Growing Watermelon in Zone 5

I live in zone 5 and have tried growing watermelons but they never seem to grow full size or ripen. I would love to know how early to plant and what all it needs to make a great tasting juicy watermelon.

Watermelons grow best in areas with long warm summers. Northern gardeners need to select one of the short season watermelons. These can be started from seed in the garden in early June and are ready for harvest in as little as 65 days. Sugar Baby, Golden Crown, Yellow Baby and Yellow Doll are a few of the shorter season melons you may want to try. Cover plantings with ReeMay, Harvest Guard or one of the other floating row covers. These trap the warmth around the plants while letting light and water through. This helps speed up germination, growth, and development. Remove the covering once the flowers form so the bees can get busy pollinating. A little warm weather combined with these tips should give you a tasty harvest.

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