King Winter watermelon

I first grew the King Winter watermelon in 2016, watered well without black plastic or any kind of mulch. It got a fair amount of small-ish fruits, with dull skin. the taste was like watermelon Jolly Ranchers. The seeds were black. I grew it again in 2017, with drought conditions, unmulched, without black plastic, with similar results. I didn't grow it in 2018. This year (2019), I grew it with black plastic with western shade. I grew seeds saved in 2017, and seeds from the original seed packet, this year. The rind has more prominent stripes than Navajo Winter. In 2016 and 2017, the rind was almost white.

The rinds look glossier/waxier and greener, this year, for fruits from both seed sources, which makes me think maybe warmer soil helps the rinds to be glossier.

I just opened a fruit (from seed from the original seed packet) and ate it. It was over-ripe and not surprisingly, didn't have the watermelon Jolly Rancher taste. The center was mushy and on the sides was firm. The seeds look larger, this year, but are black as usual. A lot of seeds were stuck together (but I separated them in my mouth).

Here are pictures of it:



This is a large spoon (I prefer regular spoons, but large spoons are the only available ones …):