Going to give Melons a try in the greenhouse but have never grown them before. Do I have to pollinate them or will the bugs do it for me?
I'm one of those annoying people who just bungs the plants I've grown in a grow bag in the greenhouse or coldframe and let them get on with it( I water them of course) then weeks later squeals with delight when I find melons on the plants ;D :P
so I'm doing something right (not sure what) I assume bees get in and do the work for me.. I don't do anything books tell you to do and manage to grow them successfully ....so good luck/ shades x
I hand pollinated 2 yrs ago and had way too many fruits on them, going to do the same this year but thin them out ;D
MS, how do you hand pollinate?....if you don't mind me asking! ;)
no problem, ear buds, tickle the flowers, one to another, sorted ;D
I raerly bother to hand pollinate... but sssshs before DebP hears me... ;D
Too late, too late..... ;D
It doesn't matter what I do, melons just seem to hate me. However, OH has taken pity on me and has said he has purloined some ex conservatory double walled rigid plastic sheeting that could be used to make a cover for a 'melon pit' for my plot, so that might do the trick.... ???
i did a melon pit once deb, and it worked ok for me,i put manure and grass cuttings in and let it heat up for a few weeks before planting.
Is a melon pit a hotbed typed affair?
That's the idea, I have an area that used to be a small greenhouse with a low brick base, we are going to fill it with muck and put the insulated cover on top to keep the melons snug. Mine are only just germinating at the moment though!
Mine aren't even sown... we have just finished the March sowing bag... :-[
Nowhere near sowing mine yet, still very cold here at night with forecasts of freezing weather at night for the foreseeable future. I am well over a month behind last year.
Thanks for all the advice, I'm looking forward to having a go. One more thing, as I am growing in the greenhouse (which has a pea shingle floor and no soil borders) is it better to use a pot (what size?) or a growbag (how many to the bag?)
I'd have one to a standard growbag... or two to a deeper "vegbag"...
Melons bring out the beast in me-a young female gets a male thrust into her -it works......
(http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w217/Dr-Steph/Toms.jpg)
::) ::) ::) ::) ::) ;)
Quote from: cleo on April 15, 2010, 17:53:08
Melons bring out the beast in me-a young female gets a male thrust into her -it works......
(http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w217/Dr-Steph/Toms.jpg)
wow is that your melons now they are amazing i have just planted melon seeds if i get a plant i will be over the moon let alone melons i'm not very good at gardening but i try so hard
Hiya, sweetsaphie, welcome to the site ;D
Quote from: manicscousers on April 19, 2010, 13:32:01
Hiya, sweetsaphie, welcome to the site ;D
thank you sweetheart nice of you
And welcome to A4A from me too :)
Quote from: sweetsaphie on April 19, 2010, 13:20:03
i'm not very good at gardening but i try so hard
Me too But what the heck is great trying 8)
Looking at the great pics has got me worried. Do melons roam like squash plants or are they contained like courgettes? the pics look like the former, which makes me wonder how do you grow them in an 8X6 greenhouse, assuming you want to grow something else in there too? ???
we grow ours upwards like a cucumber, with side shoots tied in to strings ;D
I grow mine on the ground like a squash. I allow each plant four stems, which run outward from the centre. I allow each stem one fruit. Each plant takes up about a square metre. They're far smaller than squash.