Grow Your Own Magazine

I'm a little worried about my Melon plant. I got it in May from a local car boot sale (think it was only 30p) so I am not sure what variety it is.

Anyway!!! I have lots of yellow flowers all over the plant but I have had no fruit. Do I have to pollinate the plant myself? I have kept it outside like all the rest of my veggies and have had no problems with my other plants being pollinated by insects.

If I do need to self pollinate can you please tell me how to do this as I have no idea and its not in my growing books as they are all about veg and not fruit.

Female flowers have little fruits or swellings behind them and the male flower just has a straight stalk.

To self polinate grab a male flower and bend back or break the petals off, so you expose the middle bit which has the pollen, and rub this a few times on the middle bit of the female flower. Do this on a dry day and as as soon as possible after the flower has opened.
One make flower will polinate quite a few female flowers.

As yours are outside the bees should do this for you, but hey no prob in helping things along a bit.

Catch a Bee in a drinking glass and release it in your greenhouse. Easy way to get pollination done. Then sit back with cool drink and enjoy the sun.

I spent a very long time at the weekend looking at my melon plant. As far as I can make out I only have male flowers on my plant!!! Would this be right???? All the flowers look the same and I can not see any swelling behind any of them,(I'm guessing you mean swelling just like my courgette plant).

Just in case I am getting it wrong would it be worth while picking a few at random and doing the dating game anyway?

Reading my fruit book it says that the male flowers appear first. Then you must hand pollinate the female flowers when they open. So patience Silverfox!

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I've managed to take a couple of piccies (my cameras macro facility isn't as good as Sue's) of Minnesota's flowers and melons.

- female

- male

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Manda.

"Wouldn't it be nice
For maybe an hour
To not have a care."

Thanks for the pic's. Yep I have only boys on my plant......... Maybe the girls will come along later.

I am soooo tempted to post something but I don't really want to get banned

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ntg

Never be afraid to try something new.
Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark.
A large group of professionals built the Titanic

http://grief-encounters.blogspot.com/

Can it! Nick!!!!!!!!!!!

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Manda.

"Wouldn't it be nice
For maybe an hour
To not have a care."

honestly! big belly laughs! dexterdog
am i thinking wot you're thinking?!!

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Appreciate the little things in life because one day you will realise they are the big things

That depends on how depraved your mind is Dexter Lol!!!

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ntg

Never be afraid to try something new.
Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark.
A large group of professionals built the Titanic

http://grief-encounters.blogspot.com/

Oh boys, behave! Well.... Should i admit my thoughts were along those lines too?

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Shortie

"There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children; one of these is roots, the other wings" - Hodding Carter

SilverFox/SBP, you will let us know how they go won't you? I'm tempted to grow them myself but am undecided if they are worth it

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Shortie

"There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children; one of these is roots, the other wings" - Hodding Carter

Behave!!!! LOL I have just looked an thought maybe I could have worded it better.

Of course I'll keep you updated Shortie. Anything is worth a try, so give it a go. Although I have not got any fruit from the plant yet I must admit that it is very beautiful to look at with all the open yellow flowers.

Shortie I'm thinking maybe the 1st one might be ready to try soon. However my melons are kept nice and warm (in the greenhouse!), whereas SF is growing them outdoors I believe?

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Manda.

"Wouldn't it be nice
For maybe an hour
To not have a care."

Correct, I am growing outside. I do have a spare plastic cover greenhouse thing that I was just about to put down and stick in the shed. Do you think it is wise to put it in there? Will it bring it on a bit quicker?

SF I believe you should keep your melons warm!

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Manda.

"Wouldn't it be nice
For maybe an hour
To not have a care."

from another list -
".....The problem seems to be an almost total lack of female flowers. I've seen maybe 4, on 3 plants. Two plants haven't had any at all, though all the plants have had loads of male flowers.

Try pinching out the growing tips to encourage them to branch more -
this usually helps to encourage female flowers."

An interesting piece of advice SF?

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Manda.

"Wouldn't it be nice
For maybe an hour
To not have a care."

Yep, I can confirm that SF. You need to keep your Melons warm ( I can't belive I typed that without bursting out into fits of laughter Mind you I got some strange looks from folks as I sat here sniggering )

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ntg

Never be afraid to try something new.
Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark.
A large group of professionals built the Titanic

http://grief-encounters.blogspot.com/

Lovely melons SBP (I'm allowed to say that I'm a girl!)

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Into every life a little rain must fall.

How can you give a thread this title then talk about fruit

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Rat

British by birth
Scottish by the Grace of God

Blog updated Wednesday November 13th

Just harvested my only two melons! Ate, one delicious! Yum!

Left other in shed and now the shed is filled with a beautiful sweet aroma! Dont want to use it mow as i'd rather leave it as a pomander!

Much better than the smell of chicken muck pellets I usually have to endure!

In the end I never even had 1 mellon!!!!!!!!!!!!! All the flowers ended up male. I will try again next year