A Community and Forum For Aquaponic Gardeners
Honey Dew Melons
I seem to have a problem with a Honey Dew Melon plant. The plant is very healthy. No sign of deficiency. It has been producing fruit like crazy. I have over 8 baby melons on each vine. I have been hand pollinating them. They grow to about an inch and then turn yellow and die. Should I be removing some of the fruit so that there are more nutrients for the larger ones? The Picture shows the fruit on the left which has turned yellow and is dieing. The fruit in the center is ok. The fruit on the right is ok for now. It looks like it is starting to yellow. They are all on the same vine. The plant continues to grow and produce more flowers and potential fruit.Thanks for your input in advance.
Rich K
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Alex Veidel on
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Aborted fruits....phosphorus deficiency perhaps? My knowledge is not really adequate with fruiting plants..... (I do however, want to hear what other people are saying, which is why I'm writing while simultaneously not being helpful :)
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Permalink Reply by Glenn on
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Hi, it's difficult to see from the above photo the size and age of the flower and plant. Can you give a measurement and some detail of planting, media type, type and amount of light provided, nutrient info... etc???
Melons for me and especially Honeydew always seem like a watched pot that won't boil. And then when least expected the flowers that were non remarkable one day seem to mature into pollination ready specimens that remind me of those special maternity ward moments When my wife really needed me to support but stay the heck outta the way. What I knew then and what I know about pollinating honeydews now is very similar (NEVER ENOUGH). But remaining patient always seemed to be the best strategy.
Some melons take a very long time to develop.
In aquaponics, the plant sometimes needs more sunlight but generally has all the water and nutrients it can use. So, I think more plant resources are used growing vine and leaf matter. I reduce the amount of time that the higher roots are flooded thinking it promotes more flower and fruit development. I've heard this will also help the flavor by not diluting it so much, or cause flesh to rind gapping/splitting.
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Permalink Reply by Vlad Jovanovic on
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I'm not saying that it's Aliens, but...looks like it might be blossom end rot. A condition brought on by the same "environmental conditions" the fruiting world over (tomatoes, peppers, melons etc)...that being calcium not being translocated in sufficient amounts...even when calcium is present in the soil/nutrient solution...go figure...?
A BIG contributing culprit to the calcium never making it to the fruiting body is too much nitrogen (particularly in the NH3/4 form of N)...
Pick off and throw away all affected fruit...lower nitrogen (have some fish stew) and amend with a calcium buffer...You may try foliar feeding some calcium, though that is not always successful (it's difficult for many plants to assimilate Ca when applied foliarly...mostly it's transloated from the roots up through the xylem...too much N interferes with Ca transport)...
The other possibility is a pathogen, but if they look like that (rot/blotches) only on the blossom end, you can probably rule out any sort disease...
Good luck
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Permalink Reply by Richard Kowalski on
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Thanks for the input.
Glenn- The melon plants are grown in a greenhouse. There is plenty of sun light. They are in growbeds filled with Hydroton. The plants have been growing since late April. The fruit grows to about an inch to an inch and a half before it starts to die. I have been supplimenting Potasium Bi Carbonate, Calcium Carbonate, Sea Weed Extract w/ Iron, Epsomsalt at alternating intervals while my tomato's, peppers, and melons are producing flowers and fruit. My Nitrate readings have been zero PPM since the plants started flowering. Ammonia .25 PPM, Nitrite 0 PPM, PH fluctuates between 7.8 - 6.4.
Vlad- I will suppliment with Calcium Carbonate the next couple of PH adjustments to see if that helps.
Alex- I have Tomato's and Peppers growing in the same growbed as the Melons. Those plants are not showing any signs of problems. As I think I heard you say on your video clip "Plants have needs". I am probubly not meeting the needs of this Melon plant in some way.
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Permalink Reply by Scott Roberts on
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I've noticed that when nitrates are low, melons, pumpkins, squash, etc are aborted early, or one fruit is allowed to grow while the rest are aborted.
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Permalink Reply by Jim Fisk on
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Great post and thread. "Learning". Going thru the exact same thing here in the mountains.
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Yep. Melons, which I'm pretty sure are related to cucumbers, have high nutritional needs. Which makes sense, 'cause look at the size of the fruits they have to produce O_o
Can't tell you how many times I've tried growing some cukes, only to have my whole system quickly become devoid of certain nutrients come fruiting time.
Richard Kowalski said:Thanks for the input.
Glenn- The melon plants are grown in a greenhouse. There is plenty of sun light. They are in growbeds filled with Hydroton. The plants have been growing since late April. The fruit grows to about an inch to an inch and a half before it starts to die. I have been supplimenting Potasium Bi Carbonate, Calcium Carbonate, Sea Weed Extract w/ Iron, Epsomsalt at alternating intervals while my tomato's, peppers, and melons are producing flowers and fruit. My Nitrate readings have been zero PPM since the plants started flowering. Ammonia .25 PPM, Nitrite 0 PPM, PH fluctuates between 7.8 - 6.4.
Vlad- I will suppliment with Calcium Carbonate the next couple of PH adjustments to see if that helps.
Alex- I have Tomato's and Peppers growing in the same growbed as the Melons. Those plants are not showing any signs of problems. As I think I heard you say on your video clip "Plants have needs". I am probubly not meeting the needs of this Melon plant in some way.
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Actually, I probably can tell you how many times. 3.
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Yup, been there. This year as well. Nice to be on the path of understanding why. It will be nice to have our whole system and GH done so we can concentrate on "the whys". Maybe by this Fall.
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I finally have 6 Honey Dew Melons growing . One of them is almost to size. The others are not far behind. Of course..... now my melon plants have developed a problem. I think I have white powdery fungus growing on the top of the leaves. The leaves then develop brown spots and die off. Its a shame that this is happening at this late stage of the growing season. I am hoping that it doesnt kill the melons. Here are a couple of pictures.
What have people been using to control this problem that wont effect fish?
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I have tried spraying the Plant with Sea Weed Extract. I was figuring that the Sodium might help.
I read some interesting things from the University of Florida.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs321
They suggest spraying Potasium Bi-Carbonate. They also suggest spraying Cows Milk. Has anyone tried any of these methods?
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The white stuff is powdery mildew that affects cucurbits (Podosphaera fusca is the name that I know that by...but it's not the only species that carries the powdery mildew moniker) . It does appear from the photo that you have a touch of Pseudoperonospora cubensis (downy mildew) going on as well...
At any rate, both can be kept at bay preventatively by weekly foliar applications of potassium bicarbonate (KHCO3), or by foliar applications of beneficial microbes (like B. suptilis), or by milk applied at a dilution rate of one part milk to 9 parts water.
Those are the 3 methods that I've had success with (the milk I don't use in AP, only out in the soil garden).
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