Redbow
Senior Member
Mine used to be and still is the sweet Georgia Rattlesnake or Charleston Gray watermelons. My Grandpa used to plant plenty of the Georgia Rattlesnake variety, along with Charleston Grays, Crimson sweet, Sugar Babies and another variety or two. Grandpa knew how to grow watermelons and he had a big patch of them ever year. Grandpa would prepare his melon patch by breaking it up then applying a big wagon load or two of stable manure. He would disk that in then plant his melons. The stable manure seemed to put fire under the melon crop they grew fast and large and sweet.
Grandpa also planted a couple rows of Cantaloupe Hale's was a popular variety I'm not sure of some of the other varieties of Cantaloupe but all were very good. The Minnesota Midget is a great eating Cantaloupe but they are very small. My Grandma used to love what she called a Mushmelon, it was like a Cantaloupe but it grew long and about the size of a medium sized Cantaloupe. They were very good though, I can see why Grandma loved them.
Then of course Grandpa attended to the Scarecrow that held down the Crows from coming in and pecking holes in the melons. Grandpa hated those birds worse than any other. Back in the days when I was growing up a flock of Crows could ruin a melon patch, they walked down each row and pecked holes in them. I guess the birds were looking for a ripe one to eat.
The watermelons were always ripe during tobacco barning season and we often took a break and enjoyed a couple of big Georgia Rattlesnake's for a real sweet treat. . Sometimes I still miss those long bygone days when my Grandparents were here but I miss them most of all.
Grandpa also planted a couple rows of Cantaloupe Hale's was a popular variety I'm not sure of some of the other varieties of Cantaloupe but all were very good. The Minnesota Midget is a great eating Cantaloupe but they are very small. My Grandma used to love what she called a Mushmelon, it was like a Cantaloupe but it grew long and about the size of a medium sized Cantaloupe. They were very good though, I can see why Grandma loved them.
Then of course Grandpa attended to the Scarecrow that held down the Crows from coming in and pecking holes in the melons. Grandpa hated those birds worse than any other. Back in the days when I was growing up a flock of Crows could ruin a melon patch, they walked down each row and pecked holes in them. I guess the birds were looking for a ripe one to eat.
The watermelons were always ripe during tobacco barning season and we often took a break and enjoyed a couple of big Georgia Rattlesnake's for a real sweet treat. . Sometimes I still miss those long bygone days when my Grandparents were here but I miss them most of all.