Melons... VERY conflicting information!

I have never lived in a climate warm enough to really grow melons until now. I have always thought that melons are indigenous to sub-saharan Africa and therefore like a sandy relatively infertile soil and ample water only during leaf and vine development, then water sparingly at the end of fruit development. I am preparing a rather large melon bed and did some more research just to read up on varietal differences. I am finding references to heavily amended soil and lots of water!?

Am i finding bad info, because heavily amended soil and ample water are the norm for most veggies?
Or was i wrong the first time?

ACK!

I have put a lot of work into many varieties and many plants, i don't want to mess this up. There must be some melon expert out there who has grown lots of melons successfully and not just read a ton of info like me. I have a big patch ready for my melons, i have the means to amend heavily, just wasn't planning to do it. Should i?

Help please!

edited for clarity :)

This message was edited May 26, 2006 8:56 AM

I grow melons in raised beds in zone 5a, in Iowa. I cannot comment too much on the soil amendment part because since my beds are raised, they are mostly compost mixed with topsoil and such, so definitely "amended" but my soil of my yard is such heavy clay that I don't think I can grow much without amendments.

However, on the matter of watering, I can say that my melon bed definitely needs watering on a regular basis through the summer, every 2-3 days if it doesn't rain, and that if I do not water them, they wilt, a lot, and the baby melons fall off without developing, and the blooms fall off too. This does not achieve my objectives! I think that melons are largely a water-based fruit, I mean with a higher water content than many fruits, so I believe for them to grow properly and achieve good size, they do need regular watering beyond the leaf development stage.

Perhaps the indigenous-to-sub-Saharan-Africa sort of varieties are different from the commercially available hybrids and/or open pollinated varieties we find here in the US. If you have obtained special seeds of those other varieties, maybe they do not need as much water. I can only tell you that the cultivars I have grown certainly need good amounts of water, including most muskmelons (Ambrosia, charentais, noir de carmes), honeydew melons, and of course, watermelons.

Hope this helps, I'm sure others will comment also.
CMox

CMox, thanks for the info. What i had read was withholding water toward the end of fruit development to get sweeter less "watery" fruit. Do you do this? In theory it makes sense to me...

Good thread my friend. I, too, am confused at all the differing info I'm getting from people.

BTW, how's your germination been on your beans?

We put our melon plants out yesterday.
They go into nice fertile soil, mulched with plastic, usually clear, but this year we are trying green also. We plant them into a well watered hole, then stand back & watch them grow.
We normally get timely rains, & the plastic keeps soil from drying. We should have melons to eat about August 15.
Bernie

Do you start your seeds indoor, or direct seed?

I had read that also, about holding back water as the fruit ripen, now that you mention it, although I have not specifically done it. Mine are always very sweet, much sweeter than the melons from the supermarket. I would say though, that there are always melons in different stages on the vine, so hard to decide whether to withhold to keep the large ones sweeter, or water to help the little ones grow. I have found the last couple of summers in Iowa to be very lacking in rain, generally, so I think I am perhaps forced to water them more frequently than others who have more rain. This, coupled with the fact that they are in raised beds (i.e. drain more quickly, soil is warmer due to being raised up) might also contribute to faster drying. It certainly can't hurt to experiment a little!

Your edit does help clarify! I was worried you were going to have them germinate and make a couple of leaves and then stop watering! But being in a place called "high desert" makes me think that you're in a very dry spot, which may be misleading, and since I know very little about your area, maybe you get enough rain that you won't have to do any supplemental watering.

Also, with regard to pests, sometimes the squash vine borer will be interested in my melons, so I am trying this year to wrap the base of the stem in foil, which I understand is very effective in preventing egg laying and thus, less dead melons!

Good information, thanks for the tip! There is soooo much to learn. Every year I learn how much I DON'T know!

Hello Sequee,
My first round of beans are germinating well, how bout yours? Did your eggplants ever come up?

CMox, almost no rain at all in the summer here. :(

Tombaak - I use a drip irrigation type system in the raised beds - works well, delivers the water to the roots and also is low flow, as opposed to watering a whole lot of other stuff you don't really need to water. It might also work well for your melon bed and watering needs. Just a thought!

I have soaker hoses and they work wonders. I lace them through the raised bed and I can just put the faucet on low when I go to bed and turn it off when I wake up. Everything is moist without being too wet, and it's very inexpensive!

Some of the long beans seem to be a little slow-going. Or maybe I'm just too anxious! My eggplant and peppers have been a disapointment this year, but I do think I will have enough to get a decent showing. Okra is just NOT working for me at all. I think I may have started them too darned early, so I'm trying (yet) again! MUST HAVE OKRA!!!

Looking forward to more of your photos. I am so blown away with what you guys have done!

We use drip for EVERYTHING. We are on a well and don't have great water pressure, add desert to that and drip is the only way to go. We do have a few soaker hoses too, but the idea is the same.

I did really well with the peppers almost 100% a bit lower with the eggplant, but still completely acceptable, i only started the beens a few weeks ago. My longs are coming up nicely, i did manage to rot an earlier batch of bush beans i started. Jumped the gun. LOL

I have never grown okra, i have eaten it a few times, but "out west here, we don't eat much okra" gotta read that with your best spaghetti western accent.

We should have the lattice up this weekend. I'll take more pictures then.

My germination rate has been great indoor, but my direct seeding has been dismal. I'm wondering if I'm getting a little "help" out there in the gardens...

Tom, part of the problem is that "melons" is a somewhat ambigious term. Yes watermelons did originate in the subsahara and are very drought resistant. Cantalopes on the other hand, require almost as much water as a cucumber. I usually have to irrigate cantaloupes but almost never watermelons. Spanish melons and some Asian melons fall in between. It never hurts to amend soil, but watermelons dislike clay soils. Cantaloupes will do ok on clay soils. Cantaloupes also like higher soil fertility. Pictures of cultivars that I have grown in past two years can be found in Plantfiles

Squirrels, birds, raccoons?

FarmerDill, thank you very much for the information! I have 10 yards of very well aged sheep manure, i think i'll till some into the soil before i plant. I 'll keep the watermelon separate in their own rows, and give it a go.

Do you withhold water at the end?

Tom, being in the high desert, does it real cool at night ? Melons don't like cold temperatures. They grow like crazy when overnights are in the 70's or higher. I've seen watermelon vines add about a foot a day. Slows right down if a cold front shows up.
I wish you good melon luck!
Bernie

Bernie, it does cool off at nigh, but not enough for my taste. LOL
Because we are higher up in altitude (4300) we don't get really chilly nights... usually.

Tom, I irrigate cantaloupe when the vines wilt to the point that melons are exposed to sun burn. I add an inch of water and hold off till they wilt down again. Only in extreme circumstances do I irrigate before melons begin to form. If they go into survival mode early, and send thier roots deep into the soil, they are a lot more tolerant of Mother Nature. A big problem with frequent watering is that it encourages a shallow root system. The plant is then much more subject to vagaries in Weather. I last irrigated watermelons about 6 years ago during the second year of a stage 4 drought. Excess water around ripening time does decrease the concentration of sugars. But I rarely have the problem unless, a couple of early hurricanes march in back to back. I have extremely well drained soil.

One thing is for sure....watermelons and cantaloupes cannot tolerate cold and wet weather before they are well established. That has been painfully reconfirmed again to me this year. I know that amending to a sandy soil mix is very helpful for consistant results. I have raised some good melons without sand, but it is much better with sandy soil.

I do not find melons to be primarily so deeply rooted for me. I have cleaned up the melon areas several times including the roots and find they go mostly horizonal in the top 6 inches. Perhaps in dry and deeply sandy soils, they might dig deeper.

As for watering.....after they begin to grow I find they like plenty of water...period. Also I feed them well.

I find that in my area that nice transplants are necessary to get July and August melons. Otherwise you may get something in September. Hey, I love melons in hot weather and don't like them in cold weather....same for tomatoes!!

I have posted pictures of my melon plants that I grow in earthboxes. In EBs they have a supply of water at the base of the box and can use it at anytime. The EB has a cover so that when it rains the water just rolls off and what excess water does go in the box is drained out the overflow tube. I have never grown, I should say "seriously grown" melons in EBs before so we will see the outcome... The white spots you see are Ortho Garden Disease Control to prevent mold as we have had a lot of rain and humidity. I should have taken the pictures first but ........ Oh! This is a Georgia Rattlesnake watermelon.

This message was edited May 28, 2006 9:43 PM

Very interesting foliage. Can't wait to get your report on the flavor.

I've had no luck with melons in the past - got a few Early Dew to grow at work one year, and last we got a couple of Canteloupe and Sugar Bbaies (but I'm sure one can expect more than 2 fruits per, so I'm counting on more this year!!!) This year I planted seeds for Tiger, Charentais, Orangeglo, Prescott Fond Blanc, and 2 others that I can't remember. If they all take, I will come home one evening and find that the melon "patch" has taken over my lawn and garden! LOL! (I could live with the lawn part...)

The best I ever had Canteloupes do was when I planted them with my peas. It wasn't planned, I just had some room in the pea bed and thought.. hmm guess I'll stick some more canteloupes there.

I had another bed of canteloupes all by themselves that I had planted about 2 weeks earlier. Well the canteloupe plant in with the peas grew huge and fruited before the other earlier bed. That one hill outproduced the multiple hills in the other bed. I can only assume it was due to the nitrogen fixing of the peas