DIY Network

Preparing the Beds Preparing the Beds From "Fresh from the Garden" episode DFFG-206

If you enjoy fresh melons, maybe you'd like to try growing your own!

Joe Lamp'l provides some background info on the fruits he is planting today: melons and cantaloupes. After cleaning up an old bed and preparing it for planting, he builds hills in the beds to grow the melons in and places newspapers around them to keep the area clear of weeds and mud. He also provides some suggestions on which types of melons to grow, depending on your climate, and he puts the finishing touches on his melon beds so they're ready for seeding.

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Cantaloupes and honeydew are some of the most popular choices for home gardens. Melons are easy to grow as long as they get plenty of room to spread, good drainage and lots of sunlight. They grow in zones 3-12 under the right conditions.

Melon plants like warm temperatures to grow, and they do best when the soil is above 60 degrees. Although they like full sun, they will also grow well with a little afternoon shade. Melons will grow from seeds or seedlings; if you want an early start, you can start the seeds indoors. After three to four weeks the seedlings will be ready to be transplanted outside once the soil has warmed up.

You can find basic cantaloupes and honeydews almost anywhere, and there are a few ways to tell them apart: Cantaloupes are covered with what looks like a tan netting over the skin, and the skin underneath is green or golden when it's ripe (figure A); honeydews, on the other hand, have smooth greenish-yellow skin (figure B).

Figure A

Figure B

Melons need lots of time in the garden. They quickly send running vines throughout the bed and then over several months grow fruit. It takes 70 to 110 days to harvest melons. It's best to give them their own space that will be undisturbed through the whole season; a separate bed or out-of-the-way location is a good idea. Melons can put out vines that are up to 10' long. They wind their stalks over and under one another to form a thick mat of foliage.

Plant melon seeds in the late spring when the ground is already warm and the chance of frost has passed. This warmth will help the seeds germinate more quickly. If you're unsure when to plant melons in your area, check with your local extension service. Planting times will vary depending on where you live.

1. Plant melon seeds in a raised bed for best result; that way you can make mounds for the plants to grow on. Hills work best because the vines have a place to spread out and the roots have a deep pocket of soil to tap into. Add compost and manure and work it into the top few inches with a rake (figure C). This will provide a slow release of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus for months.

2. Before you start planting, add several layers of newspaper to the rows between the hills (figure D). This will help the melons grow in a couple of ways. First, weeds won't pop up through the paper. Weeds do a lot of harm to vegetable beds because they rob your crop of vitamins, nutrients and water. Second, the paper will keep the paths from getting muddy. A melon vine or fruit could rot if it sat in water for any length of time.

Figure C

Figure D

3. If you live in a colder climate or just want to get an early start, you may need to do more work to get the bed ready to plant melons. You should pick short-season or early melons so they have enough time to ripen. Even the lightest frost will damage a melon vine. You can improve your chances with melons by heating up the bed with a cover of either clear or black plastic.

4. Before you add a plastic cover to your garden bed, you need to get water running to it. A soaker hose works well under the plastic to bring water right to the root zone. Arrange the hose where you plan to put the plants (figure E). Next, cover the bed with the plastic and tack down the corners and sides by using yard staples (figure F).

Figure E

Figure F

5. Once the plastic is in place, make some holes for the melon seeds. Using a knife, make a slit in the plastic (figure G). This will give you a place to get to the soil; it will also let air circulate around the seedlings later on. Make a small trench in the soil with your finger just beneath the cut in the plastic (figure H). Make the trench long enough to get at least 12 seeds planted in each bed. When the seeds germinate, thin the plants down to three plants per hole.

Figure G

Figure H

6. Melons can also be grown on a trellis like cucumbers or zucchini. If you plan on using a trellis for your melon bed, be sure you choose small-fruited varieties so they don't break the vine before they're ripe.