carolina cross watermelon – Lake Mary Gardens

I am so happy to begin starting seeds early this year. I am growing Carolina Cross watermelons this year. I grow these organically and for eating. It does take some vigilance and effort to keep the aphids and worms off the young plants but it can be done! I use organocide, oil soap spray, and spinosad.

I washed all my seed starting trays with a dilute bleach, water, and soap solution and let them dry in the sunlight. I started my seeds in Miracle Grow seed starting mix. I will update later on. I put in a tiny pinch of Garden Tone fertilizer in my watermelon seed starter as a supplement. Let’s see if that works well.

When it gets hot over 85 F I hope to have the pests under control by then and I depend on my beneficial insects to come out of dormancy and do the pest control job for me. Once it warms up I scout for pests and the beneficials only spot spraying if I see a need to control an invasion. I don’t want to kill all the insects because my beneficials need to have food. It creates balance when I observe first and sometimes simply watch the prey to predator ratio over time.

This year I was blessed to be able to grow a 30 gallon container of Carolina Cross watermelon. I highly recommend this variety if you are planning a large family gathering in the future. I started by filling my large containers more than half full of rotted down stump grindings. Then I used a container mix of 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 Black Kow, and 1/3 garden soil product. I also added a few big handfuls of perlite and organic fertilizer. I added a top dressing of fertilizer around the drip line of the plants at 8 weeks along with weekly liquid plant food feedings. I controlled insects with organocide and soap as long as the temperatures were not over 85 degrees. I would say the Carolina Cross is disease resistant since it survived on organic remedies and grew some nice-sized watermelons in my harsh rather humid environment. I have to give it an A+ for its crisp texture and flavorful sweetness.