Thread: Melons
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Old 11-10-2010, 11:00 AM posted to uk.rec.gardening
Roy Bailey[_2_] Roy Bailey[_2_] is offline
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First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Jan 2010
Posts: 48
Default Melons
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After last year's "6 plants, 2.5 melons total" crop, I thought I'd go for
more this year. Had about 20 melon plants in the greenhouse (mixed
varieties, inc. watermelons)

Plants grew well and put out flowers, but the female flowers didn't come
until end of August, by which point it was too late to get anything (I did
hand pollinate a couple, but the fruit never got more than golf ball sized,
and the plants started to die back)

Any idea how to encourage female flowers earlier for next year?

The trick is to pinch out the growing shoot when the plants have
produced about 4 or 5 leaves. This encourages side shoots which tend to
produce the female flowers (the plant thinks it is under threat of
destruction and starts reproducing.)

Some of the books suggest then allowing four of these side shoots to
grow on, but in this country, even in a greenhouse, I would suggest one
or two.

Roy.
--
Roy Bailey
West Berkshire.

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