Melon: Sowing, planting and harvest calendar
How do you sow melons under cover?
Sow your melons under cover a few weeks before you can plant them in their final position, adjusting the date to your climate. Use individual pots with drainage holes and a light seed compost. Sow one or two seeds per pot about 1.5–2 cm deep, following the packet instructions. Put the pots somewhere warm; roughly 18–21 °C helps germination. A mini-greenhouse can hold the pots, but does not replace them or guarantee enough warmth without heating.
Keep the compost slightly moist without soaking it. Once the seedlings emerge, give them plenty of light and retain the strongest plant in each pot if both seeds germinate. Handle the root balls gently. Before planting outdoors, gradually acclimatise the plants and wait until they have several true leaves, frost is no longer a risk and nights remain mild. In cooler regions, a greenhouse or tunnel may be more suitable than open ground; a fleece alone does not make cold conditions suitable.
How do you sow melons outdoors?
Direct sowing of melons outdoors is best suited to warm regions with a long enough growing season. Choose an early variety suited to your climate, a sunny, sheltered spot and fertile, well-drained soil. Wait until frost is no longer a risk and the soil is warm, around 18 °C or more, with mild nights. In a cool or short summer, starting plants under cover and growing them in a greenhouse or tunnel is often more reliable.
Sow two or three seeds per position about 1.5–2.5 cm deep, following the packet's depth and spacing. Later, keep the strongest seedling at each position. Water gently after sowing and maintain moisture without saturating the soil. Weed carefully around young plants. Once the ground is warm, mulch to reduce water loss, leaving the stem bases clear. If you use a cover, ventilate it in hot weather and allow pollinators access when the plants flower.
How do you plant melons?
Plant your young melons once the risk of frost has passed and nights are consistently mild. Acclimatise indoor-grown plants gradually before planting outside. Choose a sunny, sheltered spot with fertile, well-drained soil; in cooler regions, a greenhouse or tunnel is often more suitable. Water the root ball before planting, handle it gently and keep its surface level with the surrounding soil, leaving any graft union above ground. Do not use the sowing depth for a young plant.
Follow the spacing recommended for your variety and growing method; trailing plants often need about a metre between them. Water after planting and check the soil regularly, keeping it moist without waterlogging it. Once the ground is warm, mulch around the plants, leaving space around the stems. If you grow melons vertically, install a sturdy support and support the developing fruits too. For fruits resting on the ground, a tile or board can reduce contact with damp soil.
How do you prune melons?
Adapt pruning to your melon variety and growing method. Some hybrids crop without systematic pruning: check the seed packet or grower's instructions before pinching out shoots. Melons are annual plants; their fruiting stems develop in the current season, so there are no branches from the previous year to preserve. Keep healthy foliage rather than stripping the plant to expose the fruits.
If the chosen training method calls for pinching, remove the tip above a leaf and keep well-placed shoots to guide along the ground or a support. Once fruits have set, you can pinch a fruiting shoot two or three leaves beyond the last retained fruit. Adjust the number of fruits to the variety, plant vigour and time left for ripening, rather than applying a fixed number to every plant. Use clean tools and avoid severe pruning of a stressed plant.
How to care for this plant
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Keep fruits off the soil
As your melons swell, check any resting on the soil. If it stays damp, slip a tile or small board beneath each fruit without pulling its stalk. This does not apply to fruit hanging from a support.
How do you harvest melons?
Harvest your melons according to the variety and growing conditions, rather than a fixed date or a hollow sound when tapped. Check the colour of the rind, the aroma and the stem attachment. Many cantaloupe-type melons become fragrant and detach easily when ripe; other types, such as honeydew, stay attached. Follow the signs given for your variety and cut the stem with clean tools if the fruit does not naturally detach. Do not assume every melon will become sweeter after picking.
Handle the fruit gently and eat it soon after harvesting at full ripeness. If you need to store a ripe melon, keep it cool; storage time depends on the variety, ripeness and temperature, rather than a guaranteed week at room temperature. Wash the rind before cutting so dirt is not carried into the flesh. Cover cut melon, refrigerate it promptly and use it within three or four days. Do not leave cut melon at room temperature for storage.
Melon
- Type : Vegetables
- Subtype : Fruiting vegetables
- Botanical Family : Cucurbits
Characteristics
- Lifecycle : Annual
- Exposure : Full Sun
- Frost Hardiness : Frost Sensitive
- Cultivation Difficulty : Medium
- Mature height : 30 cm
Sowing & Planting
- Greenhouse crops : Unheated greenhouse
- Greenhouse Growing : Recommended
- Sowing Depth : 1.5 cm
- Plant Spacing : 80 cm
- Row Spacing : 120 cm
Maintenance
- Maintenance : Moderate
- Water Requirements : High
Other characteristics
- Soil Type : Humus-rich
- Soil pH Preference : Neutral
- Pest Sensitivity : Moderate
- Disease Sensitivity : Moderate
- Weed Sensitivity : Moderate
- Pollination : Insect-pollinated
- Propagation : Sowing