[MichelleC]

Hello all, This may sound like a stupid question but if the seed packet dictates planting out under black plastic which warms the soil a couple of weeks before hand. Does this mean for instance you can cover a one metre square of the soil (and plant in the middle of it or cover the whole area where the plant is likly to trail?
Also can I use black weed suppressant instead?

[gobs]

It means the whole bed and you can use the other - better stuff -, however it's optional.

You can chose to ignore. Is it squash or pumpkin?

[MichelleC]

It's actually outdoor wonder melon I was hoping to try. My bed is 5ft by 20ft and will be planting pumpkins and butternuts etc. I grew pumpkins last year without any bed coverage and they seem to do okay, so that's why I was wondering whether to do the whole or just part of the bed. x

[gobs]

Melons in York, yes. Good luck first of all and by all means, do try. If there's no summer, do not blame me though.

It's just personal choice from my part, they do warm the soil up, but a lot of slugs collect under them. Your choice.

[MichelleC]

Thanks Gobs. I did grow the Sweetheart variety in the Greenhouse last year and it produced 4 melons. I was hoping to try this Outdoor variety for a change but did think I was being overly ambitious. x

[gobs]

Thanks Gobs. I did grow the Sweetheart variety in the Greenhouse last year and it produced 4 melons. I was hoping to try this Outdoor variety for a change but did think I was being overly ambitious. x

Not necessarily, it depends on the weather.

[MichelleC]

Well by the look of the weather here in York at the moment (already inches deep in snow) who knows what will happen.

[Yorkie]

  True 

[Salmo]

I grow all my squashes/pumpkins/courgettes/sweetcorn and brassicas through weed supressant membrane. Sometimes I use the cheap thin stuff and sometimes the woven stuff with blue lines. If you cut the slots carefully you can reuse for several years. That is if you can remember which sheet has the right spacings for the crop.

Black weed supressant is good as it allows the rain through and you can also water and fertilize through it. The only weeds you will have are the odd ones that grow next to the plants and poke through the holes. You will be able to walk between the plants without getting muddy boots.

Let your plants get quite robust before planting out. When you plant put a few slug pellets around them under the sheet.

[MichelleC]

If say a melon likes warmth and humidity - does this mean just the soil or the whole plant? I'm only asking as you'd usually grow them in the greenhouse which always remains warmer than outside so surely, even though the soil will be warm outside under fabric, the necessary plant and fruit won't.  :blink:

[compostqueen]

It probably won't grow so rampant if you're doing it outdoors as it will be cooler than under glass, so you shouldn't need miles of black sheet mulch. I'd use the proper sheet mulch by the way as it's water permeable and because it's rough slugs don't congregate under it like they do with solid plastic sheet. 

I would have thought the instructions meant that the whole plant likes warmth and humidity, which is why they do better under glass I suppose. 

[engineer]

MichelleC, why not try a little expriment,
use your plastic, or whatever material is available but must be black, plant as per instructions and form a cloche with hoops and clear plastic over the area, this should hopefully to give you the heat and humidity that you require?

[gobs]

If say a melon likes warmth and humidity - does this mean just the soil or the whole plant? I'm only asking as you'd usually grow them in the greenhouse which always remains warmer than outside so surely, even though the soil will be warm outside under fabric, the necessary plant and fruit won't.  :blink:

Correct.