Watermelon small fruits

Question

hi there, I love watermelons and have been growing them for some time now.. spending a lot of money on fertilizer and more, but for some reason I can’t get a decent size watermelon the plant is really healthy large leaves big/ strong vines.. I believe my problem is pollination I don’t really have pollinators like before, yes there’s bees but just not in my area.. so I normally hand pollinate my watermelon, but they sometimes don’t get pollinated or if it does get pollinated the fruits only stay the size of a winball or even smaller… I don’t know what wrong I live in the Caribbean it’s really hot so the heat isn’t the problem. I’m pollinating the right I’m taking the male follower and rubbing all over the female followers, I look on youtube I read about melons but still can’t get a decent size fruit. I prune off extra vines so all the nutrients go only to the fruit but still the fruit stays at the size of a winball or smaller…I believe it’s poor pollination but I just don’t know why because I’m doing it the right way.. I did get a large growing melon once that’s only because a bee did the pollination.. can you give me some advice on what I should do thanks

Answer 1

There are so many different kinds of insects that pollinate watermelon, so pollination is probably not the issue. It sounds like your soil is building up too much nitrogen. This is usually indicated by unusually large, dark, or vigorous growth of leaves and vines, and small fruit, or very few flowers and fruit if any at all.

I would suggest having your soil tested, or sampling your soil with a kit. This will tell you what your soil is lacking and what it has too much of. This will take out all guesswork. Once you have your results, you can begin treatment.

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/watermelon/growing-watermelon.htm

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/watermelon/stunted-watermelon-growth.htm