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Cantaloupe and watermelon
I wanted to put a pic of my cantaloupe and watermelon plants up and get opinions. I am a first time gardener and am concerned because they don't look as good as they did when I got them. the leaves seem less green and just not really growing.
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rainbowgardener
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- Location: TN/GA 7b
Sounds like the same kind of issue you are having with your tomato plants. How long have the melon plants been in the ground?
I think at this point, since you are having some across the board issues, you really need to get your soil tested. You can get soil test kits or you can send samples to your local county extension office.
A good garden starts with good soil. What I can tell from your picture, your soil doesn't look loose or rich. Looks kind of hard and dry enough to crack. Melon plants need lots of water.
Do you have a compost pile? That's not an immediate fix for now, but in the long run, the best thing you can do for your garden is to compost everything and add your home-made compost to the soil.
I think at this point, since you are having some across the board issues, you really need to get your soil tested. You can get soil test kits or you can send samples to your local county extension office.
A good garden starts with good soil. What I can tell from your picture, your soil doesn't look loose or rich. Looks kind of hard and dry enough to crack. Melon plants need lots of water.
Do you have a compost pile? That's not an immediate fix for now, but in the long run, the best thing you can do for your garden is to compost everything and add your home-made compost to the soil.
I planted them in some soil I bought and just covered the top with the regular dirt.
The soil is just now drying out. We have had a ton of rain and before that I was watering every or every other night with the soaker hoses depending on if the dirt looked dry or not. Our soil is very clay like. Typical indiana soil I presume.
The soil is just now drying out. We have had a ton of rain and before that I was watering every or every other night with the soaker hoses depending on if the dirt looked dry or not. Our soil is very clay like. Typical indiana soil I presume.
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rainbowgardener
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Nonetheless, your plants look like they are not getting enough nutrients. Soil test would be good or you can just keep adding a lot of organic materials around them. Mix some used coffee grounds (which you can get from Starbucks and places like that) in to the soil. Get some bags of compost or mushroom compost. Mulch well around your plants, which helps conserve moisture in the soil and eventually breaks down to feed the soil.
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rainbowgardener
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20-20-20 is very concentrated. I would use it at half the application rate it says, no oftener than every other week.
But you have now shown us a lot of different pictures that show your soil. Sorry, but it looks terrible, hard, dry cracked, pale. IMHO you can't take terrible soil and pour chemicals on it and get a good garden. You really need to work on building good rich soil (which will be black and very soft and crumbly and have lots of earthworms and other soil life in it). That's a process that takes awhile gardening in the ground, and you might just have to resign yourself to having a garden that doesn't thrive very well this year, while you work on improving your soil. If you want quicker results, you can build a few raised beds. Then you just fill them with good rich soil and it doesn't matter as much what is underneath.
Start a compost pile and mulch everything!
But you have now shown us a lot of different pictures that show your soil. Sorry, but it looks terrible, hard, dry cracked, pale. IMHO you can't take terrible soil and pour chemicals on it and get a good garden. You really need to work on building good rich soil (which will be black and very soft and crumbly and have lots of earthworms and other soil life in it). That's a process that takes awhile gardening in the ground, and you might just have to resign yourself to having a garden that doesn't thrive very well this year, while you work on improving your soil. If you want quicker results, you can build a few raised beds. Then you just fill them with good rich soil and it doesn't matter as much what is underneath.
Start a compost pile and mulch everything!
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applestar
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Rainbowgardener is giving good advice.
Another way to help your plants right now is to mulch between the plants with spoiled hay and straw. Hay is rich in nitrogen because they are cut green -- spoiled hay that have started to mold/rot/ferment is better because there will be less viable weed seeds. If you can get alfalfa or clover hay, they will be even richer than just grass. Straw has more carbon since they are dried stems after grain is harvested. Together they make compost as they break down and in the meantime, conserve moisture. Earthworms love the stuff.
Same warning as grass clippings about not letting hay touch the plants.
Another way to help your plants right now is to mulch between the plants with spoiled hay and straw. Hay is rich in nitrogen because they are cut green -- spoiled hay that have started to mold/rot/ferment is better because there will be less viable weed seeds. If you can get alfalfa or clover hay, they will be even richer than just grass. Straw has more carbon since they are dried stems after grain is harvested. Together they make compost as they break down and in the meantime, conserve moisture. Earthworms love the stuff.
Same warning as grass clippings about not letting hay touch the plants.