Melons are a delicious summer treat – sweet, juicy mouthfuls of refreshing goodness! With their high water content and good supply of vitamins A and C, plus potassium, low-calorie melons do a great job of keeping you hydrated while supporting healthy blood pressure. They are also rich in vitamin C, folate, and fiber. The nutritional value of melons makes them a good choice for your edible garden, but keep in mind that in order to thrive, they need some tender loving care. This article offers helpful tips and suggestions.
What’s a Melon?
Melons, Cucumis melo L., belong to the Cucurbitaceae family, along with gourds, pumpkins, and squash. Cucurbit crops grow on long vines with tendrils, and their fruits are a type of berry with tough skin. Each melon plant has separate male and female flowers, which are usually yellow. Melon plants are self-pollinated or cross-pollinated by bees. Melon leaves come in many shapes, and their stems have ridges. Note that melons and watermelons represent two separate species which require slightly different care. This article focuses on melons, not watermelons.
Melon Types
Several types of melon may be familiar to you, and each of these includes many varieties.
Muskmelon has coarse skin netting, sweet orange flesh, and strong aroma. Muskmelons are often called cantaloupes in the U.S., but true cantaloupes (sometimes called European cantaloupes) are smooth-skinned.
Honeydew melon has smooth white skin, light green flesh, and very sweet flavor.
Charentais are smaller French melons with blue-green netted rind and dark orange flesh.
Crenshaw melon has rough yellow rind, light green or pink flesh, and sweet aromatic flavor.
Important Background and Site Preparation
Melons love warm, sunny days and need 80 – 100 days from seed sowing to harvest. For abundant production, melons must have 3 – 4 months of warm weather, along with a steady supply of water (until just before the fruit ripens). In the garden, melon plants also need good air circulation, so leaves and fruit can dry fairly quickly after rainfall. When selecting a site to grow melons, be sure there is ample space; allow 2 – 4 feet (or more) per plant. If your garden area is limited, consider creating a dedicated melon patch in a separate place where the vines can roam freely without entangling other edible plants. To help prevent the spread of disease, be sure to rotate crops and avoid growing melons where other cucurbits were planted in the previous year or two.
Melons tend to thrive in well-drained sandy-loamy soil. They also do well in clay soil that has been enriched with organic matter, such as compost, seaweed, or rotted manure. Soil pH must be in the neutral range, and 6 – 6.5 is optimal for healthy melons and a robust crop. Plants will be more productive and better able to manage dry periods if roots grow deeply into the soil. Drip irrigation is recommended to encourage this development.
Starting Seeds and Transplanting
Melons are a bit fussy in their early stages of growth, but given a strong start, they are likely to produce luscious fruit. By carefully following the appropriate steps to start seeds and plant or transplant seedlings outdoors, you might be rewarded with a successful melon harvest. You can opt to sow melon seeds directly in your garden, but seeds need soil temperatures of 80 – 90° F to germinate. Try sowing melon seeds indoors, if you can, to ensure the right temperature.
Three weeks before the last frost date predicted for your USDA hardiness zone, put 2 – 3 melon seeds in potting soil at a depth of ½ inch in 3-inch pots. Albemarle County is in zone 7a, with an approximate last frost date of April 25. Germination should occur in a few days, and then the temperature should be adjusted to 75° F. Keep the soil moist and observe daily. When seedlings have reached two inches in height, remove the weakest and smallest ones by snipping them off at soil level, leaving only one seedling per pot. When the first true leaves appear, lower the temperature to 65° F and reduce watering for a week.
Harden off the young plants 1 – 2 weeks before you set them into the garden. To do this, place them outside in a shady area on warm days, gradually increasing the time outside each day from one hour to two hours, to three, and so on. Reduce watering a bit, in order to slow plant growth during this time. Remember to check local weather predictions to ensure that young melon plants are not subject to chilly, windy conditions when they are outside. Before transplanting, check soil temperature; garden soil must be at least 70° F for melon survival. One way to hasten soil warming is to cover the area with black plastic sheets for 1 – 3 weeks beforehand. If you choose that method, try cutting x-shaped slits where you want to grow melons and anchor the edges of the plastic with bricks or stones. Be aware that melon vines exposed to temperatures which are cooler than recommended might not set fruit later on.
When outdoor conditions, soil temperature, and timing are right for transplanting, take great care in handling young melon plants. To help reduce transplant shock, avoid disturbing the roots when placing them into the garden. Young vines should be planted in small hills, with only one or two transplants per hill. Water the soil thoroughly. If you are not using black plastic, spread organic mulch (straw or chopped up dry leaves) around the melon vines. Depending on soil quality, you may want to add liquid fertilizer, such as fish emulsion, to promote growth.
Care and Harvest
Keep the soil around melons evenly watered (1 – 2 inches per week) up until the last week or two before harvest. Withholding water during that period generally leads to improved melon taste. If weeds appear through the mulch, pull them carefully, as melon roots near the surface can be injured rather easily. Watch where you walk in the garden, to avoid stepping on the vines. As melons ripen, put straw or cardboard under the fruit to help prevent rot on the ground. Toward the end of summer, pinch off new blossoms to encourage the plant to put energy into fruit that is already ripening on vines.
For most melon varieties, all the fruit on a particular vine may ripen at approximately the same time. For some varieties (but not all), if gentle pressure is applied to the base of the stem, and the stem separates from the vine, the melon is ready. When the skin color beneath the “netting” of a muskmelon changes from green to tan, this also indicates ripeness. A honeydew melon will turn a light yellow-white color when it’s ripe.
Storage time for melon depends on the type. Muskmelons will last a couple weeks at 40° F; honeydew and casaba can be stored up to three weeks at 50° F. Relative humidity should be about 90 percent for best results.
Pests and Diseases
Like most cucurbits, the striped cucumber beetle is a big threat to melon plants. These pests chew on plants and spread diseases, such as bacterial wilt and mosaic virus. Try using Neem oil or manually capturing those pesky beetles from leaves and inside flowers. It’s best to do your search in the morning, when beetles are more slow-moving. Watch for aphids in the garden, as they can also spread viruses. You can usually hose off leaves or apply an insecticidal soap to kill aphids before they inflict too much damage. In warm, humid climates like ours, melons are subject to powdery mildew, which can wipe out a melon crop if not caught in time. Look for melon varieties that are disease resistant.
Now that you’ve learned about growing melons, explore some new recipes with this tasty, nutritious fruit. Here’s one from the Mayo Clinic to get you started.
Fresh Fruit Smoothie
- 1 cup fresh pineapple
- ½ cup muskmelon or other melon
- 1 cup fresh strawberries
- Juice from 2 oranges
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon honey
Chill ingredients in the refrigerator before use. Remove rind from pineapple and melon. Cut into chunks. Remove stems from strawberries. When you’re ready, place all ingredients in blender. Puree until smooth and serve cold.
Print References
The Garden Primer. (Damrosch, Barbara, 2008) Workman Publishing
The Melon. (Goldman, Amy, 2019) City Point Press
The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible. (Smith, Edward, 2009) Storey Publishing
Online Resources
Featured Photo: Gerald Holmes, Strawberry Center, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Bugwood.org
A quick guide to harvesting and storing melons, squash, and pumpkins | UMN Extension
Cantaloupe and Specialty Melons | UGA Cooperative Extension
Growing melons in the home garden | UMN Extension
Hardening Off Vegetable Seedlings | University of Maryland Extension (umd.edu)
Melons | University of Maryland Extension (umd.edu)
