I've thought about growing melons indoors but have never done it. The main problem is space. Mature melon vines are large, typically around 6-8' square. The cost of electricity to light that large an area is considerable. You would have to run a 250W halide bulb for around 12 hours a day, which would cost $10 a month where I live. You would then hope to get 4-6 fruit. Melons also require heat and do best with daytime temperatures in the high 70s or higher. I would suggest taking a look at the hydroponic places for lights. The majority of their customers grow, um, tomatoes, yeah, tomatoes, and the cultural requirements of a tomato plant are very similar to those of a melon (Some hydroponic setups are intended for growing lettuce and culinary herbs like thyme and basil, which require less light and a somewhat different spectrum, so avoid those). The vines are delicate so you should get some friends to help with the move if possible. You should be aware that most storebought melons in the USA are hybrids that don't grow true from seed. You will get a melon, but it may not be a honeydew and may not grow especially large. For next year, you can purchase F1 hybrids like the growers use. I would recommend Athena as being the most reliable of the cantaloupe types, or Earlidew being a good honeydew type. There are also some open-pollinated "heirloom" types that are quite good though perhaps not as easy to grow as the hybrids. Melons are among the most difficult garden crops to grow. They require a relatively long growing season, warm temperatures, consistent watering, fertile soil, and protection from insects.

I can relate as far as my annuals, perennials, and tropicals. It has just been a year of "survival" until next year. What's been heppening in the garden? Nothing - that sums it up. A very limited number of butterflies and moths. The few I had were the fruit, dung, sap eating butterflies, because I fed them. The tropicals bloomed well because they can tolerate the heat and humidity. But, there are no big butterflies to nectar on them. The heat prevented a lot of bloom on my plants. Just got too hot, too fast, for them to bloom well. This last break from the heat - a short one - has at least produced more blooms on my sole tomato plant, and hopefully they will get pollinated to produce tomatos in fall. The best plants in the garden for flowering? Pyramid Bush (in the Chocolate family), a very pretty little bright pink flowering tropical; Dwarf Red Porterweed (tropical), Gerbera daisy (red/orange), Datura, Flame Acanthus - this plant just keeps on going and nothing bothers the flowers or the foliage, I love it! - Maximilian Sunflower; Golden Crownbeard; David Verity Cuphea, and Tropical Milkweed. My Verbena bonariensis, which is normally a very prolific blooming plant, has had some kind of foliage disease this year that turns the plant foliage white, and it hasn't produced near the blooms in normally does. Those it does produce don't last very long at all. The Southern Pink Moth has all but decimated my Salvias this year, and some kind of little leaf-cutting, petiole cutting caterpillars have demolished the Morning Glories. I like caterpillars, but not those that are destructive and appear in such large numbers it is literally impossible for an organic gardener to fight. It is so strange - I have a Packman broccoli that has never produced a head, but is still growing and hasn't bolted yet. ????? Even the Zinnias are not producing as well as they should, few blooms, and wonky stems. I have kept the garden watered as well as possible, and am hoping the fall will turn things around, altho I keep hearing extended weather predictions of a very warm fall. We'll see. I feel very bad for all of you who put so much work into your vegetable gardens only to have them burn up in this heat and drought. My heart just melts for you guys! Susan

Hey Maureen, EEs are often used as indoor plants. They do best with high light levels and lots of water in a well draining soil. There are many different cultivars that require similar care but may vary widly in size and color. Sandy

Good show, come March you can take all sorts of cuttings! I have easily rooted cuttings in ProMix in approximately ten days or so. Before the ground had froze, I dug up several small volunteer petunia seedlings and potted them up, as I had been quite impressed with the bloom color and variation of some of them, too good to let perish! These little guys are in the basement window, while my large stock plants rest in the attached unheated garage where the temps hovers just above freezing.