Mulch not only keeps the soil warm, which these plants enjoy, but it helps retain moisture, minimizes weed growth, and keeps fruit off the soil (of course, you can set them on small pieces of board too). While many people prefer to use plastic mulch when they grow cantaloupes, you can use straw as well.
How do you keep cantaloupe from rotting on the ground?
To prevent rot, the fruit rests on gravel mulch instead of on the bare soil. Keep foliage healthy because it is the source of sugar for the fruit. As melons ripen, the leaves naturally begin to look rough.
What can I use to keep melons off the ground?
Use a cage, plastic mulch, stakes, straw mulch or other materials to protect the fruit from the ground. You can even use a wooden board for the fruit to rest on as it matures.
How do you prepare soil for cantaloupe?
Before planting your cantaloupe, use a loamy soil enriched with well-rotted compost or aged manure to make sure your melon has plenty of nutrients to feed on throughout its growing season. Cantaloupes prefer a slightly acidic to neutral soil, between 6.0 and 6.8 pH.
How do you support a cantaloupe?
By training the vines to climb a vertical structure, you save space in your garden while still giving the melons plenty of space to stretch. Plus, training them on a trellis keeps the fruits, vines, and leaves off the damp soil, helping to prevent fungal infections and pest infestations.
What is the 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.
Should I put something under my watermelons?
In order to grow great watermelons, you’ll need to put a barrier between the watermelons and the ground. This is to reduce the risk of rot and disease. Good ground barriers are straw, or even cardboard.
How do you support a melon?
You’ll need to be sure to install a trellis that will hold the weight of the melon vines and ripe fruit. Encourage the vines to climb by training them up a support system such as concrete reinforcing wire. Getting the vines up the trellis is only half of the job of growing melons vertically.
What is eating my cantaloupe at night?
Animals such as squirrels, chipmunks, deer and woodchucks enjoy puncturing and eating melon crops. Coyotes and domesticated dogs also enjoy biting into sweet melons. Raccoons and birds make holes in the tops of melons and scoop or suck juices from the fruit’s inside.
Do cantaloupe plants need support?
Cantaloupe cultivars with smaller fruits can be grown up a strong trellis or fence without much (if any) fruit support. For full-size cantaloupes, you’ll want to create a hammock for each melon to help support them on the trellis.
What is the best fertilizer for melons?
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.
How do you make cantaloupe sweeter when growing?
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.
What is the best month to plant cantaloupe?
Cantaloupe does best when direct sown. Sow seeds outside about 2 weeks after the last frost date when soil temperatures are about 65℉. In the low desert of Arizona, the best time to plant cantaloupe is from February 15 through July.
Should you trellis cantaloupe?
Also, growing a cantaloupe on a trellis will keep the fruit clean and resistant to chewing pests, as well as keeping the foliage dry, thus less susceptible to disease.
How many cantaloupes will one plant produce?
Each plant can produce anywhere from four to eight delicious melons.
Is Epsom salt good for cantaloupe?
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.
Is Miracle Grow good for cantaloupe?
Feeding and Caring for Melons
Then, feed your melon plants regularly through the growing season with a continuous-release plant food like Miracle-Gro® Performance Organic® Edibles Plant Nutrition Granules, which feeds the soil as well as your plants.
Are coffee grounds good for cantaloupe?
Coffee Grinds as Melon Fertilizer? Old coffee grinds really do enhance the flavor of many crops, cantaloupe, tomatoes, melons.
How often should cantaloupe be watered?
Water cantaloupe deeply and infrequently, 1-2 inches per week. Use drip irrigation if possible. Mulch around the plants will help conserve soil moisture and reduce weed growth. Irrigate so that moisture goes deeply into the soil.
What is the best mulch for watermelons?
Melons need heat and plastic mulch can make a big difference. Black plastic mulch is most widely available and will raise soil temperatures 5°F versus bare ground. You can generate even more heat by using clear plastic mulch (8–14°F).
Should you put cardboard under watermelons?
Keep ripening watermelon from direct contact with soil to prevent rot and protect fruit from pests and rodents. When fruit is about the size of a softball, place it on a bed of straw or cardboard.