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When to plant melons?
drakeeston
Posts: 26
in Fruit & veg
I live in the UK btw. When should I sow indoors for melons? Also when should I sow tomato's and zucchini?
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Where are they going to live? Greenhouse? Hot or cold? Or a traditional hotbed?
where will you be sowing them?
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I'm hoping to start the melons indoors then plant out as soon as there is no frost. I just need to know when to sow it
We need to know how much space you have indoors in good light to grow your plants on before planting out. How big will your plants be able to get before planting out?
Melons need a long and warm growing season to get to produce fruit in time to ripen.
Im not sure that it is possible to get melons to produce and ripen fruit outside in the UK.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Hello Drakeeston .
I usually start my melons off about April/May time in individual pots in an unheated propagator on my conservatory windowsill where they happily seem to reach the required temperature for germination . After that I plant them out after danger of frosts have passed under polythene tunnels until the weather warms up , then remove the tunnels and leave them to it . Last year I had a very good crop , even being able to give some away .
I had always wanted to grow Melons from being a boy but didn't think we had the climate , but now I know different . The melons I grew were a cantaloupe variety called 'Petit Gris De Rennes ' and very tasty they were too !
That's good to know Terry
Obviously you have space in the conservatory to grow them on a bit before planting out - what size are they when you plant them in the tunnels?
Where abouts in the UK are you? Is your plot nicely sheltered and which way does it face?
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Usually I plant them out when they have 4 or 5 true leaves . My allotment plot is reasonably sheltered and is South facing , so plenty of sunshine . I grow them through black polythene sheeting which apart from keeping weeds down also provides extra warmth . My plot is in Oxon so not too bad a climate .
Thanks Terry
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.