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#1
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Melons
I'm into my third year growing melons.
1st year I grew three plants and produced one tasteless melon.Hardly a great success ( 2nd year just one plant produced two small melons (cricket ball sized) with the most exquisite flavour. Hurrah! This year I have grown four plants and followed the cultivation notes to the letter. I have grown them as twin cordons and done the necessary hand-fertilisation, pinching out two leaves past each fertilised female flower. As soon as the fruits started to swell I have started daily feeding. I now have a pair of fruits on each of the four plants, currently the largest being the size of a CD in circumference. But the remaining fertilised fruits on all four plants have stopped growing at "marble" size. This is a huge improvemnt on the first two years, but the cultivation notes say I should be able to get between 4 and 6 melons per plant. Has anyone any idea what I need to do to keep the remaining fruits viable, or is it the norm for the plant to support just two? |
#2
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Melons
In article , Sue da Nimm
.? writes I'm into my third year growing melons. 1st year I grew three plants and produced one tasteless melon.Hardly a great success ( 2nd year just one plant produced two small melons (cricket ball sized) with the most exquisite flavour. Hurrah! This year I have grown four plants and followed the cultivation notes to the letter. I have grown them as twin cordons and done the necessary hand-fertilisation, pinching out two leaves past each fertilised female flower. As soon as the fruits started to swell I have started daily feeding. I now have a pair of fruits on each of the four plants, currently the largest being the size of a CD in circumference. But the remaining fertilised fruits on all four plants have stopped growing at "marble" size. This is a huge improvemnt on the first two years, but the cultivation notes say I should be able to get between 4 and 6 melons per plant. Has anyone any idea what I need to do to keep the remaining fruits viable, or is it the norm for the plant to support just two? The cultivation notes are a bit misleading. It is theoretically feasible to crop 4-6 melons per plant, but the norm in UK is more like 2-3. When we have two good fruits progressing on any plant in our unheated greenhouse, we disbud any others until one or both of the earlier ones have been picked. If the first ones begin early and it is a good summer, we may get one or two more on the plant. It is more to do with average daytime temperatures than how much feeding and watering is done. Earlier fruits can be removed a little before full ripeness and allowed to finish indoors in order to give later ones a better chance. -- Alan & Joan Gould - North Lincs. |
#3
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Melons
In article , Sue da Nimm
.? writes I'm into my third year growing melons. 1st year I grew three plants and produced one tasteless melon.Hardly a great success ( 2nd year just one plant produced two small melons (cricket ball sized) with the most exquisite flavour. Hurrah! This year I have grown four plants and followed the cultivation notes to the letter. I have grown them as twin cordons and done the necessary hand-fertilisation, pinching out two leaves past each fertilised female flower. As soon as the fruits started to swell I have started daily feeding. I now have a pair of fruits on each of the four plants, currently the largest being the size of a CD in circumference. But the remaining fertilised fruits on all four plants have stopped growing at "marble" size. This is a huge improvemnt on the first two years, but the cultivation notes say I should be able to get between 4 and 6 melons per plant. Has anyone any idea what I need to do to keep the remaining fruits viable, or is it the norm for the plant to support just two? The cultivation notes are a bit misleading. It is theoretically feasible to crop 4-6 melons per plant, but the norm in UK is more like 2-3. When we have two good fruits progressing on any plant in our unheated greenhouse, we disbud any others until one or both of the earlier ones have been picked. If the first ones begin early and it is a good summer, we may get one or two more on the plant. It is more to do with average daytime temperatures than how much feeding and watering is done. Earlier fruits can be removed a little before full ripeness and allowed to finish indoors in order to give later ones a better chance. -- Alan & Joan Gould - North Lincs. |
#4
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Melons
On Sat, 10 Jul 2004 15:33:39 +0100, "Sue da Nimm"
. wrote: Has anyone any idea what I need to do to keep the remaining fruits viable, or is it the norm for the plant to support just two? Four Plants Two fruit on one and two on another none on the other two. The first fruit appeared two months ago and the other three last week. Havent got a clue. I just accept it. Last year loads of Beetroot this year the lot failed. Still its better than watching TV. |
#5
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Melons
In article , Dogger
writes Last year loads of Beetroot this year the lot failed. At the risk of changing the thread topic... .... my beets all came up - but suffered something removing all the leaves (not that pest homo sapiens for its salads). They recovered but after a few weeks, the same happened and then they didn't recover. I realised it was birds, not snails. Sowed a load more and netted them - and now have a good crop. The later sowings did take a lot longer to germinate and come through though. -- regards andyw |
#6
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Melons
In article , Dogger
writes Last year loads of Beetroot this year the lot failed. At the risk of changing the thread topic... .... my beets all came up - but suffered something removing all the leaves (not that pest homo sapiens for its salads). They recovered but after a few weeks, the same happened and then they didn't recover. I realised it was birds, not snails. Sowed a load more and netted them - and now have a good crop. The later sowings did take a lot longer to germinate and come through though. -- regards andyw |
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