Cucumis melo
sugar melon
Common names: honey melon, cantaloupe
Photo: Forest & Kim Starr · CC BY 3.0 · Source
This description was machine-translated.
Description
The sugar melon is a heat-loving relative of the cucumber, whose sweet fragrant flesh ripens in midsummer. In our latitudes it does best in a greenhouse, in a cold frame, or on a warm house wall. Proven field varieties are the early-ripening 'Petit Gris de Rennes' and 'Sweetheart'.
Care instructions
Preheat the plants warm from April and plant them only after the last frost, mid May week 20, in the warmest spot in the garden with plenty of compost. Water evenly at the root, but reduce water as the fruit matures so the fruit becomes sweet. Place ripening melons on a board or straw so they do not rot from below; they are ripe when they smell at the stem base and easily detach.
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
sandy, loamy, humus-rich, well-drained, nutrient-rich
Feeding
Heavy feeder
Companion planting
Good neighbors
legume family (Fabaceae)
Beans and peas enrich the soil with nitrogen, which cucurbits, as heavy feeders, can make good use of.
For example PeaPole beanBroad beanMarker peaSugar peaRed bean and 30 more species in the catalogue
Source: classic companion planting (DACH-Gartenpraxis)
Rather not
nightshade family (Solanaceae)
You should avoid planting potato and cucumber together because they share disease pathogens such as leaf and brown rot and stand in each other's way as strong feeders.
For example TomatoSweet pepperCocktail tomatoEggplantCape gooseberryChili and 8 more species in the catalogue
Source: basic crop-rotation rule
Companion planting is partly traditional gardening lore. Where the reason is known, it is given.
Some of these explanations were machine-translated.
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