Sugar Baby Watermelon
Citrullus Lanatus

Days to Maturity: 77 days
Plant Spacing: 1 per square foot, vining
Sunlight Requirements: 6 - 14 hours
Look Out For: worms in growing tips
Harvest Notes: harvest melons when the “pig tail” closest to the fruit dries out
Annual

Sugar baby is one of the main watermelon types grown in Florida by commercial producers, so its the main one we recommend for home growers. While many of the more exotic colored and shaped melons prefer being grown in the summer up north, Sugar Baby loves it down here in South Florida and will make you fun “icebox” fruit. Each plant will only produce about 1-2 fruits, so make sure to baby them and dont pick too early! The main way that farmers determine the ripeness of their melons is that the “pigtail” (aka the curly little tendril) closest to the fruit dries out.

To plant your watermelon make a mound of rich but well draining soil in your garden and plant your plant in the center of the mound. Planting in a mound ensures that the soil will drain well, which watermelon plants need in order to thrive. Watermelons are vines that like to spread and creep, like pumpkins, so make sure to give them lots of space. We tend to plant vining squashes on the edges of raised beds so that they can vine out of your raised bed, instead of staying in it and taking up a bunch of precious garden real estate.