# water melon patch



## DA REEL DADDY (Jun 7, 2005)

I have about an acre land that I am not using. I was wondering how many melons and how tough it would be to to plant and grow melons on it. I was thinking if there would be enough to sell for a profit? 

Any thoughts.


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

From just growing them in my garden, I'd say it won't be easy to make a profit. The critters get most of mine before I can...but if you have a way to protect them you might have a better chance.


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## hog_down (Jan 11, 2010)

What kind of soil so you have?


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## Ready.Fire.Aim (Sep 22, 2009)

Do you have any equipment or experience with large gardens? 

I suggest the first thing you develop is a marketing and business plan. Where will you sell, who will sell them, who will do the work-picking, weeding, watering,. 
- in a year like this one or 2011 you will need irrigation
- factor in losses from wild hogs, raccoons, and people. 
- what kind of melons will you grow so that you can compete against cheap melons grown commercially.

Many people will expect your produce to be cheaper than HEB. You can only make serious money if you can tap into a local farmers market that has buyers that will pay more for quality.


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## w_r_ranch (Jan 14, 2005)

Watermelons don't require much water once they're set. They will grow in a desert... literally. If it rains or you water them, they will split. Here are a couple, 38#s & 43#s... just a sample from our patch.

You will need to put up a fence, preferably a high fence, or you find out why in short order.


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## DA REEL DADDY (Jun 7, 2005)

I don't have any equipment. I have been thinking about starting a garden and was thinking about buying. As far as soil I would say it is about 2 foot o of black gumbo and sand under that.I am about 1/2 mile of the Brazos River in Fort bend county.

I should say I knew I would have to buy some type of tractor or tiller and was not worrying about that when I asking about profitable.


I was wandering about how many melons would grow on an acre?


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## Law Dog (Jul 27, 2010)

Nice Melon, w_r_ranch!


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## w_r_ranch (Jan 14, 2005)

Thanks LD.

Daddy, you have to understand that 'life in agriculture' has no absolutes because of the sheer number of variables from year to year. I you can't accept that, you are looking at the wrong 'investment' of both your time & money.

If it was an easy/sure thing, everybody would be doing it. Go price a good tractor & the implements... & then figure in your time & other expenses.


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## DA REEL DADDY (Jun 7, 2005)

I knew the question was real vague. Don't think I was asking to supplement my income because I was not. I was thinking more of a project hobby thing so was not looking to reimburse my time. My neighbor was an EXCELLENT gardener before he past away. He had a verrrry large garden with several vegetables and melons in. I was thinking of starting a garden as well and was just kicking the idea if I did to have a large water melon patch too and possibly sell some melons to help cover any expenses on the project, not go on a cruise with.

I hope this does not sound arrogant it was something to consider.

Sounds like start on a small garden and punt on the melon patch thing.

Thanks H.

BTW GREAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT looking melon!!!!!!



w_r_ranch said:


> Thanks LD.
> 
> Daddy, you have to understand that 'life in agriculture' has no absolutes because of the sheer number of variables from year to year. I you can't accept that, you are looking at the wrong 'investment' of both your time & money.
> 
> If it was an easy/sure thing, everybody would be doing it. Go price a good tractor & the implements... & then figure in your time & other expenses.


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## kyle2601 (Oct 23, 2008)

I think everybody has missed the question from what I am seeing. To give you a ball park I would say 2-3 melons per plant and on one acre you can plant a lot of melons. You are going to have more than you can handle. As far as getting them sold, you should not have a problem if you don't mind hitting the farmers market, you might check with frobergs in Alvin because I know they do not grow all their veggies they sell. I think they buy from local farmers. As far as how many you can save from deer and other animals is a totally different aspect of the operation. Most farmers do not have high fence or paneling to go around their crops but they also plant 40+ acres at a time with bigger yields per acre. 
I know a guy in South Texas who is the biggest seller of watermelons in North America. His operation spans all over the US and South America. He came up with a way to plant earlier than anybody else and have huge yields on his fields and getting to market before others. He has made millions. Now everybody else is following suit and have leveled out the playing field. For the most part it is not economical to do what he does on a small scale unless you just don't care about the cost. But if you are running a multi million dollar operation and it is your business and livelihood then you spend the bucks and reap the benefits.

He sets up his rows traditionally and then he lays out his 1/4" irrigation lines down each row. He then covers each row in Black weed block and plants. This does two things, keeps the weeds out and also keeps soil warmer in cooler weather which the seeds thrive in and germinate faster. Now his irrigation is a different story. I am not sure how much watering he does but I know it is set when he covers the rows. This is his website and he has some pictures but not a lot of info on the webpage. Guess they are to busy growing and not enough time surfing. 
http://www.bordersmelon.com/


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## kyle2601 (Oct 23, 2008)

He also rotates crops on each field every year with 1015 onions. I used to always drive out to the fields on the way back from work and get me a few fresh onions. They were so sweet and great for onion rings.


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## Meadowlark (Jul 19, 2008)

I did a little web surfing to try to find some data on yields per acre. The only thing I found was from Oklahoma where they say the average yield is 8 tons per acre. That's a lot of melons.


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## RAYSOR (Apr 26, 2007)

w_r_ranch said:


> Watermelons don't require much water once they're set. They will grow in a desert... literally. If it rains or you water them, they will split. Here are a couple, 38#s & 43#s... just a sample from our patch.
> 
> You will need to put up a fence, preferably a high fence, or you find out why in short order.


Great looking melon

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD


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## DA REEL DADDY (Jun 7, 2005)

Meadowlark said:


> I did a little web surfing to try to find some data on yields per acre. The only thing I found was from Oklahoma where they say the average yield is 8 tons per acre. That's a lot of melons.


Lol that is about close to what I figured or I think it was around four thousand pounds.

I was wondering if it was that much. I will give it some thought and do some more research and make a decision.

I was just kind of thinking about selling out of the back of my truck. You know old school.


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