I planted them in rows. The rows were about 5 to 6 foot apart. At this time the rows are disappearing due to the vines growing together. I think weeding at this point is a hopeless cause. I will just let it go and see how they turn out in the end. The watermelon plants look great right now. They do have the yellow blossoms on them now. After the bloom I probably will be adding some liquid fertilizer through the overhead sprinkler system. Next time I will try to do a better job preparing the bed with a pre-emergent herbicide. Thanks for the comments.
Weed Control In Watermelon Patch
- Thread starter Stoner
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Stoner said:
You say you planted the rows 5-6 feet apart. Did you do any tilling/cultivating between the rows and around the plants when the plants (and weeds) were small? That probably would have helped a lot.
I realize you can't weed the whole patch by hand but you could try weeding a small portion (pick the best looking spot) and see how those turn out.
(that's a lot of melons BTW)As far as soil preparation I tilled the soil three to four times before planting. The seedbed looked pretty clean at the time of planting. As weeds came up I pulled them by hand. We had a couple of rains and it was almost like the weeds jumped out of the ground overnight. The weeds got ahead of me and it was no longer feasible to weed by hand. There is something about a natural rain that makes things grow so much better then an overhead sprinkler. My watermelon plants still look healthy, if they make it, the expected harvest date well be the middle of August. This is the first time that I planted watermelon and cantaloupe and so far I am please with the results except for the weeds. I like a nice clean garden; my watermelon and cantaloupe look messy. Next time I will have to learn more about pre-emergent herbicides. I have never used them before. I have not planted a garden this large before either.
Stoner said:
Good luck with the melons, hope they make it. Maybe give them a little extra water and fertilizer to make up for the weed competition. Instead of running the fertilizer thru the sprinklers you could broadcast some dry fertilizer or calcium nitrate/nitrate of soda by hand from a spackle bucket and only throw it where the main plant rows are; that way you wouldn't be fertilizing all the weeds. As soon as you throw some down, turn on the water. Three acres wouldn't be too hard, you would only have to keep up with what you are watering at one time.
Looking at herbicides for next year is a good idea but the main thing is you have to set up your rows so that you have some way to cultivate between them up until the vines start to run. Either a tractor cultivator, finger weeder, spring tooth harrow, walk behind rototiller or something. Or if the rows are far enough apart a small 3-point disk. You can't just rely on the herbicides alone.
We used to grow a lot of melons but suffered from what I would call evening sales. My neighbor put a sign in his patch, "1 MELON IN THIS FIELD IS POISONED, KEEP OUT!" The next morning when he returned the sign was still there, but the number 1 was crossed out and replaced with a 2.
deerhunterf350
Gold Member
STONER,
If possible I would get as many of the weeds cut out before they go to seed, once they go to seed, you will have 10X the problem next year.
Dan
If possible I would get as many of the weeds cut out before they go to seed, once they go to seed, you will have 10X the problem next year.
Dan
I don't have any broadleaf weeds, just grass in my watermelon patch. The questions that I have are: The grass seems to keep the ground moist, what are the implications on the patch if you don't weed at all? Second, some of my actual watermelons don't get access to sunlight but the plants themselves do. Are there implications if the actual watermelons don't get sun?
Your melons well be better of if they are shaded, they won't get sun scald. If you want to kill the grass and have a sprayer you could use a herbicide like POAST or SELECT. The grass will turn red and die in a few days and still shade the ground.
