As I was planting my pumpkins and watermelons, the question, "Why do pumpkins and watermelons have to be grown in "hills"??" popped into my mind. The planting instructions says to plant them in hills. I drove past the local pumpkin farm and they were are all planted in hills. .......Why????
Why do pumpkins and watermelons have to be grown in "hills"?
Hills provide warmer soil because they are more exposed above the ground and allow for better drainage than planting in rows. The warmer mounds also hastens the germination of these warm-season crops. Most squash/gourd vining plants do not like wet roots. The distance between hills depends on how long the vines are of the variety you're planting. Plants grown in hills are allowed to sprawl as they grow. Mature plants, particularly winter squashes and pumpkins, require considerable space. Hill planting is used mostly for crops that do not grow in close rows.
Ahhhh..... makes sense. Thanks for the info. That's one burning question I can check off my list!! lol
Being on DG is certainly an education! :)
Have a great day!
Glenda
Glenda, mine are in raised beds, so I don't sow the seeds in hills. I think the raised beds serve the same purpose as hills as described by Qinx.
Agreed... as long as they have space to grow in a raised bed. I have multiple melon plants in my raised beds, maybe too many! We'll see how they grow this year.
Ahh, I'll have to remember that. If they take over too much space in my garden this year, I may make them their own raised beds - freeing up that space for something else. I have my strawberries in a raised bed and making the bed was fast and easy. :)
The drainage is a big deal. You'd think watermelons need water to be good, but they are actually a desert plant. Try to withdraw water in the days before harvest. My crystal ball is on the fritz so I never know when they'll be ready to harvest, but it sounds good right? ;)
Yeppers. Watermelons are a dry climate plant. With water the plants continue to grow. When water is scarce they store more water in the melons to protect the seeds with pulp.
I planted my watermelons in raised beds. I put them near the edges at the corners, then let the vines grow over the sides and down the length of the beds. I've got some vines that are about 6' long! They seem to be happy and all I have to do is redirect the vines down the sides. My friend told me she planted her cantaloupes in a circle so that her vines make a round circle in her garden.
That would explain why my watermelon vines are looking a little less than vigorous. All the rain is putting stress on them, too.
The pumpkin vines don't seem to mind, though. They sure are a boost to the gardener's ego, growing at an incredible rate. I didn't have enough space but planted them anyway. Now I'm (happily) coaxing them around the beans and pointing them in the direction of the row of garlic that didn't make it.
June 13:
11 days later:
Nice pumpkin vine!
Am I too late to start some pumpkins from seed? I have been running way too far behind this year!
I just planted my pumpkin seeds on Friday. By Sunday afternoon they had sprouted! I was so surprised to see them sprout so quickly.
Yeah I thought mine were going to stay in that sectioned off bed at the top of the picture... Next year i'm gonna plan ahead on those darn pumpkins~
What the heck....
Those pumpkin seeds are gonna be 'put to bed' tonight....lol
Speaking of melons, am I too late to plant any? I would like to plant a watermelon (from seedling), and have just ordered some Galia seeds (ohmygoodness is THAT ever a good melon!)... so that will be from seed. I am in zone 9.
(And this is my FIRST ever DG post...WoHoo!) thanks in advance
Welcome to DG you are in for a wild ride. What zone are you in? I'm from CA but I can't place Pleasant Valley. I never think it is too late unless a possible freeze is a month or 2 away. I would try it you really have nothing to lose. You can always post on the CA forum if you don't get an answer here. I don't always plant according to ant schedule, because the weather always does what I don't expect it to do. My watermelon always produces until the first real freeze then the plant dies and I find all the melons that were lost in the jungle of vines.
Lisa.
Pleasant Hill is zone 9b. It's about 30 miles east (and 40 degrees warmer) than San Francisco. We are running in the mid 80's to low 100's these days. We won't have any rain until late October, and no frost until mid-November to early December. September and October are very dependably hot, so I think I will be okay. thanks for the welcome! This site promises to be GREAT! Patty
I would defiantely give it a try then. Watermelons love the heat, just make sure to keep them watered good, not soaked until they become established.
Lisa