First off all the varieties I plan to grow will be either semi-bush or bush and they'll have short vines; this means they're compact, bred to grow in confined spaces. The spacing per plant is 3', and this is if they're not grown in groups in hills. Since I'll be growing them in raised beds, are the hills not necessary? Also since the vines are short then is it necessary to trellis them? What would the depth, length, and width of the raised beds need to be? I realize this depends on how many plants would be grown per raised beds. I'd like to do two rows of each variety per raised bed, one variety per raised bed (watermelon in one, cantaloupe in another, butternut in a 3rd raised bed, etc.) Would the row spacing even apply since they'll be grown in containers? Would it be a good idea to provide the row space for air circulation? here are the varieties I plan to grow: Goldetti (spaghetti squash) Bush Table King (Acorn squash) Minnesota midget, Inspire (both cantaloupe) With the melons, the small fruited varieties tend to yield a bunch of melons per plant; the larger fruited melons tend to yield only a couple melons per plant. Also would I need to put the fruit in slings with the melons to support the weight of fruit? Can I do this without a trellis? Summer ball, Gold nugget (pumpkin, 1-3 lbs. per fruit) Yellow doll (watermelon) Sugar Bush (sugar baby watermelon) Butterbush (butternut)
It will be a first for us this year but we're going to plant some in raised beds. Never hurts to try. Everything we're planting will be in raised beds, including strawberries.
Minisota midget does vine, but is a tiny plant so vines are rarely six feet long. FWIW I like vining mellons. smaller ones trellis fine and there is almost always a little lawn the vines can over run.
Vines do very nicely in raised beds, especially the ones bred for container use. The majority have small root systems, hence they really don't need deep beds: 8 inches will do it. The main thing to guarentee success will be using a GOOD soil; mulching instead of hilling after the plants are established; fertilizing on a regular basis as nutrients will be leaching from soil with each watering. Your seed packets will give you a very good idea of what to expect as far as "spreading" goes: don't be afraid to plant a bit closer together then 3 feet apart on some varieties, won't hurt them a bit and does help with pollination of blossoms (don't plant two differant varieties of vines together: you'll get cross-pollination that'll defeat your purpose). I've found that container-bred seeds usually offer quite well-behaved plants who produce heavily, are easier to care for on overall. Seeing as you're in Minnesota, may I suggest you start your seeds (instead of direct seeding outdoors) in 3-4 inch peat pots approximately 5 weeks before setting out? It gives them a great "jump start" in cooler climes, end production seems to be much better! If seeds are large..like those of squash..try planting them on their SIDES, not flat in soil, you'll be amazed at outcome. Also, make sure the bottoms/sides of peat pots are broken off as much as possible, without damaging root systems, before setting in ground: do this especially at the tops or they'll just stick up above soil level and allowing moisture to "wick" away from plants causing the soil to dry out around them. Sun; good soil; ample water; and fertilization will see your raised bed crops better then those grown in a standard garden..good luck!
I agree with everything weeds & seeds said.I'd like to suggest a good cucumber that we grow in a pot every year.It is Fanfare.You can pick them when they are small if you are anxious or let them grow to 9 inches or so & have slicers. Doris
pots I grew some bush cukes last year in one end of an 18 gal tote. 3 vines, should have been one I guess. I had a tomato plant in the other end. Cukes did fine for a while, picked about 2 dozen, and then up and died suddenly, they didn't even leave a note so I don't know what it was, LOL. :-D
Hi rockhound,It dawned on me after I posted about cukes that the question was about melonsjavascript:emoticon('');So they up & died,huh?It just takes 1 time getting too dry to do them in.Maybe it was wilt spread from hoppers & or cucumber beetles. Doris
Will tell you what to try..2 or 3 times during the growing season. Was a gentleman on this site..about a year ago..who recommended a "recipe" using 1 tbs. of a 15-3-15 liquid fertilizer; 1 tea. of epsom salts; and 1/2 cup of hydrogen peroxide mixed in a gallon of water..this RECIPE is unbelievable! I used 1/4 cap full of liquid Miracle Gro instead of the 15-3-15; rest was all the same blend. When I started seeds, I wet down the underlaying soil with this, topped it off with Jiffy Seed Starter mix, watered the seeds in with same blend. Germination was unexcelled; plants out, during the growing season, outdid themselves when "watered in" at transplanting time with this mix! Hardly ANY bug problems; saw a big differance in overall performance. Question here is: was the plant in question, perhaps, bought in one of those larger peat pots? Just set in the ground as bought? THAT could BE the PROBLEM, sir: they DO NOT decompose as stated; most plants in them get ROOT BOUND; even in your planters the water WILL NOT penetrate root systems like it should because it CAN'T get to them; the root systems dry/die out and the plant's done! Something to think about, eh? Gardening's all just little tricks of the trade..live and learn! I have NO DOUBT you'll have better luck next year.
tips Thanks for the tips Weeds, you're kinda preachin' to the choir tho. I did try those peat pots about 20 years ago, once was enough for me. I've been gardening so long I have tried a lots of things but not those "recipes" that are thrown together with household chems and beer etc. I just feed my soil, as the saying goes, and the soil feeds the plants
I have grown Minnesota Midget melons in raised beds 2 years in a row. They did fine. I mulched the beds and let the vines trail. I live in the desert Southwest(warm climate) and direct sewed the seeds. I've also grown cucumbers and yellow squash in raised beds. Two years ago I had large winter squash in a 2' X 6'X 11" raised bed. These were a green striped variety of Hopi squash. I sewed six seed and kept 2 plants. I got 11 big squash. These were in the garden for over 120 days. I agree with Weeds that it's important to fertilize. The nutrients do leach out of the beds. I compost when I plant and about once a month I water with a fish emulsion and sea weed blend. I also put in a little epsom salts. I haven't used any hydrogen peroxide. I suspect it's for molds and fungal disease. What I'm doing now works for me. I also agree with Weeds about those peat pots. It takes them too long to break down. So I usually peel them away then plant. I tear up the peat pots and put them in my compost bucket.
