How to Grow Sugar Baby Watermelon plants

Sugar baby watermelon is a great choice for gardeners and, even if you do not live in the warm south, smaller varieties of watermelon usually do well. This sweet, fine textured fruit has red flesh and a dark green skin. A sugar baby watermelon is about eight inches in diameter. Learning how to grow baby watermelon is easy and the fruit will be ready to harvest about eighty days after seeding.

Picking a good site is the first thing to do as you plant to grow your melon. Somewhere away from chilly winds, especially if you are planting in the spring or fall, is important. Full sun is ideal and good air circulation is important. Use a gentle, south facing slope, if possible, without shade.

Dig lots of organic matter into the soil. Watermelons grow well in a light, sandy fertile loam. The soil should be well drained yet able to retain moisture. A near neutral pH is best.

Planting the Watermelons

Get watermelon plants at a nursery and plant them when the soil and air temperatures are at least 65 degrees F. This will usually be a few weeks after the last frost. If you prefer, you can sow watermelon seeds directly into the soil. Direct sowing works well if you have a long growing season. Watermelons do not like to be transplanted.

Caring for Sugar Baby Watermelon Plants

It is important to apply a thick organic mulch to the area around the plants to deter weeds, hold in moisture and keep the melons green. Alternatively you can use a black plastic mulch with slit-holes for the plants. This is great for holding in heat. Use floating row covers to cover the plants. Give the young plants an inch of water every week.

As soon as flowers appear, remove the covers. This is so that insects such as bees can pollinate the plants. Fertilize with a liquid fertilizer every three weeks. When the plants are in full bloom, you can expect the watermelons to be ready for picking thirty five days later.

If you notice any defective melons, prune them immediately to promote the growth of better melons and also to stop the plant from rotting. When growing watermelons, pruning is an important step.

Common Pests and Disease

Fusarium wilt can attack Sugar Baby Watermelon plants at any time of their development, causing seeds to decay in the soil, seedlings to die or older plants to wither and die. There is no treatment for this, except using resistant watermelon seeds. Anthracnose is another destructive disease and you will notice reddish brown spots on the leaves which turn black. You can treat anthracnose with fungicide.

Harvesting Sugar Baby Watermelons

Do not over water the plants close to the time of harvest, else the sugar content of the fruits will be reduced and they will have hollow craters inside. You can harvest the melons when they are ripe and store them for up to three weeks between 50 and 60 degrees F. Growing sugar baby watermelon is simple and this variety is really delicious to eat.

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