Greenhouse Gardening – melons

While the bravest folk in our southern counties are growing melons outdoor now, the only way to guarantee melon success is to grown them in a greenhouse. Sow the seeds inside between mid April and late May, using standard potting compost. Once the seedlings have two true leaves, plant them out in a cold glasshouse into either grow bags or containers or trenches that have lots of organic matter in the soil – the best mix is to use composted grass clippings and straw.

Melons require some support, (that sounds like a Carry On film joke, doesn’t it?) which can bee as simple as a string tied to the supports in the glasshouse roof and secured in the ground with a peg next to the base of the melon or a piece of trellis. As the melon starts to grow you should tied the strongest shoot to the support and pinch out the side shoots which grow from the main stem. Once the stem has reached the top of the support, you must also pinch out the leading shoot. This will make the plant concentrate on the formation of fruits.

Watering is key to successful melon growing and it’s complicated, because you need to water so that the plant itself never gets wet and to be aware that too much water can cause the fruit to split - so try to keep the soil constantly moist but not actually soggy, and you may want to use a drip irrigator or use a funnel sunk into the soil to keep water away from the plant.

Once the flowers have formed you should take a small brush and lightly brush each flower in turn to aid pollination. This job is best carried out mid day when the humidity is high. Then you need to remove the male flowers which are easily spotted because the female ones will have a miniature melon growing behind the flower by about three or four days after pollination.

As the summer progresses and the fruits reach full size remove any large shading leaves to allow the fruit to ripen. Feed once a week with a liquid tomato fertiliser. Ensure greenhouse conditions remain humid on the hottest days by watering the path early in the morning or by standing a bucket of water near the melons in the greenhouse. Alternatively, set a tray of pebbles nearby and water them.

Greenhouse gardening melon photograph by general wesc, used under a creative commons attribution licence