How to Plant Melon Seeds - San Diego Seed Company

How to Plant Melon Seeds

Melon seeds are a diverse group of seeds with a wide range of colors, shapes, flavors, and textures for you to plant. Melon seeds like cantaloupe grow an orange-fleshed melon that is sweet and mild. In contrast, melon seeds like Kajari grow a unique melon that changes from green to orange as it ripens!

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When shopping for melon seeds, you can group melons into a few categories. Watermelons (Citrullus lanatus) are typically larger melons with smooth skin and high-water content. Although you mostly find red-fleshed watermelon in stores, there are also yellow, white, green, and orange-fleshed watermelon varieties! Cantaloupes (Cucumis melo) are typically netted or not smooth-skinned and have firmer flesh. Honeydew (Cucumis melo inodorus) is in a plant genus of its own even though it is similar to cantaloupe!

There are many more melon varieties out there that we encourage you to explore, from muskmelon to Galia melon! No matter what melon seed you decide to plant in your garden, they all have the same planting requirements.

Direct Sowing Recommendations

Melon seeds are strong growing, quick to germinate in warm soil, and can easily be directly sown in the garden. Although it is entirely possible (and we have) to transplant melon plants into the garden, why not take the easy way and sow them into your garden directly? You can save yourself some time and extra work by planting melon seeds directly into the soil where they will go.

Considerations for Direct Sowing Melon Seeds

When you are directly sowing melon or any seeds, you need to work the soil properly. Soil should be weed-free, well-watered, and have a good light texture. You can mix in compost and manure to help improve the texture of the soil.

Check out our blog article, Direct Seeding for Success, if you are new to direct seeding in the garden. You may also benefit from our online seed starting class.

Want more information on Galia Melon Varieties seeds? Feel free to contact us.

When we are prepping beds for direct sowing melon seeds, our steps for success are as follows:

1. Pull current crops
2. Weed
3. Loosen the soil with a pitchfork or similar tool.
4. Add organic fertilizer if needed.
5. Mix in compost and composted horse manure if needed.
6. Rake the seedbed well with a soft rake to ensure that no debris will inhibit melon seed germination.
7. Water well! Make sure there is ample moisture in the beds.
8. Direct sow the seeds about ½-1″ deep by laying seeds in a furrow and covering them with well-sifted soil.
9. Water again and keep the soil moist until germination!

How to Care for Germinated Melon Seeds

Once your melon seeds have germinated, which should take place 7-10 days after planting, you will want to ensure your melon beds remain weed-free and well-watered. Do not overhead water your melons as that can encourage foliar disease. It is a better idea to water at the soil level. Depending on the melon, it can take anywhere from 60-130+ days for the melon plants to produce a ripe melon. In that time, be sure to keep an eye on the developing melons. We like to place a small piece of cardboard underneath our developing melons to discourage rodents from nibbling on them!

Don’t know when to harvest your melons? Make sure you read the product information of each melon to know when it is ripe. The BEST way is to mark your calendar for the days to maturity and pick it only if it seems ripe after that date.

Description

Galia melons will grow perfectly well in a dry climate, especially on well-draining sandy soil, but early on, the crop requires some moisture in the soil to flourish. Like other melons, it runs along the soil surface as a trailing vine. It grows in a round shape, and is conspicuous by the raised pattern of fine netting on its rough skin. At maturity, it attains 4-6 inches in diameter and usually weighs about 2 to 3 lbs. Inside, the succulent pale green flesh is juicy, and has a soft consistency with a sweet, musky aroma that emanates best in the completely ripe fruits. In addition, it is rich with other antioxidants which can help reduce the risk of serious health conditions such as heart disease. Best grown in the greenhouse in the UK, it is also particularly suitable for cloche culture.

Sowing Advice

SOWING ADVICE Sow seed on edge to prevent rotting. Sow two seeds 1.5cm (½in) deep from mid- to late April, in small pots a propagator or on a sunny windowsill at 18-21ºC (64-70ºF). Remove the weakest seedling after germination. When at the 2 leaf stage, transplant seedlings on into at least 10cm (4 inch) pots for a few weeks before potting on into larger containers or direct into the greenhouse border, or use 2 plants per growbag

Are you interested in learning more about melon seed supplier? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!