Melons are catchy to mature in my neck of the woods . The variable climate is n’t quite right for heat - loving melon to thrive . With a bit of tenacity and chance , though , anyone can win at grow garden - fresh melon – even me !
In blistering weather , melons need the stock TLC that all edible plants hunger . In nerveless locales , you might need to seat in crop protection tools like hoop burrow or a glasshouse to win at growing this fussy yield .
Keep reading to get hold out how to raise first-rate tasty melons perfect for a late summer BBQ .
Melon Varieties
melon are fruits in theCucurbitaceaefamily . This family also admit cuke , squash , and pumpkin vine . There are several character of melon vine , vary from confect - sweet cantaloupe to striking bitter varieties .
Honeydew : Honeydew melons are type of muskmelons that have smoother pelt . The flesh can be green , ashen , or orangish . They mature at a charge per unit somewhere between cantaloupes and watermelons .
Honeybrew , Lime Light , and Venus are all exceptionally tasty varieties to plant . They ripen between 90 and 95 days .
Cantaloupe : cantaloup – another eccentric of sweet melon – have orangish or sometimes green flesh with webbed pelt . They mature faster than watermelon .
Check out Ambrosia , Iriqoious , or Sweet Dream mixture . All are unbelievably flavorful and resistant to disease . They mature around 90 days .
Other sweet melon vine : Beyond honeydew and cantaloupe , the sweet melon vine family also include casaba , Crenshaw , and intercrossed melon .
essay Casaba Golden Beauty , which has monumental , spicy melon . Honeyshaw , other Crenshaw , or Mayrgold are also deserving plant .
watermelon vine : watermelon vine usually have pinkish build ( though there are varieties with orange chassis ) and involve several months to fully mature . They do well in heating system and humidness and are quite immune to pests and diseases .
For a good seedless type , seek queer of Hearts , King of Hearts , or Jack of Hearts . Picnic melon vine include Black Diamond , Allsweet , and Jubilee . If you want yellow flesh , check out Tenderbaby , Yellow Gold , or Yellow Doll .
Winter Melon : Winter melons have a fatheaded , difficult rind that makes it so they can last longer without spoiling . They mature during the summertime , but with the ripe care , you may be eating them in the winter .
These melons are also called ash gourd , wax gourd , white gourd , and winter gourd . They are much more mellow than other melon varieties and are best roasted , churn , steam , or fried . They ’re also delicious unify into sweet talker .
Planting Melon
Here ’s how to get started with grow melon , regardless of the character you choose .
Where to Plant
melon vine prefer a spot with fertile territory and lots of direct sunlight . Soil should debilitate well and not become waterlogged after a rainstorm or with too much lacrimation .
melon vine like well - drained soil with plenty of constituent matter . Melons choose territory with a pH of between 6.0 and 6.5 .
Can I Grow Melon in My Area?
All melons grow in USDA agricultiural zone 4 through 10 .
melon vine grow best in warmer growing zones but can be grown in cold-blooded climates with careful planning and the help of harvest protection tools .
It ’s all important that you nibble the right sort of melon for your growing geographical zone . If you live in a cold climate and select a melon vine variety that study long than 90 days to harvest , the flora may not have enough time to mature .
How can you raise melons if you live on somewhere with a forgetful summertime season ? Here are a few ideas :
Planting Seeds
Melon can be start indoors and transfer or directly - seeded into the garden . melon vine should be transplant and direct sown when the weather has warmed considerably . Certain varieties of melon vine are more sensitive to cold temperatures than others ( e.g. , Citrullus vulgaris ) .
lineal sow seeds about a week before your area ’s last freeze date . If the grunge still feels insensate to the speck , look before seeding . Melon seeds wo n’t germinate in soils below 70 ° F .
you could also start melon plant indoors , which allows you to get a jumpstart on the grow season . melon , however , do n’t take well to transplanting , so extra care is required to preclude psychological disorder to the antecedent .
Start seeds indoors about a month before your median last rime date . Plant in large corporation , so that you only need to transplant them once . I powerfully recommend a heat gym mat for any type of temperature - sensitive plant ( for example , melons , eggplants , peppers , etc . ) .
If transplanting indoor starts , do n’t forget to season them off before setting them out in the garden .
Once fruit start to seem , you ’ll need to provide support to prevent legal injury to the vines . Some babe melon vine varieties do n’t ask extra support , however .
Spacing
Melon plants should be placed at least two understructure aside to allow for equal growing elbow room .
Caring for Your Melon Plants
melon vine belong to the same family ascucumbers , so they have like care necessary . To get the sweetest melon , sun and warmness are exceedingly important . Any form of plant life stress reduces the redolence of harvested melon .
Watering
H2O about one to two inches per week . Always body of water from below to prevent the foliage from getting wet , which can increase the risk of exposure of disease .
tearing should be reduced once fruit set off to mature and ripen ; this chair to sweeter fruit in the end . Excess weewee at the later stage of growing can cause fruits to crack or savour bland .
Weeding
Weed diligently to assure your shoal - rout melon industrial plant have entree to all the water and nutrition they require and are n’t outpaced by contend weed plants .
Mulching
Plastic mulch is your good option with melons because it keep the soil warm and conserve moisture .
Pruning
Regular pruning is required to keep melon vine plant straight and tidy . You should also remove fruit on melon vine plants regularly so that the plant only hosts about four melon .
Problems and Solutions to Growing Melon
melon vine are plants that bug and diseases seem to care as much as human race do . Here are the most uncouth matter to watch for :
Squash Vine Borers
These little critters are the nemesis of my existence . In fact , calling them critters is far too kind . They ’re vile .
They overrun the vine of cucurbit mob plant life and destroy plants from the inside out . Prevention is the best remedy for this gadfly because once a plant is infested , it ’s usually too late to deposit the issue , and flora matter should be disposed of .
To head these bug off , position yellow sticky yap in the garden and take in for the moth adults . If you see them , place dustup covers over you plants . you could also station row covers as a preventative , but withdraw them when the plants are blossoming .
Striped Cucumber Beetles
These striped bug eat the foliation of cucurbit plants and also damage fruit and vine . Get rid of them to keep them from damaging your flora and spreading bacterial wilting and other diseases .
Use row covers to prevent cucumber beetles from infesting your plant life . Sticky traps and handpicking are in force solutions for light infestation .
Damping-off
This fear fungal contagion targets vulnerable seedlings , especially those as tender as melon industrial plant . Avoid damping off by never unmediated seeding in cool , pissed soil .
You should also be certain to use clean potting ground and sterlize your pots and dick .
Powdery Mildew
This first-rate common plant disease produce white , flour - like patch on industrial plant foliage . The good way to avoid powdery mildew is to buy disease - resistant melon variety .
you’re able to also trim away any septic leaves and spray plants with neem crude oil to slow its spread .
Bacterial Wilt
This bacterial contagion causes plants to droop and eventually die . septic plants should be toss away to forestall the spread of disease . There is no cure .
You ’ll screw you have it if you spot dark dark-green patches on leaves and eventually the works start to droop overall .
Troubleshooting
There are no fruits on my melon vine works . What ’s going on ?
check over the pH of your soil . If it ’s below 6.0 , melon industrial plant folio turn yellow , and the plant wo n’t produce fruit .
The weather may also be the culprit for modified fruit yield . undue passion or temperatures that are cold than common may affect yield circle .
If your flora develop flowers but no fruit , it may be a pollination issue . To ensure pollenation , you canhand pollinateyour plant .
My melons try nasty and flat . Help !
If your melons do n’t taste good , it may be because of poor weather condition ( which is bad luck and difficult to repair , disconsolate ! ) . Poor tasting melon may also be due to disease or picking too ahead of time .
Companion Planting for Melon
melon vine can use a boost from other plants . Here are the best companions to try on out :
Here are a few other felicitous companions for melons :
Do n’t implant these next to melon vine plant as they compete for the same food and do n’t play nice together :
Harvesting and Storing Melon
melon wo n’t all senesce at the same charge per unit , so keep an heart on the fruits and be prepared to pick them when ready .
Once peak have appeared ( assuming they get pollenate ) , fruits ripen about a calendar month or so after . In cantaloupes and muskmelons , it ’s easy to spot when a fruit is ready to beak . You ’ll notice the netting change and becomes rougher , and fruits come out yellower than before . amply ripe fruit slip away easily from the vine .
In watermelon and honeydew , fruit do n’t number aside from the vine as easily , but the airfoil of the fruit becomes rougher , duller in color , and leaves and tendril near the fruit dry out and turn brown .
melon are best eat right away but keep in the electric refrigerator for a few days ( Citrullus vulgaris and honeydew do n’t keep as long in the fridge , though ) .
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