Thanks to all who responded to my question about fertilizer ratios and frequency. But the question was a two-parter and I had no response to the second part. How much water do these plants need? Rain is usually abundant here in western Washington but we're headed into our drier part of the year and I'd like to know how thirsty these plants get. If daytime temps are in the mid 70's and there is no rain for a week or so how much and how often should I water them? I have 2 plants growing from the same mound with a soaker hose buried under the mound. ( I know I'm not supposed to grow them together like that but space limitations required it and I didn't want them self pollinating.) Temps got into the 80's this past weekend and I had 1 blowout on a fruit that was pollinated July 7 that was about 24" in circumference :( I backed off on the fertilizer but I'm reluctant to back off on water. They had been getting about 25-30 gal a day. I turned it up on Friday anticipating the heat but have been unable to gauge the flow so far. The soil is high in organic matter and holds water pretty well. So how much is too much? I know that most of their weight is water and they use a lot. I could tell last year when I gave too little and the plant wilted. This year I'm growing in a county pea patch garden and I can't check it on a daily basis, the plants are being watered from a pair of 30 gallon barrels that are hooked up to the buried soaker hose. I've read they'll take anywhere from 100 to 1000 gallons of water a day. Both amounts seem excessive and with that much variation I don't know which source to believe. Thanks again for the help. Chris Michalec