?'s about growing an heirloom watermelon in an EB

[Beau in Austin]

An EB that grew Romaine lettuce earlier in the year was topped off with more organic fertilizer and mounded higher with planting mix, the old cover was reused, and I planted three Bradford watermelon seeds in mid-May. One sprouted, and after it was clear the other two weren't going to, I planted two more seeds, so there's three vines now. There have been four melons produced.

On the Bradford web site it says it takes about 85 days (in South Carolina) to mature fruit, and that the tendril nearest the melon will brown a day or two before it's time to pick. Here in Central Texas yesterday, 60+ days in on the oldest vine, I picked the first melon because the tendril was brown. Chilled it, sliced it, and it tasted fine but it was mushy, and improbable as it seems I think I may have waited too long to harvest.

Is that something that happens, a crop maturing faster because it's grown in an EB? Does the fact that it's hotter here make a melon come to maturity faster?

These melons are smaller than the ones grown in the ground in S.C. which .. may be because there's three vines in the box?

Resource links:

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/05/19/407949182/saving-the-sweetest-watermelon-the-south-has-ever-known

http://bradfordwatermelons.com/

https://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/heirloom-watermelon-varieties-zewz1310zpit

https://extension.udel.edu/weeklycropupdate/?p=5936

[gardendoc]

I would bet it's the difference in the environment between TX and SC. It could also be a little over crowding and having three plants competing for the limited resources.  I don't grow melons in any of my EarthBoxes, too easy to pick up at the Farmers Market.

Gary