Oh dear, poor melons looking very sad after potting on

[PrideRavyn]

I potted on my 4 sweetheart melons, as their roots were showing at the bottoms of the pots - they were in 6 inch pots and they have been potted onto 9 inch ones, if i remember correctly. This was a couple of days ago and all seemed fine until yesterday late afternoon one went very wilty very suddenly, even though it wasn't too warm and had been watered. I thought maybe I hadn't watered it enough considering the extra pot size so I gave it a little more and hoped it would pick up overnight, but this morning it's looking the same, very floppy, and worse, the others are looking as though they're coming out in sympathy - nowhere near as bad but a couple of floppyish leaves

What could be causing it and what can I do??

[janeyo]

I don't think they like being potted up too deeply - maybe it's that? Sorry I can't help more

[PrideRavyn]

Thanks janeyo, sadly I don't think that's the cause as I was careful to make sure that the soil level remained the same Just been out to check on them again and the sad one still looks very sad

[tamsin]

Did you change where the posts were at the same time eg they get more sun/cooler? My melons don't seem to have minded being potted up. I hope they perk up for you.

[smallfrog]

Did you change where the posts were at the same time eg they get more sun/cooler? My melons don't seem to have minded being potted up. I hope they perk up for you.

I potted mine on and moved them from kitchen to greenhouse. All of them died!! Gave remaining pot of seeds to mum in law and she only got 3 or 4 still going.

[FionaH]

Too wet maybe?

[PrideRavyn]

Fiona I thought they could have been too dry but they certainly weren't too wet, I only watered them their normal amount, which they have been fine with for many weeks now, and only watered them again after the saddest one looked veyr poorly

I did move them to the other side of the greenhouse, but the two sides get the same amount of light, heat, etc, but I'll move them back just in case, but not hopeful really, the worst one has been like this for 24 hours now, whenever i've had them go floppy previously (once when I didn't water them and they got dry) they picked up within an hour of being watered

[Sanjo]

I am growing sweetheart too Prideravyn and was not very successful at germinating them but managed to get four to survive. Three of them are disappointing, the fourth is VERY disappointing and I probably wont bother to pot it on. Mine did exactly the same as yours when I potted them on and when they didn't perk up I put it down to the pot being too big/wet. When I got fed up looking at them I carefully emptied them out (unlike yours my roots didn't fill the pot), removed the compost and put them back into a slightly smaller pot with fresh compost.
All four treated the same but the fourth refuses to co-operate. I left them in that for 2-3 weeks and they did eventually look a bit livelier but I have to say the sweethearts do not make good looking plants.
Three are now in their final positions in an unheated greenhouse, in their Morrison's buckets, on top of another part filled morrison's bucket.
They look better than they did but I am not expecting great things from them.
I grew Emir last year and by this stage the leaves were much bigger and stronger.
In fact my last year's saved seeds look better than this lot and they were sown much later.

[chris]

My sweethearts all died when potted on

[PrideRavyn]

The strange thing is this is by no means the first time I've potted them on and they were going great guns until this time! I must have tempted fate by saying they were doing so well, they'd grown to a few feet high, they were flowering, I was beginning to get proper offshoots and I had high hopes, they were fine in the smaller pots, I should have left them I'm going to try putting the sad looking ones back (one is still looking fine and dandy in his new pot!)

[tamsin]

I transferred mine to a bucket from about a 4/5" shallow pot when it was about 2' long and flowering. I sit them so the transplanted pot sits about 1/2" above the new soil so when I water it's like a moat.

I've a bigger one about 6' long that needs transplanting outside - bit more of a shock - but I'm still no sure about the night temperatures.

[PrideRavyn]

Well, the melons are still looking absolutely awful judging by the fact that soil still has that 'just watered' feeling despite me not watering them for the last 36 hrs it's as though the roots have just completely stopped sucking water up!!

The type of seeds they are say they can still be sown in May, so considering buying more and trying again with them, since they were going so well up until now. I know it's not the done thing, but what would happen if I sowed the seeds in a big pot, or direct in a grow bag, if they really hate being potted on that much?? Is it worth a try? Being a newbie to all this, I assume that there's a reason why we all grow things in tiny pots and then move them up, but not sure what it is?

[mogs]

I also understand, like Tamsin, that they are prone to neck rot like cucumbers and it's best to plant on a slight mound and create a moat, so that the water doesn't touch the stems - mine were transplanted last night, so I'm crossing fingers, eyes, toes etc as I've had cucumbers just keel over and die in the past.

[Tomatoking]

Melon plants are difficult to grow, and the watering has to be just right. I always plant an extra few in the polytunnel as I know one at least will die before I get fruit from it.

I had mine in small 4" pots and a week ago mine started looking pale and weak. They are about 7" high and I decided to plant the strongest ones straight into the soil, those are looking slight better already.
I know I can be a bit heavy handed when watering, especially on hot days, and the polytunnel gets really warm, so I decided no water at all on the ones in the pots that I had virtually given up on.

Well, today I noticed the heads are nice and green again and the plants are looking a lot healthier, I did give them a little drink as they are now quite dry.

So fingers crossed they will be ok, so do not give up on your plants PrideRavyn as they could make a comeback if you treat them mean!

Mr TK

[PrideRavyn]

I've really confounded with these though, I had been doing fine with the watering, never overwatered them, the only time they had a fit once was because i had forgotten to water in the morning and once I had watered they were fine...the only change was the potting on so I think it must have been the root disturbance The only leaves not completely floppy now are the very top leaves on two plants, probably because they are too short and young to flop!! I haven't given up on them but I have little hope, feeling quite disheartened really, they were the one thing in the greenhouse I've grown from seed that weren't bad in some way, and now they're worse than bad!