Cantaloupe Question

Hi Folks,

The cantaloupes are about half the size of normal ripe fruit. They seem to be growing well, but I'm noticing that all the older leaves are now starting to get a hint of yellow. I tested the soil with a wetness meter and the soil is moist, but not wet. Is the beginning yellowing normal? If not what can I do about it?

Thanks
Bart

Bart, Photos would help in determining if it's just the normal drying off process. I snip off leaves when they are dead so the plants look prettier.

sanderson wrote:Bart, Photos would help in determining if it's just the normal drying off process. I snip off leaves when they are dead so the plants look prettier.

Okay, I have a photo. Why do I not have a menu bar with a photo option on it? I see it on other forums in the SFG website, but not on this one. One of the administrators has turned off or never turned on the post photo ability in the General SFG Talk forum.

Bart

On my tablet, photo posting ability depends on which browser I'm using.  Can you try a different browser?

CC

I found a work-around.

Here is the pic of my cantaloupe patch. The picture almost shows to the real extent what is happening. From the base of the container, the leaves are starting to yellow up to, not quite, half way. I don't believe it's a water issue. If not, what else could it be? Or is this normal at this stage of it's growth? And yes, those containers have MM in them.

Thanks
Bart

CapeCoddess wrote:On my tablet, photo posting ability depends on which browser I'm using.  Can you try a different browser?

CC

I use Firefox. Which browser do you use?

On my Android tablet Firefox won't let me post photos or emoticons. So I use Chrome to do that. But on all my computers - work, home and laptop - I use Firefox without any issues at all. Go figure.

CC

it there. I'm using firefox on my imac to test it. I was using safari for all my other post. oops, just read CC post after posting.. don't about tablet.

I think the leaves look normal. Once a leaf has done its job, it dies on my vines.

How many plants in the planter?  It looks like one of resin whiskey barrels, how big is it?  What's the bottom dimensions?  

A cantaloupe needs 2 squares which is roughly the size of a 20 inch round pot, for a single plant.  My personal experience has been that melons do very poorly crowded.  it's weird, because they do quite while planted in group hills, but the hill spacing is pretty large.

Whenever I've crowded my melons, I get small fruits.

No_Such_Reality wrote:Whenever I've crowded my melons, I get small fruits.

I read the same thing about cukes. I'm getting small fruits on everything and everything is overcrowded.  I'll know better next year.

I have two cucumbers per square. They are producing normal sized cukes.

On the other hand, the cantaloupes are crowded. But other than the yellowing seems to be doing okay. The fruit do seem on the smallish side, but I'm not sure that they are finished growing. How am I to know when they are done?

Bart

No_Such_Reality wrote:Whenever I've crowded my melons, I get small fruits.

How do they taste?

Bart

Hmmm, I put 3 cukes in 2 SF.  Trellised.  They are fine except for a mite of some type. I have been pleased with the cukes....and amazing taste!  Beit alpha.  The bomb.

Cantaloupe, I am growing mini northern varieties, Sakatas sweet, and Minnesota midgets.  1/SF.  Seem to be doing fine, one in MM and the other in potting soil....do or die on the container situation.   They so far are ok, less moisture retentive, but hey, it's not MM......

So the good news is, crowding didn't adversely impact the fruit taste.  It did impact the seed/flesh ratio, the number of melons and longevity of the plants.  But the taste was just fine.

As for when it's ripe, that's easy, if a raccoon or opossum hasn't eaten it yet, it's not ripe.  If it's eaten, it ripened last night.

Okay, serious answer.  It depends on the type of melon.  American muskmelon types (Hales best, Muskmelon, aka Cantaloupe, Galia etc), will do a thing called 'slip'.   Full slip, partial slip, etc  What it means is the stem breaks away from the melon with light pressure, or say, just the pressure of hanging on the vine. You can see when they are ready, the stem area will have tiny cracks around it.

Inodorus  melons, Honeydew, Canary etc.  Don't slip readily. They might, when they're really ripe, you have alternate things to look for.  The skin coloration will change, deepen and you'll notice a sheen difference between the slightly smaller unripe ones and the ripe ones.  

Then the true european style cantaloupes, they don't slip either.  They are primarily judged by color change and fragrance.

No_Such_Reality wrote:As for when it's ripe, that's easy, if a raccoon or opossum hasn't eaten it yet, it's not ripe.  If it's eaten, it ripened last night.

I have 8 in 8 squares. It seems the pollination rate is better when there are flowers in a small area. Some vines are growing up the trellises, others just wondering around. Easier on the pollinators?

countrynaturals wrote:

No_Such_Reality wrote:Whenever I've crowded my melons, I get small fruits.

I read the same thing about cukes. I'm getting small fruits on everything and everything is overcrowded.  I'll know better next year.

thin out now. bite the bullet.