to pick. Let us all jump in together.
Watermelon farming is challenging.
The first thing you should know about watermelons is that they are extremely difficult to grow. They are, in my opinion, an advanced gardening crop.
If you’re new to gardening, start with one of these simple vegetables or fruits if you’re new to Return to watermelon after a few seasons of growing experience.
Watermelons are voracious feeders with specific water needs, and they require a large amount of space to thrive. Their watering and feeding schedules must be strictly adhered to, or you risk having no melons, flavorless melons, or melons that explode.
Growing watermelons can be extremely difficult if you don’t live in an area with a long, warm growing season.
But don’t be disheartened; I just want you to know that you’re up for a challenge, and these suggestions will help you succeed.
If you’re ready to start growing watermelons, consider your first season as a practice run. You might be pleasantly surprised if you go in expecting to learn how to grow melons rather than to get melons.
The magical secrets that will make or break the game have finally been revealed.
1. Positioning, Positioning, Positioning,
Your growing zone is a critical factor that can derail your watermelon growing adventure before it even begins. Watermelons require a long growing season to mature. If your growing season is less than 150 days, you should consider growing something else.
Warm days and nights are required, as is a long growing season. If the summer nights are too cool, a watermelon patch is unlikely to thrive. Watermelons prefer nights with temperatures around 70 degrees Fahrenheit, which are plentiful in the summer.
They thrive in temperatures ranging from 80 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit, and they also perform well at higher temperatures.
I comprehend. We are working in the garden. This year, we’re all hoping to deceive Mother Nature by growing that one crop that never grows well in our area. Save your sanity, my friend.
You’ll be fine if you can check those two boxes: long growing seasons and warm days and nights.
2. Crop Rotation is Required For Watermelons
To give your melons the best chance of success, plant them in a spot in your garden where you haven’t grown any cucumbers in the last few years. Watermelons can be grown in mounds in your yard if you don’t have enough space in your garden.
They require as many nutrients as possible and growing them in the same area as plants that require similar nutrients disadvantages your melons.
3. Watermelons Should Be Handled In The Same Manner As Any Other Fruit
You know who I’m talking about: the person who insisted on more room.
Watermelons require a lot of space to grow. Watermelons require about 5′ x 5′ of space per plant. The vines must take up a lot of room. Watermelons take up a lot of garden space, so if you’re limited on space, think about what else you could grow instead.
4. Provide Excellent Watermelon Soil
Watermelons, as you might expect, are diva-like, but if you give them what they want, they’ll reward you with delicious summer treats. This also applies to the soil in which they are grown. Assume your current garden soil is insufficient for them; it will save you time in the long run.
Watermelons can be grown in a large mound of compost, worm castings, drainage sand, and blood meal to meet their finicky soil requirements. (On the blood meal, just trust me; I’ll explain later.) This is a great solution if you don’t have room in your garden for these garden hogs.
This method allows you to create an ideal basin for watering your watermelons right at the plant’s base. You’re also giving them the chance to develop strong, deep roots. Make a small crater about the width and depth of a cereal bowl at the top of the mound.
5. It’s All About The Time
And, while we’re on the subject of watering, this is one of the most crucial hints in the entire article. Watermelons require a lot of water every day, and then they don’t. And all of a sudden, too much water is bad.
Watermelons are 90% water, so it stands to reason that they would require a lot of water to grow. During the summer, this could mean watering them every day. If you soak a large area around the plant, powdery mildew may appear.
6. Watermelons Have An Incredible Appetite
Watermelons are nitrogen-loving plants that require a lot of nitrogen to get started. That’s why we put blood meal in the mound when we plant them.This provides a direct boost of nitrogen to the soil, which the plants require to grow all those vines.
Feed the plants a fertilizer that is lower in nitrogen but higher in phosphorous once they begin to set flowers and fruit. (In the NPK ratio, select a fertilizer with a higher P value.) At this point, you want the plant to concentrate its efforts on fruit production rather than cover more ground.
7. Pollination station
Nothing beats putting in all that time and effort to grow a watermelon only to have it fail to bear fruit. Grow a few flowers near your watermelons, such as sunflowers or marigolds, to attract bees and other pollinators and increase the chances of pollination.
To ensure fruit production, hand-pollinate your watermelons with a toothbrush.
8. Melon’s Order
This is how plants function. They don’t care about producing enough fruit to feed us. They are only concerned with reproducing as many copies of themselves as possible and spreading their species as far as possible in order to ensure the survival of their species. (Just like the rest of us.)
We must break this natural habit in order to produce delicious watermelons.
Pinch back flowers and fruit to two melons per vine for traditional-sized watermelon varieties. Pinching back flowers and fruit to two melons per vine will force the plant to focus all of its energy on the two growing melons on each vine.
Wrapping Up
In summary, you can conclude that a little knowledge about the little size problem of watermelons can save your fruits and help you achieve your goals. I’m crossing my fingers that these five explanations for miniature watermelons prove useful.