Tips on Growing Melons

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Tips on Growing Melons

The term as commonly used includesthe fruit of 2 distinct genera of the familyCucurbitaceae. Cucumis melo, the Muskmelon,Honey Dew, Casaba and related varieties;and Citrullus vulgaris, the Watermelon andCitron.

Cucumis melo. A warm, temperate annual withtrailing, soft, hairy vines. The fruit varies greatly in many of the cultivated forms orbotanical varieties. Native to Persia and CentralAsia. Var. reticulatus; netted melons with fruithaving a netted skin, shallow sutures and ribs,and flesh varying from light green to reddishorange, with a musky odor. Var. cantalupensis,European Cantaloupe. Fruits have hard rinds;arc rough, warty and scaly. Not grown inNorth America, but many varieties of what areuniversally but incorrectly called cantelopesare grown here, and conforming to this usagethey will hereafter be called cantaloupes. Var.inodorus: Winter melons. Fruits lack muskyodor, ripen late, keep well; skin smooth,corrugated ridged; flesh white, light green ororange. Var. flexuosus: Snake Melon, long,slender, crooked, non-netted fruits. Inedible.Var. chito: Mango Melon, orange to purplishpink, wine peach. Fruits are the size and shapeof an orange, yellow or greenish; flesh white, notfragrant, cucumberlike. Used in preserves andpickles. Var. dudaim: Pomegranate Melon.Fruit small, round, very fragrant, inedible. Usedfor ornamental purposes.

The history of the Melon dates back manycenturies. In the U.S. this vegetable was oflimited importance until very late in the 19thcentury. It now ranks as one of the majorcrops with Calif., Ariz., Tex., Colo., Ga., N.& S.Car., Mich. and Ind. as the most importantstates in its commercial production.

All netted melons are listed as either musk-melons or cantaloupes (which as noted above inclassification is a misnomer). In general musk-melons include the larger-fruited sorts thathave thin rinds, ripen rapidly at maturity andare not adapted to shipping. Cantaloupesinclude the smaller-fruited varieties with tough,hard rinds, ripen slowly and are adapted toshipping.

Varieties

Seed companies list many varieties andstrains of muskmelons, cantaloupes and wintermelons which vary in days to maturity, color offlesh, resistance to disease and climatic adapta-bility. It is therefore only possible to list a fewof the more common and popular varieties;cantaloupe; 'Hales Best' type; muskmelons,`Hearts of Gold', 'Pride of Wisconsin', 'SenecaBender', `Delicious' and `Iroquois'; wintermelons, 'Honey Dew', 'Casaba', 'Crenshaw',and 'Persian'.

The home gardener should check severalseed catalogues for descriptions and informa-tion of varieties adapted to a given region.

Melons thrive best and develop the highestquality in a hot dry climate. The plants are verysensitive to low temperatures, and in humidregions foliage diseases are especially serious.

Culture

Melons thrive best in a sandy loam soil that iswell drained and is not too acid or tests a pH of6.2-6.8. Thorough soil preparation prior toplanting is important. Fertilizer requirementsare similar to those for cucumbers. See CU-CUMBERS. Well-rotted manure or compost isbeneficial as a source of plant food and toimprove the water-holding capacity of the soil.The application can be broadcast or, if only alimited supply is available, a good forkful canbe placed under each hill. A complete fertilizer5-10-10 should be broadcast prior to plantingfollowed by several top dressings of nitrate ofsoda after the plants start to grow rapidly.

Muskmelon seed will not germinate in coldwet soil. In the warmer regions, south and south-west, planting out-of-doors is practical. Innorthern regions the home gardener probablyshould start the plants in hotbeds or green-houses. The seeds are planted in 3-4 in. plantbands, pots or berry baskets, approximately 4-5weeks prior to the time for outdoor planting.In resetting these plants in the open it is veryimportant that the soil is not disturbed aroundthe roots. If the soil warms up early, time maybe gained in planting the seed out-of-doors bycovering each hill with a plant protector such asthe hot kaps until the danger of frost has past.In the use of plant protectors care must be takento prevent plant damage during hot days. Afterthe plants are well started the hot kap should beslit on one side to provide ventilation and then,as soon as all danger of frost is past and theplants begin to grow the protectors should beremoved.

Planting in hills is preferred in the homegarden with a spacing of 4 ft. x 4 ft. betweenhills. Cultivation should be shallow and sufficientto control weeds.

Harvesting

Quality of melons depends on texture, flavorand sweetness. This condition is only attainedif the fruit is left on the vine until fully mature.With cantaloupes and muskmelons, as ripeningadvances a crack develops around the peduncleat the base of the fruit and when fully ripe thefruit slips easily from the stem. This is knownas the "full slip" condition. During ripeningthe flesh softens, sugars increase and starchdecreases up to the time of the "full slip"condition, after which the reaction is moreor less reversed resulting in a soft, muskyflavor.

Melons grown for shipment are harvesbefore fully mature and if placed under re-frigeration, 5o' F. Cantaloupe will remainin good condition for 1-2 weeks, honey dew 3-4 weeks and casabas and persian for4-8 weeks.

Insect Pests

Green melon worms with two white stripesand green pickle worms with rows of black spotsare injurious to melons in the South. Use spraysor dusts of insecticide # 15 or # 8.

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