Growing Guides for Crimson Sweet Watermelons

If you have a lot of room in your garden, Crimson Sweet watermelons are a tasty and visually appealing addition to your harvest. What is a Crimson Sweet watermelon, and how does it taste? It is one of the best-tasting of the big melons, and it has a number of disease-resistant characteristics.

Growing Crimson Sweet melons is thus simple, even for inexperienced gardeners. The delicious delights that Crimson Sweet produces at the end of the season are only one of the numerous advantages of growing Crimson Sweet in gardens.

When growing a watermelon, you need to make room for these 25-pound behemoths, which require a king-sized bed in your yard to develop properly. The wait is worth it, however, since these watermelons are much sought after for their sweet taste. Crimson Sweet watermelons are grown in the same way as other watermelons: they need a long enough growing season to develop, enough of warmth, frequent fertilizer – and plenty of room.

According to the Missouri Botanical Garden, watermelons (Citrullus lanatus) are very cold-tolerant, and they may be grown as an annual in zones 2 to 11.

What is a Crimson Sweet Watermelons & How does it Taste?

Who doesn’t like a juicy, fresh watermelon when it’s in season? The advantage of growing your own melon is that it is always fresh and ready to consume anytime you want the melon’s delicious taste. Crimson Sweet melons are bright crimson and firm bodied, and although they need plenty of space to grow, they offer a taste of summer to your table straight from the melon field. If you follow these instructions on how to produce Crimson Sweet watermelons, you will be able to enjoy them within 80 days if the growth circumstances are favorable.

KSU developed this cultivar in 1963, and it has since become a commercial favorite since it is easy to transport and keeps well in the storage shed. A huge 15 to 25-pound (7-11 kg) fruit with beautiful dark and light green striping, as well as a profoundly crimson flesh, is produced by Crimson Sweet. It is the beginning of summer when the melons mature, and they are oval in shape with blunt edges.

The vines are 6 to 8 feet (approximately 2 meters) in length, and they spread and ramble over everything in their path, including people. The melons are resistant to fusarium wilt and anthracnose, which are two major fungal diseases of the garden for which there is now no treatment. Because of these and other characteristics, caring for Crimson Sweet watermelon is considerably easier than caring for other kinds.

Crimson Sweet Watermelon Growing Plan

Warmth, fertilizer, and space are required by watermelons. According to the University of Arkansas, planting them in sandy loam soil will guarantee that they will get enough warmth since sandy soils warm more rapidly in the spring and are easier to manage. The deep root development of watermelon is aided by sandy soils, and the produce has some of the deepest roots of any vegetable when grown in sandy soil. For clayey soil, try utilizing raised beds and mulching with black plastic film to increase the temperature of the soil under the beds.

A lot of energy is required to produce a 25-pound fruit in 85 days, which is the average time it takes Crimson Sweet to go from seed to harvest. Regular feeding will aid in the growth of your plants. Fine Gardening advises fertilizing the soil with a balanced 10-10-10 fertilizer before planting, then applying a side dressing when the vines begin to spread out and once more after you harvest the first fruit, according to the publication.

According to the University of Illinois Extension, watermelons have such deep roots that they don’t need much water unless the weather is very hot and dry for an extended period of time.

As well as a little bit of breathing room. A lot of room is required for growing watermelons, and the plants should be spaced about 6 feet apart in rows that are 7 to 10 feet apart. Few gardens have enough room for more than a single plant of that size, but you may be able to get away with growing Crimson Sweet watermelon in a pot. Even if it appears to be a stretch, try sowing three seeds in a large container, such as a half-barrel, and then thinned down to a single plant.Install a big, strong trellis along the perimeter of the garden.

In order to sustain the enormous weight of the fruit, you’ll need to trim the vines down to just a few and make sure that they are well supported. A huge number of fruits are unlikely to thrive on a small patio, but two or three large fruits may be feasible on a larger one. A sling fashioned from an old T-shirt and tied to the support is suggested by Fine Gardening as a way to support the developing fruits. The melons may then be allowed to mature in this natural hammock.

How to Plant Crimson Sweet Watermelons

If you want to produce Crimson Sweet watermelons, choose a place that gets plenty of sunlight. In addition to providing warmer soil, deeper root space, and irrigation possibilities that keep moisture off the leaves, hills are also beneficial for watermelon production.

Work the soil around the site thoroughly, being sure to include lots of organic material. Seeds should be started indoors three to four weeks before the last anticipated frost in short-season zones. Plant the plants 2 to 3 feet apart (61-91 cm) in rows that are 6 to 8 feet apart (61-91 cm) from one another (about 2 m.). Planting indoor beginnings in the garden bed should be done after they’ve been hardened off for a week.

Compost should be used as a side dressing. Early in the season, cover rows with row covers to help keep temperatures warm, but remove them as flowers begin to bloom in northern gardens.

Sweet Watermelons Special Care

Utilize soaker hoses to irrigate the roots of the mounds and to keep moisture off the leaves, which may cause a number of fungal infections. Maintain constant moisture levels in the plants until fruit begins to emerge. In order to concentrate sugar in melons, water only when the soil is dry, then decrease watering as the fruits mature.

A variety of flying insect pests may be controlled by using row coverings or pyrethrin-based pesticides on the plants. Fruits should be harvested when the peel has turned from a brilliant green to a dull green coloration. Check for low-pitched tones by rapping on fruits.

Without refrigeration, the fruit will keep for two to three weeks, but it will keep for much longer if it is stored in a cool environment such as the basement.

Additional TIPS for Caring Watermelons

To enhance drainage, prepare the soil by creating planting mounds that are 12 inches square and 3 inches tall. Plant seeds or seedlings that have already germinated when all the risk of frost has passed and the earth has warmed up a little bit more.

Alternatively, if you are direct sowing, put two seeds one inch deep in each mound, and then thin to one plant after the seedlings have at least two leaves. As reported by Fine Gardening, they grow best at temperatures ranging from 70 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit, with the seeds emerging in four to six days.

In their early stages of development, cucumber beetles and squash bugs may cause harm to new leaves and the spread of bacterial wilt, which can be fatal for young plants. Gummy stem blight, which affects watermelons and causes stem end rot and leaf spotting, may also affect the fruit. University of Arkansas Extension reports that it also causes the fruit to decay.

Knowing when your watermelons are ready to be harvested may be difficult. Another telltale sign is if the curled tendril closest to the place where the fruit connects to the stem begins to become a dark brown color. It is recommended by Fine Gardening that you flip the fruit over to see its underside.

For seeded cultivars like Crimson Sweet, the color should be creamy white. Aside from that, the bright green hue should begin to fade and become a bit duller as time passes.