HOW TO TEND CANTALOUPE PLANTS
How to Water Cantaloupe Plants
Practicing bad watering habits with melons can result in anything from blossom end rot (bad news) to a harvest of completely inedible cantaloupe melons (also bad news). Consistent watering is really key to the best flavor.
Overall, you’ll want to keep the soil moist but not soaked. Drip irrigation lines on timers are a really great way to keep your raised beds watered. If you don’t have a watering system set up yet, Garden in Minutes has a kit that’s super easy to install and will give your plants that nice, long saturation they really love.
You are viewing: When To Plant Cantaloupe In Texas
If you’re watering by hand, make sure to aim your water at the roots of the plant, not the leaves.
How to Protect Cantaloupe Plants from Pests
If you know pests are a major issue in your garden, you can cover your plants from the very day you sow seeds with garden mesh. You can keep this mesh in place to prevent bugs from ever even entering the space and causing problems. You only need to remove the mesh when you see the first little blossoms appear. Then you’ll need to give pollinators access to the plants.
Read more : When Are The Playoffs Nfl
Remove any visible pests by hand and check your garden frequently to prevent issues from getting out of hand.
How to Train Cantaloupe Vines up a Trellis
Cantaloupe vines won’t naturally find and cling onto to support structures like pea tendrils will. Melons in general are actually pretty bad climbers. Lucky for them, they have us!
These plants will need us every couple of days (they grow really fast!) to secure the vines to the trellis. You can tie them with twine made of something soft and natural like jute, or you can cut some old pairs of hose into inch-wide strips. Don’t tie anything too tight so that the vines have some wiggle room.
If your vines reach the top of your trellis, you can flip them around and train them to go down the other way.
Read more : Does Life360 Notify When You Leave A Circle
Once the plants are forming fruits, you can tie fruit-bearing stems to the structure if possible to help the vine support its heavy but oh-so-sweet burden. You could even use strips of hose to create a little sling for heavier fruits.
How to Fertilize Cantaloupe Plants
Cantaloupe are not particularly heavy feeders. Do you use extra? One blog said additional fertilizing not needed in good soil.
Make sure to avoid adding nitrogen-heavy fertilizers, which will encourage your plants to grow lots of lush leaves and few actual fruits.
How Long Does It Take to Grow Cantaloupe from Seed?
Most cantaloupe needs about 85 days to mature. The Minnesota Midgets I recommended are an early variety that need only 60 to 70 days. Keep in mind these times are estimates based on optimal weather. Things like cold spells can stunt and slow the growth of plants that like warmer temps.
There are also lots of hybrids out there now that grow at different paces, so the best thing to do is check the back of the seed packet for the time to harvest. Make note in your calendar.
Source: https://t-tees.com
Category: WHEN
