melons

[tracie]

Has anybody had any experience in growing melons in a pollytunnel.

We have just errected one and its too late for this year but I would like to try next year and if anybodys got any advise I would be very interested.

Thanks

Tracie

[strawberry tart]

Hello Tracy, Ive grown melons in a tunnel with reasonable success, in fact ive not long planted mine out (about a week ago) so if you can get some plants i feel there is still time. I dont do anything elaborate just let them go like trailing marrows. placing tile or the like under the fruits when they set. Dont expect too much 3 fruits per plant is good for me and theyre not footballs but enough for one and really tasty. One i have had good results with is Unwins "no name" from which i keep my own seed and are the ones Ive just planted out. Best of luck.

[strawberry tart]

Tks for your P.M. Tracie best of luck next year. S.T.

[Tigger]

That's pretty much how I grow them, although I have tried trailing them up a net in the polytunnel.

They are definitely worth growing for taste!

[Colin_M]

I'd appreciate some advice too.

I've tried growing melons in my greenhouse for the last 2 years. They're generally in pots, with the plants trailing around the staging.

Each time, the plants seem to grow quite well, have quite a few flowers and one or more generally turns into a fruit. However the plants seem to stay fairly "weedy" and the fruit never gets bigger than a tennis ball. Sorry, I can't remember the varieties.

I'm determine to try again this summer. I was going to put 1 of my 2 Cantaloup plants in the last spare growbag space and the other in the biggest pot I can find.

Any other suggestions?

Colin

[Johnboy]

Hi Colin,
I have found Melons to be very hungry plants and the root structure is quite large so I feel that growing in pots may well be your problem. They have to be well moist at the base of the plant and the trails, especially those with fruit, dry.
I have grown then in the tunnels in the actual soil and have had some very good Cantaloupe Varieties which are at least equal in size to the supermarket
size ones but oh so much more flavoursome. The reason is because of the state of ripeness when cutting. Cutting being the operative word as the last ones I remember had to be sawn off the plant.
I have also grown the seeds saved from a Galia and although an F1 variety I did it just to see what the result would be and to me it actually turned out better than the parent and exceedingly prolific.
JB.

[Colin_M]

I feel that growing in pots may well be your problem.

Thanks JB. Sadly I have no real soil in my greenhouse (all paved) so my options are:
- Continue with a double growbag for one and a pot around 14" deep for the other, or
- Plant outside & rig up some sort of cover.

I tried the latter with watermelons a few years ago, without great success (probably didn't attend to the watering enough).

Colin

[Johnboy]

Hi Colin,
I have a friend that has an especially large cold Frame and he grows wonderful Melons so that's a good possibility.
I have never found Water Melons to have any real taste so have never bothered with them.
When I was growing Melons I had the choice of 6x60'x30' tunnels all benched out for plant raising with earth floors only covered with ground fabric so I had a very slight edge on you. Sadly they lay empty now! I simply pulled the floor covering back wapped in half a dozen Melons and simply let them grow under the benches. I think that they appreciated the heat but more important the shade.
At any rate the best of luck with your efforts whatever you decide to do.
JB.

[Tigger]

I grow mine in growbags. As with tomatoes, I put one bag on top of another to get a depth of soil (cutting through the plastic - obviously!), but I only put 2 melon plants in (rather than 3 tomato plants). Once the fruit are established, I stop the runners and give them a liquid feed at least once a week.

[Colin_M]

I put one bag on top of another to get a depth of soil (cutting through the plastic - obviously!)

Thanks Tigger. I've done the same with my growbags.

Each time I attempt this, the air in the greenhouse turns blue because I find it so fiddly (or end up with my shoes full of compost ).

Do you have a cunning technique you use to do this?


Colin

[Tigger]

Yes. Put the first grow bag into place and cut a large rectangle out of the top. Get your top bag and balance it on the long side in a vertical position. Cut a rectangle out of the bottom layer - smaller than that the one before. Let the second bag down on top of the first one and cut holes/circles/rectangles as required on the surface.

For the first two years, I used to remove the top of the first bag (long rectangle) then lay the second bag on top. Take out the top rectangle or 3 holes of the top bag before reaching down and cutting through the bottom of the top bag to gain entrance into the bottom bag.

This is much more difficult. Latest version is easiest. May develop an even easier method in time!

[toffeeman]

Will they grow outside in the south east ? Found a couple of plants in the potato bed that appear to have come from the compost heap. Pretty sure they are melons and want to give them a chance. Greenhouse is full.

[Colin_M]

......Get your top bag and balance it on the long side in a vertical position. Cut a rectangle out of the bottom layer

This approach would seem to be easiest when the bags are in their compressed state, so the compost stays in place after the cutting.

I've always assumed that growbags are best "fluffed up" before use. This would seem to leave the contents best placed for roots to work into.

However, fluffing then allows the contents to move freely. If I then try to "balance it on the long side in a vertical position, then cut a rectangle out of the bottom layer" it ends up all over my shoes.

I take it you leave the fluffing till afterwards (or don't bother)?!


Colin

[Tigger]

Fluffing afterwards.