Allotments 4 All

When do you sow?  I read an article in my kitchen garden mag, which makes melon growing sound like rocket science, but one thing the guy mentioned was he sows the end of Feb as they need soooooooo long in the ground.

Mid- April to early May for me (I get a succession that way and also by using more than one variety). Rocket science? Don't think so (of course if NASA calls me tomorrow I will eat my words!). Sow them, plant them, harvest them- not complicated at all.

I sowed my sunburst melons in March I think. They were started with a bit of heat then moved to an unheated greenhouse in May.

Not hard to grow other then remembering to do some hand pollination to get them to fruit.

Jerry

Ina is no melon grower! Hehehe.
I tried it last year, the first one was perfect, after that we had two more that were half rotten and the rest just flunked.
It looked so promising in the beginning, what a thrill! But it just wasn't worth a whole veggie bed and the tunnel was a hassle. It was a fun experience tho'.
Started them off in february, in pots on a heating pad, worked very well.
Sorry to let you down EJ, I hope you have better luck.

Thanks for the info chaps and chappesses.  I shall start them of around the same time as my toms then, the start of feb, and see how we go.

I don't know if you have been able to overcome your powdery mildew problem EJ but melons are very prone to infection. Are you sure you need to sow that early when adequate ventilation may be difficult to achieve?

Milk solution?

I'm not sure I would want decomposing milk solids in my greenhouse! Baking powder would be my choice.
As with any potential cultural problem the best choice is to reduce exposure to it.

Hello again all!
Where do you get your seeds please??
I found some at
www.vidaverde.co.uk
said to be 'bred for short summers'.
what do you think?

I start my seeds off in between two pieces of wet kitchen roll and tucked inside a small plastic bag and when they start to shoot I put them in pots - around the end of March (I also use the same method with cukes and gherkins).