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Growing Rockmelon, also Canteloupe

(Cucumis melo)

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
    S S P P            

(Best months for planting Rockmelon in USA - Zone 5a regions)

S = Plant undercover in seed trays. P = Plant direct in garden where they are to grow.


  • Grow in seed trays, and plant out in 4-6 weeks. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed. Best planted at soil temperatures between 68°F and 90°F. (Show °C/cm)
  • Space plants: 16 - 24 inches apart
  • Harvest in 10-16 weeks.
  • Compatible with: Sweetcorn, Sunflowers
  • Avoid growing with: Potatoes
  • Leaves and flowers
  • Young melons

Your comments and tips

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03 Feb 12, John (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I have found sometimes the intence heat of the North West W.A. effects the flower set. Try March to September. Had the same trouble with watermellons too.
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24 Jan 12, mal (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I live in hoppers crossing vic and have raised veggie beds in my front yard. I have several rockmelon plants laiden with quite large fruit. I never expected them to grow this well considering the location I am in, is this unusual?
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01 Feb 12, (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
hi iam in hoppers aswell we have a lot of melons how can you tell when they are ready do they change colour"?
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08 Jan 12, kate (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
I have 4 rockmelon plants in my terracotta pot out on the balcony and they are growing really well. I have 3 small rockmelons growing on them (they are still green). I actually got these seeds from the rockmelons from the supermarket out of the half rockmelon I purchased. I took them out of the rocky & dried the seeds out and replanted them. Voila..... I have my own plants growing. Our season here in Victoria has been all over the place. But I am pleased to say that I finally have rockmelons going on my balcony in a bigish terracotta pot.
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30 Dec 11, Jane Williams (Australia - temperate climate)
We planted, bought seedlings about 8 to 10 weeks ago. The vines are growing well and have lots of little yellow flowers, but no sign of any melons forming as yet. We have other veggies in that the bees seem to like but haven't seen any on the rock melon flowers at all. Do we need to hand pollenate them?
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26 Dec 11, Barbara (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I planted rock melons and water melons in a tank. The plants germinated and appeared to be growing well and flowering. However the tiny rock melons turned yellow and dropped off when about 1 cm long. Do you think there is a soil deficiency?
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31 Dec 11, NAFISA (Australia - arid climate)
Barbara, The same happened with my pumpkins in Broken Hill, until I was told that it is a pollination problem. Bees do not want to live in Broken Hill. We have to hand pollinate the dear pumpkins. Lots of info about how to on the internet. Nafisa
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12 Dec 11, Liz (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)
There are a couple of photos on the rock melon page. Click on them to make them larger.
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12 Dec 11, malcolm (Australia - arid climate)
what do rockmelon leaves look like .i got a plant growing .iknow i have put rockmelon seeds in the garden ,but never seen rockmelon grow from scratch
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14 Dec 11, Ian (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Perhaps you could try starting out the seeds in pots with good quality potting mix. As a rule I always sow 3 times as many seeds as I need for my own use. You get to pick out the strongest for yourself; some may fail, and you can give others away whilst comparing ideas with other local gardeners. Hope this helps.
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Post a question, comment or tip about Rockmelon

I'm about to try growing some RM in a garden bed. I've noted from a few websites to make sure they're well drained. I'm not too sure how this will go as the soil is quite heavy in clay. I've been preparing the soil for months now with lawn clippings, organic compost and mulch and claybreaker. Currently I have a crop of Jap pumpkin in there from which I've harvested four good sized pumpkins. My biggest problem is when about the size of an apricot, they rot and fall off the vine. I only water when the vine is wilting. If they grow larger I raise them by placing a terracotta saucer underneath them (have found this works well) but I lose so many before they are large enough to raise. Will the same happen with RM? BTW, my pumpkin self seeded and grew out the side of my compost bin. Nothing else has done this. Just pumpkin.

- Kate


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