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#98705 Jul 28th, 2007 at 09:36 AM
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I've been a little lazy on my weeding lately, and this morning paid the price. Well, in weeding, I noticed this...

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So far, I have counted 6 pretty fair sized ones, and a few others just starting..I just cleared out a huge patch of weeds, and they now have lots more running room.. My question is, are watermelons better trellised or should I just let them run the ground? Oh yeah, another question...the tiny vines that wrap themselves around things...they wrapped around some weeds, and I broke them, I tried unwinding them, but some just did not make it. Are they vital to the watermelon? because if so, in the future, I can just snip the weed and work it out..


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I've broken those tendrils off pumpkins and squash by accident. The plants seem to be unaffected by it.


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They're fine on the ground. On extremely hot days they may be sunburnt if exposed, so it's good if they have leaf coverage. If you lose leaves, cover the fruit with an old carpet square or something. Same for pumpkins.
The tendrils are not a big deal if broken. They're there to support the vine if it climbs. You'll find it will put down roots along the length of the vine. It's best not to disturn these when weeding. Best of all, mulch heavily the area it will run over and you won't have to weed.


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Nick, I also broke some of those little vines wrap around thingies & my vine is doing fine. Also be sure & turn your melons that are actually on the ground every so often or they will get ground rot. I have my watermelon climbing up the chain link fence, it has just went nuts! Can't wait to make watermelon rind pickles!


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