Imagine that you eat the sweet, ripe melons harvested from your own garden. Aren’t they just mouth watering for you? Well, to obtain this kind of delicacy, your melons need proper treatment.
Melons are summer-type plants. They enjoy full sunlight, rich soil and three to four months of warm weather. Having a conditioned soil may benefit your melons, but the one full of organic nutrients and well-drained is much better. Keep in mind that different type of melon gets along with different type of soil.
It is said to be the best if you plant the seeds indoor in a four-inch pots. It usually takes two to four weeks before they are ready to be taken outside. Place three seeds in each pot; plant them 1/2 inch deep. Expose them as to much sunlight as possible. Heating the bottom of the pots is a good trick as well. Once the seedlings are about 2 inches tall, prune them so that you keep only the strongest plants. Do this by pinching, not pulling out, the seedlings to be removed.
Avoid planting organic melons too early of the year since they need a warm climate to thrive. The soil’s temperature should be at least 70OF to 80OF.
Harden off the seed first. Take them outside for a couple of hours, and then bring them back inside. Increase the time span by one to two hours a day, for a whole week.
Save some space for this gigantically fruit plants when you are ready to plant them outside. The space within each seed depends on its type, but generally it requires 4 to 12 feet apart. Bush varieties may be best choice if your garden is less spacious. Hills with slopes are preferable.
Organic melons also enjoy much water. So do not ever let them dry out. Feed them with compost or manure tea. Once they get the “drink” and “food”, they should be heavily mulched with a straw. You may use floating row covers, too, to increase soil and air temperatures as well as get rid of unwanted insects, especially cucumber beetles. This way you can suppress the weeds, keep the soil moistened, and restore a clean place for the melons to grow.
Harvesting organic melons depends on the seeds type. Days of maturity begins from the outside planting stage. It may take about 10 – 14 days before you can harvest your melons. After that, keep the ripened melons up to four weeks in a cool storage.
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