That's a big community garden space! I think you'll have plenty of room.

Its actually three 20x20 spaces ... :). I wanted to be safe with the melons...
My Persian Kharbozeh vines last year went up my Quince trees and broke their branches with just the weight of their vines (with no fruit on it lol). I could def see each one of those varieties filling up the space. I'll update this thread with pics/video as it progresses.

I heard people usu do hills for melons... Im thinking mounds are fine since it was a lil difficult to make hills going across entire plot (just got a tiller, but still to get that much compost to mix in across hills going across whole area would be difficult task).

Yeah, sounds great. I wish I had that much space. Do you have any slug issues? They might affect the seedlings.

Wanted to wait till weather got extremely warm so planting this weekend. Dont think any Slug issues there...
Only had slug issues at my house where there are some nice moist/dark areas for them to hide in. Sis says beer didn't work, but Sluggo Pellets work... but might not be able to use them at community garden since its 'Organic' only.

Think there was issues with squash they said, borer issues and some black? insect too, not sure if thats the same bug/borer that affects both squash and watermelon plants. Any insect problems (other than slugs) to look out for Watermelons/Cantaloupes, like how to spot those issues and what to use to get rid of them?

For the loupes, beware the cucumber beetles. They'll transmit bacterial wilt that kills the vines.

I plant my melons closely on the theory that if the wilt gets one, another might survive.

You don't need to do mounds. You can plant them flat. A hill of melons is just a term. It doesn't mean that you plant them on a hill. You don't want to keep the plants cool. They like heat. The mulch would be to retain moisture and weed reduction.
Slugs and other insects should not be an issue. Melons like lots of water, so I hope you have a way to water them on a regular basis, when you don't get enough rain.

Some mounding is good if you have too much rain especially while they are small....otherwise it isn't necessary. Right now here in Indiana it is necessary.

I plant melons one to a hill and 5 feet apart in the row. Watermelons do not need to be protected from the soil, but cantaloupes need it as they size up.

rayrose, yeh the community garden has water spigots next to each 3 plots :). They also nicely released hundreds of praying mantises last night which i heard will eat bad insects there... Thanks for advice. Good to know insects are not usually a problem but I'll watch out for that cucumber beetle ltilton mentioned.

wayne_5, The soil for some reason is unbelievably clay so think the mounds might help as well simulate a nice raised-bed.

I haven't heard of salted hay, what is that?

Hey Lucille,
Im actually not sure :). The fancy-schmancy nursery says it doesnt have seeds in it so it wont mess up your garden next year with weed-grass.

Followup question to everyone ... Any good organic solutions for Powdery Mildew on melons? Think that was my main issue last year.

I've never had PM on my melons, but if I did, I'd spray with a basic fungicide. In the past, I've tried organics on my roses for PM, and it was just a waste of time.

This post was edited by rayrose on Fri, Jun 7, 13 at 17:11

Army: 1st year with cantaloupes so I guess I'll find out if PM attacks them like they do my cukes and squashes.

But, there are several organic remedies for PM -- wettable sulfur, a baking soda solution, and a milk solution to name a few. Google for recipes. Definitely spot test for the sulfur though and do nor use with Horticultural oils.

Also... what I have learned is that in order for ANY remedy to work on PM is to treat PRIOR to symptoms showing. This leads my reasoning to --- when you normally start seeing PM show up each year, start treating BEFORE that time of year. For me, that's about a month from now. We'll see if that theory holds up.

Kevin

I've heard of salted hay. Isn't that where salt is put on the hay? (Just like it sounds!) I think this is to keep mice out of it, and it also slows down the rotting. It may also speed up the drying of the hay. I have no idea how much salt gets put on the hay, but it doesn't seem smart to put salt in your garden. BTW, I would think that once it rains a few times, all the salt will quickly end up in your soil.

Now, when that hay is eaten by animals, the salt is excreted in their urine, So I'd have to assume that it doesn't end up in the composted manure you put on your garden.

i was going to say exactly what Dan said. Be careful applying any sodium-containing product to your garden. After a few rainstorms, all that salt will end up in the soil. Just use straw instead,

May I ask where you obtained seeds for those unusual varieties?

Hey Slimy_Okra,
I'd like to have bought everything from Baker Creek seeds in 1 order but they were sold out out of a few French varieties i wanted to try...
A few are from Solana Seeds in Canada. They have good Dave's Garden reviews too. My mom brought the Iranian melon seeds from Iran.

Not sure about the salted hay, everyone in this area seems to use it and didn't hurt any of my tomatoes past couple years. I'll ask them what it is. It definately does smell like the ocean in my car when i bring it home hehe ;), so I dont have doubts they rest salt on top of it.

Interesting so the 'salted hay' they sell is a type of hay from the NJ Marshlands... Hence its salty smell i think. They said it hardly has any seeds hence why they recommend that.

You are in for a treat with the Petites Gris de Rennes. I grew those a couple of years ago and they were like candy. Unfortunately the squirrels thought so too. :)