THIS is as good as forum as any Hillseeker.

Kevin

This post was edited by woohooman on Wed, Jun 26, 13 at 11:57

Go ahead and post your question here.

Rodney

You can also go to "Pumpkins Squash..." forum. That is mainly about CUCURBITA . But here you can talk , ask questions ... just about any vegetable grown by the home gardener. And a lot more people visit this forum. But , on the other hand, this is a FAST TRACK forum, meaning threads get burried fast because everyday so many new threads are opened. But in the SPECIALTY forums the threads can stay on top for a long long time.

I think you get a lot more traffic in this forum rather than on a side road.

I am looking for good resources or links in growing melons. Last year my Mini watermelons didn't ripen and I think the plant was growing to many. Curious how many I could grow in our climate per plant. Curious about watering and nutrient needs. How do you know when the melons are ripe or fully grown?

How do you tell nitrogen deficiencies in cucumbers? Someone told me if they are skinny at the top, middle or bottom relates to missing NPK but I haven't read any research on that. Any suggestions?

I would think that growing any kind of watermelons in zone 3 would certainly be a challenge. My only suggestion would be to get the earliest you can find and start them indoors 8 weeks before last frost date. The best indication of ripeness besides the DTM on the package is that the tendril nearest the fruit dries up. Sorry, don't know much about cucumbers.

Generally speaking, I let mini melons and cantaloupes set on as many fruits as they want to, but with larger watermelons, 2 is best and 3 on very vigorous plants. In northern areas I might want to keep even mini melon fruits pruned down a bit.

Generally speaking, I let mini melons and cantaloupes set on as many fruits as they want to, but with larger watermelons, 2 is best and 3 on very vigorous plants. In northern areas I might want to keep even mini melon fruits pruned down a bit.

Thanks for the input. This year I started them earlier and honeydew & cantaloupe have formed. I will limit it to 2-3 per plant. I had a difficult time identifying the tendril drying so I hope this year is easier.

As for cucumbers, the one in the middle of this pic is super skinny in the middle. Does that mean it's lacking potassium? I noticed the leaves but thought it was nitrogen deficiency. Lots to learn...

Fruit are dumb-bell shaped - This is caused by an acute deficiency of potassium in the fruit. Before the fruit is affected leaves will show potassium deficiency symptoms as chlorosis on the edges and then necrosis.
Make sure that adequate potassium is available to the plant.

http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/opp4556