Squash and Melon Questions

Do most people plant squash and melons separate from their other garden veggies of tomatoes, peppers, etc. because of the space they consume? I have a TON of plans for melons and squash and am a bit of a gardening novice, as well. Also - I ate a nice melon from the farmer's market the other day. It was the size of a softball with a yellow/green/brown mottled outer, and white, sweeter than honeydew or canalope inner. It was called an "Italian gata" melon by the man who sold it to us. I'd never heard of it before, but I saved the seeds to plant. Anyone heard of this before? Is it one of those hybrids I need to be careful of? Should I even waste my time?

All info appreciated.

Reply to
Doll is Mine
Loading thread data ...

It depends on the size and shape of your garden. I usually dedicate one large portion to melons, and then plant them 6 feet apart and 6 feet from the rest of the garden.. If the runners start to go into the wrong section, I either turn them back (The instructions say dont do this) or I cut them off (There will be a lot more going the right direction).

I have a TON of plans for melons and squash and am a bit of a gardening

Try it. I always do. Some times I kgo to the grocery store and find a squash that I have never seen before and buy it just for the seeds. Be prepared to get otdher than what uyou planted, because most of the commercially gorwn stuff you buy has been allowed to cross-pollinate with neighboring plants. If so the seeds amy not be pure or as least some of them wont be pure. It doesnt cost anything to try, but keep that information in your computer and look for it in catalogs like "Seeds of Change" or "Seed Savers" that try to offer the original stuff.

Dwayne

Reply to
Dwayne

Anyone have any advice on how to get a watermelon going? I got one vine to about 10 feet last year over the summer but it never fruited.

The rest just never took off like the first one. The same has happened for the squash I've planted. I've come to believe that the problem is the soil it's planted in (mostly sand here, but the one water melon plant that grew to 10 or 12 feet was planted a big hill of Home Depot / Walmart dirt.

By the way, I've seen some beetles and earthworms in some of the soil I've been messing with. Last year I saw some 6 inch centipedes and "I think" I want to see another soon.

-- Jim Carlock Please post replies to newsgroup.

"Dwayne" wrote:

"Doll is M>

It depends on the size and shape of your garden. I usually dedicate one large portion to melons, and then plant them 6 feet apart and 6 feet from the rest of the garden.. If the runners start to go into the wrong section, I either turn them back (The instructions say dont do this) or I cut them off (There will be a lot more going the right direction).

I have a TON of plans for melons and squash and am a bit of a gardening

Try it. I always do. Some times I kgo to the grocery store and find a squash that I have never seen before and buy it just for the seeds. Be prepared to get otdher than what uyou planted, because most of the commercially gorwn stuff you buy has been allowed to cross-pollinate with neighboring plants. If so the seeds amy not be pure or as least some of them wont be pure. It doesnt cost anything to try, but keep that information in your computer and look for it in catalogs like "Seeds of Change" or "Seed Savers" that try to offer the original stuff.

Dwayne

Reply to
Jim Carlock

Is it possible that the commercial dirt had fertilizer additives in it? Or that it was composted manure and not some sort of top soil? Too much nitrogen would cause lots of leafy/green growth with no fruit. I have noticed that it is getting harder to find potting soil and garden soil that does not contain chemical or pesticide additives, and it's frustrating. It's so nice to be able to jump start a new flower or vegetable bed with the store bought stuff, but I'm a little leery of what it might have in it, now.

My sister lives in what used to be one of the guest cottages of an old plantation. Her house is back by the paddock and stable. The stable has been in nearly continuous use since the early 1800's. Talk about your great compost! There are almost more earthworms than soil. I always swap a couple of pepper and tomato plants that I've grown from seed to the property owner for a few bushels of horsey compost every spring.

Penelope

Reply to
Penelope Periwinkle
  1. Watermelons have two requirements space and sandy soil. I plant mine on 10 foot centers. They are not concerned with adjoining plants as long as they do not shade them. The bush types of course only need half the space. Cantaloupes are not as picky about soil but need space and sun. I plant on 5 foot centers.

  1. Galia (tropical melons) are hybrids, crosses between cantaloupes and honeydews. I have planted saved seeds and gotten all three types in that planting. All good so nothing lost in the experiment. Galia types are readily available from Johnny's, Willhite, Twilley's ... More information is available at
    formatting link

Reply to
farmerdill

Try grafting water melons on lagenaria ( lagenaria siceraria). You will accomplish to have a plant with strong root and it's stem could take half of your garden, but you can do corectional cutting of it's branches. I'm personally satisfied with grafting, this year I'll try to aply it on cantaloupes ( with cucurbita moschata).

Reply to
extincted

It could be the weather, among other things. Have you tried before and had the same results?

I have planted melons/squash in the same garden for 2 years in a row. The first year I had record numbers of both, the second year, they came on, but none of the melons ever matured. Melons that were supposed to grow big, stayed small, split open, and were still green inside.

Both have male and female blossoms. I dont remember which comes on first, but in a good year the otdher will appear later, and as long as you have pollinators flying or crawling around, you should get something. You can also try using a Q-tip and do it yourself.

You might replace some of the ssand with top soil and mix it up. I have planted both in good dirt, dirt that had a lot of clay, dirt that was acidic, and dirt that wasnt. I have always produced plants, but the one year I mentioned above, that was as far as it went.

As long as you dont see squash bugs. They are a real pain to try to get rid of.

Dwayne

Reply to
Dwayne

It was the weather that killed it. Was my first attempt. It seemed to love the sunshine. Was a hurricane that killed it. The whole area in the back had a good amount of wind and rain. Even though it was on a hill of good soil and was growing and some blossoms did come about I think it could've possibly gotten too much water. The whiteflies and caterpillars were bad as well over the summer. The caterpillars attacked the tomato plants though and the whiteflies took care of the summer cucumbers. First time I would call it, though I tried a few times already within the last year.

Caterpillars are showing up on the tomatoes already. Pulled four of them off today. I don't know where they're coming from. They love tomatoes... it's like the tomatoes have a bulls- eye painted on them.

Thanks for the "Q" tip et al.

-- Jim Carlock Please post replies to newsgroup.

"Jim Carlock" wrote:

"Dwayne" wrote: You might replace some of the ssand with top soil and mix it up. I have planted both in good dirt, dirt that had a lot of clay, dirt that was acidic, and dirt that wasnt. I have always produced plants, but the one year I mentioned above, that was as far as it went.

As long as you dont see squash bugs. They are a real pain to try to get rid of.

Dwayne

Reply to
Jim Carlock

Oh dude! I've never heard of grafting squash or melon!!!

I have a horrible time with squash borers here so have been unable to easily cultivate squash or melons, or even pumpkins! :-(

I have, however, had great success with birdhouse gourd.

Could I graft melon or squash onto gourd root systems with any success??? The borers dont' seem to bother those and they grow very well!

Kat

Reply to
Katra

the world and we'll never have to change it again. -- Swami Beyondanada

Reply to
extincted

Neat... ;-)

Thanks! I think I'll try grafting pumpkin onto birdhouse gourd, (I think it's AKA "Calabash), as my first experiment to get the idea.

I assume that grafting melon/pumpkin/squash vine technique is the same as any perrenial grafting techniques???

Kat

Reply to
Katra

But a lot less demanding, since virtually all of the tissue is carrying nutrients, not just the few-cell thick cambium that I can never seem to get to match up...

I'm taking an afternoon seminar on grafting in a couple of weeks to hopefully learn the "art" part of the equation; I've got the science OK.

Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at home.earthlink.net/~garygarlic Zone 5/6 in upstate New York, 1420' elevation. NY WO G

Reply to
Gary Woods

Be sure to report! :-)

Oh, and I did get your e-mail, I'm just a bit behind so I apologize!

Congrats on the new babies and be sure to keep them in a terrarium for at least a year!

After 6 months or so, I tried putting some in a pot by themselves and they were not very happy. Most survived the transplanting but are smaller than most of the ones I left in the terrarium.

I think I'll leave the rest in there until they are at least 2" tall or more. The size in the terrarium is anywhere from .5 to 1" tall now.

formatting link
'm not keeping the top on, just sort of draped over it.

I let most of my cactus pretty well go without water all winter except for these. I only watered once the soil was fully dry.

I have a packet of mixed cactus seeds that dad bought me as a gift. :-) I'm thinking about getting another small glass tank and giving those a shot now!

Reply to
Katra

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.