Melons in New England

Used to grow cantaloupe and watermelon in Vermont without a problem. If you don't try to start from seed, you can probably get a crop. Just plant em on top of a half bag of cow manure (old cow flops are better) and don't forget to add some fertilizer. These can be heavy feeders, and they WILL take over a large area, so planting near corn worked for me. I found cantaloupe to be slightly easier and faster to grow. YMMV.

Several DOZEN tomato plants??? First time gardening or do you like to can?

I make five or six gallons of spaghetti sauce every year and freeze it. I'm trying to raise enough tomatoes for both me and the raccoons. I'm putting a fence around the garden but I doubt it will keep them out so I figure if I raise a few hundred tomatoes the raccoons won't be able to eat them all.

Johnny/s Selected Seeds (Albion, ME) has all types of seed suited for the NE.

Cool season melons - 75 days...

It's to late for seeds, I'll just buy plants. However it doesn't look like we are going to have any hot weather for a while so maybe this isn't the year for melons. It's been raining at least 50% of the time this year. Does anyone have any suggestions for plants that like cold wet weather.

"It's to late for seeds, I'll just buy plants. However it doesn't look like we are going to have any hot weather for a while so maybe this isn't the year for melons. It's been raining at least 50% of the time this year. Does anyone have any suggestions for plants that like cold wet weather."

You/re telling me that 75-day melon seed planted this weekend won/t be ready to pick by the end of Aug? Maybe not in N ME, VT, and NH but NE MA? What about global warming?

Cabbages. But as you are just coming into summer I think this might be too early. With cabbages you have to wage a constant war against grubs.

Lettuce, provided the soil drains well. But in hot weather lettuce will bolt to seed. They also need spraying to control grubs.

-- John Savage (my news address is not valid for email)

? 2006?6?9???? UTC-

Wait until next season for melons. They need a long time.

If you want something ready in 3 weeks, though, plant radishes. We're on the 4th round of planting them here this season. Damn near foolproof and quite tasty. French breakfast are a favorite type.