Growing Cantaloupe From Seeds | A Practical Garden Season Guide

Growing cantaloupe from seeds can be a fun and fruitful experiment, so don’t throw out the seeds from the one you just bought from the store! Grow them in your garden this growing season for fresh and free cantaloupes!

How To Grow Cantaloupe From Seeds

Admittedly, my first attempt at growing fruits from seeds was from a little kit I bought from the grocery. It was just out of curiosity at first, but I’m now growing fruits like pear, peaches, and strawberries as a hobby. If you haven’t experienced biting into a succulent cantaloupe just minutes off the vine, then you don’t know what fresh fruit is! Don’t miss out on this delightful treat and learn how to grow cantaloupe from seeds in this easy guide!

Collecting Cantaloupe Seeds From the Fruit

Cantaloupe, though not as sweet as honeydew, has a distinct and lovely aroma when fully ripe, making it a delectable fruit for salad and desserts. In fact, among the melon variety, it seems the cantaloupe enjoys a popularity unshared by the rest of its cousins. You can collect the numerous seeds in a fully ripe and aromatic fruit and they can be viable for growth in four years. Seeds can be bought at garden supply stores but then, don’t you like your seeds free?

Germinating Cantaloupe Seeds In 5 Easy Steps

This method is a fast way to germinate seeds and in as early as 4 days, a root system will start to appear. In 10 days, they will be ready to be transplanted in small planters or directly to your plant bed if the soil has become warm. Follow the steps here for germinating the seeds indoors:

1. Wash seeds you’ve collected from a cantaloupe fruit then dry.
2. Place them on a paper towel and place the seeds an inch or more apart from each other.
3. Using a spray bottle, fully dampen the paper towel with the seeds.
4. Fold the paper towel and place it a Ziploc bag, then label with the date and fruit type.
5. Keep the bag in a warm and dry place making sure the seeds are kept wet.

Growing Cantaloupe From Seeds In 3 Easy Steps

If you’re not in a hurry and got a long growing season ahead, you can start cantaloupe seeds directly in the soil. Follow these three simple steps below to germinating cantaloupe seeds directly in the soil.

1. Prepare your seed-starting kit or small planters with potting mix or compost.
2. Poke holes in each section, drop a cantaloupe seed then cover with soil.
3. Moist the seed starting kit or planters and place them in a sunny spot or under grow lights.

Growing Cantaloupe Seedlings In Plant Beds

Prepare a soil bed of sandy and loamy soil in the sunniest area in the garden. Warm up the seedlings for growing in-ground by gradually exposing them outdoors in 10 days. When both your soil and seedlings have been prepared, dig holes in the plant bed 3 to 4 feet apart. Plant the seedlings then give the plants a good watering. Covering the base around the plant with mulch is a good idea.

How To Grow Cantaloupe From Seeds In Containers

Think you’ve got no space for growing vine plants like cantaloupes? Think again because you can grow them in containers even in your apartment deck. All you need is a sunny spot, a well-draining soil in a container and, tender, love, and care for your cantaloupe plant.

1. Layer a container with pumice, nutshells, or perlite for an improved drainage.
2. Then fill it up with compost mixed with a sandy soil ideal for growing cantaloupe.
3. Dig a hole as deep as the cantaloupe seedling’s root ball or system.
4. Plant the seedling then water thoroughly.
5. Put up a trellis for the cantaloupe plant to cling and climb on.

Cantaloupe Plant Care Tips

Companion planting is a natural way to help keep pests and diseases from your cantaloupe plant. Marigold and herbs are the common companion plant for cantaloupe but nasturtium and tansy seem to be the most effective.

Continue to water the cantaloupe plant according to schedule but avoid overwatering if you don’t want to develop bland fruits. Mulching can be a simple yet effective way to retain moisture and prevent weed growth.

Encourage pollinators to aid in fruit bearing once flowers start appearing. But if you cannot be sure of the birds and bees, you can help the fruit self-pollinate. You can manually pollinate the plant using a paintbrush and carefully brushing the pollen from the male to the female flowers.

While pinching off the growing shoots is advisable in pumpkin, this is discouraged in cantaloupe. When the plant starts to ripen, it will need all the leaves available to produce sugar which will make the fruit sweeter.

Tips For Harvesting Refreshing Cantaloupes

Once the fruit starts to mature and ripen, less watering is actually advised to improve the flavor of the fruit. Seed packets usually indicate the period of maturity or the harvest time for the variety of seeds. But for seeds collected from a store-bought fruit, you’ll just have to follow these pointers:

• Ripe cantaloupes will emit a strong pleasant aroma which is the signature scent of the fruit.
• As the fruit ripens, the fruit’s skin will be coarse, rough, and yellowish green in color.
• The stem or tendril near the fruits will dry up and a crack appears in the area encircling the stem.
• When the fruit is ready for harvest, keep a portion of the stem that holds the fruit attached for longer storage.

Find out more tips and ideas on how to grow cantaloupe from seeds in this video:

Now you know how to grow cantaloupe from seeds easily and for free. Don’t miss out on the chance to bite into a tasty, fresh and succulent cantaloupe fruit – the literal fruit of your labor. Start growing more fruits this season by learning how to grow cantaloupes first!

Tried growing cantaloupe from seeds before? I’d be delighted to hear all about it in the comments section below.

Want to find out if you can grow apple trees from seeds? Find out how to grow apples from seeds here.

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