We are trying to grow watermelons this season. We had no idea how this would work out, but wanted to give it a whirl. I had seen pictures of watermelons growing vertically and thank goodness for a friend who insisted that I try to build a trellis out of electrical conduit! I hesitated to buy trellis netting, even though it would be a good investment. Everything I could find was online and about $30. Instead, I bought $3, 30lb fishing line and started making knots. After 100s of those little suckers, I had a cheap netting and one sunburned shoulder. So all was looking good. Except, there were a few things that were looming that I knew may be a problem. One, I chose Crimson Sweet watermelons, a 27lb variety. Two, I pulled the trellis netting tight and I realized a little too late that maybe it's going to need some give, as not to sever vines. Ooops. Despite this, they were growing fast!!! I was making sure to train the vines and buffer them with little strips of old tshirts. As for the melons, 3T dance tights seemed to be the perfect fit for a sling support.
I realize that this set up looks slightly obscene. Fill in melon joke here. Maybe it's just me, but I do get a sense that I should advise children to close their eyes. Especially when it rains. So, if you are reading with any small children, scroll at your own risk.
Anywho..... I was checking on the possiblity of vine damage today and decided to retie the slings of one of them and during the process, a melon slipped out of the sling and fell off. ARGGG!!!! So. Sad. Good news, though, we cut it open and it looked like it was on it's way to deliciousness. Hopefully, the rest of them work out.
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