Most melons and cukes start with male flowers in the beginning. This may explain the flowers dropping off. Once you get both male and female flowers at the same time, you can hand pollinate with a paintbrush or q-tip. I wouldn't try muskmelons in pots in a hot locale, as you'll be watering like a madman. They also love to sprawl or climb. Looking at your backyard, I would pick up about 3 bags of composted steer manure and dump it into a nice mound somewhere sunny right on the grass. Stick in about four or five seeds at the top middle of the mound. Thin out the seedlings leaving the 3 best. Water them as needed and let them sprawl. At the end of the season pull out the spent vines and rake out the mound to the rest of the yard. Reseed the grass as needed. I think there were directions for this method on the Burpee site a while back. I've tried this and harvested some really great melons.

It's stressed already from that, but don't worry it will recover. Don't be surprised if it turns brown though that may not happen. I'd be surprised if the tips aren't brown right now. You can apply some corn neal to prevent any disease because it is weakened. Otherwise, treat it like that never happened. Raise the mower gradually until you reach regular mowing height and irrigate 1" as usual. Hug dad and tell him thanks. Next visit, give him assigned activities LOL.

A. Possibly, If your soil is really compact. Adding organic matter will also help in the long run. B. No. Unless you've had a soil test to determine a low Ph. C. Yes, If its been about 2 months since your last fert application. This weekend would be the perfect time to fertilize with a slow release fert 3-1-2 ratio. Mulch mow at the highest setting with a sharp blade. Mulch mow all your fall leafs. This adds Free organic matter and over time it will help soften up your clay. Since you are switching from a cool season grass to a warm season grass you need to change you mindset a little when it comes to fertilizing. 1. There is no such thing as a winterizer for warm season/St.Augustine grasses. 2. S.A. should be fertilized 4x per year during the growing season from spring green up through early fall. Do not fertilize in late fall-winter.

Hman, I scanned through the Scaffolds archive and couldn't find the article. Bugs me when I can't find the reference. Scaffolds recommended oil in the fall for pear blister mite, so maybe it wasn't them who mentioned the risk of winter damage from dormant Fall applications of oil. A quick Google search did yield a reference that a Fall oil app. can cause winter damage by delaying dormancy, but that's not the reference I was looking for. For the last couple years I've not put on a Fall oil spray (except for a little as a sticker). I never liked the way a 2% oil application turned the bark dark before winter. Then when I read (somewhere) that it can make the trees more susc. to winter damage, I started saving the main oil spray for the Spring as either a dormant, or delayed dormant. Saying all that, I never noticed a problem with winter damage from a Fall application. Have you ever seen winter bark damage from applying oil in the fall, or damage from a dormant oil spray applied near freezing weather?