(1) You need plenty of land to succeed with watermelon farming. Watermelons need a lot of water, nutrients, space and warmth. The plants do not grow well under extreme heat, and soggy, humid conditions will breed fungal diseases.

(2) Watermelons need enough water, regular top-dressing with fertilizers and average daily temperatures of 20-25 degrees to produce biggest and sweetest fruits. Plant the seeds when the soil is warm, in the open (for the sun) and provide constant drip irrigation if rainfall is inadequate. Weeds will deplete the available water–remove weeds regularly. Inadequate water or a nitrogen deficiency may result in yellowing of watermelon leaves.

(3) Prepare the soil around the plant. Remove the old dirt from the plant spot and replace with a 10- 10-10 granular, mixed in and then a good foot or two cover of compost. Get the compost from the farm manure. You can even add cow manure under the plants, but that is tricky and subject to weeds. Remember that watermelons do not tap deep, but spread roots out over a large surface, so prepare a good 8 to 12 foot circle.

(4) As the vine begins to grow it will begin to set flowers, the first six to seven flowers will be male flowers (blooms on long stems) that do not produce fruit. When a female flower (larger flower with tiny fruit attached) appears you may want to gently encourage pollination by picking a male flower and brushing it over the open female bloom. Pollination is important for fruit set. After you are sure you have a watermelon set you need to prune all other fruit from the vine.

(5) Consider very highly the longest melons at pollination time when choosing the melon to leave on the vine when culling. This is the length of the un-pollinated female fruit. Anything 3.0 CM or longer is best, but sometimes the best are often around 2.8 cm. The length of this fruit greatly determines the length of the final melon.

(6) Always buy watermelon seeds to get maximum returns with watermelon farming, most seeds taken directly from the fruits do not grow true to their type–they give less yields and grow slowly. Hybrid watermelon seeds give highest yields and are resistant to common watermelon pests and diseases such as leaf spot, blight and powdery mildew. Spider mites can destroy a whole crop of watermelons, as well as thrips and leaf miner.

(7) Be very careful not to damage vines. After you have chosen the melon you want to become a giant you need to protect it. Protect the belly from the ground by placing the melon on a slight hill on top of some mulch to avoid standing water. You will also need to protect the melon from animals that may want to eat it. Use a fence or screen around your melon. You will also need to protect your melon from the sun. Provide a small shelter that only shades the melon.

(8) Water-soluble fertilizers work great and soak in nicely. So does rabbit manure tea, made by half filling a large bucket with rabbit manure, and then filling the bucket with water. After a few days, pour the liquid through a screen and use to side dress the stump. This really does work, and a watermelon farmer can raise some rabbits just for this purpose.

(9) Vary the fertilizer depending on if you want to grow plant or fruit. High nitrogen in early season, extremely low nitrogen when fruit is growing (like 5-50-17), and high nitrogen again when weather turns cold. This will help limit vine growth when you are trying to grow fruit and increases density of fruit.

(10) Slowly slide back large watermelons as they grow to relieve pressure on the plant vine. Do this instead of moving the feeder vine. The fruit grows both directions, so this helps remove pressure on the stem end.

(11) Do not allow vines to get too close to the melon, and especially do not allow the fruit to sit on a vine. The vine will rot and rot will spread to the fruit, and that’s a bad thing.

(12) Drip irrigation. This is very easy, and can be a critical part of growing the giants. Get yourself an old 300-gallon plastic tank from a farmer so you do not have to fill it too often, and buy plastic piping and some irrigation drip emitters. I have also used individual sprinkler mounted on poles. One per plant.

(13) Do not mulch young watermelons. Worms that feed on tender stems love to hide under mulches, and young watermelons are vulnerable to these pests. Mulch much later when the vines