Melon Retato Degli Ortolani Seeds

Info: The variety `Retato Degli Ortolani` is a heirloom Tuscan melon whose wonderful perfume and rich orange flesh adds to its meltingly sweet flavour. It produces orange-fleshed fruits with a white and green skin weighing up to 2 kg on strong and very productive vines.

Sowing & cultivation: In general, melons are lovers of warmth (they need higher temperatures than tomatoes), and typically grow best under glass (glasshouse or poly tunnel), but can be grown outdoors in warmer regions. Sow from March to the end of May 1cm deep directly into 8 to 10cm pots. Plant 75 to 100cm apart when all risk of frost has passed. Melons prefer is diffuse light, a rich and well-drained but moist soil and they need a suitable support. Once the stem has reached the top of the support pinch out the leading shoot. This will make the plant concentrate on the formation of fruits. If the basal leaves begin to yellow feed with a liquid tomato fertiliser. Water regularly! If you grow melons indoors, you will need to pollinate the flowers. As soon as the fruits reach the size of tennis balls you need to use string nets or other means to support them. When the melons are ripe, they will give off a good melon fragrance from the stem end and will sound hollow when you tap them.