Spacing questions

OK - so I have a new yard and can lay out the garden right this time! Yea.. I hope.. Ok I have lots of melons, pumpkins, and squash I am wanting to grow next year can you tell me a few things -

1. Will these inbreed with each other or can I plant melons and pumpkins or squash near each other?

2. How far apart do I need to plant the melons and such so they will not inner breed with the ones they can (like two melons or such.. )

Any great tips on melons, pumpkins, watermelons, and squash would be great also - I have been growing them for several years but real hints and tips always help!

Thanks Mitch

Mitch, unless you are planning on saving seeds from your squash and melons you don't need to worry about crossing.

Congrats on your new yard/garden!

Shoe

Mitch, I planted lopes and melons near each other and ended up with waterlopes that could not be eaten. I would just spread them out as much as possible, maybe put them at the corners with other veggies in between, also space the sowing out by about 10 days each, that may help.

The different species do not cross. watermelons only cross with with Citrullus lanatus, melons only cross with Cucumis melo, squash only cross within species ( there are 4 species of squash (Cucurbita pepo, C. moschata, C. maxima, C. mixta) which only cross within species, ie a C. pepo ( example Acorn) will not cross with a C. moshata ( example Butternut) As Shoe stated even crosses within species do not show up until the second generation so unless you are saving seeds, there is no need to worry about cross pollination. Susan had some other problem. Cross polination only shows in the seeds the first year. If they did cross, you would have to put them about a half mile apart to prevent it or bag and hand pollinate which most seed savers do.

Farmer - thank you will give it a try and see what I can do, I was given some rather unique seeds from the USDA and just want to make sure that I can grow them again seeing a lot of these I have never seen for sale anywhere.

Will take it all in and plant with that in mind - thank you! Mitch

Sorry. I must sound pretty stupid to some people, at least that is how I feel now. Think I will just keep quiet.

Sue, that is how we learn. I have heard cucalope stories all my life and I am an old man. They are more prevalent than Jack a lope stories. I learned the hard way by growing all kinds of vegetables. Even today I don't believe anything I am told or read until I try it myself. There are lots of conditions that make melons inedible and it is pretty common to assume that cross pollination is the culprit, until one has actually tried to cross pollinate them.

That was my experience just thought I would pass it on, I have also read in books that cukes and squash should not be planted side by side, but I only read that, havn't experienced it personally. I only had the melon problem, lost both lopes and watermelons, they were awful, yuk!

I usually plant cantaloupes, honeydews, Crenshaws and watermelons side by side with no problems. You may want to try it again. Watermelons in particular get hard white hearts with an excess of nitrogen. Cantaloupes are really particular about soil and climatic conditions. While cultivar is the most important factor, sometimes even a good one will be tasteless.

Um, Since we're having this discussion, can you tell me what success I might or might not have with a plan I'm formulating? I currently have two above ground boxes side-by-side, roughly 5' by 3". They have beets growing in them now. My plan is that when the beets are harvested in the next few months (April? May? -- this is my first time....) I want to sow my Bush Sugar Baby watermelon seeds in the two boxes. They only have four 6" high walls and sit directly on the soil. They are filled with compost, potting mix and Black Kow composted manure. Very loose, rich medium. I'm thinking that once they sprout, the vines can just sprawl over the boxes onto the ground and continue growing and doing whatever it is watermelons do to grow. The melons would rest on the ground, which is mostly grass. Here are some questions I have:

How much sunshine do they need?
Do I need to keep the melons off the ground?
Will the various wildlife I encounter on a regular basis find watermelons appealing?
When should I sow the seeds to harvest the melons by the 4th of July picnic?

Please advise, and offer any comments you think might help. Thanks!

FARMERDILL ROCKS!!!! (He knows why...)

Linda

Bush Sugar does not have large vines, so they will not run much past your box boundaries. On the the other hand they are not especially early, so to be safe you would need to plant them around April 15 -25. Watermelons are usually ok on the ground altho sometimes voles come up underneath and destroy them. Deer, groundhogs, raccoons, crows, love watermelon.

How much sunshine?....9 hours. or more for best results.

Do I need to keep the melons off the ground?........watermelons are fine on the ground but cantaloupes need to be either rotated or setting on something when they are nearing maturity.....Tall grass in the vines isn't good.

Wildlife? Cantaloupes when ripe are more appealing than watermelons to wildlife. Kind of hard to predict what wildlife might do. I haven't had much trouble there.

When should I sow seeds for 4th of July? About the early part of April. or so. is my guess.