I'm in se Montana. I've had decent luck growing watermelon in a small space by only letting the lead vine grow, pruning off all suckers, and then letting only one watermelon grow on each plant. Once I'm sure I've gotten a fruit I prune the vine tip so all the energy goes to the fruit. This also greatly reduces the space needed. Last year I got eight small to medium watermelons all grown in one 3x6 raised bed. The varieties included Malali, Desert King, Early Moonbeam, and Leelanau Sweetglo.
The crops look great!
Thanks!
Using the cattle panels is a really good idea.
Thanks! I forgot to mention it’s very easy to trellis on the cattle panels and not demanding with weaving them through.
Charles Dowding grows melons in his greenhouse by growing them vertically.
I’ll have to look into that. That’s a great thought! We should have went vertical.
I'm in se Montana. I've had decent luck growing watermelon in a small space by only letting the lead vine grow, pruning off all suckers, and then letting only one watermelon grow on each plant. Once I'm sure I've gotten a fruit I prune the vine tip so all the energy goes to the fruit. This also greatly reduces the space needed. Last year I got eight small to medium watermelons all grown in one 3x6 raised bed. The varieties included Malali, Desert King, Early Moonbeam, and Leelanau Sweetglo.
That is very helpful! Thanks for the advice and insight!
I do well in Billings, growing Mini Love watermelons
Thanks for the suggestion! How do they taste?
@@MontanaMidValleyFarm Excellent. I did have one two years ago that was super bitter. Other than that, all have been tasty