Cantaloupes are fun and easy to grow , but gardeners with limited outer space or a brusk growing time of year might feel put off by their space and heat demands . However , container horticulture is the perfect solution for growing cantaloupe industrial plant just about anywhere . In this article , discover how to grow cantaloupe in a container and keep it thriving until harvest fourth dimension .
There are legion advantages to growing cantaloupe vine in containers . A container garden is an excellent choice for agriculturist with limited space or if you do n’t have a garden plot or raised beds at home . It also gives you more restraint over plant acquire condition and reduces the risk of pesterer and disease problems .
When reckon how to grow cantaloupe in containers , H2O , temperature , and sun are some of the most crucial factors .
These tropical vines postulate deal of sunshine and consistent moisture and estrus level to make those luscious , sweet melon we know and get laid . study on to discover substantive tip and conjuration for planting cantaloupe in containers .
How to Grow Cantaloupe in Containers
Is cantaloupe and muskmelon the same thing ? Yes , cantaloupe , also known as muskmelon or Cucumis melo by its botanical name , is in the Cucurbit industrial plant kinsfolk along with cucumber vine , squash , watermelon , and honeydew melons .
Originating in Southeast Asia and Africa , cantaloupe were first commercially cultivated in the United States in the 1870s . Today , nearly three - quarters of US - grown cantaloupes fare from California .
To set yourself up for success growing delicious cantaloupe in your container garden , choosing the right pot is the first footfall . Melon flora have shallow roots and do n’t need an too large container unless you ’re growing multiple plants together .
Use a pot that ’s a minimum of twelve inches deep and wide and contain at least five gallons of soil . insure that it has several drain holes at the bottom to cut the peril of root rotting and fungous disease .
Next , select a location that ’s protect from the elements and gets full sun . Ideally , your cantaloupe plants should receive about eight to ten hour of direct sunlight each day . The ideal temperature for growing cantaloupe is between 75 - 95 ° F .
Growing cantaloup in kitty near a rampart of your house to take advantage of the radiant heat is helpful . If you live in a geographical zone with cool spring conditions , moot using a cold-blooded systema skeletale or float row cover to insulate your melon vine plant during inhuman spells to aid prevent blighter like cucumber mallet and squeeze bug from laying eggs on the supply ship seedling .
Although container gardening cuts down on the risk of pest and disease problems , it ’s still full of life to monitor your plants for sign of distress . If you notice aphid or other insects on the leave , spray all role of the plant with an constitutional insect powder like neem oil or insecticidal max .
Using drip irrigation keeps the leaves wry and minimizes the possibility of disease like powdery mould and foliage spot . When originate cantaloupe in a container , it ’s good to take succinct varieties . Here are a few of the top cantaloupe vine cultivars for your container garden .
Growing Cantaloupe in Containers from Seed
The best approach for how to raise cantaloupe vine in container depends on your clime . In warm part with a long growing time of year , it ’s potential to direct sow cantaloupe seeds in your terrace hatful anytime the weather is consistently above 60 ° F in the spring .
Otherwise , plant cantaloupe seedsindoors three to four weeks before the require last frost date in your area . You ’ll need a few extension supplies to get started . If you do n’t already have any of these token at dwelling house , they ’re readily uncommitted at your local garden center or online .
fill up your seedling trays with a well - draining and nutritive - ample potting mix . or else , use peat pots or a cardboard egg carton . Sow sow an inch rich , then broadly hide them with soil . Lightly saturate the soil using a atomizer bottle . Cover it with a humidness dome or weather sheet of plastic to sustain in moisture .
sprouting normally takes between five and ten twenty-four hours . The ideal filth temperature for germinating cantaloupe seeds is between 75 - 95 ° farad . The seeds wo n’t burgeon forth at temperatures below 60 ° F . Use a hotness mat to keep the soil at a consistent temperature during sprouting and while the seedlings develop .
Once your cantaloupe seedlings set out sprouting , move them to a Dixieland - look windowsill that gets a lower limit of six hour of undimmed light day by day . If you do n’t have a sunny window useable , believe using grow light to keep the seedlings from becoming elongate or “ leggy . ”
When you notice the beginning go forth from the drain holes in the tray , graft your cantaloupe seedlings into four - inch pots so they do n’t become root - bound . Keep the potting soil systematically moist , and rotate the pots on a regular basis to advance strong stem growth .
When to Plant Cantaloupe Outdoors
It ’s essential not to establish your cantaloupe outdoors too shortly , as the plant are highly cold - sensitive . To protect your plants from getting damaged in a late spring frost , await two to four week after your typical last frost particular date before transplant cantaloupe seedling into your out-of-door containers .
Another reward of grow cantaloupe in containers orgrowing watermelon in potsor containers is the ability to adapt to weather change cursorily and easily . supervise the forecasted dark temperature closely , especially in former natural spring , and shroud your cantaloup flora or bring them indoors in the event of an unseasonably late frost .
Best Soil and Fertilizer for Cantaloupe Plants
For a successful container garden , it ’s critical to use a mellow - quality potting soil blend rich in food and organic affair . depend for a potting mix that has added perlite for drainage and peat moss or coconut coir for moisture keeping .
Cantaloupe works are leaden feeders that benefit from regular coating of organic fertiliser throughout the growing time of year . In addition , container - grown flora require more frequent fertilizing than in - ground planting because nutrients get leach out of the grime faster as the water enfeeble from the pot .
There are three principal macronutrients usable in plant fertilizer : nitrogen ( N ) , daystar ( P ) , and K ( K ) . Nitrogen boost farewell , phosphorus bear substantial root systems , and potassium stimulates fruit and flowering .
When transplant cantaloupe seedling into your out-of-door pots , it ’s a good idea to mix some constituent , all - purpose plant food with the potting soil to give your works all the nutrient they involve to develop . Once the cantaloupe plant life begins flower , switch to a fertilizer with higher level of phosphorus and potassium than N .
If you ’re using tedious - release granular fertiliser , apply every three to four weeks . For liquid fertiliser , merge it with urine consort to the instructions list on the product recording label and feed your plants every other week .
It ’s also highly beneficial to use constitutive issue like sens press cutting , leaf , or straw as mulch around the base of your cantaloupe industrial plant . Mulching help to keep the dirt warmer , retain wet , and denigrate weed growing .
How to Grow Cantaloupe in a Container with a Trellis
Melon plant life tend to have a sprawl growth drug abuse and take up a lot of blank in the garden . maturate cantaloup on a trellis is an optimal solution for lay aside place in your container garden . Trellising also provides better air circulation and reduces the jeopardy of the fruits getting spoiled by pests or hogwash .
Be sure to use sturdy materials for the frame of your cantaloupe trellis so it can abide the weighting of the fruits as they modernise . As the cantaloupe vine uprise , loosely attach the new increment to the lattice and boost the curly tendrils to wrap around your treillage .
If you ’re growing cantaloupe sort that raise larger sized yield , it ’s helpful to tie piece of music of stretchy fabric to the trellis frame like hammocks to hold the heavy melons and prevent them from breaking off the vine too shortly . It ’s a wonderful way to repurpose old deoxythymidine monophosphate - shirt or pantyhose .
Add some marigold nearby togrow next to watermelonor cantaloupe to keep bugs forth . They are natural worm repellents .
Harvesting and Storing Homegrown Cantaloupe
To enjoy a bountiful cantaloupe vine harvest at the end of the summer , pollination is critical . Cantaloupe plants get separate male and female flowers .
The manlike flowers typically emerge first and contain a central stamen that acquire pollen . Female blossom have a pistil to receive the pollen and a small node at the base that eventually prepare into the yield .
If the bloom persist unpollinated , that node turns yellow and falls off the plant life . Consider companion imbed with redolent herbs and flower to pull pollinators and other good insects to your container garden .
Basil , bee balm , calendula , chamomile , goldenrod , marigolds , genus Nasturtium , oregano , and tansy are ideal candidates for planting alongside your Cucumis melo cantalupensis .
To influence when your melon vine are ready to harvest , give tending to the color of the rind . Most smorgasbord of cantaloupe turn from green to golden yellow when ripe . The veins or netting on the rind surface also darken from white to creamy ecru .
At peak ripeness , the bow begins to separate from the top of the cantaloupe . There should be minimal resistance when you pull the melon from the vine .
For the good possible texture and flavor , eat up your freshly nibble cantaloupe within three to five days . shop curve cantaloupe enfold in fictile wrap or pack inside a sealed container in your icebox .
For longer ledge life , harvest your cantaloupe just before in full ripe . You ’ll see a slight depression in the melon vine rind where the stem turn begins , but it wo n’t have started crock up away from the yield yet . The feeling is n’t quite as sweet , but it stay on fresh for around two weeks .
immobilise your cantaloup is an excellent option for recollective - term storage . apply flash-frozen cantaloup within one year .
If you ’ve never tried growing cantaloup vine because they take up too much elbow room , cogitate again . produce cantaloup in containers is an idealistic root for gardeners with limited space .
Choose cultivars with a more succinct increase habit , and train the vine to mount vertically up a trellis . mature your own foodstuff is a fun and satisfying DIY task , so why not give it a try ?
If you discover these container gardening tips utilitarian , please feel loose to apportion this clause about how to farm cantaloupe in a container with your fellow gardening partizan on Pinterest and Facebook .
