A few random questions (seeding, cantaloupe, peppers)

[Liska]

I did a forum search, but probably missed a really obvious thread that already answers my questions, but I have a couple of questions....

..I decided after much debate to let my lettuce and my brocolli go to seed, since I very clearly planted them in the wrong warm season. Consider it a lesson learned-- but most of them have already gone to flower and started to sprout.

Whenabouts do they go to "seed" and how abouts should I go about picking them? I noticed on the top of the lettuce long green pods, and I'm guessing these are the seed pods I will want to break open and get the seed from?

I was planning on doing the same thing with my Brussels Spouts, but, alas, I looked this morning and I have some baby sprouts starting! Woo Hoo!

Also, I planted some Cantaloupe early May, I just noticed recently they are starting to flower and are doing better now that they're no longer in hot, hot heat! However, the weather is quickly getting colder and fall is starting to arrive. What's the best way to protect my plants, in hope of actually getting a Cantaloupe this year? Should I just leave them be and hope for the best?

Also.. I finally have a red bell pepper forming! However, it's out of one of my tiny potted plants, so it's only about 2 inches wide/tall/big. It just recently started turning the red colour the other day- is it going to be OK to eat? I also have a Jalepeno thats starting to turn black - which will hopefully equal it turning another color, or should I pick it as soon as I get it home and cook it?

Thanks

[Avonnow]

Well I am certainly no guru on any of this, but I can tell you on the peppers, my Jalopenos started green, turned a darker color (almost burgundy), then turned red, I ate them (or used them) at all phases - really didn't matter they were good all colors, and I had so many I dehydrate them to use in chili and dips. Lets face it you can only use so many unless you are stuffing them with cheese. The other pepper RED BELL, I got some on my plants that never got large but they turned red and we ate them and they tasted like a pepper, so they were fine - I actually left some on the plant to see if they would get bigger, they didn't so I finally picked them so the plant would continue to produce. I can't tell you about Cantaloupe, I have some now as well but I am in FL - I am worried it will be too hot and they will rot. They are doing alright but I have never grown them, they crawled all over but some get the size of golf balls and then die, I read some material that says they send the nutrients back to the main stalk and die. Not sure why. Good Luck. I can't believe it is getting colder already for you, it is so hot here and humid.

[BP]

I have a thread titled "first time melon grower". it may be on the second page if not at the bottom of the first. I have pics to go along with the progression of melon plants growing, developing fruit, and ripenning of fruit. It should be quite helpful for your cantaloupe questions. If your season is similar as mine here in Michigan which I think it is, you're not going to get ripe melons this year. You can see on my thread the dates along with pics of when flowers first start (male flowers) and then the females later. Go by the dates of my first harvest. I have gotten 4 or 5 Honey Rock cantaloupes in the past few days and only 3 to go and then I'm done. I'm sorry to tell you, but I highly doubt you will get melons before frost if your first male flowers are just now popping up.
Cantaloupes are tropical fruit that not only need, but thrive in hot temps. Most of our summer here has been daytime highs of high 80's to low 90's with the 4th of July and week after reaching well over 90 degrees and that was when they grew/produced the fastest. You may want to look more at how much you have watered them and how you watered other than heat as the problem. also how good is your soil?
I never added any compost to my raised bed, but the bed has had various plants grown in it since that late 70's early 80's. I don't know what all has grown since I moved in in 1996, but since then it has had nothing but weeds some years, flowers, and all of that has been tilled in every fall.
I watered with a soaker hose at dusk and grew them on a trellis so water was never on the leaves and it didn't matter I watered at night instead of everyones favorite time of early morning. YOU HAVE TO keep melon plants soil moist at all times until fruits stop growing. Once they stop growing larger, cut the water to nearly nothing for ripenning.
Hope this helps and checkout my thread. Feel free to ask any questions.

[cynthia_h]

BP's "First Time Melon Grower" thread is a gold mine of information and photos.

https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=27681

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

[garden5]

BP has you covered with your cantaloupes, so I'll try with the rest.

Here is how to [url=https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CBYQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fvegetablegardens.suite101.com%2Farticle.cfm%2Fhow_to_save_the_seed_from_lettuce_plants&ei=xW91TO2bNMWclgeZl-zHBQ&usg=AFQjCNG37cpp7MqlqHFuTIWtdrG0aGn60A]save lettuce seed[/url] and [url=https://www.liseed.org/osubroccoli.html]save broccoli seed[/url].

[Liska]

Thanks for the helpful info and links guys/gals