Watermelon, Early Moonbeam (Organic)

Convenient sized watermelon that will fit into your refrigerator and picnic basket! This is a yellow-fleshed, “icebox” sized watermelon that grows to 5-8 lbs. A good choice for gardeners trying to maximize their space, Early Moonbeam sets fruit on shorter, highly productive vines. Rind is thin, mostly a light green color interspersed with dark green stripes.

• Direct sow seeds outdoors once warm summer weather has arrived (minimum soil temp of 65° in early June).
• Keep seeds moist until germination.
• Or, start seeds indoors 5/7 in small biodegradable pots (watermelons do not like their roots disturbed during transplanting) into a good starting mix.
  • Ideal temperature for germination: 85-95° (use heating mat).
  • Watermelon seedlings are sensitive to damping off fungus so keep soil lightly moist but not too wet and use an oscillating fan (set to low) to provide good air circulation.
  • Days to germination: 4-5.
  • Once 2 leaves appear, grow plants at a cooler temperature (around 72°).
  • Do not let plants become pot-bound in their pots.
  • Transplant seedlings outdoors, pot & all, early June.
• Protect plants from cucumber beetles by covering seeds/seedlings with row cover fabric at planting.
• Protect plants from groundhogs and deer.
• Though this watermelon is a good choice for northern growers, watermelons are a hot weather crop and will perform poorly during a particularly cool  summer (if temps are not at least consistently in the 80’s).

Date planted:

Number of seeds planted: