Watermelon & Cantaloupe Plants

Ripe cantaloupes are a deep orange color.

Juicy ripe sweet watermelon and smooth cool cantaloupe are tempting taste treats in the summer. Growing your own ensures that it's picked at the peak of ripeness and hasn't been in transport to the grocery store for a week or more. With a few simple tips, melons are not a challenge to grow. Some gardeners are confused as to whether a watermelon or cantaloupe is ready to harvest.

Location

Melons, including watermelons and cantaloupes, require long, warm days and full sun. They do better in rich well-drained soil with added organic matter. Before planting, add well-rotted manure or compost and slow-release fertilizer per package directions to the soil. Supplement rainfall if it doesn't reach 1 1/2 inches per week. Snip off extra watermelons while they're still small and green if you want the remaining watermelons to become large.

Space

Both cantaloupes and watermelons are space hogs. It's possible to grow a cantaloupe vine up a trellis if the melons are cradled in "hammocks" for support. Make the hammocks from old pantyhose. The melons are too heavy otherwise and pull down the vine. Bush cantaloupes and watermelons are available, but they don't produce as prolifically as the vine. Seedless watermelons will require another variety with seeds for pollination.

Ripeness

Cantaloupes have a fine webbing of veins over the surface that becomes more prominent as the melon ripens. Cantaloupes are ripe when it's easy to slip them off the vine with a gentle tug. They also have a strong melon scent. Watermelons have days-to-maturity on the seed package that is a guide to ripeness. Since weather affects how quickly or slowly the melon ripens, don't depend solely on the guide. Ripe watermelons will yellow underneath them where they sit on the ground. The stem where the watermelon is attached to the vine turns brown. The surface of the watermelon turns dull and the rind is difficult to pierce with your fingernail.

Myths

Melons do not cross pollinate with cucumbers, squash or pumpkins. If you plant a cucumber near your cantaloupe, the cucumber will not pollinate the cantaloupe resulting in a melon that is not sweet. Seedless watermelons do have seeds, but they're so small and soft they're not noticeable.

Uses

Use both watermelon and cantaloupes in fruit salads. Puree the melons with yogurt for a fruit smoothie. Freeze pureed melon in ice cube trays and add to iced tea or soda water for a refreshing summer drink. Cut the melons into 1/2-inch chunks, add chopped scallions, cucumbers, green peppers, jicama and jalapeno peppers with a splash of lime juice for a summer salsa salad.

References

• University of Illinois Extension: Watermelon
• "Burpee Complete Gardener"; Allan Armitage et al.; 1995