10 Tips for Growing Melons

There is nothing like the explosion of taste from a garden grown melon. The store-bought melons do not compare. Growing your own melons is rewarding. The key to the perfect garden grown melon is plenty of moisture, sunlight, and heat. To ensure you are enjoying your own garden melons I have supplied you with 10 Tips for Growing Melons.
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#1 Plant where they will get at least 10 hours of direct sunlight, and at least 4 months of warm weather.

#2 Your soil should have a pH between 6.0 to 6.5.

#3 Remove rocks and loosen soil up to 3’ deep. Work 2-3” of compost into planting area.

#4 Space plants 36-42 inches apart or 12” if growing up trellis.

#5 Needs a steady supply of water. Vines are sensitive to drought. Keep soil consistently moist but not soggy.

#6 Use paper mulch or organic mulch once vines start to grow. This will help keep fruit clean and disease free.

#7 Melon vines are delicate so handle with care when moving. If you have limited space for vines, try growing along a strong fence or trellis and encouraging vines to grow up.

#8 Striped and spotted cucumber beetles can be a series pest. You can spray young plants with kaolin clay or use a vacuum cleaner to remove beetles and then cover with row covers. Squash vine borers are another problem causing wilt. Remove eggs immediately hand pick adults. Try spraying with insecticidal soap.

#9 A vine ripen melon should break cleanly with no pressure on stem. Usually once you smell the melon they are ripe.

#10 Key to sweet melon is sugar, which is made by the leaves of the plant. Watch for fungus, blight or mildew. Treat early with Copper Fungicide.

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