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Does anyone have experience with watermelon grafting?

A

A Spicy English Cheapskate

Most years here in London we don't have the heat to grow watermelons outside(trust me I try almost every year...). The last frost is often in late April but the average high is still only 15/16C(~60f) okay for some plants(Tomatoes seem to do fairly well) but watermelons don't want anything to do with it.
 
Pumpkins(and other squashes) on the other hand grow much better and recently I learnt that Watermelons graft onto pumpkins fairly easily. Most of the literature concerning grafting covers disease resistance, with only a little suggesting improved growth in cooler climates. This year I will be attempting these grafts via the hole insertion method.
 
Does anyone on here have any experience relating to this subject especially with regards to cool weather growing?
 
A Spicy English Cheapskate said:
Most years here in London we don't have the heat to grow watermelons outside(trust me I try almost every year...). The last frost is often in late April but the average high is still only 15/16C(~60f) okay for some plants(Tomatoes seem to do fairly well) but watermelons don't want anything to do with it.
 
Pumpkins(and other squashes) on the other hand grow much better and recently I learnt that Watermelons graft onto pumpkins fairly easily. Most of the literature concerning grafting covers disease resistance, with only a little suggesting improved growth in cooler climates. This year I will be attempting these grafts via the hole insertion method.
 
Does anyone on here have any experience relating to this subject especially with regards to cool weather growing?
Click to expand...
i was actually looking at hole insertion myself. it seems by far the FASTEST way, but its riskier? or at least thats my understanding. i might try it next year, but ill have to get some cheap practice seed to mess with. my triploid melon seeds are too expensive.

i ended up approah grafting my plants. i got like 90% success, with the only failure being the plants i accidentally grafted upside down. it takes 2 full weeks, with 3-4 of those days being solid down time.

with regards to cold hardiness? i dont know if you are going to get much benifit from grafting. certainly no frost tolerance or anyting like that. im guessing all benifits will be from the plants roots being able to continue thriving in the cold? IDK though might be worth a try.
if i were you i would focus on just getting a far more mature transplant. last frost is in april? id start like 45 days earlier indoors. just train them up a bamboo skewer or something. you have to periodically seperate them as the tendrils will grab onto the other plants... super annoying, but you can just cut the tendrils with your thumb nail.


you can see how i grafted mine here bottom of page 7.

http://thehotpepper.com/topic/53937-queequeg-grows-stuff-and-fixes-junk/page-7
 
Thanks. I'll keep an eye on your log and keep this thread updated with progress. I'm certainly not exposing the plants to frost. I guess i just wanna know if grafting will improve vigor in a temperate climate. But i'm guessing there is only one real way to find out :think:
 
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