Growing Great Melons In Kentucky
Dennis Morgeson Agent for Horticulture Washington County
Basic Vegetable Culture • Light ≥6 hours
• • • •
Soil Access Air Drainage Proximity to Trees & Shrubs
Access • Near the house. – Easy to get to when harvesting. – Accessible for weeding, cultivating, & staking plants.
• Close to water. • May deter vermin.
Air Drainage • Low-lying areas are subject to unseasonable frosts & water-logged soils. • South-facing slopes warm more quickly. • Protected sites with reasonably good air flow is best • Shield from damaging thunderstorm winds • Air flow dries foliage to help control diseases
Proximity To Trees & Shrubs • Unwanted shade. • Competition for water and nutrients. • Juglone toxicity. • Site the garden at least 10 feet from any tree or shrub.
Weed Control • Compete with plants for sunlight, water, nutrients, & space. • Reduce perennial weeds before planting. – Solarization with black plastic – Herbicides (Roundup, Preen) – Tillage • Hoe regularly to keep annual weeds under control. • Once actively growing vining crops compete well against weeds
Soil • Well-drained. Solutions for clay soils: – Add organic matter – Raised beds?
• Work soils down to 6-7 inches. • Remove large stones, clods, or plant debris. Particularly important with root crops.
Soil • Soil test – Best done the fall before planting and every 3 years thereafter. – Sample 6-7 inches deep in 5 areas of the garden randomly. • • • • • •
pH – 6.0-6.8 Phosphorus Potassium Nitrogen Organic matter If you did not do a soil test apply 10-10-10 at 25lbs per 1000 square feet.
Add Compost! • Benefits: – – – –
Improves water retention Promotes soil structure Increases fertility Increases cation exchange (nutrient availability) – Reduces fertilizer requirements up to 50% – Enhanced microbial activity • Suppresses pathogens • Accelerates the breakdown of pesticides & other synthetic compounds
Temperature • Melons – Develop best at temps >50°F. – Killed by frost.
Warm Season Vegetables
Melon Culture • Require 90-125 days to produce a crop. • Seed at ½ to 1 inch depth, 5 ft centers. • Don’t transplant well. • Chilling sensitive. • Require warm, sunny weather to produce sweet fruit. • Moist, well-drained soil. • Best grown on plastic mulch. • Bees essential for good fruit set. • Only allow 1-2 fruits to develop per plant.
Water • For optimum growth vegetables need at least 1” of water per week….However?
Watermelon, Muskmelon, Cantaloupe, Honeydew etc. • Family Cucurbitaceae • Watermelon is native to Africa, and muskmelon to Persia • Introduced to America in 1400s. • Warm season, herbaceous annual. • May be determinate or indeterminate. • Melon leaves are oval to kidney-shaped with 5-7 lobes. • Melons can only cross-pollinate with members of the same species. • Plants are monoecious and can be self or cross pollinated
Melon Flowers
Common Cultivars • Muskmelon and Cantaloup: Ambrosia, Minerva, Athena, Pixie, Aphrodite, etc • Watermelon: Charleston Grey, Moon and Stars, Crimson Sweet, Jubilee, Sugar Baby, etc.
Varietal Pictures Charleston Gray
Ambrosia
Crimson Sweet
Athena
Sugar Baby
Minerva
Harvesting Melons • Harvest muskmelons at full-slip. 30-35 days after pollination. • Cool immediately to prevent deterioration. • Observe the “ground patch” on watermelon to determine when to harvest – it will become white to creamy yellow. • Wipe watermelon clean with a damp cloth and store in a cool location. • Note: Harvesting can be variety specific
Problems • Aphids • Leafhoppers • Spider Mite
Diseases Powdery Mildew
Downy Mildew
Gummy Stem Blight
Fusarium Wilt
• Plant Resistant Cultivars • Crop Rotation….no succeptible plants for 3-4 years in particular location
Anthracnose 1. Use commercially produced, disease-free seed. 2. Rotate vine crops with unrelated crops in a three-year rotation. 3. Practice good sanitation by plowing under fruits and vines at the end of the season. 4. Choose anthracnose-resistant varieties if at all possible Fungicides such as chlorothalonil, mancozeb, maneb etc as soon as first symptoms appear
Blossom End Rot • Blossom end rot, same as on tomato, keep even water and make sure soil test shows at least 2500 on calcium
Charentais Melon – My Favorite Melon!!! Sorry No Seeds…… 85 days. A famous, superb heirloom. A French 2-3 lb. melon with light grey-green skin. The bright orange flesh is super sweet and very fragrant. This was my favorite melon in 2003. I just love the firm, sweet flesh. These are top sellers at high dollar markets. Must pick when they start to change color with a little peach showing through on the rind, allow to ripen a couple days indoors….if you wait they will slip from the vine and rot before you get to eat them!!! Keep soil evenly moist to avoid cracking!
Varieties To Choose From Today and Hints-Jubilee Watermelon • Jubilee has long been one of America's most popular melons. It was introduced about 1963 by the Florida Agricultural Experiement Station. Jubilee was said to have been created by crossing together the varieties Africa 8, Iowa Belle, Garrison Hawkesbury and Leesburg.
• Jubilee watermelon produces melons up to 35 lbs and can be well over a 1' long. They have light green skin with dark green stripes. The flesh is read and very sweet. Disease Resistant: Tolerant to Fusarium Wilt and Anthracnose
Moon And Stars Watermelon • 95-100 days. Heirloom watermelon from Missouri with a sweet red flesh. The name comes from the dark green skin which has bright yellow speckles, ranging in size from small, star-like to large, moon-like. The leaves of the plant are also speckled making this a fun variety to grow. Bears fruits up to 40 lbs which keep well.
Yellow Baby Doll Watermelon
Early maturing in only 70 days. A yellow fleshed hybrid with 6 to 10 lb fruits that are perfect for the ice box or cooler. The green rind with small dark stripes. Sweet juicy flavor.
Canary Melon • 70 to 80 days. AAS Selection for 2004. This new hybrid produces eye-catching, bright golden yellow melons when ripe without netting or sutures. The radiant color indicates when the melon is ready for harvest. The white, fragrant flesh in noted for its sweet flavor and firm texture similar to ripe pear with a banana/pineapple flavor. Small seed cavity. Vigorous vines spread to 6 feet.
Crenshaw Melon • 100 days. 6 to 10 pound fruit ripens to yellow outside with thick, salmon colored flesh. An excellent source of Vitamin C. Considered one of the sweetest melons with flavor similar to cantaloupe. Crenshaw is a hybrid cross between the Casaba and Crenshaw Melons
Honeydew Green Flesh • •
Home grown honeydew is superbly sweet and nothing like store bought A very smooth-skinned melon with a hard rind ripening pale green to ivorygold and a small seed cavity. The limegreen, juicy flesh has superb sweetness and delightful aroma. High-yielding vines produce large fruits up to 6 lb., 79" long and 5-6" wide that store and ship well. Best suited for the South and Southwest or a southern exposure; it needs to be pampered elsewhere. Honey dews, native to Central Asia but long grown in France, were introduced into the US in the 1900s. This gorgeous, lime-green-fleshed melon updates this class with high yields of large, flavorful fruits. Certified Organic Seed
Ambrosia Cantaloupe • 86 days This locally favored cantaloupe has thick, peachcolored flesh with a small seed cavity. 6 inch melons have outstanding flavor. Resistant to Powdery Mildew.
Casaba Melon Gold Beauty • 104-120 days - A delicious variety that does well in hot, dry climates. The tough, wrinkled rind matures to a gold color, while the thick white flesh is very aromatic and spicy!
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