know how to grow cantaloupe and melons results in the treat of having these delicious fruits useable to freshly clip from the vine . They are a enceinte addition to your nursing home garden , but can flummox some challenges .
3 Tips for How To Grow Cantaloupes Successfully
1 . Cantaloupe seeds can be directly sown into the soil once the soil is at least 65 ° farad during the day and overnight . practice a thermometer to test the temperature of the soil .
2 . cantaloupe ask well - drain , fertile soil . melon vine do well in loamy soil with a pH between 6.0 and 6.5 . If you are n’t sure about your land , a soil test kit can be purchased for around $ 15 at your local nursery or online . To improve the land , you may need to add some compost . If your soil is n’t adequate for drainage , consider growing your melon in a raised garden bottom or a garden raise bag .
3 . Cantaloupes take ardent soil . They thrive on red-hot , cheery summer solar day . Be certain to plant them in a full - sun location . Adobe Stock / Ayudia
How To Grow Cantaloupes Via Direct Sowing Seeds
If planting cantaloupe from come , space the seeds fit in to the back of the seed packet . broadly , this is three seeds imbed 18 to 24 column inch aside . Space the rows five to six ft apart . Once seedlings emerge , clip away the weaker of the three and allow the strong of the three sprout to grow .
How To Grow Cantaloupes Indoors For a Head Start
start out cantaloupe seeds inside is another alternative for how to grow cantaloupe . This method acting allows you to begin originate the plants a couple of weeks sooner than outside . However , melon vine are very raw to take root disturbance and tend to do better when like a shot sown . It ’s advised to use biodegradable containers to start the germ in so that you could engraft the container and sprout directly into the earth instead of disturb the root system by pulling the sprout out of a plastic seed startle container . Soil stuff instead of a biodegradable container is another option that helps ward off stem disturbance .
Pollination Is Key To Growing Cantaloupes
Pollination is primal for cantaloupe vine . They get two flower types : male efflorescence and perfect flowers ( having both manlike and female part ) . The pollination window is only one twenty-four hours , so this means that if you do n’t see any pollinators in the garden , you may need to intervene with a paintbrush . To do this , hold some pollen from the manly flower to the tip of a unclouded paintbrush and brush it onto the female flower . This is required for yield ontogenesis . If the flowers do not become pollinated or if the pollination is poor , fruit will not develop , or it may grow misshapen . Adding pollinator - well-disposed flowers into the garden within your vegetable and fruit growing spaces aid as well .
Caring for Cantaloupes
cantaloup vine require two to three inch of water per week . They do well with bass lachrymation a twosome of times per hebdomad versus more frequent shallow lachrymation . A pelter or drip mold house is advocate . attempt to void spraying the vines and leaves as they are prone to powdery mildew .
Remove weeds surrounding the vines . It ’s helpful to mulch around the groundwork of the vines to help control mourning band , and it will also keep the soil lovesome and aid in maintain it from dry out as promptly . Since cantaloupe vine grow up to 10 feet ( depending on variety ) , they are a large option forvertical gardening . We ’ve had smashing luck growing ours over ourcattle panel trellis . This keeps great air flow , which also helps fight against powdery mold .
As the melon vine get close to ripen , taper off the lacrimation as you require to nullify the melons split before crop . Gradually decreasing the piddle also helps the yield mature and improves the overall flavor .
Adobe Stock/Ayudia
Harvesting Cantaloupes
Once ready for crop , you ’ll notice the once hard melon vine has a slim give to it when you push your thumb into the hide . It will effortlessly snap off the vine and you should be able-bodied to reek the sweet my giving it a smell . cantaloupe will ripen at different times on the same vine , so be sure to keep a alert oculus so that you glean them before the garden pests get to them .
How to Grow Cantaloupes: Basic Facts
Size : Vines grow up to 10 understructure farsighted .
sun essential : Full Dominicus ( A minimum of six hours of direct sun is idealistic . )
Water requirements : About 1 in per week
land requirements : Average , well - drain garden grease gamy in organic affair .
When to found : Direct - cum when territory temperatures reach 65 ° F at a lower limit .
When to harvest:60 to 80 days from seed , depending on the kind . Harvest when fruits easily slip from the vine and the skin surface area between the netting have flex from green to tan .
Produce storage : storehouse ripe on the rejoinder for two to three days or in the refrigerator for up to one workweek .
This article about how to grow cantaloupes was write for Hobby Farms magazine . Click here to take .
