I plan on growing melons this year, and have heard it's a good idea to
plant them in small mounds of dirt. I happen to water my garden with
a drip line, which is buried an inch or two beneath the soil surface.
This being the case, wouldn't planting the seeds in a mound prevent
the seeds from getting water?

(Fleemo) wrote:

I plan on growing melons this year, and have heard it's a good idea to
plant them in small mounds of dirt. I happen to water my garden with
a drip line, which is buried an inch or two beneath the soil surface.
This being the case, wouldn't planting the seeds in a mound prevent
the seeds from getting water?

Seeds yes. You will have to hand water until they sprout, or
transplant small plants.

Then ... the roots go DOWN to the water.

One effective way to plant melons is in a tire filled with rich
soil and its own drip outlet.

Tsu

--
To doubt everything or to believe everything
are two equally convenient solutions; both
dispense with the necessity of reflection.
- Jules Henri Poincaré

This bit of "folk wisdom" is really from folks who don't know what a
"hill" is! Putting the plants on a raised mound won't do a thing for
the plants, except make them more suceptible to drying out to much
when first planted. A hill just means plant the seeds in groups spaced
apart, as opposed to in a row. Since you are wise enough to use drip
and bury the line I assume(!) you don't have much problem with excess
water, the only concievable reason that a mound might actually help,
and in that case it won't since the water will wick up to the plants
and rot the roots anyway. So plant them in the plain flat soil and
they will be very happy!
Now advice, melons love heat and anything under 55 will make them
decidedly unhappy and likely set them back a lot, so WAIT till the
weather is consistantly warm. If it is nice and warm they grow like
weeds, if they get set back they never take off (if you live in the
north disregard this, but then you are slighly nuts to try and grow
melons in the north). If you can hold back the water a week or so
before the melons ripen, it helps sweeten them.
Good luck.


(Fleemo) wrote in message . com...
I plan on growing melons this year, and have heard it's a good idea to
plant them in small mounds of dirt. I happen to water my garden with
a drip line, which is buried an inch or two beneath the soil surface.
This being the case, wouldn't planting the seeds in a mound prevent
the seeds from getting water?

(Fleemo) wrote in message . com...
I plan on growing melons this year, and have heard it's a good idea to
plant them in small mounds of dirt. I happen to water my garden with
a drip line, which is buried an inch or two beneath the soil surface.
This being the case, wouldn't planting the seeds in a mound prevent
the seeds from getting water?

The mounds warm quicker than the surrounding soil giving you a jump on
germination and growth.
Once they have a few leaves they will have roots enough to reach the
water.

I plant mine in rows and water with soaker hoses. I have had real good luck
this way, but have never tried it any other way, so I dont know any better.

Also, if you water them too much when they are ripening, they will split.
Have fun. Dwayne

"Beecrofter" wrote in message
om...
(Fleemo) wrote in message
. com...
I plan on growing melons this year, and have heard it's a good idea to
plant them in small mounds of dirt. I happen to water my garden with
a drip line, which is buried an inch or two beneath the soil surface.
This being the case, wouldn't planting the seeds in a mound prevent
the seeds from getting water?

The mounds warm quicker than the surrounding soil giving you a jump on
germination and growth.
Once they have a few leaves they will have roots enough to reach the
water.

They warm quicker and cool down quicker in the evening, that is the
real draw back. Often night temps are more important than daytime
ones, and in the spring the cooling at night will undo whatever good
the warm day did. Melons love heat and trying to force them a bit
early is bad advice. When I was farming I insisted on trying to
outsmart the old guys who told me to wait two weeks to plant and the
melons would do much better..... they were always right, and while I
might have gotten an occasional melon earlier then thiers, their
plants were healthier and far outyielded my early started ones.

"Dwayne" wrote in message ...
I plant mine in rows and water with soaker hoses. I have had real good luck
this way, but have never tried it any other way, so I dont know any better.

Also, if you water them too much when they are ripening, they will split.
Have fun. Dwayne

"Beecrofter" wrote in message
om...
(Fleemo) wrote in message
. com...
I plan on growing melons this year, and have heard it's a good idea to
plant them in small mounds of dirt. I happen to water my garden with
a drip line, which is buried an inch or two beneath the soil surface.
This being the case, wouldn't planting the seeds in a mound prevent
the seeds from getting water?

The mounds warm quicker than the surrounding soil giving you a jump on
germination and growth.
Once they have a few leaves they will have roots enough to reach the
water.