7 Ideas for Growing Melons on a Trellis
If you want to grow melons and preserve precious growing space while improving airflow among vines, growing melons on a trellis has its advantages. Vertical growth also adds vertical interest and lets us grow in small spaces. Explore how to grow melons on resourceful trellises with garden expert Katherine Rowe.
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As spring’s warming temperatures blanket much of the northern hemisphere, it’s time to get our favorite heat-loving crops in the ground. These include sweet, juicy, vine-ripened melons, from watermelons to cantaloupes to honeydews. Melons are long-maturing, taking time to develop the large fruits and soaking up long summer days. Consider giving the vines a lift at planting to save valuable garden space while benefiting overall health.
Growing melons on a trellis is a space-saving technique with added advantages. It can lessen rot while the shapely fruits develop. Pest scouting becomes more manageable, and disease risk decreases. With high vertical interest and added dimension, it’s rewarding to see the beautiful fruits develop as they suspend from the stem.
Benefits of Growing Melons on a Trellis
In addition to the fun of watching the well-formed fruits grow, there are a number of other benefits.
- Space-saving: Growing melons on a trellis allows us to plant them in various garden situations, from small sites like balconies and patios to raised beds and big containers.
- Disease prevention: Lifting the stems improves air circulation for overall health. By lifting leaves and fruits off the ground, conditions are less damp and crowded, helping keep fungal problems like powdery mildew at bay. With less irrigation splashing on leaves and a faster dry time, fungal conditions decrease.
- Easier Pest and Disease Scouting: As members of the Cucurbitaceae family, melons are susceptible to the same pests as squash and cucumbers. These include cucumber beetle, squash vine borer, and squash bug, which may be easier to detect on open-air growers. There are fewer pest hiding places, and damage is more obvious. Look for brown egg clusters on the undersides of leaves (squash bug) or singular eggs on stems (squash vine borer).
- All-around sunlight: Taking leaves and stems from the ground level increases all-over light exposure. Not only is sunlight used in photosynthesis, but it’s also necessary for fruits to develop healthy skins. It ensures good, thick skins to protect the tender flesh and for a long shelf life.
Plant Selection and Installation
The melon group of the cucurbit family includes watermelons, muskmelons, cantaloupes, and winter melons like honeydew. They mature in about 80 to 100 days, with dwarf varieties sometimes earlier.
The best melons to grow on a trellis include compact and dwarf varieties, and those with fruits up to about seven pounds. The classically large watermelons and their long vines are best left to run on the ground. More compact vines with smaller fruits are easy to trellis and cradle as they grow.
Fortunately, the best small melons are just as sweet and juicy as their larger counterparts. They produce a big yield in small spaces, and the growth habit of the hybrids often overlaps with disease resistance and ease of growth.
Scale and Placement
Before scaling your trellis, make sure your variety of choice is a fit. Longer vines will need a larger support structure like an arbor or arch. It’s best to install the support structure at planting to train vines as they grow and to give tendrils a clasping point. If you missed it at planting, convert existing melons to growing on a trellis by carefully inserting the support structure and training existing vines.
Use sturdy materials to support the weighty stems and melons. Consider trellis placement by observing the sun’s movement, both for the cucurbits and surrounding plants that may receive shade from the leafy upright growth. Place structures at the north end of the bed to avoid shading lower growers. Some welcome a little shade protection, and strategic placement makes for good companions.
Support the Fruit
The main priority in growing melons on a trellis is to support the hefty fruit as it develops. Stems aren’t strong enough to hold the weight on their own. When the fruit reaches a few inches, plan to use a net, sling, or tie to lift the weight of the stem.
Fruit supports are available for purchase and are easy to slip over the melon. Flexible and airy, the net expands as the melon grows. Twine slings and nylon hose are easy DIY solutions. Plan to tie or clip the support fabric to a sturdy trellis.
A bonus of growing melons on a trellis is the uniformity of the fruit, and its pretty skin won’t show a pale ground patch.
Tie Off Stems
The stem is ready for tying when plants show six to eight inches of vertical growth. It may not seem to need support at this stage, but getting the stem in place is helpful before the vertical growth point quickly takes off. In addition to central growth, the cucurbits may already have large leaves, flowers, and early fruits.
Use a piece of twine to loosely tie the stem to the support. Take care not to disrupt blossoms or developing fruits. Continue to tie off vines as they grow, about every four to six inches. Remove yellowing leaves from the base of stems as they age to send energy to upper growth and fruits..
Wood or Metal Trellis
Trellises are made of a variety of materials and configurations for upright growing. For melons, a heavy-duty, oversized version of a tomato trellis is ideal. An easy form is to anchor two wooden or metal stakes in the ground and run lines of twine or wire across at four to six-inch intervals. You can also run lines vertically for a professional approach to efficiency. The lines become the climbing attachment points for tying off stems and reaching tendrils.
Criss-crossing lattice anchored between stakes is another handy measure, taking a panel and attaching it to longer poles on each end. Bury the base of the poles to stabilize the lattice. Even a wooden pallet works (untreated), supported with rebar dug into the bed.
A larger overhead arbor works beautifully for growing melons on a trellis structure, running the vines up and over the supports. The suspended melons bring high visual interest, ample air circulation, and vines have room to spread.
A-Frame
A-frames offer the advantage of ease of installation and anchoring as well as adaptability to raised bed situations. These folding trellis support structures consist of two panels that meet at the top to form an open triangle. You can make your own with gridded wire or cattle fencing panels, wooden latticing, or other streamlined materials with horizontal and vertical supports.
Make the structure at least four feet tall for small vining varieties, going bigger for larger selections. Let them run up and down both sides of the frame.
Wire Panel
An upright melon trellis allows for vertical growing in row systems, raised beds, and along walls. Panels take up little space in terms of volume, focusing on sheer verticality.
Configure the panels to the length (rather, the height) based on the size of your vine selections. Three to four feet wide and four to seven feet tall are general sizes, depending on plant size. Cattle fencing and wire-gauge panels are ready-made options to mount to a wall or an in-ground frame.
Arch
A tall arch or tunnel is a beautiful way to grow melons. Frame a walkway or bridge planters and beds with a melon-laden arch. Planted arches shade their underplantings, bringing beneficial protection during the midday sun for crops that prefer it.
An arch employs pliable materials like wire panels and fencing bent and stabilized to form an arc. Fruits hang as they develop for better form and added interest.
Inclined Trellis
A trellis that’s raised slightly on one end and rests on the ground on the other is a unique way to elevate the cucurbits. The surface area gives plenty of room for vines to run while keeping them off the ground and with good air flow. The melons rest on top as they develop or hang below.
Growers recommend the raised end to be four feet tall, using a simple two-by-four frame. An eight-foot length of cattle fencing (if you’ve got the room) attached to the raised end provides a gentle slope to lift the vines. Lattice, wire, or jute and wood work to form the grid, too.
Fence
If you’ve got a fence or deck underpinning in place, consider using it for a melon trellis. With open pickets, slats, or chain link, tying the stems off is easy and doesn’t require additional materials. Split rail works, too, and with twine to bridge the big gaps; it is an easy method to try.
If growing cucurbits vertically on a wall or fence, ensure ample airflow around leaves and stems for the best pest and disease resistance.
Obelisks and Tripods
Like arches, obelisks bring architectural elements to the function of growing melons vertically. Tripods rely on strong, tall posts tied, secured, or forged at the pinnacle. The runners grow up the three arms of the structure and on lateral supports between the poles.
Companion Planting
With the advantage of extra space saved with vertical growth, consider adding beneficial partners. Companion plants bring mutual benefits to support growth. Plants require the same growing conditions, or may appreciate all that beneficial dappled afternoon light.
Companion herbs, vegetables, and perennials help deter pests naturally. For melons, this includes pairing plants with essential oils to help prevent damage from squash bugs.
Nasturtiums and marigolds are annuals with pest-deterring qualities. Perennials like beebalm and catmint make aromatic additions that pests find distasteful. These companions also bring plenty of blooms, drawing pollinators and increasing biodiversity. They, in turn, pollinate the cucurbit blossoms.
Lettuce, collard greens, garlic, and carrots benefit from partial shade while temperatures remain warm. Beans, tomatoes, and cucumbers tolerate afternoon sun protection in summer. As curcurbits, though, cucumbers are susceptible to the same pests and diseases as melons.
Many herbs, too, do well in dappled conditions. If the shade is deep beneath the trellis, look for shade annuals and perennials to attract beneficial insects.
Varieties
Some melons are particularly well-suited to vertical growth given their size and form. Smaller vines and compact plants are ideal as small-space crops. If space is no issue or you have a large arch or arbor, choose bigger varieties (keeping fruit weight in mind) or plant multiples.
Cantaloupe/Muskmelon ‘Minnesota Midget’
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botanical name Cucumis melo ‘Minnesota Midget’ |
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sun requirements Full sun |
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height 3′ vines |
‘Minnesota Midget’ has short vines and small fruits for easy trellising. It brings a sweet flavor and tender, juicy flesh on a small scale. The compact vines and smaller size also mean earlier readiness at about 60 to 70 days.
‘Minnesota Midget’ is a popular 1948 hybrid from the University of Minnesota at St. Paul. The productive heirloom yields four-inch muskmelons (what we call cantaloupes) with netted skins and soft, golden flesh. A high sugar content is responsible for the sweet taste. The dwarf selection resists Fusarium wilt, a common cucurbit disease.
Watermelon ‘Sugar Baby’
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botanical name Citrullus lanatus ‘Sugar Baby’ |
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sun requirements Full sun |
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height 6-10′ vines |
‘Sugar Baby’ lets those of us who don’t have the garden capacity for the big classic oblongs to grow equally deciduous watermelons. This classically sweet, juicy watermelon is a smaller, more compact variety. The melons weigh in at six to ten pounds and have firm, mottled black-green skin.
‘Sugar Baby’ is an improved dwarf variety with rich red flesh. It’s made to fit in the icebox for cool refreshment on those end-of-summer days.
Harvest ‘Sugar Baby’ in about 80 days. Warm climates may be able to get in two rounds of sowing for a mid- and late-season yield.
Cantaloupe ‘Charentais’
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botanical name Cucumis melo ‘Charentais’ |
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sun requirements Full sun |
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height 4-5′ |
‘Charentais’ is a French heirloom and a true cantaloupe with smooth, green skins. The 1920s variety ripens to light yellow. The skins are thin and tender, making the fruit too delicate to ship commercially and therefore a specialty enjoyed right off the vine.
‘Charentais’ produces lighter-weight cantaloupes about the size of grapefruits and weighing one-and-a-half to two pounds. Vines growing vertically won’t struggle under their weight (though support is always a good idea). The aromatic rounds have sweet and mellow orange flesh and are ready in 90 days.
Honeydew ‘Sweet Delight’
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botanical name Cucumis melo ‘Sweet Delight’ |
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sun requirements Full sun |
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height 3-6′ |
Honeydews are ready late in the season, where they make for early fall enjoyment and good winter storing. Honeydews have smooth green skins that are firm for a long shelf life..
‘Sweet Delight’ is a honeydew variety that’s especially sweet and juicy with pale green flesh.
Ripe in about 90 days, the relatively compact vines produce seven-inch rounds that weigh seven to eight pounds.
