Claire Mummery: How to successfully grow and care for melons

Reset gardening columnist Claire Mummery has advice for growing melons in New Zealand.

All types of melons are delicious to grow and satisfying and rewarding to eat. Over the past few years, I have had real success growing these, so I really encourage you to give it a go this summer. What a treat! Here are my tips so that you too can enjoy the delights of growing melons in your own gardens this season.

Get the temperature right

I usually start my melons in November when the temperatures have warmed up. For real success, melons require at least 21 degrees in the day and no lower than 15 degrees at night. The growing time for melons can be anywhere between 70 and 90 days, depending on climatic conditions, including sunlight hours, and your chosen varieties. Do your research before choosing your variety and your growing spot to make sure it will thrive in the conditions you have.

Feed your soil well

They love to grow in well-drained loose soil, but I have grown them in much heavier soil and they have still produced well, so there is some flexibility there. Prepare the soil by putting in some well-rotted manure, compost or bokashi before you plant, to give them the best start in life and create the ultimate foundations for success.

Feed your melons as they grow

During the growing season, melons benefit from a regular feed with liquid fish, seaweed, comfrey, worm juice and diluted bokashi juice. This will ensure good flower and fruit production. Organic feeding will also help maintain soil health by increasing microbial activity, enabling optimum water absorption. This is especially important during a hot dry summer, so you end up with juicy, refreshing fruit.

Plan carefully and choose the right companions

Planning your melon planting and companions really helps support the plant’s growth and production of fruit. For best results, make sure to have a corner of nasturtiums about 3 metres away from your plants. This will help deter aphids and greenshield beetles, and the nasturtiums will also attract beneficial insects. As a delightful bonus in spring, nasturtium flowers and leaves are great to eat - just add to a salad for a delightful pop of flavour and colour - and in late summer, you can make “poor man’s capers” from the seed pods.

Planting marigolds alongside your melons will help deter nematodes, which can harm melon plants. Likewise, planting a row or a few radishes in between your plants will help to repel cucumber beetles. Runner beans planted in the sunny end of the garden can also provide much-needed shade for the melon plant in the hot summer months.

There are a few plants that can stunt your melons’ growth, including potatoes, the cabbage family and corn, so always remember to plan before you plant.

Allow plenty of space!

Melons will happily grow along the ground and love to grow on mounded soil, however they can take up an enormous amount of room in the garden! To help with this last year, I put in poles and hoops and tied the vine to these with stretchy string. When the fruit grew, they hung down and ripened beautifully.

A top tip I learnt in Venice this year was to put a blob of wax on the tip of the melon where it is cut from the vine, before putting it in the cool shade, which will prevent it from over-ripening.

Harvest at optimal ripeness

My last tip is to know when your melon is ripe. There are many different opinions out there, but I have found that, when truly ripe, you can smell the sweetness when you arrive in your garden; so have a sniff and you will know.

Happy gardening, and may you enjoy a bountiful harvest of juicy, sweet melons this summer!

For more gardening advice, visit growinspired.co.nz and discover Claire Mummery’s online gardening course at www.growinspiredacademy.com