Lime and Fertilizing Strongly acid soils should be limed according to test results. Lime (if needed) is most effective when mixed thoroughly with the soil in the fall. Apply three to four pounds of 10-10-10 fertilizer per 100 square feet prior to planting melons in the spring.
Do melons like lime?
Growing cantaloupes in soil with a pH lower than 6.0 may cause yellowed foliage and irregular fruit production. Clemson Cooperative Extension recommends raising soil pH with lime or wood ashes.
What is the best fertilizer for melon?
When fertilizing watermelon plants, use nitrogen based fertilizer at the onset. Once the plant begins flowering, however, switch to feeding the watermelon a phosphorus and potassium based fertilizer. Watermelons require ample potassium and phosphorus for optimal melon production.
Does cantaloupe need lime?
Cantaloupes do not like acidic soil and prefer to grow in soil with a pH range of 6.0-6.5, so test the soil and amend it incorporating lime or dolomite if the soil is too acidic, to raise the the pH and so make calcium and magnesium available to the plants.
Do watermelons like lime in the soil?
Soil pH and Fertilizer
Watermelon is fairly tolerant to soil pH as low as 5.5, but grows best where soil pH is between 6.0 and 6.8. Apply lime if soil pH is below 5.5.
Do melons like acidic soil?
Melons grow best on well-drained, sandy loam soils, with a pH between 6.0 and 6.5. Soils with a pH less than 6.0 will produce plants with yellow foliage that set few or no fruit.
Are melons acid loving?
Melons like 60 degree nights and 80 degree days and will not tolerate frost. They prefer sandy loam soil that is slightly alkaline; watermelons prefer a slightly acidic soil. Melons and watermelons need a consistent supply of water until the fruits are roughly the size of baseballs.
How do I increase the yield of my melon?
Nitrogen is key for growth and development. It is one of the most important nutrients required for high melon yields. Right amount and timing of nitrogen supply is also important. However, too much nitrogen at flowering can restrict flowering, and therefore fruit set and melon yield.
When should I fertilize melons?
Start fertilizing right after transplanting. Melons do best when treated with small amounts of fertilizer in two or three applications. During the growing season, liquid (soluble) fertilizers may be applied every 2 weeks and granular fertilizers about every 6 to 8 weeks.
Is Epsom salt good for watermelons?
Flat, tasteless melons can be due to a lack of magnesium or boron in the soil. It has been found that such fruits can be sweetened by giving them a dose of Epsom salts and borax. For home garden use, use about 6 1/2 tablespoons of Epsom salts and 3 1/2 tablespoons of household borax, all added to five gallons of water.
What is best fertilizer for cantaloupes?
For seeded or transplanted cantaloupes, apply 100 to 150 pounds per acre of a pop-up fertilizer such as 10-34-0 to enhance early growth, especially in cool/cold soils early in the spring. Pop-up fertilizer should be banded 2 to 3 inches to the side of the row and 2 to 3 inches below the seeds or roots.
Do cantaloupes like acidic soil?
Cantaloupes prefer a slightly acidic to neutral soil, between 6.0 and 6.8 pH. Once the threat of frost is gone for the season, sow seeds in “hills” about one inch deep, and 18 inches apart. A hill is a slightly raised mound of soil that can keep the heat on your crop, while also providing good drainage.
Why are my cantaloupe plants not producing fruit?
The most likely cause of such fruit problems on squash, muskmelons (cantaloupe), cucumbers, watermelons and other cucurbit vegetables is a lack of pollination. These plants have separate male flowers (bloom attached by a small, thin stalk) and female flowers (small fruit at base of bloom).
What do you feed melon plants?
Feeding your plant is easy, liquid tomato fertiliser is ideal and should be used once a week when the fruit has started to appear. Pollination of the melon plant is key, without it the fruit will not grow.
How do watermelons grow sweeter?
8 Tips for Growing The Sweetest Melons
- Start with the Sweetest Varieties.
- Sow Seeds Early.
- Find Your Warmest Microclimate.
- Accentuate the Sun’s Rays.
- Don’t Crowd Your Melons.
- Sweetness Starts in the Soil.
- Water Heavily – But not During Ripening.
- Pick at the Pinnacle of Ripeness.
How do you grow a big watermelon?
To maximize the size of the melons, water the plants at the base in regular, deep-watering sessions that keep the soil moist. Side dress the watermelon plants with fertilizer designed for edible crops or compost tea to feed the plants. The fertilizer encourages growth to get larger melons.
What can you not plant with melons?
Plants that don’t do well with melons include other cucurbits such as pumpkins, squash, summer and winter, and cucumbers. Also, avoid planting potatoes with your melons. Tomatoes and peppers don’t thrive with melons because melons take up so much space they crowd them out.
Do watermelons like coffee grounds?
Old coffee grinds really do enhance the flavor of many crops, cantaloupe, tomatoes, melons. No study to prove it, but it is said you get bigger melons if you use coffee grinds. As they break down, the grinds will release nitrogen into the soil.
Is chicken manure good for watermelons?
In conclusion, chicken manure and pig manure were optimal organic fertilizers for watermelon planting in gravel-mulched field. The application of sheep manure should be avoided or reduced.
How do I make my soil more alkaline?
To make garden soil more alkaline, add lime or dolomite lime to raise pH. Wood ash, bone meal, and ground eggshells or clamshells also work, since they contain calcium carbonate to make soil more alkaline by raising pH. Hydrated lime is another option that works fast, but it can burn plant roots.
Are melons acidic or alkaline?
With a pH scale of 6.0 to 6.7, melons are one of those medium to high alkaline fruits, which are very nutritious and readily available. The best way to consume melons is to add them to your breakfast. They are very helpful in reducing acid reflux as well.