How to Grow Orange-Flesh Honeydew

Honeydew is in a group of melons known as winter melons that also includes Persian, Crenshaw, casaba and charental. The most common types are green- or orange-flesh honeydews. These so-called winter melons take longer to ripen than the other melon types -- up to 100 days with temperatures above 80 degrees F for most of the growing season. For this reason, honeydew melons are often started indoors six weeks before a transplanting date that's set for two weeks after the last expected frost.

Honeydew seeds (orange flesh variety)
Peat pots, 4-inch
Potting soil
Aged manure
Compost
Shovel
Rake
Hand trowel
Starter fertilizer
Fertilizer

Instructions

- 1
  Fill biodegradable pots, such as peat pots with sterile top-quality potting soil. Honeydew melons do not transplant well unless these types of pots are used.
- 2
  Sow two seeds at a depth of 1 inch in each pot. Water to dampen the soil and place the pots in a warm location with a temperature of at least 65 degrees F. Keep the soil moist and watch for seedlings to emerge in about 10 days.
- 3
  Move the honeydew seedlings to a location with bright sunlight, and thin to one per pot when the seedlings grow 3 inches tall. Pinch off or cut the seedling just below soil level to prevent damaging the other seedling's roots. Water the seedlings as needed to maintain slightly moist soil until transplanted.
- 4
  Select a location outside with full sun and well-drained soil. Prepare the planting site as soon as you can work the soil in the spring. Mix in a 3-inch layer of organic matter, such as compost and aged manure, to enrich the soil. Cultivate the soil to a depth of at least 6 inches and then rake the area level.
- 5
  Dig a planting hole using a hand-trowel that is equal to the peat pot's dimension every 2 feet in rows. Space the rows 5 to 6 feet apart. Place a pot in each hole and make certain the top edge of the pot is buried completely -- or break off the top rim to prevent the air from drying out the pots.
- 6
  Water each of the honeydew transplants well to settle the plants in place. Apply a starter fertilizer to each plant as instructed on the product's label.
- 7
  Side-dress the plants every two or three weeks with compost, or apply a balanced fertilizer as directed. Continue this feeding schedule through the growing season as long as you're watering the honeydew plants.
- 8
  Supply from 1 to 2 inches of water weekly through a drip-irrigation system if possible. Water the plants less during rainy periods and only until the fruits reach their mature size, and then stop watering as they ripen fully.
- 9
  Remove all except four flowers per vine on each honeydew plant. Lightly cultivate the area around the plants to prevent weeds, or hand-pull any found growing near them.
- 10
  Harvest the orange flesh honeydew after the stems become brown and the fruits are effortlessly removed from the stem.

Eating Almonds Off the Tree

Hachiya Persimmon Tree Size

Growing Edibles