So You Wanna Grow Melons?

You don't have to live in the San Joaquin or Imperial Valley to grow melons. Whether you're looking at home-grown watermelons, cantaloupes, honeydew or more, all can be grown right here.

No matter where you live in California, you can grow melons. Of course if you live in the mountains or along the coast, it helps to get melons started early in the growing season to give them plenty of time to ripen. Many areas of the state don't get as hot as the inland valleys and night-time temperatures, in particular, aren't as warm, so there are a few things we have to do to adjust.

My memories of melons go back to when I was around 12-years-old and helped my uncle "pitch" melons on his farm near Turlock in the San Joaquin Valley. We would go through a row, cutting ripe melons from stems and placing them on the outer edge of the row. Then a younger cousin would slowly drive a truck down a row. I would "pitch" melons up to my uncle, who would catch the melons and stack them in the bed. Later, we would switch jobs. I got really good at thumping melons with the butt end of my knife. If it made a dull "thumping" sound, the melon was ripe; a higher- pitched sound and you leave the melon for another day.

And yet, what I remember most was the heat. Those 105-degree days in the San Joaquin Valley was enough to even affect a kid. Ah, but the biggest treats were picking a watermelon, throwing it on the ground to break it open and scooping out just the sweetest "heart" of the melon for a delicious snack.

Melons -- whether they're watermelons, cantaloupe or others like honeydew -- are probably best planted by seed. Already-started melons sometimes are available at local garden centers. However, you'll get more of a selection if you go with seed. You can plant seeds directly into the ground or start tham in individual pots. Seeds will usually break the soil in three to five days. If you want to avoid all your melons ripening around the same time, space the timing of your planting a couple weeks apart.

LIke most vegetables, melons do best int he hottest part of the garden. It's best to prepare your planting area beforehand, rototilling or hand-digging in plenty of organic compost, rotted manure, soil conditioner, peat moss, gypsum, etc. Melons take plenty of space, with one plant spreading several feet. Leave them plenty of room to spread out.

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