Hale's Best Cantaloupe Seeds - Jumbo Heirloom Cantaloupe Seeds

Cantaloupe Seeds - Hales Best Jumbo Cantaloupe Garden Seeds (Cucumis melo) Plant Basics: Germination: 7-10 days Harvest: 85-110 days Plant Depth: 1/2 inch Spacing: 3ft space between mounds Sun: Full sun 8+ hours Yield: 5-6lb melons Hales Best Jumbo Cantaloupe can reach up to 6 pounds when ripe. They're a very sweet variety that's easy to grow even for beginning gardeners. They love sun and will produce an excellent harvest at the end of the growing season. They're ripe after they've turned a golden brown and are easily removed from the vine, or might fall off on their own. To save space, these plants can be trained onto a trellis or other support structure. Growing Instructions: 1) Direct sow: In spring after last frost date or threat of frost has passed. Plant 3-4 seeds 1/2 inch deep in 8-10 inch high mounds. Keep soil moist but not overly wet. (The surface of the soil can dry out but shouldn't dry out deeper than 1/2 inch. After seeds germinate, thin to the strongest plant in the mound. 2) Transplant: Start seeds indoors in spring around 4-6 weeks before last frost date. Planting 1/2 inch deep in starting mix in container or tray. Cover the container or tray loosely with plastic to retain moisture. Place in a warm spot (80 degrees+ is ideal. Placing heating mats under plants helps speed up germination time.) After seeds germinate, remove plastic covering and continue to keep soil moist but not overly wet. Grow lights are a good addition at this point, especially if seedlings do not receive a lot of direct sunlight. Keep plants as close to grow lights as possible but not closer than 2-3 inches. (Soil will dry out quicker under the grow lights.) Move plants to larger containers after they've grown 2 sets of true leaves. At this point, I like to use a tabletop fan pointed at the plants help prepare them for outdoor conditions. About 1-2 weeks before you plan to transplant outdoors, start to harden the plants off by placing them outside. Start in the shade for an hour or two and extend the time each day, gradually exposing them to more sunlight, until they can be left outside for several hours in direct sunlight. Transplant after threat of frost has passed and soil temp is around 60-65 degrees. Transplant into garden into 8 inch mounds spread about 3 feet apart. Early Planting Tips: Remove any blossoms that form before transplanting and any that emerge in the first several weeks. (Even if it's SO difficult to make yourself do this!) The plants will acclimate to their new environment better and use resources to grow stronger and fuller and produce a much larger harvest mid and late season. I like to mulch around the plants with about an inch of mulch, leaving a couple of inches diameter around the base of the plants. (We use grass and leaf clippings for this, but anything garden-friendly will work.) Covering the ground between the plants with tarps, cardboard, or similar will help keep the soil warm if temperatures still get cold at night. If frost is possible after transplanting, cover plants with sheets or tarps not heavy enough to damage branches or leaves. All of our seeds are: •GMO Free •Open Pollinator •American grown FREE SHIPPING - orders of $35+ $3.99 flat-rate shipping on all orders under $35. Additional growing instructions, tips and recipes on our website. Growing information provided for informational purposes only. Please message with any questions.