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Here i go again on my questions
I have heard that melons can cross pollinate
i have 10 acres .
Here is the list .I got hem at Bakers Creek
Orangelo
Carolina Cross (woops edited to say wrong seed)
Moon and STars
Sweet passion this is a cantalope
so here is my question
How far apart do i make them to not cross pollinate ? or do i need not worry about it. :)
thanks
sue
The watermelons will cross pollinate with each other. It is only a problem if you want to save seeds. Cantaloupes ( all C. melo types) will cross pollinate each each other. They are insect pollinated so you enogh distance or time between the cultivars to avoid insects hitting two types on the same trip. Lots of folks who want to save seeds will bag and hand pollinate a couple of female blossoms. One melon of any type produces suffiecient seeds for most home growers. Watermelons don't cross with cantaloupes.
Just to clarify what you replied to Farmerdill, you cannot just "bag a blossom." You must identify female blossoms on the plants you wish to save seed from, tape them shut just before (like the evening before) they open, and then using pollen from male flowers from the same variety, but a different plant, pollinate the females and then bag them until you are sure that you succeeded. Once the fruit starts developing, you can remove the bag. This is still a simplification of all of the steps so you would probably want to do some more research prior to trying.
As far as isolation . . . isolating melons by time is near impossible, as most will all be blooming at the same time. Perhaps if you are in the south or have an otherwise unusually long season, time isolation may work. Isolation distances for melons is 1/2 mile.
Be aware that in order to get one or two melons from which to save seed, you will need to do this hand pollination procedure on a lot of blossoms. Success rates at hand pollinating watermelons will be around 50% and other melons about 10%. Like anything, success rates will get higher the more you practice.
Thanks Mike
i don't think i can do a half mile :) . So bagging a blossom is not as easy as i might have thunk ? ok good to know. Every bit helps.
thanks
sue
