well just been down the bottom of the garden and was looking at the little baby cantaloupe i have, then noticed the nicely hidden big ones I have. My first time growing them and wondered how many fruit I should expect per plant and is it ok for them to be on the soil? thanks in advance moderator's note: added a more descriptive title to topic
As long as the water is there and they bloom they will produce. You may get between 5 and ten fruit per plant. Of course that is with good conditions. I have found that 6 is the average. You can leave them on the ground as long as it isn`t too wet. Too much moisture can cause them to rot. It wouldn`t hurt to put a bit of hay, grass or straw under them if possible, even though I usually do not. They are ready to pick when the fruit turns loose from the vine when you pick it up. Even then I usually wait another day before cutting so it will be fully ripe. They continue to ripen after picking so you may have more than you can eat at one time. Next year I am going to stagger my planting so I don`t have so many at once.
I too say thank you, Mart. Our cantaloupes are volunteer, so they're quite a surprise. Everytime I check, I see more little ones. I wonder if they wouldn't grow bigger if we took off all but maybe two per vine? Also, the Bindweed seems to be keeping them off the ground. Some are supported by the fence. I wonder if they will fall off too early?
I think variety determines size more than anything. Some of my vines had all huge ones and others had a mix of large and small which is fine with me because the smaller ones are just right for one or two people. I have one end of the garden that is a bit drier than the other and the mixed vines were all on the dry end. So conditions play a part as well. I don`t think that removing fruit will produce any melons that are larger than their genes allow. So I would just enjoy them at any size !! If the melons are suspended on your fence and are hanging, they will drop off and possibly bruise if very high. I would try to lay them down if possible on top of the weeds. Just check them daily when they start to ripen.
Thanks Mart. I will keep an eye on the fence sitter. LOL The vine is entwined through the fence, so I can't detach it. Just have to watch it. We check the garden at least twice a day, so not too many surprises.
Fence sitting cantaloupes ! Ha ! Just put a few of those weeds under that one. But checking that closely I don`t think you have to worry. When they detach from the vine, they may still need an extra day or two to ripen before cutting them. You can smell the end opposite the vine and it should smell like a good sweet melon. With maybe a little dirt. The melon should give to a fingers pressure a bit. At least that is what I do to see if they are ready to eat. If they still feel hard , give them another day to ripen.
