From

Location

Message

Date Posted

Nova Scotia

Looking for any advice on melon seeds grown "the old way" with potential to grow here in Canada? Trying to say non grafted produced seeds. Just trying to get a handle on melon seeds now, been many years. Appreciate any advice thanks! Danny.

1/27/2024 5:56:10 PM

South Arkansas

Do everything the top-weight growers do except for the grafting. Some have grown 300+ pound watermelons without grafting. Those growers had good mentors.

1/30/2024 1:53:24 PM

Bethlehem CT

Hank Houston is the guy, he only grows melons on there own roots.

1/30/2024 5:37:35 PM

Nova Scotia

OK thanks Mr. Bright really appreciate the advice that 300 plus melons have been grown without grafting. And most certainly those growers had good mentors and so forth. I did some background research on genetics and notice Leonard who entered big melons at Port Elgin, ON back in the day and Edwards name shows up as well. Would that be Bill Edwards from Michigan? Reason asking we used to trade seeds way back and thinking their seeds still here somewhere stored? And thanks bigmoon I noticed that about Houston melons.

1/30/2024 7:34:40 PM

South Arkansas

Yes, the Port Elgin growers are the big contributors to the current top seeds. Leonard and Johnson seeds are from that growers group. Bill Edwards the Michigan grower you knew grew a 316 pound ungrafted watermelon using a 239 Leonard as the mother seed. If you find 239 Leonard seeds in your freezer, don't waste them.

1/30/2024 9:11:05 PM

Bethlehem CT

Finding a 239 would be like finding a lost treasure. Years ago I was a member of the GVGO, they sent me a couple 239 Leonard in one of there free membership packets! I would not be surprised to learn that there are still some out there.

1/31/2024 7:08:32 AM

Bethlehem CT

One of the things I noticed about melons is that they really do well in a sunny dry year. WHen its rainy and cloudy it usually is not a good year for me.

1/31/2024 7:12:13 AM

Nova Scotia

Thanks for the input, will see what surprises may turn up hopefully? It would be great to see someone produce even a 200 lb plus melon here in this region.

1/31/2024 8:04:46 AM

Partlow,Va

A few years ago, After research, I picked the 239 as my golden seed, so to speak. For many of the reasons mentioned above. My 276 that went to Spring Hope was 68.75% 239, 12.5% 199.5, 12.5% 157, 6.25% 255. The 226 that has done well is 75% 239.

It is interesting to me that the 239 s grandparents are a reverse cross of each other! Maybe that locked in some great genes? 216.4 Mitru05 (Michigan) and 207.6 Hunt (Ontario). I will put a picture in my diary easier to see.

1/31/2024 9:25:49 AM

Nova Scotia

Awesome Hank just looked at it and the years certainly help, some of those growers' names ring a bell. Bill Edwards feats back then cranking out some major melons in Michigan were amazing!

1/31/2024 9:55:52 AM

Bethlehem CT

WHen I first started growing competition strain giant melons back in 07 many of the top melon growers were in Michigan and Canada. I actually joined the GVGO club because they gave out great seed packets with there membershiip. They were stuffed full of all kinds of top notch giant vegetable seeds including watermelons.
It seems many of the older growers up north who were such great melon growers are no longer with us or they retired from growing.

2/3/2024 8:00:01 AM

Bowdon, GA

One thing to mention here is grafting lends the genes of the rootstock to the melon itself. A seed from a grafted melon has a different growth curve from a traditional seed even if both are not grafted. This phenomenon is well known in fruit trees. Hank’s brown seed 276 is the only new seed I’m aware of that doesn’t have grafted genes.

2/3/2024 9:54:17 AM

Bowdon, GA

I’m sure Lloyd has plenty of ungrafted genetics too.

2/3/2024 10:00:03 AM

Nova Scotia

Interesting Holloway thank you. So I guess here's what I am getting at and apologize because this has probably been discussed before many times: The WR at 350 Kent has held on for 10 years now, was it grown traditional way or from a graft?

2/3/2024 11:31:43 AM

Bowdon, GA

The plant the 350 was grown on was grafted. The parents were traditional seeds but the plant was grafted. Traditional seeds that are grafted are more aggressive but most loose the stumps. Seeds from grafted melons become more “graftable” but less aggressive. I don’t know if is because we don’t favor the ones that blow out or what. But I do know that we are breeding aggression out of them for the sake of graft ability. Just one of the several reasons we are not moving forward.

2/3/2024 7:30:27 PM

Nova Scotia

Thanks so much for this good to know.

2/4/2024 11:13:32 AM