A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 Watermelons Splitting Open

I have Watermelons that are splitting open.

What causes this?

I'm not sure, But I have always heard that not enough moisture and then too much at once can cause this. If you got the rain we had last weekend, then that would probable be the likely cause. It was a gully washer, after no rain for months.

My neighbor just brought over 2 huge watermelons. He's got so many watermelons that he can't keep up with picking them. He said that his watermelons were getting so ripe that they were splitting open. I don't know if that is what is really happening or not, but I thought I'd share!

I water everyday, I have the hose on a timer, so it must be the rain we got.

Watermelon Splitting

papito, Thank you for confirming it has to do with moisture, I wasn't sure I was right about that.

Sarah, I remember reading somewhere that Kansas is good watermelon country.
I think it was from one of the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Or one of the biographies about her real life.

ummm Do cantaloupe react the same way? and is it normal for a cantaloupe that slips easily from the vine to tast almost like its unripe/fermented

Cantaloupe do react the same way...Almost everyone of mine have split and slip right off the vine, but mine have all been ripe and good tasting. If it stayed on the vine too long after splitting it might start to ferment or sour....I have picking 4 everyday for the past 3 days now, and I check everyone for splits, if one has a bad spot or split it gets picked. If picked right away they should be fine if you just cut away the bad spot or split area.

Deborah, I can't say if Kansas is good watermelon country or not. I can tell you that under my care, KS is terrible watermelon country. I've tried for 3 years to grow watermelons (mainly sugar babies) and every year they are small, stop growing, then eventually rot. Plus, I only get 1 or 2 baby watermelons anyway. My neighbor went a little crazy on planting his and he picks 2 or 3 large watermelons a day. I've read the Little House on the Prairie books and don't remember anything about watermelons, so maybe it was the bio?

Sarah

Hmmm
I check daily to see how my little ones are doing and have had a few that did begin to rot on the vine and when it was noticed they were removed so as to limit fungal and bacterial spread. However the ones I picked recently while just begining to split and looking/smelling wonder have had a strange flavor,reminicent of something fermenting. Not sure if this was because it wasent fully ripe or because maybe they are getting to much heat( I live in central florida) or what the deal is. There have been a few that were perfect, sweet and juicy so Im not sure if maybe Im doing something wrong. As this is the first batch I have ever grown I am surprised I have had the sucess I have had.

Sarah, it was the book where they all had malaria.
Pa found some melons growing "wild". Volunteers of course.
Although we know now that the Little House books were fiction based on fact. So who knows.
That made me laugh-when you said that Kansas is bad watermelon country under your care. LOL !

Well, I'm glad that you find it amusing! I've got to admit that I find it pretty funny too. One of the easiest "beginner" plants to grow--and I can't seem to get any fruit!! Such is life, I suppose!

Sarah

Sarah, I hope your neighbor is sharing his melons with you !
And I hope your next try is a success.

Snowwolf, I've been thinking about your "off" tasting Cantaloupe, & am wondering if the seeds were "new" (from a seed package), or if they were ones you had harvested yourself, last year.

I know that melons, cucumbers, squash, etc. can be cross-pollinated when planted in close proximity & the bees make their rounds from one plant to another. That "crossbreeding" causes the following year's plants to produce something entirely different, than the fruit the seed was taken from... even though they might appear to be the same thing!

(Cantaloupe, when crossed with & cukes, or things in the squash family, makes for HORRID tasting fruit! YUCK!)