Cantaloupe seedlings10/10/2023 ![]() Plant seeds in the garden as soon as the soil is warm and dry to give these crops the greatest number of hot days. Give melons a long growing season a long, hot growing season will increase flavor and yield. When planting cut x-shaped slits in the covering. Pre-warm the soil by placing black plastic or permeable black garden fabric across the planting area two weeks before planting. Melons can be grown on mounds, raised beds, up trellises, or in flat planting beds.Add several inches of aged compost and aged manure or commercial organic planting mix to the planting bed before planting.Melons grow best in loose, well-drained, loamy soil rich in organic matter.Let the soil warm up for 10 days or more before sowing or transplanting. Water in the soil and cover the bed or mound with black plastic sheeting (plastic mulch) or black landscape fabric that will absorb solar heat. If you are not planting in a raised bed, top each hole with the same mix to form a mound about six inches high and a foot or two wide. Throw a handful of bone meal or all-purpose vegetable fertilizer (or half a shovelful of aged steer manure) into the bottom of each hole then backfill with a mix of aged compost, sand, and native garden soil or a half-and-half mix of store-bought planting mix and native soil. In late spring, about the time of the last expected frost, dig holes about 18 inches deep and wide. Grow melons in raised beds or on hills or mounds that warm early in the season. Grow melons on raised hills: 4 to 6 feet apart for muskmelons, 6 to 12 feet apart for watermelons. Prepare planting beds with aged compost and side dress with compost during the growing season. Grow melons in loose, well-drained soil rich in organic matter. ![]() Melons must stay warm and dry to prevent disease and grow quickly and uninterrupted. Grow melons in full sun with plenty of air circulation. Pre-warm the soil by placing black plastic or permeable black garden fabric across the planting area. Cantaloupes require 70 to 100 frost-free days to reach harvest cantaloupes will tolerate no frost.Start seed indoors in biodegradable peat or paper pots that can be set directly into the garden. ![]() Start cantaloupe seed indoors 6 weeks before transplanting seedlings into the garden.Sow cantaloupe (muskmelon) seed in the garden or set out transplants 3 to 4 weeks after the last average frost date in spring.To jump-start the season start seeds indoors 2 to 4 weeks before transplanting them into the garden. Plant melons when the soil has warmed to 70° to 80☏. All melons require a growing season of at least 100 frost-free days.Winter melons require 110 frost-free days to reach harvest, more days than required by the summer melons, cantaloupe or muskmelon, and watermelon.Cantaloupes, muskmelons, honeydew melons, and other summer melons, as well as winter melons, have the same growing requirements.Winter melons include casaba, Crenshaw, honeydews, and Persian melons. Winter melons-which are grown during the summer like muskmelons–are ready for harvest in late summer and autumn.Muskmelons along with watermelons are termed summer melons because they come to harvest from mid to late summer.Get a head start on the season by starting plants from seed indoors, 2 to 3 weeks before the last frost, then transplant seedlings to the garden no sooner than 2 weeks after the last frost. Plant seeds in the garden as soon as the soil is warm and dry to give these melons the greatest number of hot days. Melons need sustained soil and air temperatures of 70☏ (21☌) or greater for 75 to 100 days for the best and most flavorful growth. Melons Growing Problems Troubleshooting.(The higher the temperature the faster the seed will sprout.) Expect germination in 3 to 10 days, depending on the soil temperature. ![]() You can sow seeds directly in the ground two or more weeks after the last frost. Melons grow best when both the soil and air temperature are at least 70☏ (21☌). Both cloudy and rainy weather will slow and all but stop melon growth. The best-flavored melons will come from the hottest-growing regions. Melons grow best when summers are hot, dry, and almost always sunny.
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