How to Grow and Harvest Cantaloupe

With their bright flesh and sweet flavor, cantaloupe is a great addition to any garden. If you have three months of summer weather (with days of at least 80 degrees and nights that get no lower than 50 degrees), you can successfully plant cantaloupe.

Prepare: Cantaloupe like light soil with plenty of humus. Prepare your soil by tilling in plenty of organic fertilizer--at least four inches is good. If you plan to plant your melons in hills, dump a forkful of fertilizer onto each hill.

Plant: If you live in a hot or temperate climate, sow your cantaloupe seeds two weeks after the last frost. If you are sowing in rows, plant them 18 inches apart. If you are planting in hills, sow six seeds to a hill 1 1/2 inches deep. The hills should be at least four feet apart to give the plants plenty of space to vine out. When the seedlings are established, thin to two or three plants per hill.

If you live in a cooler climate, start your plants indoors in early spring or buy plants from a nursery and plant after the first frost.

Care While Growing: Your cantaloupe plants need plenty of water throughout the growing season and should be kept weed-free. When the cantaloupe are as big as your fist, get them off the ground by balancing them on a glass jar. Keeping them off the ground this way makes them less likely to rot.

Harvest: Most cantaloupe begin to crack around the stem when they are ripe. You will notice that melons that are ready to be picked break easily from their stem. You may also use the tapping method to determine whether the cantaloupe is ripe--melons that are ready to be picked make a distinct hollow sound.

Although cantaloupe can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days, it can't be preserved for long-term storage. When your cantaloupe is ready to be harvested, pick and eat it fresh. Cut it in half and scoop out the center of seeds and strings. Then slice and cut the rind from the flesh, or use a melon baller. Eat your cantaloupe plain, use it in fruit salad or summer soups, or juice it for a healthy drink. However you use it, growing cantaloupe is a great way to add vitamin A and C to your diet, while adding color and delicious flavor to your summer menu!