I'm growing some cantaloupes in pots on my deck this year. They have germinated just fine and got to the three-leaf stage. Now I haven't seen a change in growth for about a week. I'm pretty sure this is because it has been cold here in Toronto this season - our overnight temps are still hovering around 13 - 15 degrees Celsius. Daytime temps are nice (22 - 25 degrees Celsius), but I've always been under the impression that the nighttime lows matter more then the daytime highs with heat loving plants.

Is there anyway to warm my pots up? I'm worrying that they won't have enough time to ripen - with current growth the plants should have ripe fruit by the 2nd week in September. I think it would be too late to put black solar fabric around them - but I was thinking about mulching them with hay and covering the plants with a sheet overnight. Does anything think this will help?

Thanks!

Kathryn