How to grow melons

Melons take a bit of looking after to maximise crops but the results are worth the effort. With the climate getting warmer and new varieties appearing, it is now possible to grow melons outside although you still need warmth to germinate the seeds.

Sow 2 seeds in a 3inch pot and keep in the warmth. If you are going to grow them outside, then you need to keep them protected until all the frosts are past. Be careful, young melon plants look exactly like cucumber plants, so make sure you label them. Both the leaves are the flowers look like cucumbers, so it takes a long time to recognize the difference and you need to treat them differently !

Once the seeds have germinated, prick them out into individual pots. Once they have grown two true leaves, pinch out the growing tip of the plant. This will force the plant to produce side shoots. These side shoots can be allowed to trail along the ground or, if you so wish, you can train then up wires. Once these shoots have between seven and ten leaves, then pinch out the tip again. They will then send out more side shots. When the embrio fruits appear, stop the plant two leaves above the fruit. Only allow about five fruits per plant.

Melons need lots of water and will require pollinating. If you are growing them outside, this will not be a problem. If you are allowing them to trail on the ground, ants will pollinate, otherwise flying insects will do the job for you. If you are growing your melons in a greenhouse, then you need to leave it open so that the insects can get to your plants to do the job. Alternately try pollinating by hand. Pick a male flower (one without a bulge behind it and rub it onto a female flower – or use a paint brush to spread the pollen.

If you are training you melon plants up wires, then the melons will need support. They will be to heavy for the plants to support themselves and will break the stems. You support them  by tying nets round them a tying to the wires.

How do you know when a melon in ready to harvest? If you are growing them inside, you will first notice that they are starting to smell like melons. Test them by gently pressing the ends. They should be slightly soft.

Melons need watering frequently. If you are growing them in a greenhouse, also wet the ground round them to keep the moisture up. When the melopns are starting to ripen you can stop damping down the surrounding area but keep watering them.

Melons suffer from much the same problems as cucuumbers but if you treat the, properly you should have no problms.

If you do not pinch out the tips and stop the plants, they will still grow melons but there will be less of them and many more leaves. If you are growing them trailing on the ground, then you may have difficulty finding the melons. Mice love melons and they may find them before you do!

As I said, they are a bit fiddly to grow, but the results as well worth while.