This is the new trellis that I am going to train melons up. I had 8' 2x2 to build it and lots of nylon trellis netting so I decided to just built it 8 feet high. It meant less cutting & waste. If the melons managed to climb that high I will just have to use a ladder to harvest them. Further building instructions can be found at the link above.
I build my trellises so they are removable due to the fact they are against the house. If any maintenance needs to be done they can easily be removed. Making them removable also has the added benefit of separating the main structure of the trellis from the ground so it should never rot. In this photo I just attached a cleet to the raised bed frame and then bolted the trellis to the cleet.
On the other side I ran into the problem that there is no place to bolt it to. I solved this problem by digging a whole in the ground to form a mold, I then added concrete and pushed the cleet into it. Once the concrete hardened I then removed it from the ground and placed in into the veggie patch to hold up the other side of the trellis. I could have poured the concrete right in the veggie patch but I didn't want to muck up my soil.
The last change from last years trellises was adding a top support because the trellis is so high. I just used a scrap piece of 2x2 and attached it to the brick with a 45 degree bracket and a tapcon fastener.
I then installed black plastic below the trellis for added solar heat. Melons love heat so this should greatly increase my melon yield by keeping the soil warmer in the early and late part of the season. To install it I really soak the soil first, I then tucked the back edge into the soil and secured the front edge with rocks. Now when I need to water I can just lift the front up and thoroughly soak the soil.Well there you have it, now I hope it warms up enough to plant the melons soon. This week is running rather cool, with any luck it will be the last of the cool weather. Our average temperature this time of year is 22c(72f) and it hasn't been nearly that warm the past few days.
Melons are pretty iffy where I live. I've grown them but they don't produce much in our cool climate. I hope you get some hotter weather than we do so you can get your melons. There isn't much that can beat a vine ripened melon.
ReplyDeleteDaphne - It gets really hot here in July and August as well as very humid. This area also bakes with all the concrete & brick. I have never grown melons before so I hope they produce something.
ReplyDeleteDan, will you be able to reach the melons OK?
ReplyDeleteI've still got to build mine...
That is really a great looking vertical grow support structure. At 8 feet tall, I would be doomed for harvesting anything late in the season though. I am stretching to harvest from my 6 foot supports!
ReplyDeleteHoly Moley, is there anything you don't grow??? Hope the melons grow well, though what kind of melons are you growing? (there are so many varieties, at least according to the rainbow of colours in the melon ball fruit salad my grandmother used to make)
ReplyDeleteI've never grown melons here Dan - I wish you great success. The structure looks really good.
ReplyDeleteAs usual, good craftmanship...You're the man! Good luck with the melons.
ReplyDeleteYou really should do a video of the entire garden once the majority of it is up and running. It all looks amazing so far!
ReplyDeleteWhen do you find the time to do all this wonderful work? You must not sleep much...
ReplyDeleteThis melon trellis looks great. I have seen something similar in the book Square Foot Gardening. If you get the chance to get your hands on this book, it has a lot of helpful ideas for growing things vertically to use small spaces to their full potential. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteI should warn you since I'm not overly far from you, powdery mildew has got one of my plants and you should be on the watch for it in your garden with this weather going on as it is.
ReplyDeletewhat types of melons are they?
ReplyDeleteToni - I hope so, I can reach about 7' high so if they are any higher I will have to get out the ladder. I guess when you run out of real estate the only place to go is up :-)
ReplyDeleteKitsapFG - I will have to employ my ladder if they manage to grow 8' high. It will be worth it through if I can harvest a couple extra melons.
Prue - I am trying just about everything this year it seems, it will be a good test to see what varieties to focuse on. I am growing two french melons this year, Charentais Savor F1 and Petite Gris.
Vegetable Heaven - I hope they do well too. They should as long as we don't have a cool summer like last year.
EG - Thanks!
Waters_deep - I should put a video up once everything starts growing. I will be on the look out for mildew
Skeeter - I am glade this was the last thing to build in the veggie garden. It certainly has been a very busy spring.
Elaine - I have leafed through Mel's book, I am guessing that is the one you are talking about. I should really sit down and read the whole thing one of these days.
Ron - I am growing two french melons this year, Charentais Savor F1 and Petite Gris. They are both smaller melons, about the size for two.
Ingenious as always and great workmanship. You must be delighted everything is sorted. Time now to focus on planting, maintenance and harvesting, as you say. Good luck with the melons and cheers to a great season.
ReplyDeleteNice work. I use clear plastic as they claim that it heats the soil better than black plastic in the north but you are in florida compared to me right? :) Sorry, just jealous. We've had crappy weather lately too with several threatened frosts but we've lucked out so far.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a good sturdy trellis. Well done!
ReplyDeleteI too hope my melons do well. We've been having some really hot days but it won't last. Hope they grow while the growings good, hehe.
Great very well !! i wonder if that thing can carry the melons hahah .. anyways nice ideas .thinking of putting some garden accessories such as wind spinner looking fantastic
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