Is it difficult to grow cantaloupe vine in Florida ?
The best time to plant cantaloupe in Florida is early to mid - February after the fear of any cold weather is run . pollinator are needed for yield yield and cantaloupe vine is susceptible to certain disease . A really good Florida friendly variety of cantaloupe is Ambrosia .
Cantaloupes will thrive in the early summertime . But heavy rains will pose a self-aggrandising problem to your plant . cantaloup take mint of room to circularize out but if you have limited distance there is still a way to grow these guy cable .
Florida Friendly Varieties
There are a few different change of cantaloupe that will grow in Florida .
Athena and Ambrosia are disease - resistant varieties . Minnesota Midget is gravid for small spaces . Galia is n’t technically a cantaloupe but it is a melon that seem similar in texture to cantaloupe but it ’s rind is shiny yellowish and it has a light-green flesh inside .
When To Plant Cantaloupe In Florida
It ’s best to institute cantaloupe as shortly as you the veneration of cold atmospheric condition has left .
These date are just guidelines and you need to use your best judicial decision . The key fruit is to get them into the ground as soon as you could . Cantaloupe need clock time to originate and they ask to be picked before the summertime gets going . Summertime play too much rain and too much warmth for cantaloup .
So , set the seeds as shortly as you consider the fear of any cold weather is go for the year . The plant life usually take 75 - 100 days to give full maturity .
Is Cantaloupe Easy To Grow?
Cantaloupe can be easy to turn in Florida if you choose a good salmagundi and engraft the seed at the right fourth dimension .
you’re able to get a headstart by starting seeds in seed starter tray or niggling pots indoors or on your protected back patio . A screened - in terrace may be enough protection to start your seeds early .
If starting transplants you may plant these seeds up to three calendar week before the concern of last frost is gone .
Plant in an organic - rich ground with a thick stratum of mulch . If planting right into your Florida grime , at the very least you need to add a bag of compost and plenitude of mulch .
Planting in a levy bed or container has the vantage of everlasting soil .
You require to plant cantaloupe in an country that gets at least 6 - 8 hr of sun . The more the good . This area also needs to have good flow of air . An unfastened and sunny area promote healthy growth .
Cantaloupes can grow to be with child plants . When engraft , you should be aware of the space between plant . Give each cantaloupe plant at least a 2 - 4 foot roadblock all the way around .
Growing Cantaloupe In Containers
If cantaloupes are large industrial plant can I turn it in a container ?
In edict to spring up cantaloupes in containers you need to opt smaller mature variety . Some of the smaller growing cantaloupes areLi’l Sweetie , Minnesota midget , andTasty Bites .
These are all smaller , personal - sized cantaloupes . The fruit is smaller and the flora are a bit small too . However , the vine can still attain anywhere between 3 - 8 feet .
If develop in a container you should tolerate it that way and give it something to rise on .
Fertilizing Cantaloupe
A well - rounded plant food will do the trick for cantaloupe . I ’ve used Jobes all - purpose fertiliser in my vegetable garden and have had good results .
It ’s a 4 - 4 - 4 , mean it has equal parts nitrogen(N ) , phosphorus(P ) , and Potassium(K ) . Each nutrient does something unlike for your works . Nitrogen helps promote green leafy maturation . Phosphorus help source , flower and fruit production . atomic number 19 is a good overall wellness booster .
When you discover the works beginning to flower you could choose to switch the fertilizer to something that is more focussed on phosphorus with less nitrogen .
Boosting phosphoric and minimizing N helps the plant grow more blooms , which imply more chance of yield . Dr. earth has a good constitutive option .
Harvesting Cantaloupe
The fruit are normally quick for harvest about 75 - 100 days after plant your seedlings .
You will know that the fruits are ready for harvest when they easily seperate from the vine . The rind will probably also change from gullible to tan as the fruit ripen .
rationalize back on watering the plant , if potential , before harvest . Less water before harvest home is say to further well tasting yield .
Cantaloupe Pests And Problems
There are a few coarse problems that you will most likely run into at some compass point when growing cantaloupe , Especially if the weather begins to warm and we get our normal amount of rainfall .
Cantaloupe is susceptible to many foliar disease . Things like Downey and powdery mildew as well as black spot to name a few . These are controlled by spraying your plant with something like a copper fungicidebeforethe first tidy sum of problems . Cucumber Beetle . Photo byKatja
You may notice some worms and perchance the cucumber beetle . Beetles and other hemipteran may eat some of your leaves and a few yield but the bigger job they bring is the ranch of disease . I ’ve found that neem oil color ( hitch price ) is a good constituent method of pest control .
However , the best all - around pest control is to have a diverse garden . works as many things as you may near each other . This draw in lots of good bugs which actually outnumber the tough hemipteran drastically . Find out what to plant in Florida to pull in all those good microbe to your garden here .
