| Hi, I live in Central New Hampshire (zone 5), I was wondering if I would be able to grow watermelon and other types of melons here. If so, can they be started indoors in the spring? |
| You have about 90 days of summer weather in your region, which is long enough to grow and harvest some of the specialty short-season melons. Burpee's catalog carries 'Burpee Hybrid', 'Sweet Bush', and 'Sweet and Early' Cantaloupe, 'Sweet Thing' Canary melon, 'Venus' Honeydew, 'Bush Sugar Baby', 'Crimson Swee' and 'Golden Crown Hybrid' watermelons. Each of these melons should be ready to harvest in 80-90 days of planting, if placed in a sunny spot in the garden. You can start seeds indoors, but the plants may be set-back by the transplanting process. It might be better to prepare the garden bed early in the spring by amending with aged manure or compost, then covering the soil with black plastic (to help provide additional heat). When you're ready to sow the seeds, make a slit in the plastic and plant directly in the ground. The slit will allow for watering. Hope you have a terrific harvest! |
