Planting melons: sugar melon, honeydew melon & Co.

Melons love warmth. But with a little care, suitable varieties can also grow and thrive in this country. We have expert tips ready for you.

Watermelons (Citrullus lanatus) and sugar melons (Cucumis melo) are considered sweet refreshments in hot summers and are very popular in Germany. But although the majority is imported from warmer countries, melon cultivation is also possible in our latitudes. There are a wide variety of strains and variations that you can grow in your own garden with a few tricks. We'll show you the best way to go from rearing to harvest.

Planting melons: location, timing and procedure

Basically, it should be noted that success in melon cultivation depends heavily on the selection of the right location. The time of planting outdoors also plays an important role, as melon plants are very sensitive to cold.

The perfect location for melons

In Germany, melons can only be grown outdoors if there is sufficient warmth. In rough areas, it is therefore worth growing in a greenhouse, whereas in a wine-growing climate, planting out in the bed should not be a problem. When planting out in the field, make sure it is sunny, warm and sheltered from the wind. The soil should also be able to warm up quickly - a loose soil structure is always advantageous.

Since melons are considered to be heavy consumers in the garden, the soil should also be very humus and rich in nutrients. For a successful melon cultivation, both sandy and very clayey soils must have a lot of compost or high-quality compost like ours Plantura organic compost be improved. The compost soil allows for better aeration of heavy soils, which means that it warms up better to a temperature that is favorable for melons. Sandy soils, on the other hand, can store water much better with the help of compost soil. In addition, the compost continuously releases nutrients and is therefore particularly suitable for the nutrient-hungry melons.

Tip: Additional warmth around the melon plant increases the yield and the sweetness of the fruit. For this reason, it is worth growing on a hotbed, warm compost or even on black mulch film. Putting up old windows around the melon plant also creates a warmer plant, as does good wind protection.

The right time to plant melons

All types of melons - whether water melons or sugar melons - are only planted from the end of May to June due to their sensitivity to the cold. If you grow melons in the greenhouse, you can plant them out as early as April, as the plants there are continuously warm. When growing in a greenhouse, you should note that crawling melon plants can take up a lot of space. The attachment of climbing aids is therefore very worthwhile so that the plants can grow upwards.

Tip: Melons are very sensitive to sudden cold temperatures and recover from cold shock so slowly that the year's harvest is in jeopardy. Therefore, young plants should be hardened before planting out by placing them outdoors in partial shade during the day as early as 2 weeks before the planting date.

Procedure for planting melons

Make sure there is enough space per plant when planting outdoors. If you place the plants too close together, the risk of fungal infections increases and the melons do not have enough space to grow. You should therefore calculate at least one square meter per plant.

The most important information on growing melons at a glance:

• Warm, sunny and sheltered location
• Loose, nutrient-rich and humus soil, black mulch film under the plant increases the heat
• Improving the soil with compost like ours Plantura organic compost
• In rough areas best in a greenhouse, on a sheltered compost heap or behind wind-protecting, warming panes of glass
• Plant out outdoors from the end of May, in the greenhouse from April
• At least 1 m² of space per plant

Tip: Melons can even be grown in large pots. This has the advantage that the earth warms up faster if the planters are in a warm, sunny place. Small-fruited varieties such as pocket melons are particularly suitable for this.

Growing melons: sowing them yourself or buying plants?

Many hobby gardeners prefer to use early young plants when growing melons, but sowing them in-house is easy too. We present both variants and their advantages and disadvantages.

Sow melons yourself

All types of melons are preferred in the house between the beginning of April and the end of April. To do this, plant one seed per pot 1 to 2 cm deep. At an optimal germination temperature of 25 - 28 ° C, the seeds germinate within 3 to 7 days. Immediately after germination, the plants are set up in a light and cooler location, at 18 to 24 ° C - so they remain compact and stable. The plants can be planted out between the end of May and the beginning of June.

Tip: Melons have very sensitive roots and can therefore not be pricked out. Therefore, only one seed is sown in a sufficiently large pot. Melon plants also want to be treated very carefully when planting out in the garden.

Growing melon plants at a glance:

• Sow from the beginning to the end of April at a depth of 1 - 2 cm, one seed each in a sufficiently large pot
• Ideal germination temperature 25 - 28 ° C (min. 18 ° C)
• Place in a cooler place after germination: 18 - 25 ° C
• Don't prick

Buy melon plants

If you want to save yourself a bit of work, buying early seedlings can be worthwhile. You can buy these from May to June in the garden center and then plant them outdoors in the same way. One advantage of these young plants is that they are often grafted on pumpkin rootstocks and are therefore less prone to root diseases. Overall, the costs of growing plants are much higher compared to growing them yourself, as a pack of seeds costs only a few euros.

Melons: Suitable types and varieties

Melons show more variation than many think. Nevertheless, the plants from the cucurbit family (Cucurbitaceae) can be roughly divided into two types: watermelons (Citrullus lanatus) and sugar melons (Cucumis melo). The latter also includes the universally popular honeydew melon with its yellow skin and sweet taste. Further varieties are the cantaloupe melon with its characteristic orange flesh and the net melon with its net-like, rough skin.

In principle, only early-ripening melon varieties are suitable for cultivation in cold Central Europe. Late varieties require a longer and warmer vegetation period and do not even come to maturity here before it is cool again. Even rather small melon varieties promise better success in cultivation, because the development of the fruits takes less time.

Watermelon varieties

‘Bush sugar baby‘

• New breed that emerged from Sugar Baby
• Early ripening with smaller fruits: 2 - 4 kg (1 - 2 fruits per plant)
• Red flesh with a dark skin
• Plant remains quite compact (1 m² per plant)

‘Crimson Sweet‘

• Worldwide popular and popular variety
• Oval and light green fruits. High fruit weight: 5 - 8 kg
• Aromatic, light red pulp
• Good resistance to leaf rot and other fungal diseases
• 1.5 - 2 m² per plant

‘Asahi Miyako‘

• Japanese breeding early maturity; very high sugar content
• Fruits with light green-dark striped skin with light red pulp
• Fruits weighing 3.5 - 5 kg
• 1.5 m² per plant

You can find more watermelon varieties that are suitable for cultivation in Germany here.

Melon varieties

‘Giallo Canaria 3‘

• Yellow Canarian honeydew melon
• Oval and yellow fruits
• White and sweet pulp
• 1.5 m² per plant

‘Bari F1‘

• Cantaloupe melon
• Round fruits with orange pulp and gray skin
• Very aromatic
• 1 - 2 m² per plant

‘Hales Best‘

• Net melon
• Round fruits with a white-gray network structure as a shell
• Orange to red pulp
• 1 - 2 m² per plant

Maintain and de-pinch melons

Regardless of the type and variety of melon, the correct care of the exotic plants is essential for a rich harvest. We introduce you to how you do Water and fertilize melon plants properly.

Pour melons properly

Melons need a large amount of water in order to grow optimally. Never let the soil dry out completely. This is especially true while the flowers and fruits are being formed. If possible, do not use cold water, only warm water, for example from a rain barrel. Melon plants are sensitive to too cold irrigation water. In addition, when watering, be careful not to wet the leaves, otherwise the risk of fungal infections increases.

Fertilize melons properly

A sufficient supply of nutrients is particularly important for the growth of melon plants. Before planting out the young plants, first use a primarily organic organic fertilizer such as our Plantura Organic tomato fertilizer into the ground. Alternatively, compost is also suitable. In this way you provide the young plants with important nutritional elements from the beginning and also in the long term and loosen the soil structure. While the blossoms and fruit are forming, a new dose of fertilizer is applied so that the plants have enough strength for the development of the large and sweet fruits.

Scallop melons

A tried and tested maintenance measure to increase the yield in cold regions and outdoors is so-called de-sharpening. To do this, the main shoot of a melon plant is cut off after the fifth leaf. As a result, the plant forms more side shoots, which can also be cut at the top. With this method, you encourage the plant to grow more compactly and to produce fruit earlier. If you also remove the tip a piece above growing fruits, more energy remains for it Grow the melon and you will harvest some large and sweet melons rather than many underdeveloped melons can.

Harvesting melons: when and what to do

As soon as summer draws to a close, melons are ready to be harvested. Depending on the type of melon, it can be harvested from the end of August through to autumn. Ripe specimens should now be cut off at the fruit base with a sharp knife. As a rule, only harvest ripe fruits, as melons can only ripen to a limited extent. But how can the optimal maturity actually be recognized?

When is the melon ripe?

Depending on Type of melon maturity can be recognized by different criteria. All melon varieties have a strong color when they are ripe and sound dull to hollow when knocked. In addition, slight cracks can be seen on the stem when the fruit is set. Ripe melons can also be recognized by their sweet scent.

You can recognize ripe melons by these criteria:

• Strong green for watermelons, intense yellow for honeydew melons
• Dull to hollow sound when knocking
• Slight cracks at the fruit set
• Sweet melons smell

Store melons properly and extend their shelf life

In principle, melons - regardless of whether they are watermelon or sugar melon - are not considered to have a particularly long shelf life. At room temperature, the sweet fruits only keep uncut for about two weeks. Therefore, store melons in a cool and dark place like the basement. If the melon has already been cut, you should wrap it in cling film and put it in the refrigerator. Unfortunately, it also loses some of its aroma. Freezing melons, on the other hand, is not recommended as the pulp becomes very mushy after thawing.

More specifically about the best Types of melons and –varieties for cultivation in Germany you can find out in our special article on this topic.