Your comments and tips

01 Apr 20, Liz (New Zealand - temperate climate)

Hi there. Once I've harvested and eaten the delicious rockmelons, do i leave the plant there till next year? Or shall i pot it and bring it inside when it turns colder. Will it fruit again next year? Thanks so much!

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02 Apr 20, Anon (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)

You grow one crop over about 4-5 months and then dig them out. As the melons ripen the vines will die.

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20 Apr 20, (New Zealand - temperate climate)

Thank you so much! Dunno why but couldn't find info on this on google

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18 Feb 19, Edith (New Zealand - temperate climate)

I have a patch of garden that was covered by polythene due to illness and I planted 3 rock melons into small holes that I made. They have flourished and there are melons galore. I think the heat from the polythene must have helped. I find that the plastic does not drain the water when it rains, and I am worried that the melons will spoil against it. I have tried to lift them and put netting and wood underneath as many as I can. Can I harvest them and will they ripen when they are off the vines. I will pick them all as there is rain coming if they will ripen themselves. They are nearly ripe as I cut one and altho it was not ripe and yellow I could eat it. They are a good size. bit in fact.

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19 Feb 19, mike (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)

I don't believe they will ripen if picked unless they have started to ripen already. Rockmelons will break from the vine fairly easily when starting to ripen. A rather gentle pull and they will come away from the vine. A bit hard to tell when to pick without this sign. At this stage a good down pour of rain and they will take up heaps of water and split. Melons seem to take a long time from growing to a good size and to then ripening. I had some ripening the last 4-6 weeks and most just split or just went rotten. They are a spring crop in SE QLD Australia. Good luck.

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23 Feb 19, Edith (New Zealand - temperate climate)

thankyou for your answer. The forecast was for days of rain so I snipped them off and they are in the shed which gets pretty warm. The info on them splitting in rain is valuable thankyou and I am glad I have taken the gamble and picked them as it is solid rain for days. I will put an update on if and how they ripen when it happens. thanks again.

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12 Oct 18, Mary (New Zealand - cool/mountain climate)

Where I live at Mount Bruce the temp can be cold with semi high wind is there any special care needed when tending to my rock melons

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15 Oct 18, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

Just plant when they say so and try to protect them from the wind a bit. I didn't think they would grow in cold places.

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21 Jan 18, Norma Bowden (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)

Hi, when you say the fruit is ready when it falls from the vine, does that mean the withering of the plant where the melon is attached? Also, should the melons be lifted from the soil as they grow bigger by placing something like a piece of wood under them? Thank you

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17 Sep 18, Mike (New Zealand - temperate climate)

The older varieties when the skin would start to go yellow the fruit would come away from the vine easy. It would be fully ripe in a few days. Some of the newer ones don't turn yellow. How long to harvest is a guide to picking. Try one and see if it is ripe. Put dry grass/straw under them if you have wet soil.

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