Watermelon plant trouble, please help!!!?

I have a watermelon plant in my garden, and every vine has a few watermelons growing on it. But my watermelons keep dying and i dont know whats wrong. I first noticed this when 3 of my watermelon plants became black and shrivled up, then they completly fell off their vines. Now i saw another one and this is what it looked like, right below the flower is were the watermelon grows and the flower eventualy dies and the watermelon keeps going then these black lines start showing up on the watermelon and their all coming from were the flower was, so i picked off the watermelon knowing that it would end up like the others, i opened the watermelon i picked off and inside it was all black. I dont know whats happening, i water my plants really well every night and i change the soil every 3 months. I live in an area were its gets well over 105 everyday so is it the heat thats getting to my watermelon plant or what is it. please help.

Watermelon plant trouble, please help!!!?
I think you answered your own question. You are cooking them......not you, the weather.



First of all, this early drop could be they were never totally pollinated and blast whenever stress is put on them. The pollen could have been too dry to successfully pollinate the eggs in the ovary.



Second, how are you watering daily? Drip irrigation or hose? You could get by daily with drip but hose might be putting down too much water and the fruits are rotting.



Third, if you don't have a mulch over the soil, the roots are baking under the sun and eat. Get a mulch down to cool the soil giving the roots a chance to grow and work properly. Also it will help retain soil moisture.



Fourth........105 is a bit hot for watermelon. With a mulch underneath and a chance for the foliage to partially bury itself in the straw or whatever, you stand a better chance at getting a crop.



Finally.........do you have squash bugs? Those suckers (literally) can suck the life juices right out of a vine and developing fruit.
Reply:Too much water! Wait until you see the leaves begin to wilt a little, then water. If you are worried about temps being too high then give it a bit of shade during the afternoon.
Reply:I've never seen what you describe with any watermelons that I have grown. I don't think that the other answers specifically target what your problem is. You seem to be doing everything right. Watermelons should tolerate 105 degree heat, although if it is constant and/or you are in the desert, the air might be too dry for them. The black lines and black goo in the unformed watermelon fruit could be a fungus or virus. I would take one to your local nursery or agricultural station (local college or university) for analysis. The latter can be very helpful and will probably know right away.



By the way, avoid buying watermelon plants from nurseries or home improvement stores. It's much better to raise garden watermelons from seed. They tend to be more healthy because they haven't been in contact with thousands of other plants that might be infected in getting to the store.



Hope that helps.
Reply:Is the watermelon plant in the ground or in a pot? Since watermelons have a moderately deep root system they probably don't need to be watered everyday even if it is very warm. You want to water deep, so the roots will grow deeper. Watering everyday really washes a lot of the things out of the soil which the watermelon needs. To retain water you could cover the area around the base of the plant with white plastic foil, black plastic could cause the soil to get too hot, especially in 100 degree weather. If the vines are doing well, but the fruit is not they might be getting too much nitrogen. Hope this helps!

practice dance shoes