Page 10—Grower and Marketer, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 11, 1999 UNIVERSITY PARK (Cen tre Co.) Watermelons, cantaloupes, and other melons take months to grow, but pa tient and careful gardeners can produce superb crops, said a gardening expert in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences. “Although there are a few areas in the state where grow ing seasons are too short, most gardeners can grow watermel ons and muskmelons,” said Pe ter Ferrctti, professor of vege table crops. “However, most Pennsylvania gardeners shouldn’t try to grow Cren shaw or casaba melons, which are semi-tropical melons that require growing seasons with higher temperatures.” Ferrctti recommends grow IRRIGATION EQUIPMENT PUMPS GORMAN-RUPP BERKELEY CAPRARI HALE TRAVELERS • HOBBS REEL-RAIN • KIFCO AG-RAIN • BAUER WE OFFER A COMPLETE LINE OF IRRIGATION EQUIPMENT & SUPPLIES Toll Free 800-999-1630 Stop By and See Us At The Mid-Atlantic Fruit & Vegetable Comention Booth #9 & 10 January 25-27,2000 Hershey, PA WATSON & Contractor Supply, Inc. H (niufk’Kti Mcviianicshui'j. P\ I7nss l)is|iilhiioi ot All I\[K~nq! liiilmiumi LAunpntcnt IRRIGATION Growing Melons Requires Patience, But Offers Great Rewards ing melons either from starter plants purchased at a reputable nursery or garden center, or in doors from seed started 19 to 25 days before they are needed for planting in the garden. Soil temperatures should be very warm. “Gardeners should plant around May 31 in central Penn sylvania,” Ferretti said. “Use pots made from peat moss, so you don’t have to dis turb the roots when planting,” Ferretti said. “All you have to do is break the bottom comers of the pot, and the roots will spread out.” Because melon plants are vine-like, Ferretti advises spac ing the plants well apart. “If you are planting in rows, plants should be every 2 feet apart in the row, allowing 6 to 8 feet RAIN-BIRD NELSON BUCKNER KOMFT APPLICATIONS • FARM • GREENHOUSE • EURE between rows,” he said. Depending on the variety, melons will take from 75 to 90 days to develop. Each plant should produce three to five melons before frosts kill the plant in the fall. “This is not a crop for the impatient garden er,” Ferretti said. ‘They take a long time to grow, and there’s a small window of time in which to enjoy eating them.” Ferretti says melons require only moderate fertilizer, noting that gardeners should not add too much nitrogen to the crop. “Too much nitrogen delays fruit set and therefore fruit ma turity and yield. It also increas es the chance for leaf diseases. If too many leaves are diseas ed, not enough sugar will be produced, and the melons will taste like cucumbers,” he said. Melon plants have several insect pests to watch out for: • Flea beetle. These insects will attack the plant as a seed ling only. • Spotted or striped cucum- |pwgj| PLANTING FOR THE NEW MILLENNIUM t 2000 W January 25-27,2000 M Mid-Atiantic jjl Hershey Lodge and Convention Center, Hershey, pa &. Fruit and W Trade Show Xf i Vegetable |||i Over 130 Suppliers for Fruit and Vegetable Growers y Educational Sessions ■S i Over 50 Expert Speakers from Across the Nation Tree Fruits January 25.2000 The Fire Blight Threat and Its Management In the Forefront on Fire Blight Pesticide Application Does Precision Ag Work? What are Growers Planting and What are the Trends Ethephon Usage in Apples January 26. 2000 Efficient Use of Pesticides and Drift Mitigation Overview of Plum Pox Black Peach Aphid Control Bloom Thinning of Peaches with WilThm Mating Disruption for Peaches Pillar Form Peaches Novel Peach Training Systems and High Density Apnums and Pluots Peach and Apple IPM Nematode Suppression January 27.2000 Airblast Sprayers Transitional Strategies Without or With Limited OPIs Organic Standards Food Safety Approaches Future Trends for Apples and Cider New Technologies for Mating Disruption Bacterial Spot Control Peach Breeding Wegman’s IPM Program and CORE Values Program Computer Use Janaury 25. 2000 Internet for Beginners Virtual Orchard* Web Site Palm PC's Build Your Own Homepage January 26. 2000 Spreadsheets Database Field Mappmg/Record Keeping Surfing Internet for Ag Sites Computerizing Pesticide Records For fruit program and registration tees information, contact State Horticultural Ass’n of Pennsylvania - Maureen Irvin - 717-677-4184 New Jersey State Horticultural Soc. - William Tietjen - 908-475-6505 or Maryland State Horticultural Soc. ■ Richard Heflebower 301-432-2767 ext 324 ber beetles or com earworm beetle. These pests can ruin a crop by eating large amounts of foliage. More important, how ever, is their role as a carrier of Bacterial Wilt. “As the bacteria build up in the plant’s water transportation system, the plant’s ability to absorb water is cut off. and the plant sudden ly wilts overnight,” Ferretti said. “It takes some time for the bacteria to accumulate, so the plant wilts just about the time it’s ready to bear fruit.” Ferretti said beetles can ra vage plants in just one night, so he recommends using a cover over young plants at night or spraying as soon as the seed lings are planted. The best in secticides are Marlate (meth oxychlor), or Sevin and Mal athion. He also says a general fungicide will eliminate fungal diseases in a small home gar den. Proper harvesting methods Vegetables January 25. 2000 Construction & Use of High Tunnels Basic Vegetable Production -Nutrition, Insect and Weed Control -Handling and Storage Greenhouse Vegetable Workshop - Glazings & Ventilation - Organic and Hydroponic Production Cole Crops - Varieties, Insect and Weed Control Plastic Mulches - Additives, Colors, Equipment Sweet Corn - IPM, Varieties, Nutrition, Weed Control Sustainable Growing - Environmental Stewardship- Dr Rhonda Janke, Kansas State Umv - Cover Crops Potatoes - Varieties, Storage, Drip Irrigation - Insect and Disease Control January 26. 2000 Irrigation - Types and Costs of Equipment - Fertigation Peppers - Varieties, Nutrition - Insect and Disease Control Fumigation/Pesticide Application - New Application Technologies - The ABC’s of Fumigation Tillage Alternatives - Maintaining Soil Quality - Tillage Systems and Crop Rotations Processing Crops - Sweet Corn, Peas, Snap Beans, Lima Beans, Peppers January 27.2000 Vine Crops - Spacing and Varieties - Pest Management Update - Tips for Successful Production Tomato School - Disease and Insect Control - Fresh Market Varieties and Breeding -High Tunnels & Stakes -Ethrel Use, Fertility for Processing -Processing Grower Panel Processing for Value Added vary by melon variety: • Muskmelons (canta loupes). “When they’re per fectly ripe, a soft tug should break or slip the fruit off the vine,” Ferretti said. • Honeydew. These melons have a smoother rind, which ripens from green to a yellow or creamy color, Ferretti says. When the color has completely changed, remove the melon by cutting from the vine. Some newer varieties can be picked by slipping the fruit from the vine. • Watermelons. When the spot where the watermelon makes contact with the soil turns light yellow, the melon is ripe. Another accurate method to determine pneness concerns a pigtailed ;endril of growth near the stem of the watermel on. “If the tendril is brown or dried out, the watermelon is ripe,” Ferretti said. “Water melons should be removed from the vine with a knife or pruning shears.” Small Fruits January 26. 2000 Strawberries - Plasticulture, Greenhouse Blueberries, Blackberries January 27.2000 Using Bees to Control Bolrytis Nematode Injury Hardy Kiwi Bramble Basics Getting Started in Blueberries Getting Started in Grapes Marketing & Labor January 25. 2000 Wholesale Marketing - “Simply Delicious” Promotion - What Buyers Want in Local Produce Labor and Regulatory Issues - H-2A Program - What Do You Do if You Get a Letter from INS or SSA? - - FQPA, WPS Crop Insurance January 26. 2000 Marketing - Signs that Sell - Mason Farms Overview - Starting a Roadside Market - Customer Service - Cooperatives, Auctions - Farmers’ Markets Flowers January 26.2000 Bedding Plants - New Container Plants - Marketing - New Pest Control Products - Diagnosing Insects and Diseases Perennial Flowers - Weed Control, Varieties - Overwintering January 27.2000 Cut Flowers - Specialty Cuts in the Greenhouse - Marketing, New Cultivars For vegetable and bedding plant program and registration fees information, contact Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers Ass’n William Troxell-717-694-3596
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