Cantaloupe planting

vinny09 5/12/2011, 11:39 am

I think I know the answer, but just in case someone else has had success with what I'm thinking about doing. So I bought some cantaloupe transplants from the nursery. They come 3 to a 4" pot b/c I think the seed packets say to thin down to 3 per hill. Anyway, to avoid trying to split the three seedlings, I just transplanted all three into a hole (1 per 2 sqft since the book says that's the spacing for 1 melon plant). So if I left all three to grow to maturity, will I get equal to or better yield than if I were to thin it down to 1 plant per 2 sqft? This is in the corner of a 4x4, with a single butternut squash plant in a 1 per 2sqft next to it, and a 1 per 9sqft zuchinni to its south. Both the butternut and cantaloupe will be trained up on a trellis. Thanks in advance!

No_Such_Reality 5/12/2011, 4:18 pm

I don't have direct experience with melons / sf. Higher density will increase risk of powdery mildew, however good circulation will help prevent. One thing I've always noticed with my canteloupes, muskmelons and idorous melons (honeydew type) is that they seem to do better pollinating off another than itself.

One plant I think will result in low volumes, but I'll defer to an SFG pro that's done melons.

Since you're planning on trellising, I'd say go for the 3 clump "hill" in your 2SF slot.


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Cantaloupe planting

Cantaloupe planting

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