A Melon Experiment

[polc1410]

Two years ago for something crazy like 69p i bought some melon seeds. I knew it was a bit of a punt as I live in Durham but thought I'd test the claims of outdoor growing out...

They germinated outdoors (happened to get a hot spell) with a cloche over them. 3 plants. 1 scrawny one didn't survive a hot dry spell, one was damaged by a gardening incident and 1 just vanished(mice? Birds? )

Last year I decided to be less ambitious and grow in greenhouse. Again germination success this time in the greenhouse. Only to be told by her in doors that shed moved things round to get better light. Unlabelled things that included melon and squash from same family its lime trying to identify which twin is which. #fail.

Suspect we got it wrong as plants in g/h flowered but failed to do much despite manual pollination. Flower outside kind of fruited a round thing then died.

So 2015 is to be my melon final chance.

T&M (via local shop) fleeced me for £2.69 for 15 melon ogen seeds. Then on same day I see some honeydew and Cantelope in B&M for 89p in multi pack. The stage is set for a final last stance...

I will post progress here...

[polc1410]

Seeds planted. 2 per pot. 2 pots per variety. Labeled up!

If I get great success half in the poly, half outside just to see...

[Scarlet]

I tried in the GH. Just one plant - I had a tennis ball size melon the smell in the GH was fantastic but I decided to use the space for something else that gave me something in return. Good luck though, keep us posted, there's plenty of gardeners that manage to get dome good sized fruits

[Snadger]

I tried growing melon one year in a cold frame. Loads of foliage but only two tennis ball sized melons. Perhaps with my recently purchased poly tunnel 2015, IS the year of the melon!

[Lisasbolt]

Could you make something like this (see pic)
It is what all the big melon growers over here do to get them started early, then it's removed, then you will have your space in the greenhouse. Hopefully then June, July, August will be nice and warm.
Melons I grow are always very small but taste great, I will be putting extra organic material around them this year like you would for squashes, pumpkins etc

[Lisasbolt]

Morrisons used to sell something simliar for 2 pounds, couple of those would do

[Kristen]

I've grown all sorts of poncy varieties over the years, and in the main found they were fussy weaklings ... so now I grow only Sweetheart which I find grows like a weed and often self-pollinates without my help.

[Jay-ell]

I'm going to be trying melons for the first time myself this year. I have some honeydew and water melon that will be going into two @rgs coldframe tents (mostly because the seeds came in a couple of multi packs) and some sweetheart melons I'll try vertically in a blow away.

[sparrow100]

I grew a watermelon outside last year. No real faffing for it and only one fruit as slugs love the baby ones so much (grrrr) but it did get to 2.5kg. And tasted fabulous.

[NatalieCooke]

I grow three Melon plants last year. Due to the shade from the oak tree they didnt ripen. Really good size tho. The only problem was they took up so much room in the greenhouse!
I'm going to given them another go this year. I bought some "Rugoso di Cosenza Giallo" from sutton seeds. Fingers crossed they do well.

[Kristen]

The only problem was they took up so much room in the greenhouse!

I grow mine up the glass in my greenhouse - a row of plants around the perimeter, then a row of Peppers / Aubergines inside them, and a row of Tomatoes, which need the most height, along the central path.


24-Jun From left: Melons, Aubergines (foreground) and Peppers (background) and Tomatoes on the right.

[NatalieCooke]

Here's a quick picture of mine. I had them standing on top of the staging growing up some metel we found in the garden. With it being the first year growing them we don't take enough leaves off.

Another picture of one the melon!


I better go back to cleaning the glass for the greenhouse.

[Jungle Jane]

Well done everyone managing to grow melons,I've tried twice & had ridiculous small fruit in August,summer ends to quickly for mine,maybe I'm supposed to pollinate them with a paintbrush as soon as the flowers open? I always get loads of flowers. I've grown them up netting in a raised bed/homemade plastic greenhouse (an indoor variety of cucumber did well next to them) & trailing along straw amongst my sweetcorn (slugs found the tiny melon/ate half of it-was only an inch big). I'l try with the paintbrush this year,are there any other tips/ideas of bulking out the size,do you use a high potassium feed early on?

[Snadger]

I grow mine up the glass in my greenhouse - a row of plants around the perimeter, then a row of Peppers / Aubergines inside them, and a row of Tomatoes, which need the most height, along the central path.


24-Jun From left: Melons, Aubergines (foreground) and Peppers (background) and Tomatoes on the right.

What a brilliant use of space! How do you get in to deal with picking/ tying pollinating etc etc of melons and peppers though?

[seasprout]

Sowed my first ever melons today. I'll keep you posted.