We’re coming into melon season. I can’t decide if this is a good or a bad year for melons!
2019 All-America Selection (AAS) Edible Winner
Certainly, the early rains got them off to a late start and the overcast days made them long and rangy. It should be prime melon growing days, once it is hot. However, with the humidity and afternoon showers the chances of getting downy or powdery mildew increases. Be sure to keep a fungicide on your plants. You need to spray between rains when it is not too hot. Chlorothalonil or mancozeb work well on all of the vine crops. Mancozeb has a 5 day wait to harvest, however. If you are an organic grower, use copper. Copper can really burn in the heat though. Spraying late in the day when temperatures are dropping will lessen the chances of burn. Repeat at the label intervals.
As with tomatoes and most vegetables, keeping your fertility levels up will go a long ways towards warding off insect and disease problems. While you do not want to kill with kindness, if you last fertilized at planting time the nitrogen is depleted by now. A good organic fertilizer will bring your nutrient levels back up, help build your soil structure and allow for better rain penetration, and will feed slowly, so your roots don’t burn in this heat. If you must use a salt-based conventional fertilizer be careful to keep it away from the stem and leaves, water it in well, and consider using a lighter application. Liquid versions are probably less likely to burn than the granular. Time-released fertilizers can “dump” in the heat and leave you with brown leaf edges and burned root tips, rendering your plant unable to utilize water fully.
Other problems vine crops experience include poor fruit set. The first flowers that the plant produces are male flowers and do not produce fruit. Fruit set begins if the female flowers are pollinated. If plants are too crowded, or too shaded, blooms may not develop. Even if you have flowers and enough pollinating insects, you may still experience the young fruit dropping as grey mold attacks at the petiole. This is further incentive to keep fungicides on the plant and to avoid using insecticides. If you must use insecticides, spray late in the day when pollinators are less active, and avoid spraying the blooms as much as you are able.
If you are growing your vine crops vertically, the fruit will have to be supported with slings to avoid damaging the vine. Old nylons or cheesecloth make good slings and dry rapidly so they do not rot the fruit. Vine crops bearing very large fruit, like pumpkins, are best grown on the ground.
If you have a lot of rain as the fruits ripen, they will be without much flavor. For sweeter melons, water adequately, but don’t overdo it. If you get a hard rain after a prolonged dry spell, fruit may crack. Some growers pick ripening fruit as soon after a rain as possible, before it can split.
Determining ripeness can be a challenge. Let your experience, nose, eyes and fingers help guide you. A ripening melon, squash, cucumber or watermelon will change smell, if it is a variety that has an odor. It will get yellower or creamier on the underside. The surface will look drier and less shiny. The tendrils and petioles will start to dry. Lift and gently twist the fruit. Some will pop off easier as they ripen. Don’t forget the old “thumping” method. The sound deepens when you thump a ripe watermelon vs. an unripe one. It resonates more. Whatever vine crop you are growing, know its expected maturity date. Vine crops are fun, fairly easy to grow, and a great project for kids.
Want a preview into 2019? The AAS (All America Selections) has just released two new winning melons. ‘Orange SilverWave’ is a S. Korean exotic. This speckled pale melon contains extra sweet orange flesh. AAS recommends it for trellis growing and say it makes a good addition to a margarita. Need I say more? ‘Cal Sweet Bush’ Watermelon is a new short-internode type, making it ideal for smaller gardens. Like all AAS winners, these plants are chosen for superior traits and ease of growing under a wide scope of conditions. Consider adding one of these to your wish list for next year. For more info visit: https://all-americaselections.org/winners/
Barbara Leach, Extension Technician, VCE, Roanoke / August 2018 “Extension Connection”
Barbara Leach writes”Extension Connection” articles each month for the Roanoke Master Gardener Association (RMGA). More about Roanoke Cooperative Extension http://offices.ext.vt.edu/roanoke/index.html and Roanoke Master Gardeners at http://offices.ext.vt.edu/roanoke/programs/anr/Roanoke_Master_Gardeners.html