How to Grow Muskmelon Hydroponically

Start the seeds indoors in late winter to early spring. Plant two or three seeds in small pots filled with a peat/perlite mix. Place where temperatures are 70 degrees Fahrenheit and water until evenly moist. After germination, thin to the strongest seedling and grow for three to four weeks inside.

Disinfect the hydroponics trays with a solution of 10 percent bleach and 90 percent water. Allow to air dry. Set rockwool cubes inside the trays spaced 12 inches apart. Remove the seedlings from the peat/perlite and shake off the excess medium. Transplant the seedlings to the rockwool cubes.

Fill the tray with nitrogen hydroponic solution and water. Use a solution with a pH of 5.5 to 6.5 and mix at 80 to 100 parts per million. Hook the tray to the pump by tubing. It will recycle the nutrient solution and bathe it over the roots of the plants.

Run string up from the base of the tray to the ceiling of the greenhouse. This will support the vine as it grows. One week after transplant, prune off all the lateral growth up to the eighth node on the main stem.

Prune the laterals again to the eighth node after the first fruit has set. Help train the vine up the string with plant ties and by winding it up the support.

Bring in bees two weeks after planting. If you have no access to a hive, you may hand-pollinate. When there are open flowers, dip a paintbrush into their centers in the morning and spread the pollen into the center of the other flowers. Do this every day for a week.

Fertilize the melons over the growing season. Increase the nitrogen at flowering to 120 to 140 ppm. Increase it still more, as fruit are maturing (to 160 to 180 ppm). Provide extra potassium (in the amount of 50 ppm) after fruit set.