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Why are my watermelons keep falling off of the vine when they are still small?

PepperDaddler

PepperDaddler

I have a watermelon plant that is doing pretty good and every time the melons get about dime size I come outside and they are popped off. Its sort of like a flower drop on a pepper. You come outside to check the progress and it not there. It fell off.
 
Frustrating.
 
Anyone else have this problem?
 
Last year it was happening to mine. The fruits that shrivel up and fall off mean that the plants are not being adequately pollinated by bees. You can help nature along by plucking off the male flowers, removing their petals, and rubbing their pistils in the center of the female flowers. Same thing you do when self pollinating peppers. I let mine grow to 4-5 feet and nip off the tip/end so they don't take over my garden.
 
Idk. How many per vine? Water more frequently and/or feed your watermelon plants with a high-phosphorus fertilizer. That's all I do. Good luck.
 
You didn't mention what variety of watermelon your growing. Pepper whisper is right about stressed vines dropping fruit. Some of the newer hybrid varieties handle stress better that the older heirloom types. I see that your also in Florida and I will tell you we have it harder than others do because of the high humidity we have.
 
Watermelons are native to North Africa. They like a sandy soil where they can put down a very deep taproot. Here in Houston I have had nothing but bad luck with watermelons. Clay soil, high humidity, and a lack of talent at growing melons made me give up. Fortunately I can get tasty 20 pound melons from roadside stands and farmer's markets in the summer, so it's all good.
 
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