Knowing how to grow cantaloupes and melons results in the treat of having these delicious fruits available to freshly clip from the vine. They are a great addition to your home garden, but can pose some challenges.
3 Tips for How To Grow Cantaloupes Successfully
1. Cantaloupe seeds can be directly sown into the soil once the soil is at least 65°F during the day and overnight. Use a thermometer to test the temperature of the soil.
2. Cantaloupes require well-drained, fertile soil. Melons do best in loamy soil with a pH between 6.0 and 6.5. If you aren’t sure about your soil, a soil test kit can be purchased for around $15 at your local nursery or online. To improve the soil, you may need to add some compost. If your soil isn’t adequate for drainage, consider growing your melons in a raised garden bed or a garden grow bag.
3. Cantaloupes require warm soil. They thrive on hot, sunny summer days. Be sure to plant them in a full-sun location.
How To Grow Cantaloupes Via Direct Sowing Seeds
If planting cantaloupe from seed, space the seeds according to the back of the seed packet. Generally, this is three seeds planted 18 to 24 inches apart. Space the rows five to six feet apart. Once seedlings emerge, clip away the weaker of the three and allow the strongest of the three sprouts to grow.
How To Grow Cantaloupes Indoors For a Head Start
Starting cantaloupe seeds inside is another option for how to grow cantaloupes. This method allows you to start growing the plants a couple of weeks sooner than outside. However, melons are very sensitive to root disturbance and tend to do better when directly sown. It’s advised to use biodegradable containers to start the seeds in so that you can plant the container and sprout directly into the ground instead of disturbing the root system by pulling the sprout out of a plastic seed starting container. Soil blocking instead of a biodegradable container is another option that helps avoid root disturbance.
Pollination Is Key To Growing Cantaloupes
Pollination is key for cantaloupes. They produce two flower types: male flowers and perfect flowers (having both male and female parts). The pollination window is only one day, so this means that if you don’t see any pollinators in the garden, you may need to intervene with a paintbrush. To do this, apply some pollen from the male flower to the tip of a clean paintbrush and brush it onto the female flower. This is required for fruit development. If the flowers do not become pollinated or if the pollination is poor, fruit will not develop, or it may develop misshapen. Adding pollinator-friendly flowers into the garden within your vegetable and fruit growing spaces helps as well.
Caring for Cantaloupes
Cantaloupes require two to three inches of water per week. They do best with deep watering a couple of times per week versus more frequent shallow watering. A soaker or drip house is recommended. Try to avoid spraying the vines and leaves as they are prone to powdery mildew.
Remove weeds surrounding the vines. It’s helpful to mulch around the base of the vines to help control weeds, and it will also keep the soil warmer and aid in keeping it from drying out as quickly. Since cantaloupe vines grow up to 10 feet (depending on variety), they are a great option for vertical gardening. We’ve had great luck growing ours over our cattle panel trellis. This keeps great airflow, which also helps fight against powdery mildew.
As the melons get close to ripening, taper off the watering as you want to avoid the melons splitting before harvest. Gradually decreasing the water also helps the fruit ripen and improves the overall flavor.
Harvesting Cantaloupes
Once ready for harvest, you’ll notice the once hard melon has a slight give to it when you push your thumb into the skin. It will effortlessly snap off the vine and you should be able to smell the sweetness my giving it a smell. Cantaloupes will ripen at different times on the same vine, so be sure to keep a watchful eye so that you harvest them before the garden pests get to them.
How to Grow Cantaloupes: Basic Facts
Size: Vines grow up to 10 feet long.
Sunlight requirements: Full sun (A minimum of six hours of direct sunlight is ideal.)
Water requirements: About 1 inch per week
Soil requirements: Average, well-drained garden soil high in organic matter.
When to plant: Direct-seed when soil temperatures reach 65°F at a minimum.
When to harvest: 60 to 80 days from seed, depending on the variety. Harvest when fruits easily slip from the vine and the skin areas between the netting have turned from green to tan.
Produce storage: Store ripe on the counter for two to three days or in the refrigerator for up to one week.
This article about how to grow cantaloupes was written for Hobby Farms magazine. Click here to subscribe.
