how do i grow cantaloupe?

Question

what do i do when the they start blooming flowers

Answer 1

Make sure you don't water overhead early in the morning so the male flowers can have a chance to pollinate the female flowers.
Male flowers are short lived. They will open up before dawn and will close completely by mid-morning.The male flowers possess both pollen and nectar, the female flowers only nectar. If the plants are watered from overhead early in the day, that may prevent all further pollination for that day. Everything gets washed off of the short-lived male flowers. Replacement flowers do not open then until the following morning.

One cause of poor fruit set is too much nitrogen, which can result in mostly vegetative growth.
Too much shade or not enough light is another cause of poor fruit set. Most fruiting vegetables do best in full sun all day --- they need at least 6 to 8 hours of sunlight.
Extreme temperatures during flowering ( below 55 degrees or above 90 degrees), can reduce fruit set.
If insects are not active... pollination and fruit development will not occur. Then you can hand pollinate. Take the male flower and gently rub its pollen onto the stigma sections in the center of the female flower. Pollination will be more successful if several male flowers are used to pollinate one female flower.

Here's some sites that can help:
http://www.waynesthisandthat.com/melons
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/plantanswers/vegetables/cantalou.html
Good luck! Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Let the flowers bloom - that's where the fruit will grow. Just keep them watered (not too much - watch for rot). Also be sure they have good soil. Good luck!

Answer 3

You can either but them as plants or grow them from seeds. You need to make sure that you give them plenty of water. You should start getting flowers by early to mid July.