Sweetcorn and melon families

[veg4681]

A bloke on my site grew water melons outdoors last year despite the total lack of sun. I dont know if he started them indoors or what variety they were but they were definietly water melons, very big, dark green and a few had stipes on them and they were rambling around all over the place.

What! Watermelon! Shockers! And outdoor! And with last year wet weather! Are you sure you're based in UK ? I pass off the watermelon seeds thinking they'd never make it and even if you try to grow in the greenhouse, it must take up too much space.

[Seahorse]

Personally, I'd keep them separate, Moggssue - although the three sisters thingy sounds a good move, you must remember that you'll find it difficult (or virtually impossible!) to pick the beans or sweetcorn until the end of the season.

So ok if you want the beans and corn for drying, not so clever otherwise.

Agreed! Being a complete numptie newbie I grew beans up my sweetcorn last year and it was a right b*gger trying to pick the sweetcorn fresh!

[Cutecumber]

I didn't find the combination a big problem, but I kept moving the stems of the french beans as they grew so that they wound around the bottom of the cobs, out of the way. This made it easy to pick the cobs without damaging the beans.

This is easy enough to do with 16 plants, of course, not for a whole field full!

I personally wouldn't grow anything more with those two as it would make it difficult to get into and around the crops to check or harvest them.

Sue - the theory of combining the three crops is both about efficient use of space and the idea that they help each other. The sweetcorn act as a frame for the beans, the beans fix nitrogen, the squash cover the soil surface and reduce evaporation, etc. In practice, you need great soil, warm sheltered conditions and a long growing season.

[moggssue]

Hmm, all starting to sound a bit complicated for this numptee (love that word by the way hehe!), so I think I'll keep everything separate, for my first year at least. Interesting idea though, one to keep in mind for when I have a bit more experience.

And I'll let you know what happens with the melon and watermelon, but dont hold your breath - I mean, if they're not supposed to grow anyhoo, I have no chance but hey ... nothing ventured!!

[wormlady]

Hiya
Nope they were definitely watermelons cuz we were all amazed as well! The bloke in question is a horticultural professor tho! I havent actually ever seen said bloke (Im a weekend allotmenteer and think he does weekday mornings) but if I ever do I will ask him how to go about it. They did take up a huge amount of space tho - they were through the fence and onto the verge outside.
Its inspired me to try some melon this year, Sweetheart F1 from the gardenorgnic catalogue. It says its the easiest to grow and can be grown outside in a sunny spot.

[JanieB]

Maize (sweetcorn) is a grass.