What is happening to my melon vine - Ask Extension
These are canary melons, the vine appears to be wilting and drying up in the last few days. Is the plant dying? Are the melons safe to eat?
Knowledgebase
What is happening to my melon vine #880478
Asked August 07, 2024, 12:44 AM EDT
These are canary melons, the vine appears to be wilting and drying up in the last few days. Is the plant dying? Are the melons safe to eat?
Baltimore County Maryland
Expert Response
Your Canary melons are beautiful and definitely safe to eat.
Maturity/ripeness is about 80-100 days from transplanting. Longer if planted from seed. Are they within this window?
Here is our page on Melons:
https://extension.umd.edu/resource/growing-melons-home-garden/
If it is close to their maturity date, you can consider harvesting them. It appears that the vines closest to the melons are still alive, so you can consider carefully sliding a piece of cardboard beneath them to reduce the chances of rot on the bottoms but to allow them to continue.
It's possible that the vine is finished, but you'll see and can learn about a couple of possibilities listed in the link above under
'problems' that can cause vine dieback, including Bacterial wilt and Squash Vine Borer.
Christine
Maturity/ripeness is about 80-100 days from transplanting. Longer if planted from seed. Are they within this window?
Here is our page on Melons:
https://extension.umd.edu/resource/growing-melons-home-garden/
If it is close to their maturity date, you can consider harvesting them. It appears that the vines closest to the melons are still alive, so you can consider carefully sliding a piece of cardboard beneath them to reduce the chances of rot on the bottoms but to allow them to continue.
It's possible that the vine is finished, but you'll see and can learn about a couple of possibilities listed in the link above under
'problems' that can cause vine dieback, including Bacterial wilt and Squash Vine Borer.
Christine
