Ross, Watched this video months ago but just now getting around to commenting. I think plenty of light is important (full Sun) plus proper soil including moderate fertility (not too much) but the make or break seems to be soil moisture. Using drip irrigation my melons were watered approx. weekly thru most of June. We really lucked out with rain.....we had some rains during harvest but NOT too much like we sometimes get here in Georgia. Had wheelbarrow loads of fruit and nearly all varieties were exceptionally sweet. Very little issues with mildew/diseases. I am looking forward to 2023 melon season! Randy/GA
even without rain mildew might grow on leaves around dawn because the colder temperature will cause dew. Even on very hot days if relative moisture isnt too low this happens at dawn.
You don't need more than 6-8 hours of summer sun to have very sweet melons. I grew 2 melon plants (Hales Best) in bags last summer which got no more than 6-7 hours of sun. The melons did not get very big (because of the limited root space), but they were SWEET. I grew them in very sandy potting soil with compost. I watered enough to make sure the root zone was consistently moist during fruit growth, but then gradually reduce the water and let it dry out a little. You have to remember that melons are native to semi-desert areas. They love sun, but they also love sandy soil that is very well draining. They hate salts (most synthetic fertilisers are high in salts, so avoid them) and they hate having their roots disturbed (so always sow direct). They don't need much fertiliser, and too much nitrogen can affect their flavour. Their roots can grow very deep, so if you have clay soil below you need to factor in the moisture they have access to down there. You also need to factor in rain. If they take up too much water you'll have watery melons - no matter how much sun you give them. However, if you only grow one or two fruit per plant, you can stop watering the plant 1-2 weeks before harvesting, which will help sweeten the fruit.
It is a combination of good soil, enough light, and water. I've had to shade cloth everything due to the sun. Otherwise it would have fried everything, even with watering every other day. The ground dries out so fast. The good days are the days where the sun is hiding behind the clouds and the temperature is around 80 degrees. I can take the shade cloth off on those days. I think if I amend the soil this year with manure and alfalfa, it will go a long way to boosting the heath so my plants have a bit more water and sun tolerance.
I agree they are very hard to grow, I still find that sugar kiss melons are better than what I could grow (which is sad since I go through so much trouble starting the plants indoors and stuff). Thank god figs don’t have the disease problems that melons have 😎
You need to water every morning at ground level especially in hot weather. 3 years never had a bad melon. Sweet, sweet, sweet. Melons are filled with water. Lots of organic material, compost teas and comfrey tea. Also mulch to retain water. I Never thin out anything. I get some disease but it doesn’t effect the melons.
@@jeffreyjann1263 We're talking about melons here whose roots only go to about 8". A tomato or pepper plant can go down to the 3'. A tree has roots who knows how deep they can go and wide. There's a big difference. I considering a melon is like 95% water. Hence the name water melon And they can't mine for water further than around 8" or so. Denying them water is denying them nutrients. Sugars don't have feet they can't walk up plant stems they have to be delivered and water is their delivery system.
I’m just wondering if they’ve been picked too early, and I’m pretty sure you can check by the stem to know if it’s ready to cut off. Good points here in this video. Thanks. Once, I went and visited a house down the street that was going to be for sale and I went out in the backyard and they had a semi-dwarf navel orange tree. I picked one of the fruit and enjoyed it like no other orange I’ve ever had. I couldn’t understand why I’ve never had an orange quite like that before or since. What I remember is the tree was not over bearing with fruit and the soil was almost black. Somebody was paying some strong attention to that tree, but furthermore what was in that soil and why was it so dark and richer looking. I think that had a great deal to do with the quality of the fruit and that it was tree-ripened too.
My favorite melon varieties are sweet passion and heart of gold. I’m growing directly in the ground allowing them to grow wild basically, and there’s no signs of wilt or pm. For watermelon I love moon and stars and art Combes ancient Native American watermelon. Also the Ali baba iraq watermelon is the most delicious. I choose watermelon varieties that need very little water and this also improves flavor. I’m glad you’re getting closer to your melon goals though! I’ll have to give your fancier varieties a shot lol
if your plant dies from disease before the fruits even finish to ripen you will never have sweet fruit. you can spin your wheels focusing on other things all you want. goodluck.
if they are called slip. they will literally fall off when ripe. i tie them up with foot socks. they tend to crack open when they hit the ground. its painful to watch you struggle. lol
Ross, Watched this video months ago but just now getting around to commenting. I think plenty of light is important (full Sun) plus proper soil including moderate fertility (not too much) but the make or break seems to be soil moisture. Using drip irrigation my melons were watered approx. weekly thru most of June. We really lucked out with rain.....we had some rains during harvest but NOT too much like we sometimes get here in Georgia. Had wheelbarrow loads of fruit and nearly all varieties were exceptionally sweet. Very little issues with mildew/diseases. I am looking forward to 2023 melon season! Randy/GA
even without rain mildew might grow on leaves around dawn because the colder temperature will cause dew. Even on very hot days if relative moisture isnt too low this happens at dawn.
You don't need more than 6-8 hours of summer sun to have very sweet melons. I grew 2 melon plants (Hales Best) in bags last summer which got no more than 6-7 hours of sun. The melons did not get very big (because of the limited root space), but they were SWEET. I grew them in very sandy potting soil with compost. I watered enough to make sure the root zone was consistently moist during fruit growth, but then gradually reduce the water and let it dry out a little.
You have to remember that melons are native to semi-desert areas. They love sun, but they also love sandy soil that is very well draining. They hate salts (most synthetic fertilisers are high in salts, so avoid them) and they hate having their roots disturbed (so always sow direct). They don't need much fertiliser, and too much nitrogen can affect their flavour. Their roots can grow very deep, so if you have clay soil below you need to factor in the moisture they have access to down there. You also need to factor in rain. If they take up too much water you'll have watery melons - no matter how much sun you give them.
However, if you only grow one or two fruit per plant, you can stop watering the plant 1-2 weeks before harvesting, which will help sweeten the fruit.
It is a combination of good soil, enough light, and water. I've had to shade cloth everything due to the sun. Otherwise it would have fried everything, even with watering every other day. The ground dries out so fast. The good days are the days where the sun is hiding behind the clouds and the temperature is around 80 degrees. I can take the shade cloth off on those days. I think if I amend the soil this year with manure and alfalfa, it will go a long way to boosting the heath so my plants have a bit more water and sun tolerance.
I agree they are very hard to grow, I still find that sugar kiss melons are better than what I could grow (which is sad since I go through so much trouble starting the plants indoors and stuff). Thank god figs don’t have the disease problems that melons have 😎
You need to water every morning at ground level especially in hot weather. 3 years never had a bad melon. Sweet, sweet, sweet. Melons are filled with water. Lots of organic material, compost teas and comfrey tea. Also mulch to retain water. I Never thin out anything. I get some disease but it doesn’t effect the melons.
Yes, keep water off leaves…
Every fruiting plant needs a specific amount of water. Anything in excess lowers the brix of the fruit. Look up the term dry farming.
@@RossRaddi Look up the term dry ass fruit. 🤣🤣
@@RossRaddi yes, love that. Long ago we dry farmed organic apples…
The character of the crop was substantially better.
We juiced some…🍎🍏
@@jeffreyjann1263 We're talking about melons here whose roots only go to about 8". A tomato or pepper plant can go down to the 3'. A tree has roots who knows how deep they can go and wide. There's a big difference. I considering a melon is like 95% water. Hence the name water melon And they can't mine for water further than around 8" or so. Denying them water is denying them nutrients. Sugars don't have feet they can't walk up plant stems they have to be delivered and water is their delivery system.
I’m just wondering if they’ve been picked too early, and I’m pretty sure you can check by the stem to know if it’s ready to cut off. Good points here in this video. Thanks.
Once, I went and visited a house down the street that was going to be for sale and I went out in the backyard and they had a semi-dwarf navel orange tree. I picked one of the fruit and enjoyed it like no other orange I’ve ever had. I couldn’t understand why I’ve never had an orange quite like that before or since. What I remember is the tree was not over bearing with fruit and the soil was almost black. Somebody was paying some strong attention to that tree, but furthermore what was in that soil and why was it so dark and richer looking. I think that had a great deal to do with the quality of the fruit and that it was tree-ripened too.
Sounds like some good soil!
My favorite melon varieties are sweet passion and heart of gold. I’m growing directly in the ground allowing them to grow wild basically, and there’s no signs of wilt or pm. For watermelon I love moon and stars and art Combes ancient Native American watermelon. Also the Ali baba iraq watermelon is the most delicious. I choose watermelon varieties that need very little water and this also improves flavor. I’m glad you’re getting closer to your melon goals though! I’ll have to give your fancier varieties a shot lol
Where are these located, in the northeast USA!
Hello my friend Ross ! Thank you for the video
Awesome job. Growing melons here in Babylon NY 😃
Do you think clipping the growth points off thus reducing leaf load had an effect?
Check out Khang Starr he grows them hydroponic.
Hi Ross, have you tried growing Montreal melons?
focus on growing a healthy plant. you are really looking into this.
if your plant dies from disease before the fruits even finish to ripen you will never have sweet fruit. you can spin your wheels focusing on other things all you want. goodluck.
if they are called slip. they will literally fall off when ripe. i tie them up with foot socks. they tend to crack open when they hit the ground. its painful to watch you struggle. lol