anyone growing melons this year?

[Mrs Dobby]

Sounds similar to mine, but only at about 18" long, they just dont seem to be doing that much, far too cold atm!

[TinyT]

I'm trying a couple of sweetheart melons this year for the first time in the greenhouse. They've started to run in the last few weeks, but I'm not too sure what too do next with them . They have a corner to themselves and they're starting to try to wrap around the metal supports and nearby pepper plants. It would be nice to give them something to trail up like netting, so that they can grow undisturbed in the corner (instead of having to get pulled off nearby plants)!
Would it be okay to pinch out the wrappy handles, leave each plant to get around 4/5 set flowers, then pinch out the growing tip and allow it to grow up some netting/bamboo stick?

[Alice]

I think mine are doing quite well given that I didn't expect to get anything. Female flowers have appeared but not sure if they are pollinated or not. Have been doing the paint brush thing so here's hoping.

[lynda66]

i lovingly tended my melons, and they are growing a bit ...... but for some reason the ones i really don't want in my lawn are shooting up, all overcrowded, and straight out of a melon, without even washing the gunge off

can't win can you lol.

[Demeter]

I'm trying a couple of sweetheart melons this year for the first time in the greenhouse. They've started to run in the last few weeks, but I'm not too sure what too do next with them . They have a corner to themselves and they're starting to try to wrap around the metal supports and nearby pepper plants. It would be nice to give them something to trail up like netting, so that they can grow undisturbed in the corner (instead of having to get pulled off nearby plants)!
Would it be okay to pinch out the wrappy handles, leave each plant to get around 4/5 set flowers, then pinch out the growing tip and allow it to grow up some netting/bamboo stick?

Mine are Sweetheart too. I've taken out some of the tendril thingies (the ones that were being naughty and winding round things they shouldn't!) - been tying the plants into bamboo canes, 1 arm per cane, 2 per plant... They say tie them in at frequent intervals so it will have enough support once the fruit starts to get heavy.

Sounds like your plan is similar to mine, although I'm limiting the plants to just 2 (or in one case 3) melons per plant. I think the recommended number in Hessayon is 4 per plant, I just decided that I don't have space for that many arms, and I figured only 2 fruits would be easier for them to produce in a British summer!

[Kristen]

Alice: How are you going to support the fruit? I'm not sure that a cane is going to do the job

Here are mind form the beginning of July - the string holding them isn;g goin to be enough, they will need old tights / nets to support them

[smallblueplanet]

Wow! You've got cool melons Kristen!

What type are they? Are they in an unheated g/h, when did you start them?

[rogesse]

I'm growing a old type musk melon 'Prescott fond blanc', seeds from Realseeds. Despite being outside they are being quite thuggish and making a determined bid for my neighbours allotment! I've got 2 cricket ball size melons per plant (4 plants) so far and other tiddlers forming - I'm so excited, never grown melons before.

I'm also growing a strange beast called carosello in the greenhouse. It is supposed to be a cross between a melon and a cucumber. Not quite so impressive - although planted at the same time as the melons, the fruits are only now starting to appear.

[Alice]

Great Melons Kristen.
I know the fruit will need support but I'm waiting to see some before I start worrying about it.
If I ever see melons I'll soon get something rigged up.

[vegmandan]

Alice: How are you going to support the fruit? I'm not sure that a cane is going to do the job

Here are mind form the beginning of July - the string holding them isn;g goin to be enough, they will need old tights / nets to support them

I'm really not kidding, but a guy I know used to use enormous bras (he got from charity shops etc.) to support his melons.

He would attach them to something sturdy and let the melons grow ....ahem....well supported.

No joke.

[trebellangeminired]

I'm trying melons for the first time this year. They were started very late for long and complicated reasons. 7 plants germinated from 8 seeds. I grew them in 3 inch pots on a south facing windowsill until I could plant them into an unheated greenhouse with 8 cucumber plants reasoning that they would both enjoy the same growing conditions. Growing soooooo slowly, slower on cold days, they are about 12 inches high with a good number of flowers. If I get one melon I will be really happy.

P.S. they are Sweetheart

[Twinkle]

I have 4 tiny watermelon plants growing in the polytunnel.

Not sure what variety they are but the seeds were only 59c in Lidl

[Paulottie]

Well Done Kristen. They look depressingly better than my attempts!

[Kristen]

"What type are they? Are they in an unheated g/h, when did you start them?"

Edonis F1 Hybrid. It has the RHS Award of merit. T & M seed

Sowing date not recorded in my gardening notebook . Actually looking at the seed packet I wonder if I've got that right. It says "Average 4 seeds" and there are about 10 melon plants in the greenhouse!

They would have been germinated in the kitchen, and then moved to one of those little plastic covered flimsy upright greenhouses [I have a 40W light bulb in the bottom for night-time heat] that was inside our conservatory [which is not heated]. They would have been kept in the conservatory (which being attached to the house, and having a stone floor and poly-carbonate roof, is much warmer than greenhouse) until they were getting dangerously large to move! and then transferred to cold greenhouse.

Flicking back through some pictures they look like they were just starting out in 3" pots in the little upright greenhouse, on 27-April, so probably sown at the beginning of April.

I bought the same seed, in a 50% off sale, for next year. I'd better have a feel of the packet to make sure that doesn't have only 4 actual seeds!

[Alison]

Not got to that point yet but in previous years when I've grown them (had a few years off), I've made little hammocks for them and supported them off the greenhouse frame. Think I used netting for the hammocks and they seemed to work well.