Warm-season and frost-tender. Start indoors 1 to 2 weeks before your last frost; plant out 2 to 3 weeks after your last frost; sow outdoors 2 to 3 weeks after your last frost. First harvest 70 to 90 days from sowing.
Photo: “A growing muskmelon” by Oleg Yunakov, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped). The cropped version is shared under the same licence.
Full sun6–8 hours or more
18–24 in apartRows 4–8 ft
70–90 daysFrom sowing
Soil 65 °F +pH 5.8–6.6
1–2 in a weekEven watering
Frost-tenderHurt by frost and cold wind
Your dates
Put in your ZIP code to see when to start, plant and harvest cantaloupes where you live, from your own frost dates.
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From seed to harvest
SowSeed goes inWeek 0
SproutFirst shoots showWeek 1
VinesRunners spread outWeek 4–6
FlowersFlowers openWeek 6–8
Fruit setsSmall fruit formsWeek 7–9
HarvestReady to pickWeek 10–13
How to plant and grow
Start seeds indoors
Sow seeds in pots 2 to 4 weeks before you plan to set plants out. Melons dislike root disturbance, so use individual pots.
Wait for warm soil
Plant out or sow after frost danger is past, once soil is about 65 °F and nights stay above 50 °F. Harden seedlings off for a week first.
Give vines room
Set plants about 18 to 24 inches apart in rows 4 to 8 feet apart, or sow small groups on hills and thin to the 2 strongest plants.
Warm the bed
Black plastic mulch warms the soil and can bring an earlier crop. Hold off on straw or other organic mulch until the soil is warm.
Water deeply
Give 1 to 2 inches a week, ideally by drip at the base of the plants. Cut back on water as fruit nears ripeness for better flavor.
Pick at full slip
Harvest when the netting turns coarse, the skin under it turns from green to tan, and the stem pulls cleanly from the fruit.
What you'll see: Yellow beetles with black stripes or spots chew seedlings, leaves and flowers. They spread bacterial wilt, which kills cucumbers and melons.
Prevent
Cover seedlings with row cover and seal the edges; remove it at flowering so bees can reach the blooms.
Clear weeds and plant debris where adults spend the winter.
Mulch with straw around established plants.
Organic options
Knock beetles into soapy water on small plantings.
Kaolin clay on the leaves deters feeding but does not kill beetles; apply it before damage builds.
Conventional options
Several garden insecticides are labeled for cucumber beetles; check the crop is listed. Spray early or late in the day to spare bees.
Photo: “Aphids on Kale leaf” by Sanjay Acharya, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped). The cropped version is shared under the same licence.
AphidsPest
What you'll see: Clusters of small, soft-bodied green, black or gray insects on new shoots and under leaves. Leaves curl, and a sticky film may coat them.
Prevent
Check leaf undersides each week; a few aphids do little harm.
Pull nearby weeds, such as wild mustards, that feed aphids.
Grow flowers for lady beetles, lacewings and hover flies, and avoid broad sprays that kill them.
Organic options
Knock aphids off with a strong spray of water.
Insecticidal soap or horticultural oil on leaf undersides, repeated as the label allows.
Neem oil, or OMRI Listed pyrethrins (without piperonyl butoxide).
Conventional options
Malathion or permethrin, if the crop is on the label. These also kill the insects that eat aphids.
Bee caution: Don't spray open flowers. Spray in the late evening, when bees aren't flying.
What you'll see: Leaves wilt in the sun, perk up overnight, then wilt for good, and the whole vine dies. Cucumber beetles carry the bacteria from plant to plant.
Prevent
Keep cucumber beetles off young plants with row cover until flowering.
Grow cucumber varieties sold as resistant.
Pull wilted plants promptly.
Organic options
Control cucumber beetles early in the season; that is what protects the plants.
Conventional options
None. No spray cures bacterial wilt once a plant has it.
Photo: “Powdery mildew 9” by Dmitry Brant, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped). The cropped version is shared under the same licence.
Powdery mildewDisease
What you'll see: White, powdery patches on the tops of leaves and on stems. Leaves yellow and dry, and fruit may ripen poorly.
Prevent
Grow resistant varieties.
Give plants sun and space for air flow.
Remove badly infected leaves, and clear debris after harvest.
Organic options
Sulfur or potassium bicarbonate, from the first spots. Sulfur can burn some vine crops in heat, and never use it near an oil spray.
Neem oil. Look for OMRI Listed products.
Conventional options
Myclobutanil or propiconazole, if the crop is on the label.
Bee caution: Don't spray open flowers. Spray in the late evening, when bees aren't flying.
What you'll see: Yellow patches on top of leaves, often boxed in by the veins, with gray to purple fuzz underneath; on shallots, whitish-gray growth on older leaves. Leaves brown and die, worst in cool, wet weather.
Prevent
Grow resistant varieties; basil sold as downy mildew resistant holds up far better.
Space plants, trellis vines and water at the base so leaves dry fast.
Remove and destroy infected plants promptly.
Organic options
Copper protects cucumber and melon leaves best when used before the disease arrives. Look for OMRI Listed products.
Conventional options
Chlorothalonil or mancozeb on vine crops, if labeled. On basil, home-garden sprays work poorly; grow resistant varieties.
Bee caution: Don't spray open flowers. Spray in the late evening, when bees aren't flying.
Read and follow the product label: it is the law. It sets the rate, the crops it is for, and the days between spraying and picking. Products registered vary by state; for organic growing, look for products allowed under the USDA National Organic Program (OMRI Listed). We name active ingredients, not brands or rates.
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Sow
Sprout
Vines
Flowers
Fruit sets
Harvest
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