Melon varieties for growing in the garden – overview and care

In botany, the two melon species are not particularly closely related. While both belong to the squash family, muskmelons (Cucumis melo) are more closely related to cucumbers (Cucumis). One of the best known plants of the genus Citrullus is the watermelon (Citrullus lanatus). There are a number of different melons that are cultivated around the world. However, not all types of melon thrive here. The following melon varieties also bring good crop yields in this country, as they are relatively cold-tolerant and not very susceptible to various pathogens.

1. Zuckermelone (Cucumis melo)

The individual melon species and varieties of muskmelons are divided into different classes: winter melons, cantaloupe melons and netted melons.
Cantaloupe varieties for outdoor cultivation:

• Agora F1: orange flesh, sweetish aromatic, suitable for outdoor and greenhouse cultivation, resistant to Fusarium wilt
• Pineapple: comes from Hungary, fruits about 20 cm in size with reddish flesh, very sweet in taste, only suitable for very mild locations or the cold frame
• Cezanne F1: juicy, sweet fruits with a short ripening time, resistant to many diseases, grown in a greenhouse or sheltered outdoors
• Ice cream melon: from Hungary, small outdoor species, also grows in less favorable locations, self-fertile, yellow skin and white flesh
• Galia F1: aromatic melon from France, copes well with our climate, cream-colored flesh (1 kg)
• honeydew melon:
  • Amish: intense orange flesh, very juicy and aromatic
  • Noire des Carmes: green, heavily ribbed skin, bright orange flesh
  • Green Nutmeg: very early variety with creamy white flesh, light yellow skin, finely meshed
  • Jenny Lind: coarsely meshed grey-green skin, very flavorful, tolerates cooler summers
  • Minnesota Midget: ripens in just 60 days, very short tendrils, many fruits with yellowish skin and flesh, very good beginner’s variety
  • Sweet Granite: very early variety, specially developed for climatically unfavorable regions with short summers and cool weather, orange skin and flesh of the same colour
• Irina’s sweet honey: free-range melon from Russia, ripens safely with us, self-fruiting, yellowish skin with creamy-white flesh
• Japanese melon Naga Shima Uri: cylindrical fruits with a strong aroma, not very sweet, very robust and not demanding, self-fertile
• Kazakh fruit melon: hardy variety for outdoor cultivation, copes well with cooler weather, self-fertile, juicy orange flesh
•   Romanian apple melon: very small, apple-shaped melon that ripens safely even in unfavorable weather conditions, red skin, white flesh
• Tiger melon: old variety from Armenia with small yellow fruits (400 g), early ripening

2. Watermelons (Citrullus lanatus)

There are around 150 varieties of watermelon, some of which can cope well with our climatic conditions:

• Ali Baba: light green fruits with red flesh, melons weighing up to 7 kg, smaller in cool years
• Blacktail Mountain: also copes with a little less sun, fruits weighing up to 5 kg, green skin and light red flesh
• Carosello: uncomplicated cultivation, best outdoors on black foil, light green fruits with white flesh, self-fertile
• Cream of Saskatchewan: early variety with white flesh, well adapted to our climate, thin skin
• Yellow roller: variety from Eastern Europe, needs a lot of water, forms very large, elongated fruits up to 50 cm long, self-fertile, well suited to outdoor use
• Golden Midget: small type of melon, the skin turns yellow when it is ripe, very sweet and juicy, also suitable for the balcony
• Moon and Stars: blue-green skin with yellow dots, very juicy flesh
• Mountain Sweet Yellow: yellow-orange flesh, green striped skin, 90 days ripening time, very large variety (often over 10 kg)
• Petit Yellow: small yellow watermelon variety, light green skin with dark stripes, ripens early
• Sweet Siberian: sweet aroma and yellow-orange flesh, fruit weighing up to 3 kg, comes from Russia

Care Instructions

Here you will find care instructions for all kinds of melons.

location

The warmer and more sheltered the location for the melon plant, the better it can grow and thrive. Only in a really suitable place in the garden will the fruits ripen outdoors and the plant will be protected from diseases. It is also important to pay attention to the crop rotation with melons. Therefore, they should not be planted on the same bed in the next few years.

• as sunny and warm as possible
• protected from wind and cool temperatures
• Minimum temperature at night: 12 degrees
• the warmer the better
• prefers temperatures between 25 and 35 degrees
• on a sunny south or south-west wall of the house
• high humidity
• Soil: loose, well-drained and nutritious

sowing

The seeds of the melon should be sown individually in small pots at least four to six weeks before planting outdoors and placed in a bright place on the windowsill without direct sunlight. So that you don’t have to water it all the time, it has proven useful to place the pots with the moist soil in a freezer bag that is held together at the bottom of the pot with a rubber band or string. Occasional airing protects against mold and rot. As soon as the seed has germinated and the first leaves appear, the bag can be removed. So that the young plants do not have to be constantly transplanted before planting out, containers with a diameter of 9 or 12 cm are recommended from the outset.

• Time: from mid-April
• Substrate: potting soil, cactus soil
• Planting depth: 0.5 to 1 cm
• Germination temperature: around 25 degrees, high humidity
• Soil temperature at least 20 degrees
• Germination time: about 7 days

plant out

You can only place the young plants outdoors from the end of May to the beginning of June, when there is no longer any threat of frost. To do this, it is best to dig up the soil well in the previous year and, if necessary, fertilize with compost or well-rotted stable manure. This measure should be carried out at least four weeks before planting. Melons need high levels of nutrients so that they can develop sufficiently well. So that the roots are always nice and warm, we recommend laying out a black plant foil. This ensures that the sun’s energy is better stored in the ground.

• fertilize and dig up soil before planting
• water the soil well
• One week before planting out, warm the soil with a foil tunnel
• alternatively use black plant foil
• Planting distance: at least 80 cm
• can be guided up to trellis
• increase planting distance in case of creeping growth
• the soil temperature should never fall below 12 degrees

Balcony of cultures

Melon plants like to climb, so you can also cultivate them on a warm balcony in a planter with a climbing aid. Plan about one square meter of space. The shoots are usually up to one meter long and can be guided upwards either on cords or a trellis. Since the heavy fruits put a lot of strain on the climbing shoots, causing them to buckle or even break off, it has proven useful to relieve them with a net.

watering and fertilizing

Since the root system of the melon is only weakly developed, it is dependent on a plentiful supply of water. During the growth phase, the melons must therefore be watered regularly in the early morning or mid-morning. You should be careful not to pour water over the leaves and never produce waterlogging, in these cases the roots rot quite quickly. Better to water more often and less. It is very important to use warm water. It is best to use stagnant rainwater from the barrel or lukewarm water from the tap in the kitchen or bathroom.

Fertilized soil in the autumn of the previous year offers the best conditions for the melon plants. For this purpose, compost or mature stable manure can be worked into the soil. Such fertilization can be made up to four weeks before planting. Since the melons withdraw a lot of nutrients from the substrate, they must be fertilized with potassium-rich fertilizers at the latest from fruit formation. Vegetable fertilizers or tomato fertilizers in liquid or solid form, for example, are suitable for a healthy supply of nutrients.

Pinching off the shoots, pruning/pinching

As soon as the plants have formed four to five leaves, the shoot tip is cut off. This measure not only promotes branching, but also the formation of female flowers, from which the fruit develops. At the same time, remove the lowermost leaves (so-called cotyledons) from the plant to encourage ventilation near the ground.

In good conditions, the melon plant grows quickly and branches out steadily. All side shoots behind the fourth leaf should therefore be cut off regularly in summer. It is best to let the side shoots sprout in an X-shape (always one shoot to the right and one to the left of the main shoot). A maximum of four to six melons per plant are allowed to remain so that the plant can put all its energy into the formation and ripening of the fruit. All remaining flowers and fruits are removed. Melons that are guided upwards on a trellis can keep slightly longer shoots. We recommend shortening after the sixth to eighth sheet.

harvest

From around the end of August, the first fruits are ready to be harvested. Depending on the type and weather conditions, the individual fruits need different lengths of time until they are ripe. On average, about 40 to 45 days must elapse between pollination and maturity. You can tell when the fruit is ripe by the fact that the leaves of the plant are withering and by the sound that is produced when the rounded fruit is tapped. A hollow or dull, low-pitched sound suggests the fruit can be harvested. Some fruits also change color. Melons can be stored at 10 degrees for a few weeks. However, the storage should take place separately from other fruits, otherwise their ripening process will be promoted.

Conclusion
Important for the cultivation of melons in your own garden is the right variety, which must be somewhat less sensitive to cold. Cultivation works best if the seeds are grown on the windowsill in spring and planted late (end of May/beginning of June) in a well-protected, sunny spot in the garden under mulch film.