Cantaloupe Growing in Yard

[blueoveralls]

OK, y'all feel free to laugh at me...

When I was starting my seedlings earlier this Spring, I noticed some chipmunk/mole/choose your rodent holes in my yard, and thought it would be funny to see what would happen if I threw some seeds in. Since I can't grow anything when I actually follow all the directions, I didn't expect much.

My yard is now being taken over by cantaloupe. It seems to be thriving, so I hate to get rid of it. Does anyone know if the melons will do OK sitting in grass?

By the way, the seeds that I planted and tended perfectly according to the directions died.

[applestar]

Sorry, but that IS funny.

The cantaloupe roots must have found some good fertilizer down in the chipmunk hole! If it's growing really well, then I think it'll be fine as long as you're prepared to hand trim the grass around it. I might put a pile of compost around the main stem just in case it needs extra feeding.

Last year, my pumpkin vine escaped the garden bed. I found out that it set down roots along the vine in the moist grass, so it was not a good idea to try to move the vine around -- better to direct the growing end where you want it to go. Keep the grass clipped so as not to shade and also so too much humidity won't cause mildew. 10% milk spray would be a good preventive. When the melons start to grow, sit them up on top of something -- I used upside down flower pots with some straw as cushions to keep their bottoms dry.

[blueoveralls]

Thanks for the tip! I've got some extra bricks lying around, so I may use those with the straw to put the melons on. I've got about 10 growing right now. Hopefully I'm not letting this take over my yard for nothing!

[blueoveralls]

I had the first cantaloupe tonight. It's fantastic! Lazy gardening has worked out much better for me than following directions, I think! LOL.