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melons
Alex 4
Posts: 56
in Fruit & veg
What is a good variety of melon to grow in a greenhouse?
0
Alex 4
Posts: 56
Posts
The only one I've tried was Charentais (seeds from Aldi) which worked very well.
I believe the technique is similar to cucumber, but I've never tried them.
Have tried Ogen melon in an unheated greenhouse with mixed results, last year was a disaster. Lots of useful growing info here http://www.seedaholic.com/melon-ogen.html
Whichever variety you grow, make sure they are advertised as 'bred for growing in the UK' or you will likely be disappointed if using an unheated greenhouse unless we have a really good summer. Also make sure you hand-pollinate regularly in case insects don't do the job for you. It was a bad year with low light levels last year but I had some success with Emir F1. The other two varieties I grew failed to set any fruit.
I have grown Emir F1 but was not very successful - the 6 plants grew really well and I managed to produce 2 very small melons which were inedible. Have come to the conclusion that I can't grow melons in my greenhouse in Cumbria so have given the space to gherkins instead. Delicious fresh or pickled and fruits appear overnight!
I have grown Minnesota Midget and Pettit gris du Rennes (Real Seeds) in a greenhouse and they did fairly well apart from downy mildew which was easy to control. Both melons are smallish but delicious. I get better results, especially from Minnesota Midget which is quite compact, by growing them in a 6 mtr homemade cloch (hoops + 500 grade clear plastic sheeting.) Up to 38 melons from 4 plants, although last year the crop was down a little. This year I am trying Scoons Hard Shell and Ananas, just for a change. Melon are greedy plants which like moist soil so lots of organic matter in the soil, especially manure.