Melons in Massachusetts?

This was the first year I tried to grow melons in my veggie garden. Alas, I got only a few fruits. My question is: Is it just too cold here in eastern Massachusetts (zone 6 or 6a)?

If other people have success with melons in Mass, then I'll try again. (I can think of at least 2 other factors to change.) However, if you're not having success here, then I'll use my limited space for something else.

(I know it's still December, but I'm already deep in seed-catalog- and planning-mode.)

Cheers,
Shayna

Good for you that you had a few fruits. I used to grow great melons in the city (zone 7b) but now have the garden in the country (zone 7a) where it is appreciably cooler. They have not done well there though people grow them. My problem is they needed to be planted late enough that by the right planting time the garden is crowded. So I've try to make space in the early planning and planting and then they flag 'cause it's too cool. They really need to go in with peppers and not tomatoes. My city melons spilled out of the beds, over the curbs, and into the street of our little urban lot. They could be planted with the tomatoes. Did you grow your melons from seed? Were they in ground, in a raised bed or in a container? They need a lot of heat throughout their growing season and a lot of water as the fruits set and mature. What are you thinking in regards to seed options. lol

You may get more input if you post this in the vegetable forum. There are folks over who grow melons in the north. Certainly you can grow cantaloupes by starting with Early maturing varieties like Minnesota Midget, Alaska, fast break etc. Planting on black plastic helps with the maturity aspect. Other types of melons are more problematic.

Very good point, Dill.

Thanks, Maypop and Dill. Wow, if you had trouble in Georgia....
Yup, I'm planting from seed, but no, I didn't use plain-old cantaloupe seed. I looked for more exotic types. I will heed your advice and ask the veggie folks, too.

Well, I had no problem in Atlanta. Georgians grow lots of melons but they are more commonly grown further south. It's a big state with a varied topography. N. GA growers might grow some for the kitchen garden. I've never seen serious melons grown up in N. GA. though. Farmer Dill's suggestion of finding the right variety would be very important to those of us with less than ideal melon climates.

Keep in mind that the areas for commercially growing melons (or most any kind of fruit or vegetable, for that matter) are determined at least as much by the relative costs as by the quality of the produce. Melon growing country (from a commercial standpoint) is preferably relatively flat (for easier cultivation, irrigation and harvesting using large machinery), has light sandy soils that heat up quickly in the spring and which drain well during periods of heavy rain, and (more important than most people suspect) is located near a packing house that acts as a hub for collection and distribution.

There is no rule that says a melon grown in a well-tended soil rich in compost and hand-watered won't be as far superior to any store-bought melon as a luscious, REALLY-vine-ripened tomato would be under the same circumstances.

-Rich