Rockmelon

When to plant/sow in zone:

Requirements: Full sun - minimum 6 hours; Frost sensitive; needs room to spread or a structure to climb on

Soil: Well-drained soil enriched with compost and/or well-rotted manure or organic pellets.

How to start: SEED: Sow direct in the ground (best) or in punnets into seed-raising mix. Sow 2 seeds per hole, 10mm deep, 60cm apart, in rows 120cm apart. Keep moist. Germinates in 4-10 days. Remove the weaker seedlings. SEEDLING: Plant in the ground when seedlings are 5-10cm+ tall, spacing them 60cm apart, in rows 120cm. NOTE: Rockmelons can be trained up and over a trellis.

How to grow: Keep moist and mulch with straw. Avoid pinching out the tips of the growing stems to ensure plenty of female flowers form. If space is limited, grow them up a trellis. If on the ground, put straw under developing melons. Apply seaweed solution or liquid fertiliser fortnightly. Apply organic fertiliser pellets or blood and bone monthly.

When to harvest: Harvest from 12-14 weeks, when the stems are getting tough and the leaves have started dying. Similar to pumpkin, cut with 5-10cm of stem attached to the fruit. Store them in the fridge and eat within a week.

Troubleshooting: Aphids; powdery mildew; rats and possums