HelpfulGardener.com

I learn new things every day. The man in this video grew small melons in 70 days. I am growing Crimson Sweet they are slightly larger and 80 day crop. Larger melons are 90, 110 & 120 day crops. It makes good sense to grow small melons so you can start enjoying melons in 70 days instead of 120 days. Small melons are easier to eat than larger 35 lb melon. Last summer we were putting ripe red part of the melon in savers and trying to eat it all before the next melon was ripe.

I don't understand why man in the video want to so much work growing melons in bags of soil but, I don't know his weather conditions. Melons are hot weather plants, the hotter it gets the better melons grow. Melons grow best for me in full sun 100°f all day, my soil is dry as desert June to Sept. When I lived in AZ I grew large melons in summer 114° hot blistering sun, I had 28 big melons on 3 plants. Melons were about 35 to 38 lbs each.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0gOEPa ... ZQ&index=7

I grew some melons before but they take up more space than I have. I did grow sugar baby watermelons and butterbush butternut squash. The watermelon put out a lot of flowers but only one melon got big enough to harvest, but it was a good size for an icebox watermelon about 11 lbs. The butterbush likewise produced about 3 small squash. However, it is not as sweet as the Waltham butternut. I also grew a small cantauloupe from seeds I got from a local farm melon. I did not get anything because the vine got out of control so I had to get rid of it before it made any melons.

I might do sugar baby again but I would have to put more than one vine in a container. The vines only went about 6 feet and I could manage that.

I think Teo did a good job of using what materials were on hand. Local soil and manure with a little bit of fertilizer. He even made his own soil blocks without a fancy and expensive soil block jig and making bags out of reused feed bags. The bag looks like it came from maybe Thailand or Vietnam, but his name suggests Filipino. I thought it was ingenious to cut the vine tips after the melons had flowered and pollinated to push energy into the melon production. Only one melon per pot, but limited the space it took up. Most of his videos are about container gardening in the city. So I think that is why he planted in the bags and not in the ground. I really liked his video growing lettuce in a 2 liter soda bottle.

From the background,soil and surroundings this is probably in SE Asia so it is hot and humid there.

imafan26 wrote: ↑

Mon Apr 24, 2023 3:59 pm

I grew some melons before but they take up more space than I have. I did grow sugar baby watermelons and butterbush butternut squash. The watermelon put out a lot of flowers but only one melon got big enough to harvest, but it was a good size for an icebox watermelon about 11 lbs. The butterbush likewise produced about 3 small squash. However, it is not as sweet as the Waltham butternut. I also grew a small cantauloupe from seeds I got from a local farm melon. I did not get anything because the vine got out of control so I had to get rid of it before it made any melons.

I might do sugar baby again but I would have to put more than one vine in a container. The vines only went about 6 feet and I could manage that.

I think Teo did a good job of using what materials were on hand. Local soil and manure with a little bit of fertilizer. He even made his own soil blocks without a fancy and expensive soil block jig and making bags out of reused feed bags. The bag looks like it came from maybe Thailand or Vietnam, but his name suggests Filipino. I thought it was ingenious to cut the vine tips after the melons had flowered and pollinated to push energy into the melon production. Only one melon per pot, but limited the space it took up. Most of his videos are about container gardening in the city. So I think that is why he planted in the bags and not in the ground. I really liked his video growing lettuce in a 2 liter soda bottle.

From the background,soil and surroundings this is probably in SE Asia so it is hot and humid there.

I rake my melon vines in a clock wise circle around the plants to make them grow in a small area. I don't want melon vines all over the whole garden.

Summer of 1970 I applied for a job at a 20 acre watermelon farm. They said, vines will grow about 25 ft long and every place vines touch the soil the vines grow more roots. A 25 ft long vine might have 25 places where it grew more roots. All those roots supply the plant with more water to grow several larger melons faster. If vines don't grow enough extra roots blossoms will dropping off then vines only have 3 ripe melons instead of 8 ripe melons per vine. Summer rain determines how many extra roots melon vines grow.

Yes, my yard is smaller than your entire garden. With my house and driveway included the property is 5400 sf. About 3000 sf is yard. The houses are only 10-15 ft apart so on the north side even grass won't grow. I live in a HOA (commie community) so vegetables in the front yard are illegal. Unless you grow something they don't know is edible, like roselle, roses, garlic chives, daylilies, sunflower, naturtiums and a few other things. I just found out alyssum is edible. I knew it was in the cabbage family, but I did not know it was edible. My front yard has to have 50% grass by edict of the design committee, So I have to plant most of my vegetables in the back yard. I have a couple in the front yard in pots, but there are mainly ornamentals there. My back yard is about 54 ft x 15-30 ft deep. I grow a lot of things but mostly in containers that are closely spaced. vines have to go up. I am contemplating growing the sugar baby in a cage to contain it There really isn't room around it to rake. As it is my sweet potato vine is sprawling on the ground, so I will have to pull it up the trellis or cut it off. Its fine, the more it is cut, the more tips it will make. Vines that don't behave climb the other plants. I have a bitter melon vine climbing my Lippia micromera, and the red currant is taking over my front yard and going through the fence so I will have to pull them. I have already overfed my worms this week, so that is going in the green can. If I can put multiple vines in a pot and get one melon from each of them by cutting the vines (and if it works when I do it) that would be good.

You are talking about one of the primary reasons for me to be a gardener — melons, fresh and ripe .

I grew up in southern Oregon where we could grow most any melon. Now, the cool nights in my present location interferes, as they do with nearly every warm-season crop. My gardening neighbor and I grew Sugar Baby watermelon in 3 different years. He had some mature but his second time failed as did my effort. I also tried Blacktail Mountain 2 years with no ripe fruit.

Seventy day choices catch my attention. Asian melons can do what they are supposed to however, they just aren't what I was looking for. I tried an orange honeydew, Honey Blonde, in 2021. It did very well but was also not what I had hoped for. I think that we are really pushing the envelope with such early maturing melon varieties.

Year after year, I have grown either Passport or Diplomat Galia melons. Honestly, I can't tell the difference between the two. They do just fine !

About 1 year out of 6 or 7, my choice for a cantaloupe has problems. Otherwise, Goddess comes through and I am happy with the melons. Goddess is listed as 68 days, Passport and Diplomat as 71.

I have tried and tried for a Charentais and the earliest choices have not been successful. Maybe there will be one melon in a 35' or 50' row - not worth the space. The Galia melons have been the best choice to grow, had the best performance and are wonderful at the table.

Steve

Probably not as dire but I have similar issues with melons as well, since many summer nights are down to upper 60’sF.

I have too many to try this year, but MUST remember @digitS’s recommendations for the future grow plans.

Goddess cantaloupe and Passport Galia melon -- the first off the vines. They are joining my pancakes and oolong this morning for breakfast.

AppleStar said in her 2023 garden thread:
Blacktail Mountain watermelons in center of the Spiral Garden have set 6 fruits.

Blacktail Mountain melons, AppleStar!

Steve

Supposedly, I can grow cantaloupe here. I have to read up more about how to do it and what varieties are suitable.

imafan26 wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 29, 2023 9:51 am

Supposedly, I can grow cantaloupe here. I have to read up more about how to do it and what varieties are suitable.

Melons are hot weather plants like, sweet potatoes, okra, blackberries. Full sun all day, the hotter it gets the better they like it. I grew 28 melons in AZ one summer. I tried to eat a 30 lb melon every day but can't do it even with help. Melons like dry moist sand 15-15-15 fertilizer & calcium for BER. AZ soil is powdered rock it has almost no food value for plants.