Melon flowers

[raine]

Hi all, I have been growing my first melon and its strong and sturdy but no fruit- any advice? I looked at hand pollinating but all the flowers are identical !

[burnie]

I have a plant that is thriving, but no sign of flowers yet, so you're ahead of me.

[Zelenina]

Probably the first batch of flowers are all male. This often happens. It should start producing some female flowers after a while.

[BUFFS]

the female flowers will not be long, the male flowers always appear first so that there is something to fertilise, you will see the bulb shape behind the flower, you could use a kiddies little paint brush to stroke the stamens on the male flower , then the same on the female, and do it a couple of times for several days, you wont miss the fact it has worked as the melon starts to grow. I use lengths of OH's old tights, cut to 8ins and knotted one end, slipped around the growing fruit and with twine attached to the open end you can tie it up to a support, to stop the weight ripping it off the plant, allowing the fruit to grow to max size, don't pick them until you can really smell them when you get near....enjoy..

[raine]

Thanks all I was about ready to chuck it out!

[Issy]

First time I have ever tried growing them - have two tied up in my old tights and four more not as large - but they take up an awful lot of space so hoping they will be worth it - at the moment the biggest is about the size of large orange so really hoping I will be able to harvest one that we can eat!!

[BUFFS]

[QUOTE=Issy;1547609]First time I have ever tried growing them
The taste of a fully ripe melon, just off the plant, once tasted, you won't question the effort of growing them again. Do let them get fully ripe, so the lovely smell hits you as you get near and press the base with your thumb, it should give slightly, that's when it is time to pick that melon, luckily they don't all ripen at the same time..

[Daffodil_man]

While we're on melons, anyone care to share some tips on varieties, compost and watering?

I have two Irina melons in the greenhouse, both cut back to just one fruit. They're about the size of a large orange now, but seem to have run out of steam a bit. Hoping they'll get big enough to harvest. Bought them from a nursery which gets things going a lot earlier than if I sow myself.

Soil: one is in the ground with a bit of my own compost mixed in, the other in a pot of about a foot in diameter with some general purpose compost. The one in the pot is noticeably yellower in hue.

Watering: once a week or a bit more frequently with some tomato feed.

I struggle with melons so any tips would be appreciated. Next season I'm thinking some manure and maybe fixing up a drip feeding system to water more consistently. I grow them vertically and use old onion nets (from the supermarket) to hold the fruit. Seems to work quite well.

Any other tips?

[Zelenina]

Hi Daffodil_man! Welcome to the Vine. Irina apparently doesn't have very big fruit. About the size of a large grapefruit is what I've read. So maybe yours aren't going to grow much bigger. When you say "The one in the pot is noticeably yellower in hue." do you mean the fruit? If so, that would be a sign of ripening. If you mean the plant is yellower it could mean it's lacking in nutrients, particularly nitrogen.

[Daffodil_man]

Thanks Zelenina. It's both the plant and fruit. Both are just a bit paler and seem less healthy. I guess it's a deficiency. Any advice on feeding/watering?

[burnie]

I'm growing Rugosa di Cosenza Giallo(Suttons) and they are finally today producing flowers, not sure if I will get any viable fruit as we can get frosts this time of year, it says on the packet you can pick into October, so who knows.