Cantaloupe?

californiaallie 4/13/2010, 3:31 pm

On the back of the seed packets it says to make a "hill". Do I have to do that in my SFG? I have my boxes built and filled but am waiting on the newest copy of Mel's book to arrive from Amazon. And I am getting impatient.

Anyone have any tips for cantaloupe?

I am in So Cal..

**timwardell** 4/13/2010, 4:01 pm

Hilling is a common practice for squash, cantaloupe, zucchini, and potatoes in traditional in-ground row gardens. You don't need to hill in a raised bed. Hilling is done to help the soil warm up quicker and - to a lesser extent - to keep seedlings from drowning. A raised bed accomplishes both of those.
Here's a PDF with more information (although it's from a traditional row garden perspective).
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/ext/HO-8.pdf

Are you letting yours climb up a trellis or sprawl across the ground?

californiaallie 4/13/2010, 4:20 pm

If I let them crawl across the ground do I need to give them more than a square foot of room? I haven't gotten that far yet!

scotch827 4/13/2010, 6:10 pm

You would need more than 1 sq. ft. Cantaloupes require alot of space. In a Square Foot Garden they would do better growing up a trellis.

Scott

Wyldflower 4/13/2010, 6:21 pm

I think if you use one of your corner squares, and let the vine drape over the side onto the ground, you might be okay...You might want to allow two squares for the root system... but I'd plant things that don't mind being shaded by the leaves in the adjacent squares... lettuce and spinach might work.

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