How fast will I see a melon?
@3SnuggleBunnies (16374)
United States
July 7, 2010 4:21pm CST
I have a cantaloupe melon plant that blooms but I see no melons. I'm in USDA zone 5 BTW. Is it that I have to some how have to figure out how to pollenate these babies by hand as well? We've never grown them before so I"m not sure what to expect and when. Usually we start harvesting from our garden in August.
2 people like this
4 responses
@Hatley (163772)
• Garden Grove, California
7 Jul 10
hi you need more than one plant to really get melons .we always had a number of plants and called them the melon patch. Somehow they fertilize each other I guess. I do not know how you could pollinate one plant like that but one could sure try.but if your neighbors have cantaloupe plants
you will soon get them cross pollinated by bees.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (169406)
• United States
8 Jul 10
I did a search and I found this really informative site http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/fruit-gardening/hand-pollinating-melons.htm. It tells you what you need to know about why some blossoms do not produce and how to pollinate your melon flowers.
@3SnuggleBunnies (16374)
• United States
8 Jul 10
I was thinking that is partly why I have to do my zucchini by hand between the bees and only having one plant. As I notice male & female flowers are not always open on the same day or time. But my cucumber that is nearby has cucumbers growing slowly so something is fertilizing them? I dunno.
@ Gerty - the instructions on there seem similar to the one I found for hand pollenating zucchini and it was basically the same directions.
@GardenGerty (169406)
• United States
8 Jul 10
I am not sure, either. I have not grown melons in years. If you have a fine little artist's paint brush, it might not hurt to do a little pollinating, My pumpkins have just started blooming, but we have lots of different kinds of bees out here, so I am not really worried. Not all blooms are capable of producing fruit, though.
@3SnuggleBunnies (16374)
• United States
8 Jul 10
I would suspect it would only be the female bloom that would produce the fruit.
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
11 Jul 10
I first want to wish you the best of luck with getting some melons off of your plants. When you will see a melon is going to depend on how long it takes for the bees to pollinate your blossoms on the plants. I don't know about where you are living, but here in the last couple of weeks, I've seen a lot more bees than I'd seen for the rest of the summer combined. So, if that is the case in your area, then you should see some baby melons pretty soon.
