“Watermelon Growing Tips”
Comment Page 3

@sammy muragu, Do plant hybrid varieties of both plants for good uniform early maturing yields, For watermelon try Sukari F1, Pata Negra F1, Stark Ayres star 9908 F1 etc,  all very good. For quotation for Drip Irrigation system send me an email at my gmail address so that i can share with you current prices.

@opande, best time for growing is when rain farmer are not about to grow, early October before the rains is a good time in Kenya most of the time.....rains of late have been erratic and unpredictable.....

@Stephen muriithi,  you can use CAN only till flowering starts....too much nitrogen not good for fruit setting and fruit development. God bless you.

@Stephen mwanzia,  please hook up with Stephen Muriithi who has invited you to his farm, Good luck

@Stephen muriithi,  concerning germination, if the watering is uniform they usually all germinate on the same day or a slight gap of 1-2 day which is ok, check on your irrigation uniformity. You need to maintain soil moisture content at field capacity till germination, that means try avoid long dry spells between watering till plant germinate.

@Pauline,  Good luck and God bless.  This will be a good doorway into more farming ventures.

@Muwanga Augustus,  Sorry Sir for the rotten fruits, could have been due to pest infestation or being overipe or disease or calcium deficiency....many possibilities

@Lucas, Right month to plant  for maximum returns is now quite tricky to predict since more and more farmers are taking up irrigation, but usually when rains come melon supply tends to diminish ........ this is tricky thing since if you purpose to harvest during rains you face lots of challenges in terms of bursting fruits and rotting fruits..... rotting fruits you can try and control by ensuring the fruit does not lie on wet soil where soil worms will easily break the tender and wetted outer rind. this can be done by putting dry grass beneath. For bursting melons you might  want to try plastic mulch that will prevent excess moisture due to rains going suddenly to the root hence the fruits and causing bursting.....but this will mean more investment in terms of land preparation and use of drip irrigation. But for sure you need to avoid planting with rainfall only if you want to get good prices at most regions...

@geofrey ochieng,   Dear Sir, Try growing 2 or 3 different hybrids for your practical evaluation before scaling up. u can try Sukari F1 and Lahat F1 and also Pata Negra F1

@richard muinde, Soil analysis will help you know the fertility level of your soil and will definitely come with a report giving you fertilizer and manure recommendation for the crop you choose..

@esther mwendwa,  Dear Esther, have various hybrids for your local evaluation e.g Sukari F1, Pata Negra F1 , Stark Ayers star 9908 F1 etc. Spacing will depend on your irrigation method. if you are using manual irrigation you will need enough room to move around with pipes or watering can. If  using drip irrigation you can afford to squeeze in more plants per acre. Try 1.5m by 0.8m, gives good fruit size and some space to move withing the crop. Timing is tricky....but as long as you are doing under irrigation and not rain fed....you can be optimistic.....

@moses muli, Typical cost per acre is quite a variable figure depending on many factors e.g wheeter seed are hybrids (overpriced) or ordinary, cost of watering and irrigation method , cost of labour and level of attention and inputs.....typically it cost about 50k on average per acre.....

@stephen ndirangu, Please try hybrids, i believe your soil is black cotton heavy clay. do a large planting hole at least 1.5 feet by 1.5 feet.....add lots of well decomposed manure 2 shovels if you can and set up an easy to use irrigation system.......black soil gets hard and unpleasant for roots hence the big hole to loosen soil and easy irrigation to prevent too much drying or too much wetness

@samfan,  At Kithimani in Yatta the soil can really get hard and compacted, if possible deep plough with tractor and be in the habit of adding lots of plant debris and manure into the soil. if your irrigation method will allow, please do raised beds, popular hybrids will do well there.

@mathias,  The Drip Irrigation Kits will depend on the unique characteristics in you farm e.g if farm partitioned by terraces, shape of the land and distance from the water source/ supply. Please email or call me with your unique requirements for a custom Drip Irrigation system quotation. Thanks Anthony