Melons

• About 25–35 seeds/g; watermelons about 20 seeds/g; exceptions noted.
• Days to maturity are from date of transplanting.

Most Years You Can Vine-Ripen Melons In Maine
Melons are a tender crop with high nitrogen requirements. They love heat, cannot stand frost, and may be damaged by night temperatures below 40°. Though they require some extra fussing, the results are sure worthwhile.

• Note days to maturity and select varieties that will ripen in your climate. Alvaro and Halona are surest bets.
• Start indoors in early May (later if the spring is slow to warm) in plastic or peat pots, 2 or 3 seeds to a pot. Minimum germination soil temp 60°, optimal range 75–95°. Melons resent transplanting but will take if their roots are not disturbed.
• Prepare hills in advance with liberal amounts of well-rotted manure or compost. A cold start can permanently stunt growth, so wait for a warm spell after all danger of frost to transplant, usually between May 20 and June 20. Don’t place melons next to vigorous crawling plants like cucumbers, gourds or winter squash.
• Water heavily and, if soil is dry, place a temporary hay mulch around plants until a soaking rain comes.
• Melons are much more sensitive than squashes so use low tunnels with floating row covers that do not abrade plants. If you have sandy soil, check daily and irrigate when needed.
• Use blue, black or clear plastic mulch between plants.
• Use a foliar feeding program to speed ripening.
• Remove row covers before buds open. Replace them when you don’t desire any more fruit to set.
• To reduce rot loss, rotate ripening melons occasionally. To reduce mouse damage, place ripening melons on bricks.
• Inspect your patch daily at ripening time. Check fruits for aroma and color and pull gently on those that appear to be ripe. Most muskmelons are ripe when the pressure causes them to slip from the vine. Harvest Galia, Charentais, Honeydews before full slip. Watermelons are ripe when the tendril near the stem is dry.
• Enjoy an incomparable taste treat!

Pest: Striped Cucumber Beetle
Cultural controls: use tolerant or resistant varieties, rotate crops, till under crop debris soon after harvest, use floating row covers until flowers appear, use plastic mulch, perimeter trap cropping (Black Zucchini and Blue Hubbard make particularly good trap crops), use yellow sticky strips, hand-pick early morning when beetles are very sluggish.
Materials: Surround, Pyrethrum (PyGanic).

Disease: Powdery Mildew
Controls: Use small plots to slow spread, plant indeterminate (viney) varieties, control weed competition.
Materials: sulfur and whole milk, mineral or other oils in combination with potassium bicarbonate.
Disease: Bacterial Wilt
Cultural control: Striped Cucumber Beetle is vector—control it; choose resistant varieties.

Fascinated by heritage melons? Amy Goldman’s Melons for the Passionate Grower (ISBN 1-57965-213-1), a mouth-watering journey through her 100 favorite varieties, is an indispensable identification and cultural aid.