Watermelon Harvest // Success or Failure?

In this organic gardening video, Brian with California Garden TV shows the basics on growing watermelons. Then how to know when a watermelon is ripe. Then Brian and Noah will cut it open, taste it and see if it was a success! You can grow watermelon!

Mentioned Products

PRODUCTS
- Neptune's Harvest Tomato & Veg Formula

Follow Us HERE

[ElizaLL]

Love this Father-Son duo video!!! Pls do more!!!

[rmoretz]

Some of my best memories from my childhood are spitting out watermelon seeds in a contest with my cousins in VA in August.

[lisaf]

After you had said in one of your recent videos you harvested the other watermelon after the heat wave it dawned on MANY years ago when I was a little gardener, my grandfather had a small garden in San Francisco. He had apple, plum, pear and lemon trees along with 2 big rows of anything that he could grow including watermelon. But SF is not hot at all, so what he would do is make wht he called a scatola del sole - Italian for sunshine box. Big time old school but made a teepee with old pieces of wood and put clear plastic around it and was like an insulator. He kept the top open so it would not get too hot. But I do remember eating the watermelon and it was amazing.

[Lynda]

Yes! I would love a complete growing guide. I have a 160 day season.

[annie_chen_santafe]

It's also an Asian thing! My parents would dip just about any fruit in salt, flavored salt, including guava, peaches..etc. Thanks for your video, your son is a good helper, eater, and very adorable!

[farmerbob]

We’ve been growing watermelons for several years and have settled on the “Blacktail Mountain” varietal. It yields well on compact vines and the fruits are round and run 7-10 lb. The flesh is sweet and very juicy but a little on the soft side. I’m in Southern California but farther inland than Brian so our daytime temperatures run 10-15 degrees warmer. I use a method of growing where I put a circular fence about 5’ in diameter around the growing plant. This constricts the vines to a smaller area and puts male and female flowers in closer contact thereby yielding more fertilized fruit. Well typically yield 4-6 melons from each plant by doing this. The vines eventually grow through the fencing but by that time it’s done it’s job. We use the tendril method to test for ripeness. When it is very dry and brown it’s harvest time. Your tip on shutting down the water prior to harvest is a good one. We’ve had melons split and literally explode when you cut into them from too frequent late term watering. Very happy to see you got a successful harvest!

[MingWLee]

Up here in Vancouver, the temperature is way too cold to grow Watermelon, so I could cross this off my gardening list.

About how to tell whatever a Watermelon is ripened or not, only it fulfill all three of 'requirement.

1: tab it with your hand on it. Not only you need to hear a rather hollow sound but also you can actually feel the bounce back from your tab. The more 'bounce back' you get, the more juice your watermelon has
2: Weight. This one is easy, the heavier it is, the more juicer it will be.
3: Color of Stem. Not just tendril but the stem where it connect to the watermelon, when it become brown, it means the plant has done everything to make it in the best result. Any time before the stem turn brown, it means there are still time for it to grow bigger, juicer and sweeter.

[joanies]

🐞 Wow, your son has personality, smart, and great camera presence. Maybe one day he'll start his own channel for other kids. I LOVE seeing kids engaged in the garden! It was my love for gardening as a child that kept the dream alive... now that I'm retired, I am finally able to have a small organic garden.

[karenking]

We must live in a warm enough climate...Prescott Valley, AZ. This is my first time gardening and I have 8 watermelons and 8 cantaloupes. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that they are sweet and ripen well. 🤞

[samyu]

Your son is handsome! (You are, too!) I enjoy all of your videos even the "fails". I think your watermelon just looked not totally ripe yet. But, it is part of the fun of growing in a garden. It allowed you to have a moment with your son to share with us. Thank you!

[artemisk]

Next time try it with feta cheese! Bulgarians do that. Greeks do that with honeydew melon as well.

Oh and before you cut the whole thing, first cut/ remove bottom and stem part sideways. Makes it easier to cut out the rest of the fruit once it’s cut in two pieces (hope that makes sense)...!

[patticoach]

I live in Indiana and last week after watching your video I planted carrots in a 5gallon bucket. There already starting to come up now. Thanks so much for all of your knowledge. I live in an apartment so I have to grow in containers. Thanks Again!

[klattin]

This is my first year in 30 years of trying, that I've got watermelon that will ripen before it freezes. I have one that is over a foot long and still growing! I have so many, when they are ready, I'll have to have a neighborhood watermelon bust. So excited. I grew them as a ground cover to prevent weeds, thus watered by digging a furrow and irrigated regularly.

I've eaten cantaloupe with salt, not watermelon, but salt enhances the flavor. I'm from utah, not the south. I love sprinkling tomatoes with sugar....my grandparents from Idaho introduced me to that.

[alysonbaker]

My husband I retired into west central MN 16 years ago. The second year we lived here, we did some landscaping, adding patio brick our our south facing sliding door. We made a little herb bed and used our own compost. We noticed a melon vine growing with the herbs and let the vine grow. Sometime in late July, I was heading into the house through the sliding door and saw a football sized watermelon nestled on the patio bricks. We let the melon grow all summer. The vine only produced the one melon. The melon grew to 30+ pounds. When we harvested it, it was the best tasting melon ever. We saved the seeds but the seeds never produced anything. I’ve since tried growing watermelon with mixed success. This year I tried again and have stunted plants with only my husbands container watermelon giving any effort in fruit. I’d love a show on growing melons. I’m not giving up!!! I think your watermelon was a success, the way Noah was enjoying it. I didn’t grow up with salting watermelon so no salt here although I had a wonderful watermelon salad in Canada with feta cheese!!

[MerwinARTist]

This was cute with your son spitting seeds. I'm sittin' here (in Arkanas) eating a yellow watermelon from the garden .. and salt does help bring out the flavor. 🍉👌😊

[cl]

I planted this same type in July (1/2 day sun, western exposure against a brick wall). Not close to harvesting. But, when buying a grocer’s watermelon, this is how I get it the sweetest: buy one with a yellow bottom with brown “trails” on the bottom, put it in the garage out of direct sun for 48 hours. Chill overnight and you’ll find that it has ripened and become sweeter. I did a taste test with two melons, and immediately refrigerated the other, eating it the next day. There was a big difference. Ripening melons in the garage make them much sweeter. Same for pineapples, assorted melons. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. Yes, I’d grow them every year. It’s a terrific learning curve and exponential in the memories your son will have of his childhood summers. I’m a science teacher at a country school and my students enjoy sharing stories (including visiting wildlife) about their gardens. 🦌 🐇

[KimmiiPooH]

I am Vietnamese and grew up eating watermelon with salt as well, ESPECIALLY when said particular fruit is not very sweet!
Noah is adorable and such a sweet boy! Great job, Dad!

[zaretnavarro]

We eat watermelon with tajin, salt, lime, it's a Mexican thing in my house lol...my watermelon plants have the opposite problem here in the desert. It's way too hot right now and if I didn't have it double shaded it would be dead. We have a heat wave right now in the 120s so I've been watering up to 3 times a days. Also, I have no bees or any pollinators right now other than flies. This is my first time gardening and I think I've done pretty well keeping my plant alive anyway. No harvest yet from any but I'm hoping they will give me tons of fruit in the fall. For the most part they are pretty healthy looking.

[dianem]

Your son is adorable. I grew up eating watermelon with feta cheese. I also like it with salt. My favorite is a watermelon salad with basil, balsamic vinegar, red onions, and salt. Love the combo of sweet, sour, and salty.

[melissasocal]

Hello
Yes, please do a complerte growing guide next spring. I was unable to get any of my watermelon seeds to germinate. I am kind of new to growing from seed but I have successully grown herbs and plants from seed successfully. but not Watermelon.
Thank you