pfunnyjoy
AGA Bounty
Made more grow room in my office!
Posts: 782 
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Post by pfunnyjoy on Nov 10, 2023 17:51:28 GMT -5
Wow! I would never have imagined one could grow melons with an Aerogarden!
I grew a small cantaloupe vine in my outdoor garden on a trellis way back when I lived in CA, and that was fun, and the little melons turned out nicely. Wish I could remember the variety, but I don't, it was back in the 1990s.
Call me impressed!
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Post by lynnee on Nov 10, 2023 19:32:53 GMT -5
I'm resurrecting this Cantaloupe thread with this post rather than put it in the "what did you grow today" thread. That way, we'll keep melon related stuff together. SO... This grow cycle, I'm trying to grow 3 different cantaloupes at the same time! Since melons only produce 2 to 5 fruit per plant, you really don't get much yield from one plant. I'm growing 3 different varieties of "normal" looking cantaloupe. That is, they will all have orange insides and the classic netting pattern on the outside. The varieties are (left to right in image) sweet mini stripe, tuscany, sweet granite.
Three bounties, one plant in each, and external lighting at various locations going up the "vine wall". I've been pollinating daily and it's about time to stop it and cut off the growth tips and let them ripen the fruit they have started. I've found that if you get greedy and try to produce more than the plant can handle, you will just get a bunch of tiny melons instead of a few nice big ones. The left melon produced a single female flower very early which is quite unusual. Usually, 5 or more nodes of male flowers come out first. I pollinated it but didn't think it would be fertile having opened so early. As you can see, it's growing very nicely and I don't even have to support it as it's just happily laying there on the grow deck!
The tuscany in the middle has just started producing female flowers. It has a long season over 100 days. So I expect these will be the last to be harvested. The one on the right seems to be the most prolific. As you can see, I have 2 rather large melons but I also have about 6 more that look like they will develop. We'll see... If I suspect it's too much, I can terminate a few of them. , you're inspiring me to try melons again soon! (I quoted your post so it would show on this page. The melons are worth a second look, anyway!)  |
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Post by scarfguy on Dec 15, 2023 21:13:38 GMT -5
SO... I'm still waiting for my giant tuscan melon to ripen. I wish it would hurry up. It's still getting bigger. It's now almost 10 inches long and weighs a ton!
The small melon behind it is a different variety called "mini sweet stripe". These don't get very big.
I planted 3 vines. The first one yielded 2 melons but I only ate one. The vine got powdery mildew and I terminated it early so that I could better control the mildew from getting on the other two vines. The one melon was about 2.8 lbs and was very sweet and tasty.
The tuscan vine only produced 1 melon but, as you can see, it's huge!
The mini sweet has 3 melons, all small, and need a bit more time to ripen.
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tdse
AGA Sprout
Posts: 122
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Post by tdse on Dec 16, 2023 9:12:39 GMT -5
SO... I'm still waiting for my giant tuscan melon to ripen. I wish it would hurry up. It's still getting bigger. It's now almost 10 inches long and weighs a ton!
The small melon behind it is a different variety called "mini sweet stripe". These don't get very big.
I planted 3 vines. The first one yielded 2 melons but I only ate one. The vine got powdery mildew and I terminated it early so that I could better control the mildew from getting on the other two vines. The one melon was about 2.8 lbs and was very sweet and tasty.
The tuscan vine only produced 1 melon but, as you can see, it's huge!
The mini sweet has 3 melons, all small, and need a bit more time to ripen.
That is awesome! One of the coolest things I've seen done in an Aerogarden. Very nice  |
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Post by scarfguy on Jan 2, 2024 8:59:24 GMT -5
FINAL HARVEST!
Today the Tuscan melon popped off of the vine. 86 Days. 5.44 lbs.
This plant only produced one melon. It started to develop additional pollinated flowers but they would swell for awhile and then wither. I think one of these large melons is all it could handle.
The sum total of this round of melons:
I planted 3 plants in 3 bounties (with external supplimental lighting and trellis). One plant produced 2 melons, one plant produced 3 smaller melons, and one plant produced just 1. No pests but I struggled with a bit of powdery mildew towards the end of the harvest cycle. The species were sweet granite, mini sweet stripe, and tuscany.
I've already got the seedlings growing for the next cycle. This time I'm going to try to squeeze in another bounty into my growing space. That will be 4 plants at once! That's a lot of hand pollination!
The species are:
Iroquois - an old cantaloupe heirloom
Aphrodite - a modern cantaloupe hybrid Petit gris de Rennes - a French muskmelon heirloom with gray skin
Early silver line - a Korean muskmelon with bright yellow skin.
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tdse
AGA Sprout
Posts: 122
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Post by tdse on Jan 2, 2024 9:05:50 GMT -5
FINAL HARVEST!
Today the Tuscan melon popped off of the vine. 86 Days. 5.44 lbs.
This plant only produced one melon. It started to develop additional pollinated flowers but they would swell for awhile and then wither. I think one of these large melons is all it could handle.
The sum total of this round of melons:
I planted 3 plants in 3 bounties (with external supplimental lighting and trellis). One plant produced 2 melons, one plant produced 3 smaller melons, and one plant produced just 1. No pests but I struggled with a bit of powdery mildew towards the end of the harvest cycle. The species were sweet granite, mini sweet stripe, and tuscany.
I've already got the seedlings growing for the next cycle. This time I'm going to try to squeeze in another bounty into my growing space. That will be 4 plants at once! That's a lot of hand pollination!
The species are:
Iroquois - an old cantaloupe heirloom
Aphrodite - a modern cantaloupe hybrid Petit gris de Rennes - a French muskmelon heirloom with gray skin
Early silver line - a Korean muskmelon with bright yellow skin.
Wow, that's impressive! And it looks delicious! |
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Post by lynnee on Jan 2, 2024 9:47:57 GMT -5
You have really mastered melon growing, scarfguy!  You inspire me to try again, once I figure out how to grow a producing slicing tomato.  |
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pfunnyjoy
AGA Bounty
Made more grow room in my office!
Posts: 782
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Post by pfunnyjoy on Jan 2, 2024 15:49:26 GMT -5
Beautiful looking melon! I'm not that ambitious though.
However, I did do a "germination check" on my ground cherry seeds this AM (put in Ziploc baggie on December 28) and ONE has a tiny root. So with luck, I'll be growing a different kind of fruit soon in a Bounty Elite. Life can't always be greens, even if that's my primary AG focus.
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Post by scarfguy on Jan 3, 2024 9:15:19 GMT -5
YES! It tastes as good as it looks! Ya just can't get a melon like this at the grocery store! 
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Post by scarfguy on Feb 24, 2024 20:05:31 GMT -5
MELON UPDATE...
A couple of melons are getting ready to harvest.
This round of melons consisted of 4 different melons. Two cantaloupes and two muskmelons. One muskmelon (early silver line) did not make it. I think it died when the humidity dropped to 18% for a couple of days in early january. I replaced it recently with a canary melon that I am trying in a DWC 5 gallon bucket to see how they do with more root space.
The two cantaloupes ( Aphrodite and Iroquois ) both produced only 1 melon each. At about 80 days, both are getting close to harvest. I had hoped for more melons but these are quite large. As they grew, I had pollinated many flowers. The first one is the one that has grown. All of the others would start to grow and then wilt and die. I don't think they had the energy to produce more than one fruit. I think what I did wrong was to pollinate the early female flowers too soon. I don't think the plants ever had the foliage mass to support more than one fruit. Next time, I will let the plant grow longer and produce more lush foliage before pollinating. Once they are pollinated they turn their attention to developing the fruit.
I also struggled with powdery mildew which has taken a toll on the health of the plants.
Here are the large cantaloupes:
The remaining muskmelon is a French heirloom called Petit Gris de Rennes. It produces smaller fruit and is blessing me with 3 melons. I think it will be a bit longer before I can harvest. They need to get bigger and change color.
Lastly, here's the current state of the DWC Canary melon. It seems very happy in the 5 gallon bucket. It never showed any signs of stress from transplant and has been growing vigorously so far.
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Post by scarfguy on Feb 26, 2024 17:55:27 GMT -5
Well, SURPRISE, SURPRISE, SURPRISE!
I didn't expect the French heirloom to be ready for another couple of weeks. I heard a "thud" this afternoon and found the large one (bottom right of pic) on the floor! It hit the carpet. I don't see any damage. It was just starting to turn a little bit orange but it must be ripe cause it broke at the stem just like it's suppose to.
I'm really overwhelmed by the gravity of this harvest (no pun intended). This is a 400 year old French heirloom melon. It was "discovered" (re-discovered) in the abandoned garden in the home of the Bishop of Rennes.
Not only is it a fairly rare variety, BUT, unless someone else is growing it indoors, it is probably the only ripe Petit Gris in the world at this time of year!... I'm going to savor every bite.  The remaining muskmelon is a French heirloom called Petit Gris de Rennes. It produces smaller fruit and is blessing me with 3 melons. I think it will be a bit longer before I can harvest. They need to get bigger and change color.
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Post by lynnee on Feb 26, 2024 17:56:02 GMT -5
You are amazing with melons, scarfguy! I'm teally looking forward to seeing how many melons you get with the new 5 gallon bucket setup. |
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Post by lynnee on Feb 29, 2024 19:37:19 GMT -5
scarfguy, you may have posted this info, but I'm wondering whether your melons require more nutrients than the equivalent of the AG nutrients schedule (as printed on the label, 12 mL every 2 weeks for a Bounty)? You've mentioned that the Bounty melon vines seem to be able to support a limited number of melons. Would boosting the nutrients maybe increase the number? 
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Post by scarfguy on Feb 29, 2024 22:04:02 GMT -5
scarfguy , you may have posted this info, but I'm wondering whether your melons require more nutrients than the equivalent of the AG nutrients schedule (as printed on the label, 12 mL every 2 weeks for a Bounty)? You've mentioned that the Bounty melon vines seem to be able to support a limited number of melons. Would boosting the nutrients maybe increase the number?
Hmmm... I'm not sure how to compare. I don't feed on a schedule. I monitor pH and EC and adjust every couple of days. I try to keep pH around 6.0 and EC at 2. If the EC drops below 1 it's past time to feed.
I use IONIC BLOOM. I'm really happy with that after trying a gazillion fertilizers. I use the recommended dosage at 3-4 teaspoons per gallon. Sometimes I'll add an extra 5ml of Kool Bloom.
They are heavy feeder and need a lot of potassium. If you have been successful with cucumbers, I would start with that nutes and dosages. They are of the same family as cukes.
My melons have always seemed happy with the menu at this fine restaurant. The biggest problem continues to be insufficient root space in a bounty I think.... Although it's variable. Some varieties have filled up the bowl tightly with roots and others seem to have more room than they needed. ====
UPDATE: I cut the first melon (aphrodite). It was just a litle overly ripe. A bit mushy. You really don' need to wait til it falls off the vine. You can harvest it at the first sign of cracks around the stem. If the color of the rind is still green, putting it in a paper bag for a day or two will really ripen it quickly.
The second melon (the petit gris that fell off the vine), we enjoyed it today. It was perfectly ripe. Had a great taste. I don't think the other two are going to ripen. We'll give it a couple of more days. The powdery mildew is starting to do damage to the leaves.
The third melon (the Iroquois) is a large round melon (6 lb). I cut it yesterday. It was a judgement call. It wasn't showing signs of being ripe but I just consulted my feline "melon whisperer" and she said it was ready. It's in a paper bag. We'll see if it continues to ripen over the next couple of days.
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Post by lynnee on Mar 1, 2024 19:46:30 GMT -5
Feline "melon whisperer"? Powdery mildew in an AG seems to be fatal to the plants. I got some on a great, high-producing cherry tomato and "that's all she wrote". Part of the problem is that you can't use the standard anti-fungals that kill powdery mildew. The labels usually say something like "okay to apply x weeks before harvest". I'm afraid to use anything that toxic inside the house.  |
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Post by scarfguy on Mar 1, 2024 20:19:41 GMT -5
Feline "melon whisperer"? Powdery mildew in an AG seems to be fatal to the plants. I got some on a great, high-producing cherry tomato and "that's all she wrote". Part of the problem is that you can't use the standard anti-fungals that kill powdery mildew. The labels usually say something like "okay to apply x weeks before harvest". I'm afraid to use anything that toxic inside the house.
I had good luck with a potassium bicarbonate spray.
From the internet: ==== Potassium bicarbonate: Potassium bicarbonate is a contact fungicide that kills mildew spores quickly, and it’s also approved for organic growing. Oil is not necessary when using potassium bicarbonate for mildew control. Just mix half a teaspoon of liquid soap with a gallon of water, then stir in 1 tablespoon potassium bicarbonate and spray lightly on leaves. ====
I just mixed 1/4 teaspoon and some castile soap in a spray bottle with tap water. I sprayed lightly every couple of days and sprayed directly on the mildew whenever I saw it.
It's hard to get rid of but fairly easy to control.
Here is "Sweet Pea" the melon whisperer accompanied by the all black "Sammy".
Sammy is my long time weaving apprentice!
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Post by lynnee on Mar 2, 2024 16:35:53 GMT -5
Those are gorgeous felines, scarfguy! What does Sweet pea do to signal that a melon is ripe? We had cats for 22 years, but couldn't replace them because of H's asthma. We spent a fortune on inhalers, until the second cat finally passed away. This was years ago, but we still miss having cats underfoot. A gray and black tabby was my writing companion--she slept in a wire in-basket. |
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Post by scarfguy on Mar 2, 2024 16:59:18 GMT -5
Those are gorgeous felines, scarfguy ! What does Sweet pea do to signal that a melon is ripe?
Very simple!
Since melons give off a sweet smell as they approach ripeness, AND cats have very sensitive noses, I hold Sweet pea up to the melon vines. If she plays with the leaves, it's not ripe. If she sniffs the melon, it's gonna be ripe soon.  |
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Post by scarfguy on Mar 7, 2024 10:07:08 GMT -5
I think I bit off a bit more than I can chew!
This is my Amarillo Oro. It is a Spanish Canary melon.
I didn't read first. Turns out their vines grow to 10 feet and the melons can weigh 12-15 lbs!
I planted it in the DWC bucket a month ago. As you can see, it is taking over my entire melon space.
I had hoped to add another Minnesota Midget cantaloupe in one of those bounties at the bottom of the pic BUT I think I'm just gonna let this monster play out by itself.
I have pollinated 3 female flowers so far. They are beginning to swell so we'll see if they wilt or grow.
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Post by lynnee on Mar 8, 2024 23:42:55 GMT -5
Can't wait to see your 15-lb. melon, scarfguy! |
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