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Help with growing melons!!

Mark.c91Mark.c91 Posts: 12
in Fruit & veg
Hi guys i got some galia melon seeds from marshalls seeds i have managed to germinate and grow on all 5 of the seeds but now there around 4 ft tall i am at a loss of what i should prick out and what i should leave i have looked everywhere online and so many people are doing diffrent things.... some say prick out all shoots some say cut the top off to encourage shoots!! And non of them show hands on images of what to actually do

Im growing mine upright not along the ground , can anyone help

Many thanks

Posts

  • Singing GardenerSinging Gardener EssexPosts: 1,083
    I'm growing two sorts this year - Emir and Outdoor Wonder. I pinched out the tops of the outdoor wonder to make them branch but the Emir branched a lot anyway so I've left it.
  • Mark.c91Mark.c91 Posts: 12
    So why do you want them to side shoot out ??
  • ObelixxObelixx Vendée, Western FrancePosts: 22,693
    More shoots, more flowers, more fruits.

    I grew melons in our polytunnel last year and it was fun but they were no better and a lot more bother than the ones I can buy grown locally and in season.   Haven't bothered this year.
    "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
  • Mark.c91Mark.c91 Posts: 12
    But ive herd you only want to keep 4 fruits per plant
  • Singing GardenerSinging Gardener EssexPosts: 1,083
    I do agree with @Obelixx that they're not really worth the effort, but as I have the space I do grow them and find it quite rewarding if/when I get fruits. I've never managed to get as many as 4 fruits per plant though but have seen them growing much more successfully in other gardens.
  • Mark.c91Mark.c91 Posts: 12
    Yeah i just want to do them to say i have done but dont want to make the mistake i made when i first grew toms let the side shoots all grow and end up with a mass of green jungle..

    I need to know what to prick out and at what time 
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Leicestershire, UKPosts: 9,862
    edited June 2019
    Nip out the growing point when it has reached the height you want, then don't touch it again until you have a few fruit set is my advice.  It is common for flowers to fall off unpollinated, so you want lots of flowers as quickly as possible and most melons produce flowers from sideshoots off the main stem, which are encouraged when you remove the tip of the main stem.  After you have a few fruit set,  just cut off the growing tips of any shoots which are out-growing the space you have given it.  I've never managed to ripen more than 3 fruits on one melon plant.  This year I'm trying water melons purely for fun.  My experience with sweet melons leads me to suspect I'll be lucky to get one fruit per plant of these to ripen in my unheated greenhouse.
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
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