I’ll show you how to do this in just a moment. I started with the vertical bits first, tying one end of the twine to the bottom horizontal bar and looping it around the top bar before tying it off to the other bottom horizontal bar. Laura Melchor grew up helping her mom in the garden in Montana, and as an adult she’s brought her cold-weather gardening skills with her to her home in Alaska. more crops than you otherwise would and often healthier crops too. Here are photos I took today, September 26. Melons grow on very sprawling vines that can take up most of a garden bed though. Trellis Location and Size Install the melon trellis before you plant the melons. Few gardeners have all the growing space they would like. I was running a little low on building materials at that time, so this trellis ended up being a shorter one, at about 1.7 metres high, since those were the longest poles I had on hand then. Set the posts in place on the shadiest side of your row of melons, about 8 inches from the plants. young melons in the slings from the time they are a few inches in diameter © Copyright 2020 Hearst Communications, Inc. Soft cotton string or 1-inch strips of soft fabric, Soft fabric, such as old T-shirts or nylon stockings. They look like stiff sections of wire fence and are sturdy and easy to handle. © Copyright 2020 Hearst Communications, Inc. The good news is that with a pinch of creativity and a dash of careful setup, anyone can train cantaloupe to grow vertically on a trellis of nearly any type. Tie one end of the cloth to the trellis on one side of the melon and tie the other end of the cloth to the trellis on the other side. Hey again, thought I would follow up on this post. is up a trellis, allows for better airflow that keeps foliage dry. One mistake that I’ve made was planting the melons too close together. The way the horizontal twine loops around the vertical twine. © 2011 curiousgardener.com All rights reserved. The thought of a massive melon patch is immensely cheering. They should also smell fruity, and easily detach from the vine. 49 As the plant grows, keep tying the growing vines to the wire as needed. Make sure the hammock is large enough to support the melon even when it’s full-sized. Die Ranken und die Blätter sind weich behaart. For gardeners who love melons but don’t have a lot of space, a trellis is the ideal solution. Leave enough on the ends for you to make knots in the fabric. (And lucky you with that long growing season! If you don’t have space or the building skills to create an arch or gazebo, any of the following structures will work: You get the idea. A melon trellis does not have to be a permanent, heavy-duty structure. Again, I pulled the twine tight before tying it up. Once the rinds turn from white to gold, your cantaloupe are ready for harvest. I’ll definitely use the vertical raising idea. They always had some form of trellis growing winter melon or bitter melon or opo squash... basically some kind of asian squash. But I’m happy with myself and have so enjoyed reading and watching others videos. Prime members enjoy FREE Delivery and exclusive access to music, movies, TV shows, original audio series, and Kindle books. Once the seedlings have two sets of true leaves, start hardening them off. Create slings made of old nylon stockings or netting and cradle the This means you'll need to sink the posts deeper than usual and also use a thicker material for the vines to climb. One of the issues with growing melons on a trellis involves rotting. The trellising you did looks really nice, too. Hi Candice! I used a nylon hose to support this trellised watermelon. By training the vines to climb a vertical structure, you save space in your garden while still giving the melons plenty of space to stretch. All your plants need to grow up instead of out is a strong trellis and some individual supports for the melons. Wow. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in, All customers get FREE Shipping on orders over $25 shipped by Amazon. Nothing tastes more like summer than a ripe melon straight from the vine. Install the melon trellis before you plant the melons. Lift any of the melon vines that are long enough and carefully weave them in and around the wires of the metal panel. It sounds like they might be getting a little too much rain (and potentially cold), so if you can shelter them somehow to let them drain some of that water away, try it. Who wouldn’t like the luxury of growing watermelons, cantaloupes, and other luscious melons in a backyard garden? Continue doing this two or three times per week as the vines grow. I started indoors. Because vines grow so long – well, tall, if you will – it can be helpful to choose a structure that’s tall as well. It was admittedly still a bit wonky when I completed the construction, but once I anchored the legs by burying them a bit and adding stones around them, the trellis stood sturdily enough. I gently removed it, taking a moment to appreciate how neat the roots looked. After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. Once the first true leaves emerge, you’ll notice that the plant is already becoming bendy and viny. It can be tied to an eye hook screwed into a wall or side of a structure or fastened securely with a U-nail. And don’t forget to check out these helpful articles on growing melons next: Photos by Laura Melchor © Ask the Experts, LLC. Here is more about what we do. As soon as the vines are long enough to reach, gently tie them to the trellis. To get ahead, you may sow winter melon seeds indoors and transplant once soil temperatures have reached 60F. I posted above asking about train up the trellis. Even better, the leaves won’t have to compete with weeds or surrounding plants for sunlight. Some of the soil under the first wire ring came loose, which made my breath catch in my throat for a moment, but ultimately I don’t believe the roots were disturbed. Hi. The vines will naturally weave through whatever you train them onto, whether it’s a lattice fence or a bamboo pole. Growing melons vertically, that is up a trellis, allows for better airflow that keeps foliage dry. Don’t use flimsy wire or thin wood for a trellis. I’m Ann. Getting These can reach anywhere from four to seven feet, depending on the variety. Those tendrils are there to help the vines and fruit stay balanced when they’re growing on the ground, and they’re perfect for helping to support trellis growing too. Secure the other end of the wire to the ground with an anchor pin. What Kind of Trellis Do You Use for Squash Plants? The sling material must let sunlight in and not retain moisture. But if you notice any wayward vines, simply move them back where you want them to go and secure them with stretchy plant ties. Because I’d only loosely tied the vines to the wires, it was easy to unwind them. It was also much easier and neater to do. Learning experience. Product photos via Amazon and Home Depot. The first step in growing verticalmelons is selecting an appropriate variety that works well growing on a trellis-like structure. For this type of trellis, secure a 6- to 7-foot length of wire or twine to the side of a building or other structure, 6 to 7 feet off the ground. Plastic or nylon net-type fencing, with 6- to 7-inch holes, can be stretched between wooden or metal fence posts to form a melon trellis. And if you do feel like you need to use a bigger cage, it’s easy to carefully snip off any plant tape you use, gently remove the old cage, and insert a taller one in its place before re-wrapping and organizing the vines. Fasten high-tensile wire to the top of the first end post then weave it through the top edge of the nylon fencing to hold the fencing up. You can definitely dig up a few plants and transplant them a bit further away. My vines are now much happier, with lots of space to grow. fruit is held above the wet ground and far from crawling bugs. Very instructive and impressive. 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Melon vines can be trained to grow up a single length of heavy twine or tensile wire. I have also grown cucumbers which I have harvested about 6 from the vines. reticulatus), which you can learn more about in our growing guide.