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I am growing melons for the first time (Minnesota Midget). They are romping away in the plastic growhouse. I have heard that I need to be pinching out, but not sure what I should be getting rid of! They are developping side-shoots......should I take these out or not? There are also lots of leaves...but no flowers yet!

Any advice for a melon newbie?

I tried for the first time last year and failed dismally.  This year I ahve at least one melon about golf ball size so here's hoping!  I am growing mine in cold frame this year but still doing basically what it says here http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Melon.htm Good luck to us both, creckless ;)

OH has informed me that one of my "melons" is in fact a crystal apple cucumber - I wonder where the other melon went, better check the cucs in the mini g'house :-\

if they have already made their fruits then it is best to pinch out the tips, if they haven't then female flowers might appear on the side shoots as well - it is getting late so I imagine they have set fruit and you want the energy to go into that and not making more flowers. Joy

Hi Creckless

I'm also growing melons for the first time, have 4 types altogether including Minesotta midget.  My minesotta midget has been flowering a while now, but no sign of a melon yet, although I think I've seen some female flowers on it.  I do have a couple of water melons developing and a couple on one of the other varieties (can't remember the name!). I've just been letting them all romp away, although I think I'm going to start pinching the tips of the sideshoots as they're starting to take over.

I've been leaving the door open of my plastic greenhouse to help keep the temperature down so the bees have been in pollinating, although I have tried hand pollinating too.  Would like to tye saving seed from the fruit as I'm planning on doing with the squashes I've hand pollinated, but the melon flowers are so small so I'm not sure how to prevent insects getting in and 'contaminating' them with other pollen.  Any tips welcome.

I always hand pollinate my melons because I grow them at home, inside and not in a greenhouse where there are pollinating insects - the female flowers are unmistakable as they have what looks like a tiny melon at the base of the flower, so if you have plenty of flying insects in the greenhouse there should be no problem but it is getting a bit late, the fruits don't always seem to grow while you watch them as do some pumkins  :)

If you want to be sure of seed which comes true, bag the flowers before they open, and then pollinate by hand, and re-bag them so no insects can do the bisiness with strange pollen.

Thanks Robert, i shall try that if I can find an unopened female flower.