[Jim T]

Is it possible to grow melons in the north of England?
 :?

[shaun]

they would be better in a greenhouse/polly tunnel,but you never know i'm thinking of trying them outside this year,
anyone recomend a type to try ?

[milkman]

I'm a southern softie and i mollycoddled my melons in the greenhouse last year and got 4 melons from 4 plants (2 from 1, 2 from 2 and none from 1) - a modest but sweet harvest.  

I grew Sweetheart F1 which the catalogue describes as "this is probably the easiest to grow.  It can be grown successfully outside, especially in warmer areas, and is recommended for first time melon growers."

Good luck with your melons!

[shaun]

how much room did your melons take up in the greenhouse milklady ?

[Jim T]

they would be better in a greenhouse/polly tunnel,but you never know i'm thinking of trying them outside this year,
anyone recomend a type to try ?

Many thanks Shaun
My wife, Terry says she expects a long hot Summer so we might try outside with a cloche of some sort.
Where do get the seeds?
Jim

[shaun]

try the burleydam or gordale jim

[milkman]

I squeeeeeezed them in amongst all my tom plants.

[BAK]

I am another southern softie. We have been growing melons on our plot for many years. Our basic approach is to grow them under plastic cloches. The cloches get removed for 2-3 weeks when female flowers start to appear to allow insects to do the pollination, but then the cloches go back on. In hot spells we remove the ends to prevent them getting baked.

The crop varies depending on the sort of summer we get: 2006, probably unsurprisingly, was a bumper year with 3-4 good sized fruits (Sweetheart) per plant. 2005 was relatively poor. However, most years produce a satisfactory crop. We have also grown Early Sweet.

In short, if we need some protection in the south then you will definitely need some in the north.