Melons - what do I do next

[Paulines7]

This is the first time I have grown melon plants and have six which I have potted up into 15" pots in the greenhouse.  They are about 8 to 10 inches in length.  Should I put canes into the pots or is there something better I could use?  Presumably when  the melons appear I will need to support them with garden netting tied to the aluminium greenhouse frame.  I just hope it will be strong enough to support them.  What if I allowed the plants to grow down to the floor, would this be a better idea or would they be shaded by the pots?

I am growing Charente, Mainstream and Cantaloupe.

Your advice would be much appreciated.  Thank you.

[Paulines7]

[betula]

My old Percy Thrower glasshouse book mentions Melon nets.I wonder is this any way different to normal netting ,indeed is it still available???

[cjb02]

I am growing melon this year for the first time too.

I think it is a canteloupe, the name is Minnesota midget. I bought the seed from real seeds

I know next to nothing about growing melons. so i would be interested in responses.

I have one plant in the greenhouse, in a 10inch pot and I am going to try and grow it amongst the tomato plants and the other I will put outside some where sunny.

fingers crossed any way

[manicscousers]

ours are in the ground but don't suppose it's any different,
we put a cane in, tie the plant to it, run a string up to the frame and wind the plant around as it grows, bit like a cucumber, we support the melons with the nets from oranges I keep during winter, or something to take the weight of the fruit, hope this helps  :)

[Paulines7]

Thanks manicscousers.  I don't have any orange nets so will have to use some pea netting.  Do you tie the other end of the string to the cane or tie it around the pot?

[manicscousers]

when the melon grows, it needs tying in to the netting, in some sort of holder, someone on here suggested a bra  :o
just got to be like a hammock  ;D
the melons we grew, charentais and sweetheart, grow just like a cuc, long tendrils that cling, we tie the string to the frame of the polytunnel, so's it can climb up, tie the side shoots in to strings we put up, bit like your pea netting
I'm not very good at explaining, I know what I mean  ;D
main shoot up, side shoots sideways  ;D

[jennym]

Have grown melons in 2 ways.
First in a growbag on the glasshouse floor, with rope tied around and fed up through staging, and secured to a horizontal beam. The melons stem was loosely tied to the rope and the first pair of fruit were allowed to form at the height if the first staging, so they rested on that, and the second pair on the second tier of staging. Fruit that formed in the wrong place was pinched off.
Second way was direct in the soil, planted through black plastic into a mound of muck, and inside the carcass of a wardrobe lined with bricks to retain the heat. The stem was trailed over wire mesh that was just bent enough to stay clear of the ground, and the fruit that formed rested on that. Both worked fine.
I think the variety was Sweetheart.

[Paulines7]

What a good idea Jenny, having the melon plant grow up through the staging and then let the melons develop on there.  I think I will experiment and try everyones methods to see what does best.

Thanks to everyone for your advice.

[cleo]

Melon growing(well training) is some black art I have yet to perfect-but just to show off-they do grow