garden:about:plants:cucurbit:melons
Differences
This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.
Next revision | Previous revision | ||
garden:about:plants:cucurbit:melons [2015/09/29 09:05] – created davidbac | garden:about:plants:cucurbit:melons [2015/09/30 12:06] (current) – davidbac | ||
---|---|---|---|
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
+ | ===== Melons ===== | ||
+ | I would never have thought to grow melons here in the Pacific Northwest. But a Master Gardener said (actually, boasted, I believe) that she grew melons up in Snohomish County, Washington. The idea appealed to me so I shopped seed suppliers for small, short season melons that might have a chance in our relatively cool and wet summer months. I chose the following varieties from Adaptive Seeds: | ||
+ | * Farthest North from Adaptive Seeds | ||
+ | * Oregon Delicious from Adaptive Seeds | ||
+ | * Minnesota Midget from Territorial Seed Company | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Planting ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | I started all in pots in the house. All these guys are slow growers. Next time I'll use a warming pad and grow lights. I tried planting some directly in the soil at both Fall City gardens without success. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Transplanting ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | In the sandy loam I followed my typical regimen of mixing my basic organic fertilizer into the mounds and then transplanting young seedlings directly. | ||
+ | |||
+ | In the clay soil I added compost, organic fertilizer, and lots of extra lime (agricultural line and Dolomite lime) to allow the plants better access to soil nutrients. I dissolved the lime in water and put it around the plants. Also, I used row cover material to keep in heat and protect from beetles and slugs. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Growing ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | All of the plants in the sandy loam seemed to require more water to stay vibrant so I watered deeply and a bit more often than I thought necessary. | ||
+ | |||
+ | {{ : | ||
+ | |||
+ | The melons (Farthest North and Oregon Delicious) that prospered were in clay soil that had the advantage of an over-wintered rye cover crop. Bugs, slugs and leaf wilt took out all but 3 of the 9 plants here. But I had one Farthest North that yielded a half dozen nice, small melons with excellent flavor. The Farthest North seeds were said to be a mix of different //Cucumis melo//, but only one variety got to the stage of recognizable fruit. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The Oregon Delicious were the stars, ripening a half dozen large, flavorful melons. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The Minnesota Midgets in either soil grew slowly (or died), a few blossomed, but never got close to ripening any fruit, so they were a bust. The plants were delicate, the flowers pretty, but only a few fruit set and way too late for a change to ripen before cool weather set in. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ==== Harvesting ==== | ||
+ | |||
+ | {{ : | ||
+ | |||
+ | === "Full slip" === | ||
+ | |||
+ | Supposedly it's easy to tell when the Oregon Delicious (and other varieties with netted skin) is ripe because the fruit pulls off easily or " | ||
+ | |||
+ | See photos on the [[garden: |