watermelon

[Bontanist to be]

i have an over growth problem, my garden is only about 10 x 10 and my watermelon has intertwined with everything, my cantaloupe, habenaros, cucumbers and my purple viking potatoes. Can i cut the vines so that it is shorter.
And the potatoe plant, when are they read to be picked?

[Flummery]

Hi BTB and welcome. You can cut the vine back. It will limit the number of melons that set but you'd probably want to do that anyway to allow the chosen few to reach maturity and ripeness. As to the spuds, depends what they are. Earlies should mostly be up and eaten by now. You could be on with second earlies too. Maincrop want about 18 - 20 weeks from planting. When did you bang 'em in? It never hurts to lift the odd root if you think they're ready. When the halum dies back is a good sign for maincrop, but make sure it's maturity that's making them die off, not blight.