Growing melons

Perfect melon growing latitude is 30N to 35TD; Spanish Springs is 39 to 38' 57" N

January - try to buy 75 day varieties

Melons like it hot and bright: sunny days in the eighties, nights in the sixties. Melons Mature 80-120 days after seeding: some watermelons need about a month longer (up to 150) says. None of the melons take kindly to frost, but if you don’t have a decent interval between spring and fall freezes, there are ways to stretch the season.

Soil light, deep and well drained: sandy loam is best. Amend soil in the fall with leaf mold and compost, green manure or cover crop.

September – set up next year’s melon bed. South sloping to promote warmth, small enough to work in without stepping on growing area; protected from N and/or W wind.

Rotate your melons to a new area every year, especially if the soil is infected with nematodes or Fusarium.

Watermelon does well in acidic (ph 5-7); melon prefers basic or alkaline (ph 7-8).

Root systems are large but relatively shallow.

Melons hate soil compaction and water logging. Protect from wind, especially N and/or W, but don’t block out the sun.

Plant after threat of frost has passed and soil temps are at least 60. Four inch transplants should work just fine and produce fruit.

April - Nick and soak watermelon seeds; start 4 inch pots with 4-5 seeds each, 2-4 weeks before Memorial Day (find out when air temps stay above 60 at night -- can I plant three weeks prior to that if transplants covered with Agrobon); keep in a dark moist place until seedlings emerge in about a week at 75-85 degrees. Watermelon can take longer because seeds are tough, scarify and soak first. Once seedlings emerge provide 16 hours under grow lights, keeping them 2-3 inches from the light. Thin to three plants per pot; feed with diluted fish emulsion once or twice a week until they’re ready for the garden.

Six millimeter black polyethylene is helpful.

At planting, mix a shovel full of well-rotted manure into the soil and plant melons in “hills” a grouping of three or four. Sprinkle soil with diatomaceous earth for slugs; use Bt for caterpillars. Cover with Agrobon for 3 weeks until plants are established

Remove any leaves that show signs of disease, cull (prune out) defective fruits to 2-3 per vine; wrap fruits in Agrobon bags to deter cucumber beetle.

Codling Moth control

How to use a Codling Moth trap

List of biorational controls

Read more about organic controls

How to calculate degree days

Degree day calculator

Weather/Temperature info

NOAA for weather and temperature

Codling Moth control model

"From what I have read there are four organic sprays: spinosad, summer oil, Kaolin clay and Bt (least effective).


"Spinosad in Reno at Moana Nursery under the product name Captain Jack’s Deadbug" - we'll try this one in 2009

Apple tree/Codling Moth biofix and control

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7412.html

If you'd like to calculate degree days, scroll down to Chemical Control and click the degree day chart. You can use the 30 day temp on weather.com or noaa.gov for past temps.

Melon experiments

Red Seeded Citron - must cook it to eat it. (Watermelon) - 90-100 days

Queen Anne's Pocket Melon - only smells good. (Dudaim)

Prescott Fond Blanc (Cantalupensis) - 85-95 days

Van Doren Moon and Stars - probably won't work, needs 100-120 days (Watermelon)

Minnesota Midget (Reticulatus) - 60-75 days

Golden Midget (Watermelon) - 70 days

Charentais (Cantalupensis) - 90 days

Delice de Table (Cantalupensis) - 85-90 days

Yacon or Bolivian Sunroot

Mother Earth News yacon article

Will we see Yellow Lilac flowers this year?

Lots of blossoms! But plant is five years old and has yet to display flowers...the frost always get them.

"The yard" May 2009

MAY TREE CARE 2009

Spring has sprung, at least my fruit trees are blooming. The codling moths are returning. May is the time to thin fruit, monitor and spray for pests, plant sales, and planting the summer garden.

Codling moths. This year, we will beat the codling moth. With the help of newsletter volunteers and probably Cooperative Extension, we will keep you updated on the biofix and the appropriate spray date(s).

For complete info on codling moth CTRL+ click http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7412.html. You can click on their degree day calculator link and time your spray using last Friday as the biofix date.

Also take a look at their discussion and link on ‘Bagging Fruit’. I did bag several hundred apple in past year with mixed results; some of the apples already had codling moth eggs laid and/or hatched when I put on the bags-hence the spray at blossom drop this year. The easiest bags to affix were the cheap ‘zip lock’ sandwich bags.

Thinning is an important step in producing larger, tastier fruit and will also help prevent damage from insects. Cherry trees do not need to be thinned; apples, pears, apricots, plums, peaches, and nectarines will benefit from thinning. Fruit should be thinned when the fruit is ¼ to ½ inch in diameter; after the fruit is an inch in diameter, it is too late to improve fruit quality by thinning. To thin, first lightly run your fingers over the fruit; a good number of the fruits will fall off as some fruits were not completely fertilized or the tree is selectively pruning itself. Then, remove any damaged/deformed fruits. Note that apples and pears form on clusters with the center fruit larger than the rest; those are the ones I leave on the tree. This year, I’m thinning apples and pears to 12” apart per limb; peaches and nectarines 8” apart and plums and apricots 6” apart. The object is to leave as much fruit as possible, but remove enough so that the remaining fruits will not touch when mature (insect larvae tend to bore into fruit where they touch).

Pests and disease seen in May include aphids, powdery mildew, and the first codling moth hatch. Look at the growth tips of the limbs for the dull gray coating that is powdery mildew. Generally, only one or two limbs will have it on new growth. Prune off the infected portion back to a branch or bud, dispose of the affected sprouts, and spray a disinfectant (like Lysol) on your pruning tools afterward.

Aphid damage will also occur on new growth and will appear as curled, deformed leaves especially on peaches, nectarines, and cherries. If only one or two places are infected, just squash the little bugs. If the whole tree is infected, attach a spray nozzle to your hose and spray water into the affected limbs from all sides. Aphids do not like humidity and the force of the spray will knock the aphids off and onto the ground. Being fat boys (actually all females) with skinny legs, the aphids will not be able to get back into the tree. Spray the tree daily, if possible in the morning, as the aphids knocked off the tree will slowly cook in the noonday sun.