Ambrosia melon aborting fruit- Why?

14 years ago

Hello! I have three ambrosia cantaloupe vines growing up a trellis. The vines are going gangbusters and have literally dozens of flowers and at least fifteen baby and embryonic fruit all over them. I have plenty of bees that pollinate the female flowers, resulting in said babies. Only problem is, after a week or two, the babes stop growing, yellow, shrivel and drop off. This breaks my heart to no end.

When the vines first set fruit, I fed the lil' buggers with an organic, dry, slow release 5-5-5 fert, but this fruit drop was a problem even before I fed the plants. We've had a lot of crazy, wet weather, with wide temp fluctuations, so I don't know if this is the problem or not.

Any ideas?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (8)

fruitnut Z7 4500ft SW TX
14 years ago
Very female doesn't make a fruit under even the best conditions. If you have plenty of bees, there will likely be fruit hang on soon. How big are the fruit when they drop off? I've had watermelons this year reach 3-4 inches long and still abort.

The Fruitnut
rae_stl
Original Author
14 years ago
Hi Fruitnut. The melons range from 2-4" when they abort. I just (not an hour ago) discovered some mottled, deformed leaves on the tips of a vine, and am thinking I either have mosaic virus *shudder* or a deficiency. Either would make for fruit abort I'm guessing.
Related Discussions
What melon for New York?
Q
Comments (2)
If you suggest a variety, please describe the melon. I'm a picky eater, if I don't know how it will taste I'm never going to consider it. I'd like feedback from people who have actually grown and eaten the plant and fruit... I doubt you mean this to sound as strange as it does. The only way you will "know how it will tastes" is to taste it yourself. Perhaps it's time to expand the horizon for your taste buds. :) You are assuming that the same variety will taste the same to all folks. That isn't so. "Taste" is a very individual thing so 20 people can eat the same thing and it will taste different to each. And you also assuming it is the just variety that dictates the taste. It isn't. It is the growing conditions. Soil pH, sun exposure, and amount of water provided and/or withheld at the crucial time determines the taste, the degree of sweetness. Your only solution is going to be trying different varieties in your own garden and see which tastes best to you. But keep in mind that will change from fruit to fruit and year to year depending on the growing conditions. Dave
...See More
What melons are you growing?
Q
Comments (23)
Hi Crabjoe! I don't "do hills" because I lack the space to devote to that. I have a rather nontraditional growing area/layout. This is how I am doing it: My chanterais, silverline and canary are tellissed, so I can plant them 18 inches apart in a row under my heavy-dury trellis material. These are plated in a long, low mound of earth (almost like a low wall, if you follow) with lots of manure/compost added, and I dig a trough for water absorbtion alongside the stretched out base of the mound. This also acts as a reservoir for compost/manure tea. The sugar babies, cantaloupe and honeydew are growing in bushel basket containers that are loaded with nutritional amendments for them. I will plant 2 of these guys per bushel.
...See More
The wisdom of trellising Crenshaw melon vines?
Q
Comments (10)
If you don't want the vines sprawling on the ground, cut them off from the main stem. Problem solved. There will be no harm to the plant. If you're worried about melons you can't reach, then cut off those female blossoms that are producing fruit with loppers: OR, just ignore them and let them do what they may or decide to borrow a step ladder from a neighbor to harvest. Crenshaw or not, it doesn't matter what melon vine is in question or how long it gets. Whether it's an Asian winter melon, pumpkin, hubbard, cantaloupe, casaba, Santa Claus melon, crenshaw melon, honeydew melon, Persian melon, golden pershaw melon, mango melon, pineapple melon, snake melon, watermelons... (the list goes on) the length of the vine does not matter whether it's four feet or 80 feet. The vine will literally just go up, fall back down, and go up the trellis again. If you can watch stray vines every couple of days and weave them thru the trellis, they'll go up too. You can tie them with pantyhose rings you cut from an old pair of hose. So long as the weight of the trellis can support the weight of the melon, then despite what many gardeners think, you do not need to create a hammock. The vine knows via nature's genius how thick the stem needs to be in order to handle the weight of the melon. I've had 40 and 50 pound winter melons hanging five feet off the ground off a solid wood pergola. So long as you harvest at the proper time, they shouldn't fall. But by all means, sling them if it makes you feel better.
...See More
My Melon Update
Q
Comments (79)
This seems to be a popular thread, so I thought I would put in my 2 cents worth. I finally have been able to harvest and try the great Petit Gris de Rennes that I've heard so much about. Unfortunately, I was a bit disappointed. We've had so much cool, rainy weather this year that they just aren't sweet. Other than the lack of sweetness, they did have a unique flavor that I think could be quite good in different weather conditions. I could say much the same about my Charentais and my Blacktail Mtn. Watermelons. Just not sweet. So far the Butterscotch Melons have been the sweetest. They have been my best melons this year and the most productive by far. I think the smaller fruited varieites are less affected by excess rainfall. It seems to be true with my tomatoes. Today I pulled my first Piel de Sapo (frogskin) melon. It was slipping from the vine, which I didn't think they were supposed to do, but the vine seemed to be dying. They can be extremely sweet, but I'm afraid with this year's weather these will also prove disappointing. I'm almost afraid to cut into it. I have one more that is still maturing and an Amarillo Oro, that is very small but seems to be turning yellow.
...See More
nhardy
14 years ago
Hey Rae, What part of StL are you in with zone 7? With temps not above 80 the next week and the rain every other day, I will be picking my first tomato today, really, late for first one. Where has the hot weather gone?
rae_stl
Original Author
14 years ago
We live in the city, near the Missouri Botanical Gardens. I just realized my zone was off.... I harvested my first tomato (a cherry) two weeks ago, which is really late for us too.

I'm not holding out much hope for the melons- I'm going to bring a mottled leaf into the Botanical Gardens and see if they can identify the problem. If it's a virus, I'll be pulling up at least one plant:(. This weather is nutters. It's freaking nippy outside tonight! Don't want to know what type of damage this cold will do to my cukes and melons @_@.
nhardy
14 years ago
MoBot is a great source of information! I'm in N. StL County up by Sams. Your poor cukes. I have hugh green tomatoes that won't ripe on vine 5 ft. tall. My everbearing strawberries are loving this weather, go figure!
rae_stl
Original Author
14 years ago
Had to tear out the infected melon today :( . Mobot said it was mosaic. It was upsetting, not least of which the infected plant was the largest and healthiest "looking". Buutt, since it was aborting fruit anyway, it works out in the end. This freaky weather, however, really won't help the other melons produce. Nor is it helping any fungal/ mildew problems. I gotta go out back now and spray with some neem to take care of just that.
rae_stl
Original Author
14 years ago
Had to tear out the infected melon today :( . Mobot said it was mosaic. It was upsetting, not least of which the infected plant was the largest and healthiest "looking". Buutt, since it was aborting fruit anyway, it works out in the end. This freaky weather, however, really won't help the other melons produce. Nor is it helping any fungal/ mildew problems. I gotta go out back now and spray with some neem to take care of just that.
chuckbartok
14 years ago
One way to assure to better Fruit set is to manage a bit of stress after heavy Flower Bloom.

All fruits such as melons, tomatoes etc need to be stressed to set fruit and not grow "Plants" Some melons suffer form too much care.

Also addition of Calcium to the nutrient mix will help on Fruit Set and mitigate Blossom end rot. Same applies to Tomatoes

Here is a link that might be useful: Ambrosui Harvest This AM 08-08-09 Orland California So far 9 melons, with approx 24 more Making from 6 Plants

Ambrosia melon aborting fruit- Why?

Comments (8)

fruitnut Z7 4500ft SW TX

rae_stl
Original Author

Related Discussions

nhardy

rae_stl
Original Author

nhardy

rae_stl
Original Author

rae_stl
Original Author

chuckbartok

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Ambrosia melon aborting fruit- Why?

Comments (8)

fruitnut Z7 4500ft SW TX

rae_stlOriginal Author

Related Discussions

nhardy

rae_stlOriginal Author

nhardy

rae_stlOriginal Author

rae_stlOriginal Author

chuckbartok

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

rae_stl
Original Author

rae_stl
Original Author

rae_stl
Original Author

rae_stl
Original Author