tell me how to grow melons

Hi friends,please tell me how to grow melons,I have grown many kinds of vegs but never melons.Is it different ways for different kinds watermelon,cantaloupe or others.

Roger

Hi Roger....Haven't seen you in a great while. I know nothing of growing melons...but just wanted to say HELLO to you. Sweden doesn't have a long growing season does it? Someone will come along and answer your question.

Jo

Hallo Roadrunner
I am always here,when its no growing season I look here twice a day but its not often I have something to say but now I got seedscatalog from seedsavers and I saw so many kinds of melons and they looked so tasty so next year I have to grow melons.Inside unheated growinghouse we can start to grow in the beginning of may and outside in the middle of june then we can grow to middle of september or beginning of oktober.

Roger

Howdy Roger.
Sounds like with your growhouse you could have a good chance w/melons then! I'd give 'em a try.

The seed needs soil temp of around 60*F to germinate, and once the plants are up they thrive on heat. I'd start them about 3 weeks before your "setting out" time. (And have the ground already prepared so it's a bit warmer.)

If you have some cool nights I'd cover them with row cover. However, when the days are super hot you may want to be sure to ventilate the row cover so they don't get over 90*F.

They love water but don't let them get soggy...their stems easily rot.

Hope that helps get you going.

What kind of seeds did you order?

horseshoe,I have only looked at seedsavers catalog and I saw many interesting kinds there I havent ordered anything yet.Do you know if I have to cut the plant in any way? What kind do you think can be the best to grow here I want a tasty sweet and nice looking fruit.

Roger

When you ask "cut the plant in any way", are you meaning trip it to keep it from spreading all over your garden? If that's what you mean (or have a small garden) it will depend on the varieties you choose. Some have smaller growth habits than others. OR, once you have X amount of fruit on your plants then cut off any extra vine growth to preserve space in your garden as well as (hopefully) send energy into the fruit growth.

As for types of melons:
A good watermelon I like is Sugar Baby. Quick to mature, very sweet, is a round melon weighing anywhere from 5-10 pounds (altho I average them around 8).

Moon and Stars: Elongated watermelon, sweet, has beautiful rind decoration that gives it its name, i.e., yellow Moons and splashes of yellow stars. Very pretty in your garden as well as a great conversation piece when company comes over to pig out!

"Blacktail Mountain" is also a nice early maturing and sweet watermelon.

A good muskmelon/cantalope is our old-fashioned Jenny Lind. I just read on Jere Gettle's site (rareseeds.com) it was named after one of your own folks, "The Swedish Nightingale". That would be a good offer to have in your garden, eh?

There are many many kinds of so many melons to choose from. The above-mentioned site has a great selection (don't know if they ship seed out of the USA but if they don't I'm sure we can get what you need and send it. Their online catalog is also a good source for descriptions and info. Of course now, seedsavers is that as well.

Keep us posted on what you choose, or what else you would like to know.