What do melon seedlings look like

Honeydew melons are smooth-skinned, with pale flesh that may be white, green, or orange. Both types are the species Cucumis melo. Watermelon is Citrullus lanatus. Using season extension techniques such as soil-warming mulches, hot caps and low tunnel row covers, gardeners can get the soil to heat up sooner and protect melons in late summer if there is an early frost. For both direct-seeded and transplanted melon plants, these techniques and materials can allow planting two or three weeks earlier.

Plant melon seeds 1 week to 10 days before the average last spring frost date , it is important to wait until the soil is warm enough. Prepare the soil for the melon planting about 2 weeks before the average last spring frost date in your area. Transplanting can add two to four weeks to the growing season, but melons are especially sensitive to root disturbance.

In the case of a broken or damaged root, the plant may never recover, or it may grow slowly all season, leading to a disappointing harvest. You can grow small-fruited melon plants in small gardens by training the plant to a fence or trellis. After the fruits begin to enlarge, they will need support, or the fruit weight may damage the vines. You can make slings to hold up the fruit using wide strips of fabric tied to the trellis, with the melon fruit resting its weight on the fabric.

Poor fruit set could be due to hot weather, water stress, or poor pollination. Cold, rain, or cloudy weather may hinder pollination. Diseases are easier to deal with if identified early. Once disease is severe, there is little that can be done. Identifying ripe watermelon and honeydew melons is more difficult, since they do not slip from the vine. Use a combination of indicators to determine ripeness. Watermelon and honeydew are more cold-sensitive than cantaloupe.

You should eat them the day you pick them, or refrigerate them for only a day or two. All rights reserved. The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer. Home Yard and garden Find plants Fruit Growing melons in the home garden. Quick facts You can either transplant or direct seed melons. Plant melon seeds 1 week to 10 days before the last spring frost date. Melons will not all ripen at the same time, so plan to pick them as they become ready.

Preparing to plant melons. Open all Close all. Soil and fertility Have your soil tested to determine pH. Melons grow best on well-drained, sandy loam soils, with a pH between 6. Soils with a pH less than 6. You can improve your soil by adding well-rotted manure or compost in spring or fall.

Do not use fresh manure as it may contain harmful bacteria and may increase weed problems. Build raised beds to ensure adequate drainage, which these crops require. Selecting melon varieties to plant Cantaloupe and muskmelon have netted skin, a strong aroma and moist fruit that is usually orange, but may also be green.

How to extend the growing season before planting Using season extension techniques such as soil-warming mulches, hot caps and low tunnel row covers, gardeners can get the soil to heat up sooner and protect melons in late summer if there is an early frost. Plastic mulch warms the soil conserves water helps to control weeds allows earlier planting and maturity reduces ground rot of the fruit Cut holes in the plastic mulch for seeds or transplants at the time of planting, not before.

Hot caps protect the individual melon plants from cold during their first weeks in the garden. Low tunnels are row covers supported by wire hoops. Under the cover, daytime and nighttime temperatures are higher than outside the tunnel. The tunnel also protects the plants from wind and flying insects. Remove covers once fear of frost has passed to avoid injury from too much heat, and to allow bees and other pollinators access to the flowers.

Later in the season, use floating row covers to protect plants during cool spells. Planting You can direct seed or transplant melons into the garden between mid-May in southern Minnesota and late June in northern Minnesota. In the northern part of the state, melons planted in late June must be ready for harvest before mid-September, when frost is likely. Melons perform best in hot, sunny locations with fertile, well-drained soils. Direct seeding Plant melon seeds 1 week to 10 days before the average last spring frost date , it is important to wait until the soil is warm enough.

Use a thermometer to take the temperature of the top two inches of soil. Cutworms wrap themselves around the stems of young plants and chow down. They are actually moth larvae and can be controlled with paper collars around the stems. Flea beetles are small black or bronze jumping leaf beetles, just an eighth of an inch long. These chewing insects can be kept off young melon vines with floating row cover. Another strategy is to plant a trap crop of radishes, which flea beetles prefer over melons.

By summer, melon vines are established enough to shrug off flea beetle damage, and their presence then should not raise concerns. Root-knot nematodes form galls in melon roots, where they steal nutrients. If you go heavy on water and fertilizer, an affected melon plant may still be able to produce.

However, if you know nematodes are present, plant resistant varieties or practice crop rotation by refraining from planting nightshades in that garden bed for three or four years, so the nematode population subsides. Whiteflies are similar to aphids in that they suck sap and cover plants in honeydew — and are vectors for diseases. They are naturally controlled by wasps, but melon vines can also be treated with insecticidal soap. For the sweetest melons, consider reducing the number of melons per vine by selecting the best-looking and sacrificing the others.

Cantaloupes and other muskmelons are ready to harvest when the rind changes color from a gray-green to a dull yellow. The melon should still be firm, but some gentle pressure from your thumb against the stem will separate a ripe fruit from the plant. Honeydew is ready to be picked when the skin turns completely white or yellow — depending on the variety. A ripe honeydew should be removed from the vine with garden shears.

Do not attempt to pull it off the vine, as you would with a cantaloupe. To tell when a watermelon is ready to be picked, examine the tendrils closest to where the stem meets the fruit. When the tendrils turn brown and dry, the watermelon is ready to be picked — with shears. A ripe watermelon will sound hollow when you knock on it. You can harvest a melon before it is ripe and keep it stored at room temperature. Once ripe, enjoy, or keep it refrigerated and serve it within a few days. When the tendrils turn brown and dry, the watermelon is ready to be picked.

What are your secrets to successfully growing melons? Let us know in the comments below. Ready to have more of your gardening questions answered?

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If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. No melon can beat the sweet orange flesh of the cantaloupe. Because I love cantaloupe so much, I decided to grow it here in Alaska. Seeing how this fruit thrives in balmy summertime climes, this is an audacious choice. This delicious fruit belongs to the genus Cucumis and is a member of the Cucurbitaceae, or gourd family.

Pumpkins , squash , honeydew, and zucchini are also star members. Grown as a summer annual in USDA Hardiness Zones , the fruit develops on a trailing vine, which can trained up a trellis to save space. Cantaloupe melons are a variety of the muskmelon, C. This orange-fleshed fruit is known as rockmelon in Australia and New Zealand, and spanspek in South Africa.

Early versions of the melon originated in Persia, India, and the surrounding area, and then in the s seeds from Armenia contributed to the cultivation of the European cantaloupe we know and love.

The name came from one of the first places to grow this version, Cantalupo, a town near Rome where the Pope enjoyed a villa retreat. As for the North American variety, Columbus brought seeds of early cultivars on his voyage to the new world, and introduced them to the Americas.

In , the W. In shape this melon is almost a perfect globe, with green skin, regularly ribbed, and thickly netted. Vegetables for the Home Garden. You can also roast and snack on the seeds. You can start this fruit from seed indoors or outdoors, or from seedlings purchased at a garden center. Those of you who live in colder climates, like I do, should sow seeds indoors at least four weeks before your average last frost date. In warmer climates, you can sow seeds directly outdoors as soon as all danger of frost has passed.

In somewhere like Florida, plant as early as February or March. Those in Zones 9, 10, and 11 can even sow seeds in the fall for a winter crop. Most cantaloupe cultivars take between days from germination to reach maturity, so let that be your guide. The roots emerge from the point, and while they may still germinate if you place them rounded-side-down, the seedling will have to work that much harder to figure out which way is up and which is down.

Tamp the soil back over the seed and give it a nice misting with a spray bottle or a gentle watering with a watering can. You can also use a layer of plastic wrap to achieve a similar effect, but be sure to remove it as soon as seeds germinate. Make sure to keep that spray bottle nearby — cantaloupe seedlings need constant moisture in the early days. A few days after germination, thin to one seedling per cell, keeping the one that looks the strongest.

Those of you living in warmer climates can direct sow outdoors in full sun as soon as the danger of frost has passed. Keep them evenly moist until germination. Did you pick up a tray of starts at your local nursery?

Or are your seedlings big enough to transplant out? Pick a sunny spot for planting, as melons need eight to ten hours of full sun in order to thrive. I like to amend garden soil with well-rotted manure and compost, or with a nutrient-rich raised bed soil like this one from the Home Depot. Raised Bed Recharge. Next, dig a hole the size of the root ball, place the plant inside the hole, backfill with soil, and water thoroughly.

Space each plant inches apart. Cantaloupes grow best in organically rich, well-draining soil, with a mildly acidic pH of 6. You can conduct a soil test and amend accordingly. To help keep the plant happy during heat waves, mulch with straw or other light-colored material to keep the roots cool. Using raised beds for cantaloupes helps, because the soil in raised beds and containers often thaws earlier than the ground.

Another important step? Mulch with black landscaping fabric, or dark-colored bark chips. Only use dark mulch in colder growing zones, though, or the plants may overheat. For extra warmth, you can insert hoops and floating row covers over your garden to act as a greenhouse during the early days of growth.

Another important component of a happy cantaloupe is to keep it well watered, especially in the growing and flowering stages. Avoid watering from above to prevent the leaves getting wet and potentially spreading disease.

To check soil moisture, stick your finger an inch down into the soil. Too much water at this point can cause the rinds to swell and split. A tomato cage can work, as can a trellis, a simple tent made of four bamboo poles tied together at the top, or a vertical growing frame like this one from the Home Depot. Use old pantyhose if you have some on hand, or netted, stretchy produce bags, like these ones available from Amazon.

Support Bags for Growing Melons. Make sure that the material you use is breathable. Simply put the net around the melon and tie it to the trellis, frame, or pole.

As the melon grows, the sling will expand and support it so that it does not break the vine. Also, remember to trim the vines to encourage the plant to focus its energy on making big, juicy melons. Like strawberries , melons send out runners. To grow large melons, trim each plant at the leaf node just past the one bearing the fruit and consider only keeping two to three fruits on each plant. As frosty fall weather approaches and your melons begin ripening, pinch off any new flowers to allow the energy to focus on ripening existing fruit.

This sweet, medium-sized cantaloupe grows well in Zones , which is why I chose it for my Alaska garden. Back in the s, when it was cultivated, this was the most popular commercial melon in the United States. Vines will spread up to 72 inches and grow inches tall. With just a touch of ribbing and a thin, netted rind, this is a classic cultivar to suit those of us who adore super-sweet melons. Find packets of 50 seeds at Burpee or up to one pound of seeds at True Leaf Market.

Hardy to Zones , these delicious melons were winners of the All-American Selection Gold Medal in , for their robust size and sweet flavor. Find anything from a small packet to a five-pound sack of seeds at Eden Brothers. Introduced by the University of Minnesota in , the vines produce sweet, juicy, four-inch fruits and plants are resistant to fusarium wilt.

Unlike other varieties, the vines only spread up to three feet. Each plant can produce anywhere from four to eight delicious melons. Find seeds today in 1-ounce, 4-ounce, and 1-pound packages at True Leaf Market.

What leafy thing is immune from this persistent pest? Not just any aphids love this melon, though: peach aphids Myzus persicae , which are green to yellowish-brown, and melon aphids Aphis gossypii , which are creamy white. Aphids suck the sap out of the leaves, causing them to turn yellow or stop growing. They also contribute to the spread of mosaic virus. If your outbreak is limited to a few sturdy vines, you can hose the bugs off with water and sprinkle diatomaceous earth atop the fallen pests, and on the soil around your plants.

Alternatively, spray the plant with neem oil or insecticidal soap — or make your cantaloupe patch a happy home for ladybugs, a beneficial insect that eats aphids. These rather beautiful beetles come in three pertinent forms: the Western striped cucumber beetle Acalymma vittata , the Western spotted cucumber beetle Diabrotica undecimpunctata , and the banded cucumber beetle Diabrotica balteata.

These brightly colored bugs can damage vines and leaves and contribute to bacterial rot. They also munch on the fruit and leave behind ugly scars. The best way to manage them is to apply kaolin clay or neem oil to the affected areas and catch them early before they spread! Not cool! Cutworms, Peridroma saucia, are most active at night, and in the daytime these inch beasties curl up and hide in the soil at the base of the plant.

To control them, hand-pick them off your plants at night fun, fun! Read more about cutworm control in our guide.