Dale asked: Hi! I planted halona melons this year in my greenhouse, I live near fort St. John. How do I know when they are ready. Currently they are all green at the moment. Mark responds: If your fruits are still green, they are not ripe. Melons require a huge amount of heat units throughout the summer to ripen. Your neighbour might put down black plastic on their melon row and grow giant watermelons, while your raised bed cataloupes do nothing. For the record, my raised bed cantaloupes produces flowers but no fruits for me this year. Ripeness in melons is triggered by maximum sugar content. In musk melons (that includes cantaloupes and honeydews), the sign to watch for is the connection to the vine. If you squeeze the vine lightly, the melon will simply pop off. When the sugars are at their peak, the melon wants to separate from the vine. With watermelon, look for the tendril closer to the main growing stem to turn brown. When the tendril nearest the connective tissue to the fruit dries up, the melon is at its peak.
Posted on: Wed, 20 Aug 2014 06:28:35 +0000