Melon Growing Advice

@JWK I'm also growing Emir in a greenhouse with cucumbers and peppers. I train mine up strings. I've found that they are more vigorous than cucumbers, but less sturdy so the melon fruit often needs support I've made hammocks out of an old sheet and string and the Victorians had melon nets.
Yes you will probably need to hand pollinate and like other cucurbits they tend to produce male flowers initially and then female flowers appear a bit later.

 

You obviously know a lot more about growing melons than I do,@NigelJ ( not difficult!) How many runners do you leave and where/ when do you pinch them out? I know how to grow cucumbers, is it much the same? The plants I have are not as far on as @JWK . Do you just leave the male flowers ( I have the first ones just starting to flower now) until you need them to hopefully hand pollinate a female? When do you start feeding, and is tomato feed ok? Sorry for all the questions but thought I might give melon growing a go for a change but not at all sure what I should be doing with them.

 

I hesitate to add my bit as to be honest although I have grown them a few times I have never had a resounding success with them.

I've always pinched out the main leader after about five leaves, then the sub laterals again after another 5 leaves. The next shoots should carry female flowers.
I've never had enough green house space to grow them there so best place I've used is a cold frame and year before it was outside.
I've always hand pollinated.

I don't think you ever get a massive crop, two or three per plant.

Haven't sown any this year.

 

I grow mine like I grow my cucumbers, I tend to leave the flowers on the melons though. I never get more than a couple of melons per plant here in Devon; in Essex in a good year I could get up to six growing them in a cold frame. They need more warmth than cucumbers. One of the nice things towards the end of summer is going in the greenhouse and smelling a melon ready for picking.

 

Many thanks @pete and @NigelJ .I will be doing the highland fling if I even get 1 edible melon per plant. How long after a female flower opens should I attempt....accent on the attempt! hand pollination?

 

I usually wait until midday, but on nice dry mornings you can try earlier.

I think of cantaloupe melon as a dessert type plant, needs water at the root but dry atmosphere.

 

I think Nigel made a good point.
You only get one crop at the end of the season.

 

Pictures please.

 

I've got the first female flowers as well.
Also the first flowers on cucumber Carmen (F1 all female) Telegraph is only producing male flowers at the moment.
In most years the cucumbers are well ahead of the melons.

 

I live in hope. I have flowers on my Carmen too but still a way to go with the melons altho they are growing a fair bit now. If the forecast for July is right ( grotty) then I’m doomed.

 

Help! We have had scorching weather up here, yes very occasionally we in Scotland can get quite toasty.
The melons have taken off! With autumn arriving quite early in these parts I will be thrilled with say 2 ripe melons per plant. I have at least that number of females which I have hopefully hand pollinated. I have reduced the main shoots to 2 per plant and am wondering if I should start to rub out any further burgeoning fruits? I don’t let side shouts grow on my cucumbers and maybe that would b a good idea for me. Should I stop the main shoots as well. They have about 10 leaves on each stem. What I don’t want to happen is to have loads of unripe melons when the weather changes, a couple of ripe will do me.

 

All I would suggest is you don't take off any female flowers until you are absolutely sure they have pollenated.
I would stop the leader.