With all this hot weather we've been having lately, the melons in my garden are taking off! I've been growing cantaloupes and watermelons for years and have a few tips on growing a great crop.
I start with quick maturing varieties, such as "Minnesota Midget" cantaloupe and "Sugar Baby" watermelon. These are especially important for cooler summer areas.
The keys to melon growing are heat, water and fertility. We have the heat right now, but we all know it won't last all summer. So, maximize the warmer temperatures by growing melons in black plastic or solar mulch to get an early start. Keep the plants well-watered and apply an organic fertilizer monthly to keep them growing strong. Cut back on watering when melons start to ripen for the best flavor.
I grow lots of flowers in the vegetable garden to bring in pollinating insects. Melons, like all cucurbits, have male and female flowers and need pollinators to make fruit. I keep cucumber beetles off young plants with yellow sticky traps and sprays of kaolin clay, as needed.
I also limit the number of fruits that set per vine. I'll pinch out any new fruits that form after the initial two to three fruits per plant start growing. In late August, I also pinch the growth point of the vine. This will send more energy into ripening the existing fruits and they'll have better flavor. To control powdery mildew disease, I spray Serenade organic fungicide or a baking soda spray. The recipe for baking soda spray is one tablespoon baking soda, one teaspoon horticultural oil, a dash of liquid soap in a gallon of water. These sprays only work, however, when applied before the disease starts.
Harvest cantaloupes when they easily separate from the vine when lifted. Harvest watermelons when the last tendril closest to the fruit has turned brown and died.
Now for this week's tip: when harvesting basil, pinch back stems to just above a set of leaves to encourage new branches and big leaves to form.
