First time melon grower (pics)

[BP]

stella - those pumpkins can certainly take up some real estate, that's for sure....

BP - I'll pick a watermelon today and see if it's ready...I'll try to get a pic of it, too.

EG

Sounds good. Check these pics out

This is the tendril that was closest to the melon. The melon was from behind the vine.
[img]https://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb9/BP991/Melon%20patch/001-3.jpg[/img]

This is the small watermelon I picked
[img]https://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb9/BP991/Melon%20patch/002-3.jpg[/img]

I just don't get it?

Found this cicada shell
[img]https://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb9/BP991/Melon%20patch/003-5.jpg[/img]

A butterfly
[img]https://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb9/BP991/Melon%20patch/014-3.jpg[/img]

[MaryDel]

BP - When the tendril closest to the fruit turns completely brown, it's supposed to be ready.

The brown tendril tells you that you are close,
Look for small brown spots on the stem of the watermelon close to where it attaches to the main vine. I am 100% on this method, and none of my fruits have been over ripe.

[BP]

I'll start looking for those, Thanks

[engineeredgarden]

MaryDel - I've never heard of doing that before, but will certainly try it out for myself. Thanks for the information!

BP - I removed my largest melon from its sling yesterday, and it weighed in at 19 lbs. even. I'll cut into it over the weekend, and let ya know how it was.

EG

[MaryDel]

MaryDel - I've never heard of doing that before, but will certainly try it out for myself. Thanks for the information!



EG

An old timer at work told me that about 3 weeks ago and I gave it a try. He said wait until you see at least 5 or 6 spots. I even picked one with a curled green tendril that was fully ripe. The spots should be brown and about the size of a pin head.

[engineeredgarden]

MaryDel - ok, I'll be looking for that...thanks!

EG

[garden5]

Found this cicada shell
[img]https://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb9/BP991/Melon%20patch/003-5.jpg[/img]

........SO THAT'S WHAT THOSE ARE!! I've seen those and have wondered for so long what they were. Thanks for clearing that one up .

MD, great tip about the spots.

[BP]

A buddy of mine got a pic of a cicada emerging from the shell. Creepy looking stuff.
I'm going to go look for the brown dots on the stems of my watermelons.

[garden5]

I've seen those things when they are alive, before the larva crawls out, and they are just a creepy alive as they are dead. I swear they were used as a model for designing some of the sci-fi move monsters .

[specgrade]

Hey BP, just curious as to what the melon tasted like? It looks like it was really close to being ready. Good luck with the rest!

[BP]

Once I got all the seeds out of the red part it was sweet, but nothing special. My biggest one (I'm guessing 11-12 pounds) has to be ready. Two tendrils nearest the stem have been dry for about 2 weeks, but didn't notice brown spots on the stem. I worked the late shift at work today and didn't get home until after dark. I have been known to get in there with a flashlight and or headlamp, but we had a few good downpours today and the skeeters are in swarms it seems so I'll check tomoarrow evening for brown spots on the stem.
Is there anything wrong with waiting til the plant is pretty much dead before harvesting the watermelons? Can it get over ripe or die or anything?

[engineeredgarden]

BP - yes, a watermelon will rot if you leave it too long. Just my opinion, but I'd pull that melon now....

Here's the 19 lb. watermelon I pulled the other day. It was slightly larger than a basketball, and you can see where one of the knee highs was wrapped around it. BTW, I haven't cut into it yet, but will this week...

[img]https://i35.tinypic.com/2hxce15.jpg[/img][/img]

[garden5]

BP - yes, a watermelon will rot if you leave it too long. Just my opinion, but I'd pull that melon now....

Here's the 19 lb. watermelon I pulled the other day. It was slightly larger than a basketball, and you can see where one of the knee highs was wrapped around it. BTW, I haven't cut into it yet, but will this week...

[img]https://i35.tinypic.com/2hxce15.jpg[/img][/img]

If you keep them up, off the ground, your risk of rotting will be lower.

I've often wondered if you couldn't get a melon/squash to grow into a weird shape by intentionally restricting its growing space.

For example, I had a cucumber that grew in the hole of a chicken-wire fence and it ended up with a crimp in it . Just a passing thought.

[applestar]

Put one in a box and grow a CUBIC watermelon!

[stella1751]

EG, that is a gorgeous watermelon! The pumpkins took over my bed, and the watermelon plant quit producing in disgust. I still have my one watermelon growing like crazy, though. It will not be a 19-pounder, but I'll bet it's at four or five pounds now.

There's one pumpkin I'll need to sling. I'm not sure how, though, because it's in a tricky upright position underneath the watermelon trellis. I think if I let it get a tad larger, I can use your sling method on it, but I suspect the stem is going to get crunched

[applestar]

I took a couple of the kids' old (but clean!) nylon tights from when they were little that have holes in them, tied off each of the legs at the leg opening and cut off the rest, then made two holes just under the elastic waist band on opposite sides of the waist opening and threaded hay strings through the holes.

I slip the melon in the pants part of the tights, then carefully maneuver the hay strings through the vines to a support so I can "slightly" lift the melon higher to relieve the tension on the vines, then tie them off.

I only tried this with a couple of the melons and bushel gourds. They're working out well so far. Only problem is that I can't see them inside so I have to peek in from the top, and with the melons, pull open the waist band and give a sniff (Ha ha, brings back memories.... )

[engineeredgarden]

Stella - I'm glad you liked my melon. Can you set something under the pumpkin to support it? Like maybe a bucket or blocks of wood? Anything to keep tension off of the stem will work...

EG

[stella1751]

Stella - I'm glad you liked my melon. Can you set something under the pumpkin to support it? Like maybe a bucket or blocks of wood? Anything to keep tension off of the stem will work...

EG

I might be able to. I'm not sure. You were completely right about these fellows being aggressive--that bed is full.

Here's the one I'm most worried about. It's starting to lean a bit today. What happened was that I got bored with pruning, so I let the pumpkin climb the fence to each side of the watermelon. The following photo is of the inside of the bed. If you'll remember, there's a chain link fence behind it, so I can sling it to that.

[img]https://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/mitbah/Pumpkin_1.jpg[/img]

Even more troubling is a discovery I made while taking this photo. Another one, right above it and to the right, may have been pollinated this morning. It looks like it could be a good one, but I won't know for sure until tomorrow morning. If so, I'll be up to 16 pumpkins from three plants. Yeesh!

[img]https://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/mitbah/pumpkin_2.jpg[/img]

And, just for fun, here's a photo of my prize: the first pumpkin to be pollinated.

[img]https://i801.photobucket.com/albums/yy292/mitbah/pumpkin_3.jpg[/img]

Any advice would be appreciated. Applestar's tights might work, too, but I can't visualize it

[applestar]

Did you say what kind these are? I love the yummy butter-yellow skin.

Of course despite ALL the photos I have taken, I apparently never took even one of those cut-off tights slings. But I did find this one. The melon (French Charentais 'Edonis') is being supported on a double-strand cradle of its own vines. I've done this before with a Sugar Pie pumpkin.
[img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/Image7835.jpg[/img]

I think it's *almost* ready.

[garden5]

Put one in a box and grow a CUBIC watermelon!

I'll bet it's doable . Perhaps several boxes to allow for increases in overall size while still restricting shape. It just may be possible!

[stella1751]

Applestar, I'm assuming this melon was pointing upward at one time, so you appear to have allowed the stem to gradually bend toward earth, right?

The pumpkin is the Autumn Gold variety. They start out yellow, which is kind of fun. You can easily tell when it puts on a new female bud!

I suspect this is an excellent starter pumpkin for novices like me. It's not supposed to get very big. Estimates on width range from 7" to 10", perfectly round (supposedly), and a top weight of 15 pounds. It does its own thing and hasn't had any problems (diseases or pests) so far. What I like the most about it, and this may be true of all pumpkins, is the vine grows in joints, first putting out a male flower, then putting out a female flower, and so on down the line. Each male flower joint also has a tertiary vine, which you can pluck off if you want. It's an extremely well organized pumpkin!

[BP]

I hear ya about picking the watermelons EG. Most of the leaves have gone brown and even black and I have no idea why? Then there is all the crispy brown leaves on the honeydew and cantaloupe plants and even some of the vines too. I wonder if anything will ever be ripe?
I'm off Thursday and it may be time for the big watermelon to be picked.
All of the time and effort I put in may be a waste due to the damn PM. Screw this whole organic talk, I'm looking into seeds that are not certified organic but resistant to PM for next year.

[applestar]

I like getting my seeds from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange because they are located in MY neck of the woods and, according to Sunset, is climatically very similar to my own garden (even though they're further south) so I think can expect reasonably matched adaptation.

For reference, here is [url=https://www.southernexposure.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=WMEL]their Watermelon page[/url].
As you can see, many are described to have disease resistance.

I'm not saying you should get your seeds from here, but I do recommend considering seed nurseries that are close to your own geographic and climatic location.

For another example, I think it makes perfect sense for DoubleDogFarm or anyone else in Pacific Northwest to get their seeds from Territorial Seed Co. which is in Washington State. I like Territorial's selections and I love their catalog, but I refrain from getting their seeds because our climates are as different as can be.

[applestar]

We're in luck! One of the melons was ready to pick this morning.
Here it is hanging from the fence.
[img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/Image7842.jpg[/img]
It has turned a nice color and , OH!, the aroma! Too bad this isn't Smell-o-Vision
[img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/Image7841.jpg[/img]
Detail of the haystring attachment
[img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/Image7843.jpg[/img]
This is a volunteer but has all the appearance of Asian melon called 'Tigger' from last year. Highly fragrant, sweet and delicious -- unlike last year, when the fragrance was there but the flesh was watery and unsatisfactory. The on-going drought must have helped to intensify the flavor.
[img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/Image7850.jpg[/img] [img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/Image7851.jpg[/img]

... and here's my first watermelon! 'Moon and Stars'. I've washed and am drying the cut-off tights sling to use on this one
[img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/Image7844.jpg[/img]

[garden5]

Great looking harvest, Apps! Glad to hear that the taste is there as well as the color.

BP, I don't think organic or inorganic will make much of a difference concerning PM, it's pretty ruthless.

[applestar]

Hmm. I just went back to review the description for Tigger and this one doesn't quite match. The skin pattern is Tigger's but it's far too light in color -- it's supposed to get fire-engine red spots/stripes, and the flesh is supposed to be white~cream. So it must have crossed.... There were hybrid Honeydew 'Honey Pearl' and the above pictured French Charentais 'Edonis' in the same melon bed so I guess I can chalk this one up to a lucky cross. I'll still save the seeds and see what grows next year. This year, there was a cuke and an ornamental gourd nearby (which shouldn't cross pollinate), and that 'Edonis' wasn't too far away (about 15 feet) so we'll just see.

BTW, I lost a couple of Tiggers last year because they burst the day after I thought they might be ready soon. Today, I picked this one just in time because there were tiny fissures starting to develop on the bottom. The closely knitted tights helps to keep the bugs out, which is another good thing, though that bright red concentrated droplet appears to have been drawn by a sucking insect -- maybe a Stinkbug.

[engineeredgarden]

BP - I've never used anything other than copper fungicide for powdery mildew, so really can't comment on any other treatments like milk, etc....

The deterioration of the foliage is very common late in the season, and it's best to get cucurbits planted as early as possible to get in a decent crop before it hits. Whether any of us like it or not, the growing season is near it's end, and there's not a whole lot we can do about it.

Applestar - your melons look great!

EG

[BP]

Thanks for the info on getting seeds from nearby. There is a seed company in Bay City MI and that's just under an hour north of me, I'll try be looking at what they have.

EG, the copper stuff? I haven't come accross this anywhere yet. I may want to try that next year. I'll be looking into that too.
As of right now I'm more worried about some large gold star cantaloupes. Only the biggest has a lot of webbing on it and the others not as much. Haven't noticed much developement the past few days while my honey rock cantaloupes are gaining webbing at a good pace. Those plants just got the pm within the past 4-5 days so I'm not so worried about them.
I learned a lot this first year of gardening. I will never grow meon plants this close again. The setup between houses didn't get enough air circulation. That matched with the plants as close together as they were with vines overlapping one side to the other of the trellis left water on leaves and soil didn't dry fast enough after a couple hard rains. I learned that pvc will be fine trellis material for cucmber size fruit, but not melons this size. I will be adding some container gardening next year and also step up my indoor seed starting. I've learned so much on this site and thank you all.

We'll see what happens with these melons, but atleast I have a few cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers to pick every couple days

[stella1751]

Applestar, that Tigger is probably the prettiest melon I've ever seen! I love those delicate colors. I liked seeing the Moon and Stars, too. That's one I've read a quite a bit about, well, enough to know its growing season is too long for me and enough to know I'd like to try it anyway, one day

You appear to wait until the melon/pumpkin is quite heavy before slinging it. What would you guess the weight on that Moon and Stars to be? If it was growing upright and then bent the stem as it gained in weight, then I should have plenty of time to sling mine.

I'll look forward to seeing the tights sling. What type bag did you use on the twine sling?

I managed to force a styrofoam cylinder in the space underneath the first pumpkin. It's about an inch shy of providing support, but I'm hoping the pumpkin's stem will bend naturally so the pumpkin can rest on it. There are now two others in that same area, one on each side of the chain link fence.

I'm toying with crocheting them little hammocks. If I used a large hook and a loose stitch in the middle portion, like a double or even a treble chain, that would give them some stretch as they grew. If I used a smaller hook on each end and a single chain for the first and last three rows, it would be hammock-shaped. Then, if I used a 6-8" 4-strand fringe on both ends, I could tie the hammock to the fence in two or three places on each side. It's the bending of the stem that I need to learn more about right now. Once I know how that works, how quickly it happens and how much weight the stem can bear, I'll be better prepared to design a sling for them.

I am seriously going to try watermelons next year, now that I am learning so much about the trellis/sling. My pumpkins will make nice little test subjects for experimentation!

[garden5]

Hmm. I just went back to review the description for Tigger and this one doesn't quite match. The skin pattern is Tigger's but it's far too light in color -- it's supposed to get fire-engine red spots/stripes, and the flesh is supposed to be white~cream. So it must have crossed.... There were hybrid Honeydew 'Honey Pearl' and the above pictured French Charentais 'Edonis' in the same melon bed so I guess I can chalk this one up to a lucky cross. I'll still save the seeds and see what grows next year. This year, there was a cuke and an ornamental gourd nearby (which shouldn't cross pollinate), and that 'Edonis' wasn't too far away (about 15 feet) so we'll just see.

BTW, I lost a couple of Tiggers last year because they burst the day after I thought they might be ready soon. Today, I picked this one just in time because there were tiny fissures starting to develop on the bottom. The closely knitted tights helps to keep the bugs out, which is another good thing, though that bright red concentrated droplet appears to have been drawn by a sucking insect -- maybe a Stinkbug.

Are you saying that the color variation is due to this-year cross-pollination? I was under the assumption that cross-pollination doesn't affect first-year fruit.

A striking melon, nonetheless.

[applestar]

No no I'm saying all the melons were growing together in the same bed last year so there's good chance THIS one is from a cross-pollinated seed. Then I went on to say that this year, only melon anywhere close is the Edonis and that regardless, I'll be saving the seeds to grow next year.

Tigger is originally an OP. Honey Pearl and Edonis are F1 hybrids.

[BP]

Successful harvest!

I had the day off today and when I took the dog out this morning I took a look at the melon patch. As I approached I smelled cantaloupe very strong. As I investigated further I noticed a Minnesota Midget off the vine. I grabbed it and it smelled wonderful! As I approached my biggest gold Star cantaloupe I smelled an even stronger aroma. Looked closely and it was half seperated from the stem. I grabbed that one and no others were seperated from the stem so I headed in. Weighed the gold Star and it was 5 and a half pounds! Heavier than I have read they get. Here are the pics and this evening I went back out and another Gold Star was half off the stem so I took it and another one just had a tiny crack starting where the stem meets the fruit. Is it normal for that many to be ready that close together?

[img]https://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb9/BP991/Melon%20patch/057.jpg[/img]

FINALLY!
[img]https://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb9/BP991/Melon%20patch/058.jpg[/img]

I ate half of the Midget and gave the other half to Grandpa along with a Gold Star. He was pretty happy too
[img]https://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb9/BP991/Melon%20patch/060.jpg[/img]

Now tell me your methods after harvesting cantaloupes. I couldn't wait so I cut the Midget, but I have that big Gold Star on the counter away from sunlight. How long should I leave it out before cutting or putting in the fridge?
I still have 1 Gold Star, 4 Midgets, and 7 Honeyrocks on the vine so any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

[stella1751]

Thinking ahead: I have a trellis idea for next year, a trellis I could build with objects I have on hand. My raised beds are 4' x 8'. I have some 40" chain-link fence, a bunch of it. Suppose I were to stretch that chain link onto a 40" x 8' rectangular frame made from 2x4s (or 2x6s), making two of these frames and joining them at the top with a 4' 2x4 on each side. I could then lift that up into the bed and somehow secure it to both sides of the bed. (The beds aren't topped off with soil yet, so there is some depth in which to secure it to the sides.) I could plant two watermelons (or pumpkins) in the center section and one on each end.

What do you guys think? Would this work, remembering that Wyoming winds periodically hit 50 or 60 MPH?

[engineeredgarden]

BP - That's great, dude! 5.5 lbs. is a nice sized cantaloupe..I bet your grandpa really enjoyed that melon, too...

Have you seen any little holes bored into any of the fruit yet? Pickle worms are already here at my house, and they absolutely do some damage on cantaloupes....

stella - you certainly have the stuff to build a really nice trellis. The main thing is to make sure it's anchored really well.

EG

[applestar]

In my experience, when cantaloupe is ready to eat, you'd better eat it soon. A store-bought melon doesn't last any more than 3 or 4 days out of the fridge in a A/C house.

On solution is to cut up the ripe seeded skinned flesh into cubes, lay in single layer (not touching) on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and freeze. You can put the cubes in a zip type freezer bag after they're frozen solid. Make them bite sized and you can just pop the frozen cubes in your mouth for snacks. You can also grind the frozen cubes up in a food processor with a bit of maple syrup (or sugar syrup) for instant sherbert/sorbet.

For fun, you can use a melon baller, and scoop them out into perfect little balls. Make sure to wash the outer skin well with soap first and set the melon 1/2 in a bowl when you do this because the melon baller causes a lot of juice to be squished out, and you'll want to save that.

[BP]

They will be eaten with a couple days of harvest. I have a couple friends that keep asking about them. EG, not a single mark on any fruits. No pesticide was ever used either. I just got lucky I guess when it comes to pests (other than the missing chipmunks)

[garden5]

Nice harvest, BP.

Apps, I see what you mean, now. That Tiger was grown from saved seed, not store-bought, that's what I was missing .

Good luck with your melons, all.

[BP]

I'm up to 5 Gold Stars, 5 Midgets, and my biggest honeydew harvested so far. I pulled and cleared the 3 hills of plants that were done. The PM covered vines are going to the road and I stuck a few sucker tomato plants in there to see if I can get anything from them. Probably nothing will come of it, but I don't have enough season left to start anything else.

[applestar]

Consider planting garlic there later in the fall, not everywhere but either along the edges of the bed or scattered (leaving room to plant other things that are compatible with garlic in spring). I heard that this is a good thing to do after cucurbits and I'm planning on doing that around mid-Oct. I'm also planting fall and winter mustard greens and fall radishes as well as Daikon radishes.

[BP]

Garlic is one plant I haven't studied at all. I'm going to do that. Can you help me with one thing though? What is good and what is bad to plant around garlic?