Melon boy
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Honey dew melons

I have grown the Ukrainian melon called kolkhoznitsa, or another name is collective farm woman. They are from 4 to 6 inch in size. My question is that they are still green and it is days away from frost in my zone. Can I pick these melons and ripen in doors. Everything I read states to ripen on vine till yellow. Any one have experience with these little melons? :?:

ButterflyLady29
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How many days from your first frost? Can you cover the plants? Usually melons don't ripen well off the vine.

Melon boy
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It could be ten days away. General rule of thumb here.

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applestar
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Once frost arrives, will it stay that cold? Here, it seems like we always have killing frost then things warm up for a while. If same is true for you, by covering and protecting from this first frost, you may be able to eek another week or two out of them... But you would have to protect the ENTIRE vine, not just the fruits.

Also, if you can put up a plastic tunnel over the plants -- or even just a wind shelter -- they will be warmer and may ripen faster.

Melon boy
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Can someone tell me the cause of these cantaloupe to split. I have found two this way. The variety is collective farm woman.
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Melon boy
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I have planted a long row of these cantaloupe and to cover all the vines not possible. Yes if it freezes we then will have a week or two good weather. I have noticed plants have seized growing and now are drying down. So I will leave the melons on and see what happens

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applestar
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I think melons are like tomatoes and have tendency to split when overwatered after a dry spell. This is especially true when the fruit is in the first stages of ripening. So maybe this splitting is a good sign?

ButterflyLady29
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Was it dry for a while and then you got a lot of rain? That would cause the melons to split. And yes, they are like tomatoes that way.



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