Growing Rockmelon, also Canteloupe

Cucumis melo : Cucurbitaceae / the gourd family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec
                S S    
                  T T T
                  P P  

(Best months for growing Rockmelon in Australia - temperate regions)

  • S = Plant undercover in seed trays
  • T = Plant out (transplant) seedlings
  • P = Sow seed

September: Frost tender

  • Grow in seed trays, and plant out in 4-6 weeks. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed. Best planted at soil temperatures between 20°C and 32°C. (Show °F/in)
  • Space plants: 40 - 60 cm apart
  • Harvest in 10-16 weeks.
  • Compatible with (can grow beside): Sweetcorn, Sunflowers
  • Avoid growing close to: Potatoes

Your comments and tips

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04 Feb 20, Anon (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
There are many different kinds of melons in the world but the ones we call rock melons in Qld use to grow green and turn yellow when ripening. The new varieties the commercial growers grow are green and they stay green. They are grown to suit the supermarkets, size, transportability and shelf life. Very hard when to know when to pick them. A grower told me 85 days after planting he picks, that is in the spring. If you look on the web for melons you will find a site with 25 different kinds.
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10 Dec 19, Steven Larkin (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Hi , My Edens Gem melons have a few weeks more growing until harvest. Most of the leaves have yellowed and died. Will they still be ok to be harvested. Thanks
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17 Dec 19, Anon (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
This happens to some crops as they approach harvest time, maybe they needed more watering in this hot weather. I'm in the same boat with rock melons, my problem is do some of the new commercial melons slip from the vine when ripening. Mine are still green and I feel they will not be ripe until around Xmas day. A few of my melons were attacked by Qld fruit fly I think. I put shade cloth over my melons this morning to keep the flies off. If you have plenty of melons you could try one.
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28 Nov 19, Peter Blakey (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
how do you care for the rockmelon plant the one we have have grown from scraps and have many flowers and one has a small fruit
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29 Nov 19, anon (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
It is becoming late in the season to be growing rockies with the hot weather we are having and coming The plant will have lots of flowers, male and female (the one with the fruit on it), bees need to do their pollinating work. Only a small % of the female will develop into fruit. They need plenty of water while the fruit is growing (only takes a week or two). It takes approx. 45 days from pollination to the fruit ripening. Back off the water a bit after the fruit has grown to full size. Too much water and they will split in the hot weather.
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06 Dec 18, Lorraine (Australia - temperate climate)
I have rock mellons coming up where i have buried kitchen scraps.. Should i pull them out or let them grow. I am in Ipswich Qld December 6 2018
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06 Dec 18, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
You could let them grow - thin them out or separate them to 2-3' apart. I did this in Oct - the plants are just setting and growing fruit now. You may have to protect them later when they have fruit on from the sun. Better to plant them late August (away from frosts) or early Sept. The picking season is well under way in SE Qld now - probably finished by Xmas.
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12 Nov 18, Dianne Morgan (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
I live In Brisbane Australia I have a rock melon plant can I plant it now & How far do the vines go as I only have a small courtyard
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13 Nov 18, Mike (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
Yes try growing it - I have some which are just starting to spread now. In really good soil and plenty of water they could spread a diameter of 4m. You could move/train the vine to a smaller area.
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27 Feb 18, Tony Mackay (Australia - temperate climate)
I am in Nambucca area frost free north east slope. Can i still plant rockmelons. I have the plants.
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Showing 31 - 40 of 217 comments
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Liv, yes rockmelons are from the curcurbit family, and need to be pollinated like a pumpkin of zucchini. They have male and female flowers, and I find it easier to pollinate by hand. The females have a small ball thingy on the base of the flower,(obviously, this is a small rockie, waiting to happen), and i take a male flower and press it into the flower of the female. The pollen is more potent when damp, so the early morning is a good time to do this. Often rockies have a small flower hidden under something, and I hand pollinate to make sure I get some rockies, otherwise, it's hit and miss. I'm in Armidale in NSW, and often the weather just isn't warm enough to ripen rockies and watermelon, but with a shadehouse or hothouse, I should get some this year. Good Luck.

- adam synnott

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