First Attempt Growing Melons in Soil

First melon 30 days after sowing.

Earlier this summer wild hogs tore through the yard making the grass un-mowable. I decided to experiment a little by tilling up the ground with the tractor, mainly to level things out. This method worked okay, but more specialized equipment would be needed to efficiently smooth and level the area that was destroyed.

Not many days after the hog damage occurred, we happened to consume an uncharacteristically delicious honeydew melon from the grocery store. The sudden decision to plant a row of these melons in the newly tilled ground was made.

Despite the lack of planning that went into sowing the honeydew seeds, they came up in only a few days. I got excited and thought, "What the hell, lets plant cantaloupes and watermelons too!" In total, three store-bought melons were used for this impromptu melon patch.

For the next two plantings (cantaloupe and watermelon) we formed mounded rows before sowing the new seeds. We spaced the seeds about 2"-4" apart and watered once daily (unless it rained). The new sprouts emerged within 3 or 4 days. I have discovered that letting the garden fill with water between the rows is much easier than trying to water all the plants individually.

About three weeks after sowing, we thinned out the plants in each row.

After six weeks of growth and lots of help from the bees, we now have tiny honeydews, cantaloupes and watermelons starting to form. Hopefully, before August is over we will be feasting on melons from each row.

Honeydew at 30 days

If I had to change anything, I would have made the space between mounds wider and constructed a trellis or other kind of support to keep both the vines and fruit off the ground.

Thanks for stopping by, more to come in the following weeks.