As the days grow hotter, I look forward more and more to the thought of having cool cantaloupe for the summer. Yum. But we have a long way to go. This is our first stab at cantaloupe, and if our previous attempts at growing melons are any indication, we will be eating cantaloupe from Publix in July.
But we’re going to try. One thing about cantaloupe: They are heavy feeders. All my books tell me to give them a good dose of fish emulsion (an organic fertilizer) every few weeks.
So I diluted some fish emulsion in a bucket of water and poured it onto the eight cantaloupe we have growing in a side garden. One thing about fish emulsion: It stinks. I got some on my hands. Yuch!
Fish emulsion sounds like it would smell gross. It does not disappoint.
But it’s a good natural fertilizer and I hope it will give our cantaloupe a nice boost. I just hope the smell doesn’t prompt the cats to dig them up.
Catapulting the cantaloupe along with fishy fertilizer
April 29, 2010 at 6:22 pm |
I just found your blog through a comment you left on facebook under an Urban Farm Magazine post. I am trying cateloupe for the first time. I hear they are difficult – is it a particular climate they desire or are they just difficult in general. Where did you get your fish emulsion? Thanks! Here are some pics of my garden this year… http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=375563&id=652025402&l=2a9cf401de
April 29, 2010 at 7:03 pm |
Hey Jamie,
Your pics look great! Yeah, I think cantaloupe are kind of tricky — especially in buggy Florida. They do like warm weather and are tough to grow in northern climates because growers run out of warm days before the summer turns to fall. I think northern farmers have to heat the soil to get a couple extra weeks in the season to make them work. Here, our biggest problem will be bugs. We’re battling an infestation of caterpillars on our tomatoes now (which I’ll be blogging about shortly) and we’re just hoping the grasshoppers don’t do too much damage before the spring garden is done.
I’m going to trellis these cantaloupe to keep the bugs off them. When the fruits develop, I’ll find some old pantyhose, tie them to the trellis and use them as kind of a cradle around the fruit. This protects them from bugs. I’ve also read that you want to decrease water when the fruits are getting big so they don’t get watery and bland, but by the time we have fruit, the rainy season will be here and it will rain nearly every afternoon. So we have an uphill battle, unfortunately.
I got my fish emulsion at my local gardening center. I was surprised they had it, actually. Though I’ve read about the merits of fish emulsion, this was the first time I used it. It might be my imagination, but I think the cantaloupe have grown a good bit since I put it on.
Nice connecting with you! It’s cool to talk to people who are into gardening like we are. Stay in touch and let us know how your cantaloupe are doing.
Chris
April 30, 2010 at 10:49 am
Well, darn. If I would have known to trellis the canteloupe, I would have planted them in the other box near the back fence. But it’s all new to me. Last year was our first year planting and we only had one box. We planted peas way to late (apparently). They sprouted up really well, but then died a short time later. This year, i started planting in February (we’re in CA), and I planted the peas by the side fence where they’d get minimal sun and easy support. By march they had a great start (6″ tall) and now they’re between 5′ and 6′ tall and are producing! So if my canteloupe flounders this year, I’ll know to plant them on the other fence next year and install a trellis. Thanks for your wonderful input. I look forward to following your blog.
April 30, 2010 at 3:38 pm |
Glad to hear your peas are doing well. Yeah, they don’t like too much heat. We had kind of a cool winter, so ours are doing really well. They actually grew to about 9 feet tall and collapsed because they outgrew the trellis. They’re bent over now but still producing a lot of peas. Our spring is turning hot (90s this weekend) so we’re probably going to lose them soon. As for your cantaloupe, you may not have to trellis if you’re not all that buggy like we are here.