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Start indoors now??
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Posted by crabjoe z7 MD (My Page) on Mon, Feb 14, 05 at 23:26
| I picked up some giant watermelon and canalope seeds to try this year and since I've never started anything from seed, I don't know when to start or which way would be the best.
Originally, I was going to start them indoors then transplant outside after the last frost, but a guy at work (small farm at his home that he grows for a veggie stand), tells me to just wait until the ground is nice a warm and directly sow the seeds under a black plastic bag (with a hole for the vine to pop up through).
So what do you think? Should I go with my original plan, use his or maybe something else?
Thanks!!
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RE: Start indoors now??
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| The answer to that is simple - there is no single answer! How long do the w-melons and cantalopes take to mature? That should be on the seed packet. If your growing season is long enough to accomodate them, you might as well sow them directly. I would cushion your growing season by 10-15 days to allow for any crappy weather early on that might cause the plants to hunker down for a while. If you need them ripe sooner (for competitions or family reunions, etc.) then start them indoors. I would not do this sooner than 2 (least) to 5(most) weeks before last frost-free date. Two weeks isn't a lot of head start so you don't gain much and after 5 weeks you may have something like Invasion of the Bodysnatchers growing in your house! I did giant corn and sunflowers last year and planted them direct, which worked fine. They were both about 90 days. I am planning on starting the sunflowers indoors this year, but only because I love gardening and that will help with my early season itch. I have already been out poking around my perrenial beds and it snowed again today!!!!!!!!!!!! |
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