“Watermelon Growing Tips”
Comment Page 1

@john Njoroge,  Dear John, cost of seeds depends whether you are using hybrids or ordinary seeds if using hybrids seed will cost you 10 - 30k  per acre. For pesticides and fungicides the cost depends on the brands you are using typical cost is about 5-10k per acre but can be higher or less. As for your lands fertility please do not destroy it by just taking out and putting nothing back! that has been the ruin of many agricultural lands in Kenya.

Your soil may be fertile for maize but deficient for cotton or  onions or other crop. Please be professional and have it analyzed and follow the manure and fertilizer recommendation if you want to be business for a long time and if you want heavy/ huge sweet melons. good luck.

@Musita Rosemary,  Hi,  i guess you just want to dry the animal waste to ensure it does not burn your crop...... its ok but you will have lost lots of nitrates and other nutrient to the atmosphere.....if possible find out how to do a compost heap or a compost pit and put all ingredients and cover and moisturize from time to time.... this way you will have very rich well formed manure high in humus. Another point  you may want to consider is not to apply on entire farm,......wastage......... all that is needed is a shovel full or two per planting hole to be thoroughly mixed with soil the excess you can sell or keep for later use in various compost heaps/pits. For bee hive contacts send me email on my Gmail and ill give you their contacts. God bless.

@Redempta, Dear Redempta, the ladybirds are carnivorous and feed only on aphids on your leaves not on the melon leaves ......they are innocent and not to blame. If the leaves being eaten is not too serious  ignore using pesticide till all fruits form  to avoid killing the bees for pollination. if it is serious you need to identify which creature is responsible then use the appropriate chemical.

@paul,  Dear Paul, you are from Ngoliba so i assume you have plenty of irrigation water from Thika River or Athi River. That means you can plant any time of the year that you choose including right now. Right now however due to the short rains may not be the best time if you want highest prices because you will be selling at the same time with many other rain farmers. if you can delay planting by a month or two you should rake in good profits. Just be sure that heavy rains do not come at your planned a harvesting period and burst your melons good luck.... Nitafutie plot huko Ngoliba!!!

@austine, Dear Austine, i understand you had moisture stress yet you come from Tana River Bank near the delta. here you need to be careful on the water that you direct to the farm......you could be irrigating with the back-flow of seawater in the river instead of fresh inland water.....definitely you will get moisture stress due to high salt content in water. To avoid this you could invest in a TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) meter, If the TDS is above 1000 then the water is not suitable for irrigation , with the meter you will easily be able to establish the typical salinity pattern of the river and know how to time irrigation. you wait till its good and direct to farm.

you could farm Melons and all many other crops that appreciate the coastal sunlight and the soil type.....of course a crop that has a reasonable demand and brings money in pocket. Yes drip irrigation would help since you will require less 70-80% less water. Send me an email on my gmail ill send you a quote for the kits. Thanks Anthony

@austine, Tds meter cost about 3-6k email me i give you contacts of supplier. Thx Anthony

@Redempta, Sorry for delay in response, please be emailing me direct or call for urgent help. You are facing either calcium deficiency causing blossom end rot and fruit abortion or you have melon fly piercing your tender fruits. The more likely case is calcium deficiency. correction is spraying with foliar calcium sprays on weekly basis.

@RACHEL, Lamu is good, sandy soil is good.....just add lots of manure since melons are heavy feeders, like 1 or two shovel full of well decomposed manure or compost per planting hole and mix thoroughly with the soil

@chesang, for good watermelon price or for watermelon buyers in kenya that offer competitive or high watermelon prices be ready to move about and visit major watermelon markets. you should also realize that if you have a good tonnage you can hire a truck yourself and take to the market. if you produce large quality melons you will be able to bargain and get competitive offers. Also if you have more than one watermelon brokers or watermelon buyers in kenya you are likely to get wonderful offers and good watermelon price in kenyan market.

@Eric Gichuki,  Dear Erick, trust you are keeping on with melons, Mwangi Kamau from your farm area would like to meet you. if you want to meet him kindly share your contacts on my gmail if you do not want your number to be so public on the website.

@loice, Dear Loice, trust you are fine in Zimbabwe, If you read through this webpage slowly you will gather lots of information you need to start successfully. if you still have information gaps please let us know the specific questions and we will address them for you. Good luck. Zimbabwe is a good area for watermelons

@Mukungu akim,  loam soil is good. clay soil will need a lot of organic matter and manure addition to facilitate loosening of soil, drainage, aeration for roots. Make sure you time your planting to avoid too much rain at harvest to prevent bursting of melons. God Bless good luck.

@kitonyi kikuvi Gideon, Dear Gideon,  you can try Hybrids e.g Sukari F1, Pata Negra,  etc and non Hybrids e.g Sugarbaby and Crimson sweet. Based on the successes you achieve you can select your regular variety. End of Feb is a good time for planting as it is not a rainy season in most areas. Good luck.

@RACHEL, Sany soil is more than ok if you have enough irrigation water. add also lots of manure and compost and you will have big melons. Make it your business to be collecting animal waste from the neighborhood as often as you get the chance for storage for future use

@Harrison Mbuthu, Volume of water require per acre from planting to harvest depends on many factors:
1. Method of irrigation - with drip irrigation you can use up to 75% less water than the other irrigation methods
2. The soil properties - sandy soils as opposed to heavier soils may consume more water due to easy drying and deep infiltration losses necessiating more frequent irrigation.
3. water conservation practices - mulching minimizes evaporation losses so reduces irrigation frequency, high humus(manure) content also holds water for longer in soil reducing frequency of irrigation.
4. The plant spacing - The more the plant in the acre the more the water requirement.

A rough estimate for drip irrigation for one acre with 4000plants is between 100,000 liters to 200,000 liters from sowing to harvest. for sprinkler much more.....for hosepipe much more plus terrible hard labour.......for furrows and flooding much much much much more water..........its easier to quantify for drip irrigation since we know the typical emitter discharge rate.......good luck.

@victor sila, send water sample to Kari for irrigation suitability test against melons. seek professional advise based on the water analysis report. there could be long term repercussions for using the water on your farm. soil Salinizationa (accumulation of salts in soil that affect fertility) with the report you will know:
1. whether the water is acceptable for use with the level of salt (minerals)
2. What you can do  to correct the water e.g if TDS is too high and you have the resources you can invest in a Reverse Osmosis desalinization Plant to give you excellent water.......the initial cost is high but the running cost if you have electricity is ok and still profitable for farming.........the water from such machines can be so good you could even consider bottling for sale once you get required certificates.

@Arumte, 10,000 liter tank is ok, you will need to raise it 2-3 meters above the ground depending on farmland. Send me and email describing your farm in terms of dimensions and slope if possible email me simple sketch on my Gmail and i will reply you with estimates for drip irrigation installation for your farm.

Tip on bees for watermelon pollination. If you are farming under irrigation in a dry area without water bodies, the bee population may reduce during the dryest time of the season.  They may even migrate from your beehive that you placed on farm....... to avoid this you can be feeding the bees with water and sugar syrup bit by bit  until your melon flowers are ready with nectar again..........you'll get poor quality honey  for some time, but our main objective is to have numerous healthy watermelon fruits.....well pollinate......good yields.

@kiptanui kirui,  Dear Sir,  Trust you have finished your studies!! how far have you reached with your watermelon farming plans? Good Luck.

@Mercy, I do not know your location but you have picked a reasonably good time since you will be harvesting just before the harvest for many  rain farmers is ready. market should be good

@Jacinta, if possible try and see if you can squeeze your time and plant just before May and have some week headstart before the coldest of the season.