This thread is for participants in the Melon seed increase to discuss the project and ask each other questions. To record your planting or observations, go here: https://goingtoseed.org/pages/melons.
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Excited to be involved!
Forgive me if this was answered previously, but do we have to direct sow to start? I’ve had better luck historically starting in containers and planting out. Is there a control procedure or are we free to grow like we do best?
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Do whatever has been successful for you in the past!
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Greetings fellow growers participating in this melon project. I have planted the twenty seeds sent by mail on May 10, 2024 and as of today 6 are fully up and four more just poking thru the soil horizon. I direct seeded into the ground, in an optimum space inside my garden. I also placed a cage over the top of the area so the seedlings wont be disturbed while germinating. Its already quite warm here in Arizona with daytime temperature reaching up to 97 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and high sixties at night. I planted in a block pattern, two seeds each spot and 12 inches apart so the plants can sprawl in any direction. I do have to irrigate and add water with an impact sprinkler that distributes droplets like a soft rainfall. So very excited im having seeds germinate, hoping they all thrive. I have also added fresh worm castings and mycorrhizae to the growing space. Myself and a good gardening friend grow our own worm castings with resident red wiggler earth worms.
There are still lots of greenery inside the garden as we are harvesting the last if the chard, kale, turnips and celery from winter season and chamomile is nearly ready to have the seed collected…the same goes for the arugala. Im just glad there is still vegetation to help shade the soil and keep it cooler than if it was in direct sunlight. We will have triple digit weather soon enough.
I will place matured wood chip compost around the seedlings once they are well up, before they begin vining. Ill always share photographs too. 
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thanks for the update, Kim!
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Just picked up my seeds. I will be starting them in pots in the house around the 20th. I will be growing them in melon pits on a sunny hill side protected by a wooden fence. I will be digging the pits in the next week or two.
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As of today, 17 total sprouted and are doing well from seed packet #4. Melon seed originally from Turkey.
Second set of leaves are just getting visable.
I’ve also included a photo of the cover of one of my favorite coloring books…im very much a visual learner and I needed to brush up on seed germination.
Temperature still holding around high nineties during the day and high sixties at night.
Sprinkled a handfull of Dr. Earth organic fertilizer with beneficial microbes and watered it in.
Planning on adding compost drenched with chicken manure tea this week to the bare spots between each seedling.
The start of 104 degree daytime temperatures predicted within the next 10 days.
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Please tell me about the growing bags that you’re using (from the melon planting photo). I want to try that approach sometime.
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Excited to be growing melons for this project!
The description of the ascension that I’m growing (from south India) matches a melon that my husband used to eat in Trinidad–where many people immigrated from India. So this adds a layer of intrigue for me growing these seeds. But both of those climates are SUPER hot, whereas summers here are usually on the cooler side. So I’m a bit worried if they’ll be happy here. But hoping for the best.
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This accession is also being grown by Matt in Corvallis, where summer temps should be in mid-80s. Still not super hot, but warmer than where you are. I tried to split the accessions up so half went to a hotter climate and half to a cooler one.
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I am planning on seeding the melons this weekend. We had frost advisory this week, which gave me a bit of pause, but my usual date is the 20th of this month. I don’t know if there is a wiki or anything for crop information, but I do have a few books to provide some form of guidance. since we are all starting seeds:
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Organic Seed Grower
Cucurbitaceae
Growing the Seed Crop
Melons are traditionally direct-seeded in climates that are well suited to seed production.
Seed can be planted when warm weather has truly arrived, all danger of frost has passed, and soil temperatures are at least 75°F (24°C); it is even better when the soil temperature is well above 80°F (27°C), with 90°F (32°C) being the optimum. This enables the unchecked growth that will produce healthy, vigorous plants if the soil, nutrition, and soil moisture are adequate.
If planted in rows melon seed crops need to be given more spacing than the 18 in (46 cm) that is often used when growing for fresh har-vest. Melon plants for seed should be planted at least 24 to 48 in (61 to 122 cm) apart within the row, depending on the vigor and size of the variety. Several seeds can be planted at the appropriate interval for the variety and then thinned once you are assured that the sclected plants are well established and healthy. The rows should be at least 6 to 7 ft (1.8 to 2 m) apart for optimum production.
Alternatively, a more tractional method of growing the crop is to plant the seed into hills within the rows in the field. The spacing used for melon hills can be anywhere between 4 f (1.2 m) apart within the row by 6 ft (18 m) between the rows to the comparable 6 x 8 f (1.8 × 2.4 m) apart. Placing the hills equidistant from one another at 6 × 6 ft (1.8 × 1.8m) spacing allows for “check row” cultivation, where it is possible to run cultivation equipment through the field in the same fashion in both directions.
This is a very good option for more thorough mechanical weed control right up to the point where the melon vines start to trail out into the open space between the hills. Seed is often planted into the hills at a rate of six to eight per hill, with seed sown in an area that is at least 6 in (15 cm) in diameter. Plants are then thinned to two or three once it is clear which are the most vigorous and healthiest individuals in each hill; make sure, however, that the plants aren’t crowded during this pre-thinning period. The idea of a “hill” is also often misunderstood, as this area where the seed is sown may not be a noticeable hill, although sometimes there is an actual raised mound when manure is worked into the spot before planting.
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These particular ones are 3.5 x4.75, got 1200 from amazon. I started using them to supplement my paper tube stock. They can be planted right in the ground. I noticed that plugs from the nursery were using them so I gave them a try.
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Thanks Matt, his is great info. I don’t have any plans for a wiki or anything like that, but we can move this content over to a doc if folks want to add/edit. I would note that we want to avoid thinning in this case the seeds are rare and each grower has a small number. Aim to get as many seeds to at least contribute pollen if not fully ripe fruit, to retain as much genetic diversity from these landraces as possible.
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Valid point on thinning for sure.
14 have come up so far.
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I haven’t been able to get out and check on my melons in days because I’m on antibiotics. I had more come up and I need to get out and check on them. Hopefully it’ll still be cloudy in the morning. I haven’t had to water this entire time. I’ve been lucky that it’s rained about when I should be watering. Like today.
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Ughhh, we had temperatures from 104 thru 109 degrees Fahrenheit the past 5 days, today 109…I lost three plants when it hit 106 degrees, and today the rest fried. So complete crop failure for my accession #4.
I kinda knew when they germinated and the stems seemed thin, even though the leaf growth seemed normal.
Next time I need to get them started in the last week of March. But I did notice out of the 17 that had grown, three were bigger and more vigorous than the others. The three made it to today, but they still couldn’t take the high temps.
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I think the thin stems may just be a thing with accession #4 because mine are thin too. Good leaf growth like yours. My temps have barely hit the 90s because of all the storms, though.
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Glad you have some of those too. I guess Im going to research to see how to grow older seed. Im just thinking the soil was too alkaline as well. Im still in troubleshooting mode…
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agh, sorry to hear this. thanks for keeping us updated. There were a couple folks in the south who volunteered to grow these seeds in the winter. That might work better where you are as well.
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