Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
This is my first time growing cantaloupe so I'm not sure what to expect or do. Apparently, I've done something right because yesterday I found a melon bigger than a softball on the vine! Talk about camouflage, LOL! I check my garden twice a day and hadn't noticed it! It was well-hidden under some large leaves!
Anyhoo, because I went from just seeing the flowers to, boom!, a well-developing fruit, I missed the interim stages so I have a few questions!
I have a lot of flowers on the vine. I read that the first blooms are male and won't produce fruit but the second set of blooms may. I have noticed several bees around the flowers. How can I tell which flowers will produce melons and should I do anything to help them along?
I also saw a small, fuzzy, oblong bulbous thing on the vine. Is this the start of another melon?
Finally, I've read a number of different opinions on protecting the developing melons. Some say put a board under them so they won't rot, others say to put pantyhose around them, and another said to cut a gallon milk jug in half and put the melon inside. Have any of y'all tried these methods? Are they necessary and, if so, which work best?
I am SO looking forward to homegrown cantaloupe and I'd be seriously bummed if something went wrong now that the vines are producing!
ive always just put some styrofoam or plastic under the melons to protect it from rotting. when i used a bored for some reason the melon went flat on one side but not much so i guess you could use a bored. yes the first blossoms will not fruit as they are all male and ive noticed that some flowers actually produce growth.
Yes that little bulbous thing is another fruit waiting to be polinated by a bee. If not pollinated it will die and drop off after the flower part withers. If the flower has already droped and it is green then you should have another melon in the making.
We grew hanging melons this year. (Oops that sounded obscene!) Drilled a hole in the bottom of a Spackle bucket. Sounds like our melons are at the same stage of development as yours. When they get close to the ground, we will set a plant stand underneath for support. Hubby thinks they'll be ready around August 20th. We already have picked some hanging tomatoes and cucumbers.
Yeah, had that happen one year when a vine volunteered. The squash tasted like a mix of melon and squash. If you save seeds, it is best to prevent the pollinators from getting to the flower you want to grow into a seed source. You then use an artists brush or something similar to hand pollinate.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
