Melon (Sugar melon)

Plant family

Curcurbits (Cucurbitaceae)

Season Overview

Details

Light requirement

Sunny

Water requirement

Wet

Soil

Medium (loamy)

Nutrient requirement

High

Plant distance

80 cm

Row spacing

80 cm

Seeding depth

2 cm

Instructions

The season for this plant has not yet begun. The following instructions are for the beginning season.

End of March

Propagating

End of April

Harden

Beginning of May

Planting

Description

The sugar melon (Cucumis melo) is an annual plant species whose berry fruits are used as fruit. It usually forms climbing shoots up to five meters long. Various cultivated forms of the sugar melon exist. The sweet forms are mostly used as dessert, the non-sweet forms are more similar to a cucumber.

Growing tips

Your sugar melons should be grown in a warm environment (windowsill, greenhouse, conservatory). Once the first leaves have formed, you can separate the seedlings. It is then best to continue growing them in a warm environment until the soil is warm enough outdoors (end of May - beginning of June). The small melon plants can be carefully planted out in planting holes filled with compost (heavy feeders!). It is essential to protect the young plants from strong sunlight at the beginning. Water your melons regularly without allowing them to become waterlogged. It is best not to use cold water from the tap (especially in colder temperatures), but always use stagnant water from the rain barrel. When watering, make sure that you never water the melon plants from above onto the leaves, otherwise there is a risk of mold. During the main growing season, you can prune the tips regularly so that plenty of branches with lots of flowers develop. Over the course of the year, many large leaves will also form on these branches, most of which you should cut off so that the melon plants can put their energy into fruit development. After pruning in summer, only a handful of leaves should remain on each branch above the fruit. Thin side shoots can be cut off completely except for a few centimetres at the base.