From

Location

Message

Date Posted

Trinity River Bottom

I came up with this idea to Improve air circulation around melon and to protect the bottom .. Check out my diary later after pics have posted..

9/12/2011 1:12:11 PM

Manchester, TN

Where do you view pics and diary at. I can't seem to find my way around. Thanks, Bryan

9/12/2011 3:32:15 PM

Trinity River Bottom

Just go to home page .Look on the left and click on grower diaries.Then click on the diary name you want to look at.

9/12/2011 3:54:34 PM

Muddy Waters

Great Idea!

9/12/2011 4:58:59 PM

Ut

I like it, and if it's long enough I can get my ee measurment that was hard to get with just the 2x4s

9/12/2011 6:27:34 PM

formerly RGG

Excellent idea with the wire racks. I find it interesting to see melons that are colored up all the way around. I think you have made a useful contribution to the sport.

9/12/2011 9:23:37 PM

Bowdon, GA

Hey Kirk did it bite in anymore on the biggest one, or did they all look the same?

9/12/2011 11:53:44 PM

Trinity River Bottom

They all looked the same Jake.. And the lines you see from the wire of the rack you can't hardly feel them.. They are pretty much just visible lines nothing else. I just took James idea of the 2x4's and went 1 more step...

9/13/2011 8:51:15 AM

formerly RGG

Kirk, the only thing I see that is problematic is that the racks aren't designed to fit different size melons. Some melons are very wide, some are very long and some are both.It's pretty easy to add an extra 2x4 if a melon gets longer than you expected it to and the 2x4's can be cut for the widest melon a grower would expect. Still an excellent idea. I'm just saying....

9/13/2011 8:56:45 AM

Trinity River Bottom

Dennis i used the racks that i could find they were various sizes . if i was going to have some made i would make sure they would be big enough for any melon i grew. the rack does not have to be as wide as the melon because the bottom of the melon is rounded also so its not all a bearing surface.I would say an ideal size would be 4' long and maybe 30" wide or so..

9/13/2011 9:22:16 AM

formerly RGG

Kirk, that's pretty big and I think it would be large enough for any melon ever grown. I think we need to dream big. If a grower could only come up with 36" x 24", I think that would fit most melons and even a somewhat smaller would be sufficient for the melons I personally grew this year.

9/13/2011 11:47:23 AM

Trinity River Bottom

The idea for the larger rack is so the melon does not hang over the sides. You can do your OTT measurements off the suface of the rack instead of trying to guess..

9/13/2011 12:16:00 PM

Reelfoot Lake, Tennessee

The Ole Prof. next door uses 3/4" PVC tubing riding on three (3) 4x4 braces that have routed slots to hold the tubing in place. His center 4x4 brace has slots that are 1/2" deeper than the outside braces--the idea, he says, is to allow the larger melons to bend the tubing into a concave shape. He adds tubing as the melons grow. I may try something like that next year despite an almost certain charge of being a "copycat." Regards, Clutch

9/13/2011 2:01:28 PM

sevierville, Tn

I'd copy away, that sounds like a great idea .

9/13/2011 3:20:52 PM

sevierville, Tn

Basically the idea is to keep the melon bottom dry, by what ever means you can come up with. Just needs to be strong enought to hold 300 lbs ;) & not damage the fruit.
Sand, racks,boards,pvc etc

9/13/2011 3:23:14 PM

Watervalley Ms

Hey kirk thanks for the idea.I lost a melon this year from a bad spot, probably would not have if I did something like that.

9/13/2011 7:12:43 PM

Muddy Waters

I love big Racks Kirk!

9/13/2011 8:29:55 PM

Bowdon, GA

Sounds good Kirk, I will try to find some next year

9/13/2011 8:47:32 PM

Owensboro, Ky.

Allowing a kin to grow downward (flexible substructure) as well as keeping it off ground (to allow air flow) to minimize rot prblms, might be the new clue to the first 500# CC!!! A completely (sorta) rounded Melon!!! Is this possible? Would make for, lot's more Girth!!! & we awl know the #'s are in the Girth!!! Peace, Wayne

9/15/2011 2:12:46 AM

Muddy Waters

I think Kirk said he could barely feel marks from rack,I dont think it will make melon rounder.Correct me if im wrong Kirk.Its a great idea & much more affordable then delta material you could pick these racks up at any scrapyard.Im blessed with one about 8 blocks from my house!I can weigh stuff on the way to weigh-offs if I like.And dig racks out of scrap pile & offer them a buck or two for it & they usually give it to me!You can find a lot, garbage picking & humbles the drama Queen.

9/15/2011 6:29:07 AM

Trinity River Bottom

That is correct mark ..In fact you all can get a first hand look at the bottom of 1 of my melons this weekend if your going to Ky. Hope it weighs more than it did on the bathroom scales..lol

9/15/2011 9:01:18 AM

Owensboro, Ky.

Handy, I was talkin about Clutch's, neighbor's (The Ole Prof.) idea w/ pvc (flexible) instead of 2x4's or wire racks (not flexible) to allow bottom of melon to gain curvature like the top! Would add girth!!! and still keep melon off the ground!!! Peace, Wayne

9/16/2011 2:43:54 AM

Lexington,IN

Hmmm, what about a melon hammock? Made like those that are woven rope. I bet at least the melon would be more comfortable...

9/16/2011 11:50:10 AM

Reelfoot Lake, Tennessee

Upon further review...of the Ole Prof's melon patch. Noticed this AM he also makes extensive use of landscape timbers (wide side down) for braces and 1/2" pvc conduit for cross members---each conduit is held in place and separated by two (2)roofing nails driven into each outlying brace. No nails in center brace. It really looks as if he uses whatever he can scrounge (ain't nothing wrong with that). Regards, Clutch

9/16/2011 12:10:59 PM

Muddy Waters

Oh sorry PW!

9/16/2011 8:46:21 PM

Bowdon, GA

Hey Wayne I think the girth would be the same round or flat. Girth I would think is just determined by how much it is growing. I have noticed that a melon that is blocky rather than round has more girth per the ss measurement because your losing area in the corners when its round.

9/16/2011 11:15:11 PM

Muddy Waters

I like flat Melons!& round ones,& like all melons!!Variety is the spice of life.

9/17/2011 8:06:21 AM

formerly RGG

Girth my actually go down a tiny amount if the melon grew to the same weight as it otherwise would. A perfectly round girth melon would go a bit heavier against the OTT chart.Flat wide melons tend to go OTT light and melons that are close to a perfect circle for their girth go chart heavy.It's just math, as you can put more area into a perfect circle than you can into an elipse of the same perimeter.

9/17/2011 8:07:37 AM

Muddy Waters

My wide flat melons are always heavy by 5%,exception to the rule I guess!

9/17/2011 10:35:03 AM

formerly RGG

Mark, an arbitrary statement like that doesn't make sense. You mean you have never had a wide and flat melon that was more or less than 5% heavy ? That's a bit silly as we know every melon is like a snowflake in that no two are exactly the same. So you think you are immune from growing a melon that is light to the chart ? If that's true I hope we can all figure out your secret. And there is no "rule", what I stated was a tendency and I should have said melons with a better shape tend to go heavier on the charts. Sometimes good shaped melons will go light to a chart just as poor shaped melons sometimes will go heavy to the charts. There is no "rule", just tendencies.

9/18/2011 9:02:09 AM

formerly RGG

Sorry Mark, I probably should have just noted poor word choice on your part for using the word "always", or perhaps it's just an unusual experience. Maybe all your wide flat melons have "always" gone 5% heavy with no exceptions so far.If I play poker long enough eventually I will be dealt 4 aces in a row. Having several odd shaped melons in a row go 5% heavy is certainly no probability but definitely a possibility. I do believe it isn't likely to continue to be exactly the same 5%. Maybe your next one will go 6% heavy for you. :-) I apologize for being picky but your statements are often arbitrary. I don't think you meant to say : "My wide flat melons are always heavy by 5%" with no exceptions. Most of us CC growers have melons go both chart heavy and chart light. The chart can't do much more than get us into a "ballpark" weight. Sometimes the chart is right on the money and sometimes a few of us see exceptional melons that are off by 20% or more.

9/18/2011 9:57:04 AM