Overwintering Pepino Melon, Solanum muricatum indoors.
Вставка
- Опубліковано 5 лис 2024
- Growing Pepino Melon from seed this year, has been a very interesting learning experience. They need a very long growing season, and even though we had a mild fall, we just ran out of time. When the first hard freeze came, we had one 1/3 sized fruit that was on the plant. I'm hoping by overwintering this large Pepino Melon, I can gain several months of growing time. I'm feeling pretty good about our chances to produce fruit next year, but only time will tell.
Subscribe at: / warletters
Facebook: / midwestgardener
Binge watching :-) That plant really grew. You kind of forget how small they start out.
True. At the start earlier this year, they were tiny seedlings.
Nice job done Sir. Looking forward to seeing what she will produce next year.
Thanks! I'll be happy if I just get a few off of it. Hope you are doing well.
Plant looks real healthy, I will keep fingers crossed for lots of fruit next year. :-)
Thanks Kevin! I will be happy with just a few good ones.
I sure am interested in watching it's second year. Growing very well indoors too.
Thanks Brent! Me too.....next year is make or break for me. It's been fun learning about it, but I need some production. I'm thinking the big head start might be enough. We will see.
Great work! Have a wonderful weekend Mr. Jim!
Thanks! You have a great weekend too, Catalin!
Glad to see you are giving the pepinos another chance 😊. I saw in another video of yours that you cut the roots of the plants - I didn’t know you can do that. Good to know 😊 Have a great weekend Jim!
Thanks Sasha! I had it in such a big pot, that I had to trim some roots to fit it in the smaller pot. It's going to be pretty cold here next week. Hope you guys are having nice weather :) You have a great weekend too!
Midwest Gardener we are - I feel guilty saying anything about our cold nights... 58...
Lol, you guys deserve it for what you have to put up with during the summer :)
Midwest Gardener 😊
Definitely enjoyed the re-pot and the root prune!
Thanks! I'll be happy if they just make to through to spring.
Hope to see some ripe Pepino melons next season, All the best Jim ☺
I'm with you on that one Sue! Can't wait to get growing again.
That looks like some good hearty soil big thumbs up my friend
It's working pretty well so far.
People that grow pepino in my country say there are two main reasons for having little or no fruit: 1. unsuitable temperatures - the ideal conditions for fruit set are between 18 to 25 Celsius (and this turned out to be a problem for me because summers here are hot). 2. too many stems/branches - it is recommended that only two to three stems should be left per plant (as is done with tomatoes which are in the same plant family) and that all lateral branches that start from these stems should be removed during the entire growing season (and that happens all the time, literally), if left to grow too bushy they might, again, bear little or no fruit.
I started mine from seeds and they started flowering when three and a half months old but dropped all their flowers because of the heat and set fruit in early fall which couldn't ripen. My goal is to make them flower again in late spring so that they can set any fruit before summer, otherwise i can end up with no fruit for a second consecutive year.
Thanks Mihail, for taking the time to comment! This information is very helpful. We also have very hot summers, so if the temperatures you've provided are accurate, it would leave a very small window of opportunity for them to set fruit here. I will take your advice and trim to fewer branches.
If you don't mind me asking.....what country are you in? Thanks again.
My experience is that you could add a few degrees above this range but high temperatures are a hindering factor for sure. I pruned mine and they yielded a good crop (don't know if trimming is the reason but it didn't do any harm anyway) but as I said this was in fall and the fruit could only grow to the size of an egg before the first freeze of the season.
I'm from Bulgaria (Balkan peninsula, just north of Greece). Glad if I could help.
Thanks again, Mihail. I appreciate the information you provided. Maybe we can compare notes later this year. I hope you have a good growing season!
Fear Gardener
Any news ?
How was about this year? Any promo melon?
I live in Canada I have healthy plants...but I planning for the winter I'd like to know about your experience
Thx
This video was published in 2017. I found that our season here was just too short. I was only able to produce a couple of fruit from it, so the effort wasn't worth it for me. The biggest issue with brining a plant indoors for the winter is making sure you don't bring in aphids or other pests, and making sure it has enough light.
Hey Jim, you should get some HUGE pepino melons this season with that great looking plant... T
I hope I at least get a few. The plant got really big, then the aphids really took a toll on it. I trimmed it way back again, just to make it more manageable.
It is looking great. It will be interesting to watch it in 2018. Have a great weekend. Best wishes Bob.
Thanks Bob! Yep, I'm looking forward to it.
great advice jim !!
If it lives :)
How did this turn out? I grew a few from seed. They bloomed but didn't set fruit. I'm going to over-Winter them.
It didn't work well at all. I had a terrible problem with aphids on them during the winter. Even though I produced fruit last year, I didn't produce any this year. I won't be growing them again.
Where did you get seeds? I read this specie only is multiply by cuttings
I've been wondering how yours was doing!
It looks absolutely fantastic and I'm looking forward to see the time frame on when you get your first flowers next season. Do you think you'll put it back in the same area next year?👍
Thanks! I'm not exactly sure where I'm going to put it, but I think I'm going to put it directly in the ground instead of in a container. Then I think I will take a cutting and grow it in the container as a replacement to overwinter......if I get fruit next year.
Midwest Gardener i wish i had taken my cutting sooner cause it doesn't look too promising at this point. But i noticed mine fruiting in the cooler weather of september and oct. I managed to harvest one to take inside. I have it sitting on the counter and the markings have come out on it really pretty. It's still kind of hard but softening so i'm gonna slice it open just to see what the inside looks like. I don't think it will be edible(I'm going to try a piece of it anyway😂) but I consider it a success!!
Wow, that is really awesome!!! I would definitely call that a success. You got much closer than I did. Thanks for the additional information too. That is very helpful. I guess if nothing else, we learned a lot this year :)
That grows melons on it???
They call them pepino melons, but it is just a small fruit, not really shaped like a melon at all.
Ok, I have never heard of them.
Any chance for shipping to México?
Sorry, but I don't ship anywhere. I do know that Baker Creek ships internationally, and that is where I got my seeds.
@@MidwestGardener thank you my friend, if you need something that I might get here in México let me know
You're welcome! And thanks for that offer. Much appreciated!
Hi Jim hows your pepino melon doing this year, if started to grow them in the uk, out of 15 seeds I germinated only three came up, but the plant is doing well for me iv already got one fruit on the plant developing, if interested please check my channel out👍and leave us a comment what you think about the plant am a new gardener just started growing tropical fruits🤗
Hi. I gave up on Pepino melons. For this climate it was too much work for too little reward. It was fun growing them for the first time though. I always enjoy growing new things. Good luck with yours.