Melons
There are a few plants we can successfully add to gardens all summer long in Houston (zone 9b). No matter how hot it gets, melons don’t seem to mind!
Melons are a winner throughout the hot summer months! We plant cantaloupe, honeydew melon, and personal-size watermelons!
In raised beds we plant melons either on the edges so they cascade over or we plant them so they can climb up trellises.
We have found smaller personal-sized melons grow best in Houston! They are ready faster, so we have less issues with the fruit getting damaged or birds/pests enjoying them before our clients do!
Melons need full sun.
Once the melons start to develop and get heavier, if you’re growing up a trellis, they may need extra support (if you’ve never made a bra for your cantaloupes out of t-shirt scraps, are you even living?).
If you’re growing melons over the side of a raised bed and have gravel around the base of your beds - the melons do so great! If you have grass and the ground stays damp around the base of the bed, propping the melons up on something dry (a brick, paver, etc) helps a lot.
Our favorite melon varieties that perform well for us all summer long in the Houston area (zone 9b):
Watermelons: Sugar Baby Crimson, Sweet Moon and Stars
Honeydew: Sweet Delight, Sakata's Sweet Kajari
Cantaloupe: Minnesota Midget (how is this still their name?), Hales Best Charentais
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