By Clint Thompson
The earliest planted watermelons in North Florida are already setting fruit. That is what happens when plantings start in mid-to-late February, says Bob Hochmuth, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Regional Specialized Extension agent in Live Oak, Florida.
“The earliest planted ones, the ones that were planted the third week in February, those plants are setting fruit now and have been on the earliest plantings for maybe the last week,” Hochmuth said. “Not that it’s the bulk of our acreage of course, but there’s a lot of acreage that is in that fruit-setting mode. It goes all the way down to the youngest ones that are maybe six or eight inches of vine or just getting to that point where they’re starting to run. We’ve got everything in between depending on time of planting.”
The planting period in North Florida covered more than three weeks and lasted into the middle of March.
“We’re basically rolling along pretty good. We got everything planted before a lot of these rains came. There are areas of our region that are wet, but for the most part, the rains have not been debilitating to us,” Hochmuth said. “We had everything planted and it’s just a matter of getting everything cleaned up; from weed management, cultivating and things like that; before the vines get going. We’ve been in that mode for the last 10 days, depending on how early they planted.”
Watermelon Field Day
UF/IFAS invites growers and industry leaders to view on-farm demonstrations at a farm just south of Archer, Florida, on April 18, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Technologies such as paper mulch, grafted watermelons and controlled release fertilizers will be on display. Educational updates will be followed by an industry sponsored meal.
The farm is located at Farm Brown Acres Dr., Archer, Florida, 32618.