Has anyone grown Ali Baba watermelons?

[gretzky99]

Just wondering what experiences have been with this heirloom, as it looks very interesting. I have wonderful soil for watermelons, which actually can be a problem, believe it or not. Yes, my vines tend to outgrow my garden! Last year my moon and stars vines took over 2/3's of my garden. I know, what a complaint to have, eh? "My watermelons grow TOO much *whine*" So I'm wondering just how vigorous the Ali Baba vines are and how tender they are...I had to continually chop off the ends of my moon and stars this past year, and they did just fine. (Redirecting them wasn't an option at that point...they were already crawling all over each other in a 30x40 foot area!) Thanks in advance for any information!

[Daveoo8]

I grow a few Ali baba watermelons, last summer ,here in West virgina,,, first time trying them,, & i was pleased with them ,, they do vine a lot & take a lot of space,, & it seemed to take forever for them to ripen, planted them in late may & it was labor day before they got ripe,, picked the first one in aug, & it wasnt even close to being ripe,,,, great taste , nice melon,, just a really long wait ......