Q: I’ve tried growing watermelons in our garden, but they never get fully ripe before frost hits. I’ve been looking through seed catalogs, but there are so many different kinds, I don’t know which to pick. Some types say short season, but they look small, and I’d like something that’s at least decent size. Any suggestions? — Brady S.
A: You’re right about it being a race to beat fall frost, and I’ve enjoyed the challenge of growing watermelons since I was a young boy. By selecting the right type and following a few simple procedures, nice-sized watermelons are a reality for Northern gardeners.
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The photo shows a watermelon grown in our own garden. I’m always a good test subject, because if I can do something, anyone can.
I’ve got just the watermelon for you! Sweet Dakota Rose was developed by Prairie Road Organic Seed, Fullerton, N.D., and has proven a reliable, good-sized melon for Northern gardens. I’ve grown it for years, and the sweet, crisp flesh is truly mouthwatering.
A quick search easily finds their website and seed can be ordered online. Besides Sweet Dakota Rose Watermelon, they also have a great selection of other vegetables specially selected for our growing conditions.
Besides selecting a cultivar that will perform well in the length of our growing season, several other factors speed melon production. Start watermelon seed indoors the first week of May, with the goal of transplanting them to the garden when weather warms, approximately May 25-30.
The final step of the process is to use clear plastic mulch, which creates a greenhouse-like warming effect over the soil. Roll out four or six mil plastic, three or four feet wide, directly onto the ground with the edges covered with soil. This can be done in early May.
When it’s time to transplant the melon seedlings outdoors, cut X-shaped slits in the plastic, plant the melon seedlings, and seal the cut with soil so it’s wind-proof. Space plants 18-24 inches apart.
These techniques were developed by North Dakota State University horticulture researchers in the 1970s to aid market gardeners in producing saleable quantities of muskmelon, but it also works for watermelons. By starting seeds early and using clear plastic mulch, melons ripened about a month and a half earlier than seeding directly into the garden soil.
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Q: I didn’t get our new apple tree wrapped in the fall. Would it do any good to still do it now in January? — Ben M.
A: The old saying “better late than never” applies here. There’s still plenty of winter left and wrapping the trunk of your apple tree could save its life.
The main reason for protecting the trunks of thin-barked trees like apple is to prevent winter sunscald, which happens when sun reflects off the bright snow, burning the trunk similar to skiers getting winter sunburn. Trunk cells are warmed, only to freeze again when the sun goes down and temperatures plunge.
The freezing and thawing caused by winter sunshine ruptures trunk cells, causing damage that is easily invaded in spring by black rot fungi, a major killer of apple trees. Wrapping the tree trunk excludes the winter sun from contacting the bark, preventing sunscald damage.
Because there’s plenty of winter sun and snow yet to come, I’d still encourage fruit tree owners to wrap younger trees, if it hasn’t been done. My favorite tree wrap comes on a roll about three or four inches wide and can be wound around the trunk and easily navigates between low branches.
In a pinch, cardboard will even work.
If you have a gardening or lawn care question, email Don Kinzler, NDSU Extension-Cass County, at [email protected] . Questions with broad appeal may be published, so please include your name, city and state for appropriate advice.
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