Watermelon – rich, red and succulent – is easily one of Nigeria’s most popular, readily available and affordable fruits. It could even be your favorite fruit and sometimes you may not have all the cash to consume as much as you may wish. But stop and think a little. Think of watermelon as a business and this act could end your financial worries

Growing watermelons from seed
Watermelons are grown from seed. You may be tempted to use seed out of a melon you bought, but don't waste your time. It is almost guaranteed to be a hybrid.
Hybrid varieties are very special crosses that don't grow true to type. (You would end up growing what we call pig melons. A melon variety that's only good for feeding to the pigs...)
Buy your seed, and if possible buy an open pollinated heirloom variety. Because then you CAN use your own seed next year. The open pollinated varieties are also hardier.
You will find a lot more interesting varieties amongst the heirlooms then you cn find in the standard collection of you local gardening centre.
Start your watermelon seeds in the ground, right where they are supposed to grow. The soil should be at least 18°C for them to germinate.

see the attached file for the seed
Unless you have an extremely short growing season, do NOT start your watermelon seed in a pot or punnet. Do NOT buy watermelon seedlings from a nursery.
Watermelon seed germinates easily and quickly, within a few days. Watermelon plants outgrow the seedling stage very quickly, and they don't like transplanting. You don't save much time and you end up with a weaker plant.
Save yourself this totally needless extra work and stick your seeds in the ground, about two cm or an inch deep.
(If you have a long growing season, you may want to do several plantings, a few weeks apart.)
Watermelons need deep, rich, friable soils. To grow watermelons it helps to raise the soil (make mounds or ridges). Raising the soil has several advantages:
A mound or ridge is free draining (melons don't like wet feet). If you have heavy clay soil, definitely raise the bed.
Mounds are also good if the soil is as poor as mine. I just make a mound of good soil with lots of compost in it to grow watermelons. Sometimes I plant them in what's left over from a compost pile after I used most of the compost.
If you like growing things in neat rows, or if you want to plant a large area, grow watermelons on ridges, like the commercial growers do.
Rows should be about 2 m (6 ft) apart and the plants spaced at 30 cm/a foot apart. (Sow twice as many as you want, and keep the stronger ones.)
I prefer growing watermelons in clumps on a mound, in several different locations in the garden. (Mixing things up helps keeping pests and diseases at bay.) If you want several hills together, keep them about 2 m apart.
The mound should be about one metre square and a foot high. Then I plant about ten seeds in it, in three groups of three to four seeds each. The groups are spaced about a foot apart (30 cm).
After a few weeks I can see which watermelon plants grow the strongest, and I snip off the weaker ones, leaving only one seedling in each group. (Don't pull them up, cut them off. Or you disturb the roots of the others.)

If you have a very small garden but absolutely have to have watermelons, you can try growing them on a trellis. Really.
You need a very strong trellis, you need to train them up the trellis as they aren't climbers, and you need to support the developing fruit so the trellis holds the weight, not the plant.
It is a lot of work but it can be done..


Growing watermelon plants
Slugs and other seedling chomping critters like mulch and they like watermelons. Wait until the watermelons have outgrown the most vulnerable stage (where a slug can demolish them within minutes). Then mulch the area well.
Watermelons have very shallow roots and they need lots of moisture. The soil should never dry out, and mulch helps with that.
Mulch also keeps weeds down. Weeding could disturb the shallow roots, so it's better to not let them grow to start with.
Watermelons are VERY hungry plants. If your mulch is something like compost or aged animal manures, all the better. (Like all cucurbits, watermelons can handle fairly raw compost and manures.)
Otherwise, feed your watermelons regularly with something like pelleted chook manure or another organic fertiliser. (Ideally you should use a high nitrogen fertiliser in the early stages, but cut back on nitrogen and give them lots of potassium once they flower and fruit.)
When the vines are about two metres long, pinch out the tips. It encourages branching.
As your watermelon vines grow bigger they will start trying to take over more space. If they start to smother other things you can remind them about sticking to their area by gently moving the tips of the vines, so they grow into the right direction.

Watermelon flowering and fruiting

Watermelons grow male and female flowers on the same vine.
The smaller male flowers appear first. The female flowers are much larger (see the photo) and you can't miss them.
If you don't see any it could have several reasons: too hot, too cold, not enough water, not enough nutrients... In any way, it means the watermelon plant isn't happy.
If the plant does produce female flowers but the little fruit at the base of it shrivels up and dies, then the flowers are not getting pollinated.
Watermelon flowers are insect pollinated. If you suspect the insects aren't doing their job, you can do it yourself, just to be sure.
Hand pollination is best done early in the morning. Pull off a few male flowers and remove the flower petals. Then brush the pollen laden stamen against the stigma in the centre of the female flower, so the pollen sticks to it. Easy.

Producing water melon fruits locally in Nigeria:


“In most Northern states of Nigeria, Watermelons are grown throughout the year owing to functional irrigation system, Here in the southern parts of

Nigeria especially in Edo state, we’ve been able to devise a means of producing watermelon fruits without using any crude implement like cutlass or hoe from planting to harvesting. We only utilize chemicals even during weeding.

We’re trying to revolutionize the production process which is a lot easier for whoever wants to go into producing these fruits; especially the Nigerian youths.
It takes approximately 70 – 90 days for planting and harvesting watermelon depending on the viability of the hybrid seeds used.

Harvesting watermelons
Telling when a watermelon is ripe is an art. You will get better at it with practice.
The first sign to look for is the curly tendril at the stem. because of space continue the rest of the article at

http://livespring4real..com.ng/2015/09/make-your-first-million-naira-in-80days.html#more

where you learn and watch practical video
that will show you step by step processes in:
planting, growing and harvesting your giant watermelon and make your first million in less than 3months.

Informative

wahles:
Informative

glad to hear.

Great post - brief and concise.

How and where does one get good and viable hybrid watermelon seeds to buy and how much does one get it?

Jenissy:
How and where does one get good and viable hybrid watermelon seeds to buy and how much does one get it?

Generally, 500Grs hybrid watermelon seeds for planting cost between M4, 000 – N7, 000 depending on your location”
you can get it in most Northern states of Nigeria and in the southern parts of

Nigeria especially in Edo state.

Bonj:
Great post - brief and concise.

thanks for the compliment.

miraakas123:


Generally, 500Grs hybrid watermelon seeds for planting cost between M4, 000 – N7, 000 depending on your location”
you can get it in most Northern states of Nigeria and in the southern parts of

Nigeria especially in Edo state.

Pls can I have your contact? I am in Edo. Thanks.

pls can you recommend any potassium fertilizer available

Pls join the Watermelon Cucumber whatsapp Arena to participate in the conference organised by the Watermelon Cucumber Association on 18 March 2017 in Lagos. Whatsapp or text 07032115749

Good evening house.
I trust you're already making plans to attend the first ever Conference on Watermelon & Cucumber at Centre for Management Development, CMD Rd, Magodo, Lagos on 18 March, 2017.

The purpose of this conference is to bring together those involved in cucurbits so we can share information on all aspects of cucurbit research, development production and marketing. We invite you to join us for this in-depth conference on exploring the ever-changing face of cucurbit production.

Theme: "Harnessing the Wealth Opportunities of Growing Watermelons & Cucumbers in Nigeria"

Educational Session Topics:
1. Watermelon Cultivation and Management for
Maximum Production
2. Management & Control of Insects and Diseases in cucurbits
3. Maximizing Yield in Cucumber Through Irrigation and Nutrient Management
4. Roles of Farmers Organization in Produce Marketing
5. Farm Account, Agronomy & Resource Magmt
6. Group discussion session

If you are interested in cucurbits such as cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, gourds, squash, watermelons or exotic species, you should attend this conference. We are expecting more than 100 individuals in attendance, comprising of academicians and students, commercial plant breeders and other scientists, growers, marketers, bankers and industry representatives.

Participation fee is N5,000 only payable to: Ayofolami Nig Co
Zenith Bank 1012464004. Pls inform admin of your payment.

Note: The conference is not a moneymaking event. The N5,000 participating fee is cover expenses such as the venue, audio equipment, guest speakers, cucumber / watermrlon break, lunch, educational materials, promotion, etc.

You have the opportunity to become a member of the Watermelon Cucumber Association of Nigeria.

Guest speakers include Jasper, Ayokunle Ore, NIHORT researchers, etc

This is our joint events

See you in Lagos!

Pls how much is likely to setup an acre of watermelon farm.Thanks.

For the conference on watermelons and cucumbers pls pay to Zenith Bank 1012464004 Ayofolami Nig. Co. Tnx



Call 07032115749

"If you want to be incrementally better: Be competitive. (But) If you want to be exponentially better: Be cooperative" With a few words, this quote says almost all that need to be said about the benefits of cooperation and tacitly surmises that where competition ends, cooperation begins.

For the Watermelon Cucumber Stakeholders Association of Nigeria, the reality that working together brings more success both individually and collectively have instructed the forming of the Association.  The Association meets at CMD, Magodo, Lagos on Saturday 19th August 2017 from 9am. Please be there and come with your friends. Admission is free to members but N2k to non members. We will discuss about where we are coming from; where we are, detailing our milestone and where we are going. We will also discuss about our working together in clusters, the tour to Shanghai Farm, Porto Novo, and many more. Our Special Guest Speaker will put us through the secret success in Vegetables Farming such as in Ugu, melons, cucumber, Tomato, shoko, okro etc, including the hydroponics method of farming. We are also expecting Keynote Addresses by top officials from the Lagos State Ministry of Agric and if we are lucky, from the Ogun-Osun River Basin Authority. What are you waiting for? You just have to be there��‍♀��‍♀������