North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Doreen Howard" <gardendiva@charter.net>]

Melons are native to Africa, and the trick to getting the best quality fruit
to duplicate the continent's hot sun and sandy earth as best you can.
Situate melons in a south-facing, full sun area.  Because seeds and
transplants do nothing until the soil has warmed to at least 60ºF, lay clear
or black plastic to heat up the ground. Black landscape cloth and clear
plastic work, too.  Floating row covers also help.   The covers are also
excellent for controlling cucumber beetles and vine borers, which are the
worst melon pests.  Row covers should be removed when plants start to bloom
so that pollinating insects can reach flowers.



Light, fluffy soils warm up faster than do clay ones.  Plus, melons love
loose, well-drained dirt.  If your ground is clay,  add compost or leaf mold
or sow a cover crop such as winter rye or hairy vetch the previous fall.
Turn it over in the spring a month before you plant.



Start melon seeds four to six weeks ahead ahead of planting if you are in a
cold climate with a short growing season.  Direct seeding is best, if the
growing season is long enough.



I inoculate my seeds with mycorrhizal fungi when I plant them.  Vines are
longer, bigger and melons are bigger, too.  I also spray a boron solution on
the vines when they begin to ramble.  That is a solution of 1 TBS. household
Borax to 1 gallon water.  The boron is supposed to sweeten the melons.  It
seems to work.

Doreen Howard