"Dwayne" wrote in message
...
Heavy rain, or watering them too long. When they are ripening, dont water
as long, if any, and they should do well. All melons are that way.

I'm not sure if I'm responding with proper Newsgroup etiquette as I have not
done this in a while. Don't know if I should delete the prev thread.
Anyway, thanks for the answers.
MY concern about not watering as much is that there is a drought going on
here and they are "under" by at least 10" of rainfall in E.Texas. How often
should we water the melons? It is sandy soil and the water just goes right
through. I think Dad is watering about every day or every other day now.
The one post said NO supplemental watering as the melons are ripening, but
there are still small ones on the vines and I think it would be impossible
to depend on rainfall alone this time of year considering the drought. This
is Texas in the Summer : )
Rita
Zone 7a-8b





Dwayne

"Rita Foust" wrote in message
...
Hi,
Only my second time to grow Melons once in Garland, TX in black clay.
Now we have them in E.Texas, zone 8 in a sandy soil with red clay
underneath. Lots of Iron, very little N, plus it's acidic; Piney woods,
you know. I dug huge 4ft holes and added lime, manure, N, P and K, egg
shells, water crystals a few, LOTS of stuff. They have done great and
vines are covering all four of the five foot ladders, BUT...
We made beautiful Cedar Ladders to grow the Melons on, have several
kinds. Tried Charentais as it is supposed to be super sweet luxury type
Melon. My Dad says the Melons are splitting open before they ripen. He
took one off the vine after it split and said it was not sweet. Also he
said the stem was still green and not dried up. He asked me how to tell
if melons are ripe, I told him to use the pressure on the blossom end
test. I think he is getting confused about the vines getting brown and
hard with the squash. Should the vine get brown before you pick it? How
do you tell when the melons are ripe. Dad mainly takes care of the 1500
sq ft garden as I can't go down every weekend any more, so I have to give
him instructions.
Why are the melons splitting?

Thanks
Rita