50' Melon Tunnel UPDATE!! DID IT WORK?

[@jennimccreery2963]

I have a 25’ tunnel in my backyard that I’ve been trying to decide what to do with. You’ve convinced me that it needs to be a watermelon tunnel!! Thank you!!

[@dorisrorick2324]

Wow! I wish I had a yard big enough. I'd put a bistro table under that! Looks beautiful and relaxing.

[@trippingwithpippy2317]

Awesome! I started one this years that’s about 3-4 feet wide and 16 feet long. I’ve got watermelon, cantelopes, birdhouse gourd, and snake bean on one side and the other side I put some flowering vines, so I have a mix of flowers and fruits. You’ve inspired me to slightly widen and extend the length of my trellis.

[@SimplisticFarms]

That is awesome!! These tunnels are very versatile for sure. Welcome to the channel 👍

[@virginiaseedsskogen2038]

I'm planning on doing the same this weekend total trellis about 4' × 16, so 4 panels, 10 stakes, the cattle panel clips, and maybe a stake driver and the tool for the cattle panel clips.

[@myfuturepuglife]

That's gorgeous!

[@lazaralamas3958]

Beautiful work- a true blessing

[@Schnookable]

WOW!!! This is the coolest!

[@virginiaseedsskogen2038]

Looks like a beautiful productive garden! Perfect place to enjoy your morning cup of coffee. I'm planning on setting up a 16' long tunnel this weekend, your video was very helpful, thank you. I'm in zone 4a-4b eastern MN south of the twin cities. Hoping to get some melons to mature quickly enough before the end of the season.

[@SimplisticFarms]

Thanks! Good luck with your melon tunnel, keep us posted👍

[@virginiaseedsskogen2038]

@@SimplisticFarms , will do!

[@meenaxisanga]

Wow beautiful view garden nice gardening work and good information

[@SimplisticFarms]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it 👍

[@MariaInSoFla]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing.

[@freewillchoice8052]

Very nice set up ❤ thanks for sharing… I got a couple questions. 1. What do you do to the soil before the melons are planted and; 2. what do you feed the plants to make them grow so abundantly? Really nice 👍 and thanks in advance for your reply

[@VNGardener79]

so Wonderful

[@ScottHebert604]

wow looks good dude! super cool

[@SimplisticFarms]

Thanks Scott, I'm pretty excited about this one!

[@JulesGardening]

Very very cool brother. 👊✌️that’s impressive.

[@SimplisticFarms]

Thanks! I'm pretty happy with it👍

[@lavernabouzspain]

Wow! Looks good! Congratulations!

[@SimplisticFarms]

Thank you!

[@carlasissell7355]

I LOVE this!!

[@SimplisticFarms]

Thanks, me to!!

[@zenrockgardens]

omG I want to walk through that trellis. So cool.

[@SarahMiller-r6t]

Love this

[@MB-ml2ss]

Great job and thanks for the idea.

[@SimplisticFarms]

Thanks, we're pretty excited with how it's working so far👍🍉🍉

[@AVeryGoodYoutubeChannel]

Hi! what all options are there to grow under the tunnel? i'm thinking of onions and beets under mine.

[@msjoy2005]

I’m in west Michigan too! Muskegon to be exact

[@SimplisticFarms]

Hey neighbor!👍

[@evelynbrooks8558]

Beautiful!

[@SimplisticFarms]

Thank you! Welcome to the channel!!

[@jessicaruff8799]

So incredible!!! 😁

[@SimplisticFarms]

Works great!!🤙

[@beatricehesley3413]

Beautiful

[@SimplisticFarms]

Thank you!

[@anonperson4597]

We do this with gourds :)

[@MrsJuanita067]

I’ve been doing that same thing on my cow panel trellis

[@SimplisticFarms]

It works so well!

[@debraarizona4809]

Outstanding😀👍

[@SimplisticFarms]

Thanks!

[@Thetimecapsuletx]

You earned my subscription and a big thumbs up! Wow..

[@SimplisticFarms]

Thanks, greatly appreciated! Stay tuned, much more to come🤙

[@MrsJuanita067]

I love it

[@theknownguy2221]

That’s so cool. Thanks for sharing. Where did you get the poles and wire meshes?

[@SimplisticFarms]

I got the t-posts and cattle panel from Tractor Supply Co.

[@Danielle_W87]

How do you control squash bugs? I’m in zone 6b, central Illinois. I always give up on my squash and melons because of those dang things

[@bm-outdoors]

Did you guide the plants to the trellis or trim runners that were growing away from the trellis?

[@sgprpj]

Very impressive

[@SimplisticFarms]

Thanks, glad you liked it👍

[@randywells4674]

What after they get so big they will snap off what will you support them with i get buy with cucumbers pick them smaller

[@SimplisticFarms]

You are correct, I did a whole video about it. I used melon hammocks and they worked pretty good.

[@TheMixingBowlHomestead]

WOW. Impressive. 👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@SimplisticFarms]

Thanks! It's a great way to grow them.👍

[@dennislintz1]

I made mine an "A' frame. I used shorter cattle fence. I think 14 ft and bent them in half. I have some watermelons that are about 6"-8" long and they seem to be shriveling on bottom end. Solutions? Thanks

[@SimplisticFarms]

My best guess would be a light and airflow issue. My thought is the tight "A" frame design could possibly be too tight once filled in with the plants. Just My two cents though, could potentially be a nutrient deficiency as well.

[@dennislintz1]

@@SimplisticFarms Thanks, I have not done much pruning. I have some good ones on there, but these were the first ones to come out. Could have been nutrition also. I seen vids where they took off every other leaf to help with fruiting. Might try that and feeds better.

[@SimplisticFarms]

@@dennislintz1 it's all a big ongoing experiment 👍

[@deankoch7305]

That's very nice.

[@SimplisticFarms]

Thank you

[@DALIAMLUNA]

I LOVVVVVVVVVVE YOUR WORK ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️🧡💛💚💙🧿💜

[@genettejackson6593]

Wonderful ❤

[@wendysmith-Florida]

I noticed that your trellis run north - south, and east to west, I thought the preferred run was north to south? do you notice any difference?

[@SimplisticFarms]

Great observation! Truthfully, no, I really didn't notice any difference in production. The one thing I will do is plant other crops that like a little shade on the shady side of the trellis if I'm companion planting with it.

[@moonedward63]

That's great!

[@SimplisticFarms]

Thanks! It works great 👍

[@TyposMom]

When you are facing the camera from in the tunnel, what direction are you facing?

[@SimplisticFarms]

In this video, I am facing South while in the tunnel. I walk out of the tunnel at the end going North.

[@TyposMom]

@@SimplisticFarms Got three of them up today! Thanks to your video. All tunnels running north-south!

[@apostolicjones]

What are you growing at the interior base of the watermelon?

[@SimplisticFarms]

Carrots and Radish

[@bridgettewood1713]

So what kind of 🍉 watermelons did you trellis? Thank you.

[@SimplisticFarms]

I switch it up but I've grown Sugar Baby, Crimson Sweet, as well as my Cantelope and Honedew Melons.

[@cevans7909]

Did you plant something down low inside the tunnel? I thought I may have saw carrots? Also does your tunnel go east to west or north to south? I’m growing my musk melons this year on one panel and I planted in the north side and they growing towards the south.

[@SimplisticFarms]

I did, I planted carrots in one bed and Raddishes in the other. That tunnel runs North to South.👍

[@laurawidgeon2287]

Awesome, looks great, what kind of melons did you plant?

[@SimplisticFarms]

Down the left bed I did a variety of Cantelope & Honeydew Melons, down the right bed I did a variety of Watermelons.

[@bunkhouse1996]

The dark green watermelon was Sugar Baby, the ligher one could be Klondike Blue Ribbon

[@raysofsunshine5639]

did u trim the leaves back or any of the melon on the same vines? And did u feed the soil and how often if u did

[@milamirasol1941]

Watching your very informative video from Qatar. I love your garden and thanks for sharing. Your plants look healthy and beautiful. Are you using organic fertilizer or synthetic?

[@SimplisticFarms]

Thanks! Always 100% organic, we don't use any synthetic fertilizer.

[@milamirasol1941]

@@SimplisticFarms very impressive. Thank you so much.

[@eastwood953]

Have you ever dealt with gummy stem blight? I only have it on one watermelon stem, where the stems intersect before the down stem to the melon. Should I rip the whole plant up? Its only on that one spot. I had some brown leaves that I trimmed off and one stem that withered away from a small melon, but since that happened a month ago, This is my only issue. The melon looks fine and is still getting size in it

[@SimplisticFarms]

I haven't ever had that. I would probably leave it if it isn't "spreading" and causing more damage. It sounds like everything else is doing good.👍

[@eastwood953]

@@SimplisticFarms Cool, thank you

[@SimplisticFarms]

No problem my friend, glad to help🤙

[@stevenbruno7739]

You said you have watermelons on one side and cantaloupe on the other. Do the vines every get close to each other at the top?

[@SimplisticFarms]

@stevenbruno7739 yep, it didn't seem to bother anything.

[@brianpierringer4980]

What are the nets called and where do you get them?

[@SimplisticFarms]

They are called melon hammocks and I ordered them off Amazon.

[@Swampwabbit77]

How are you supporting the melons (hanging Baskets) if any?

[@SimplisticFarms]

I used Melon hammocks I found on Amazon. They worked pretty good but may try something a little different for the large varieties. Here's a video I did about the hammocks. Welcome to the channel 👍 kzbin.info/www/bejne/mJmUnWVvj7uqq8k

[@thomasmendez142]

Did you use any fertilizer or anything to help with the soil or growth?

[@SimplisticFarms]

I do. My go-to for most of my beds are Alfalfa Meal, Kelp Meal, Bone Meal, Blood Meal, and pelleted dryed chicken manure. I also did a thin layer of peat moss and baked cow manure compost on top, only about an inch thick. If I don't use the compost topping, I plant clover as a cover crop with the melons.

[@SimplisticFarms]

Bagged not baked, typo..

[@thomasmendez142]

@Simplistic Farms ok thank you very much. We planted last year with no luck, but this year we are getting growth but I wanted to add something to them. Thank you for reaching back. Great channel !!

[@carmcb]

how close can you plant the cantaloupe ?

[@SimplisticFarms]

I plant them 24" apart, but I plant two rows staggered down the bed.

[@foxnoxness4989]

It's also lovely. 💗 Are you doing the same this year? Sadly most melons don't like it as far north that I am, and there's no green house. But maybe in an sunny calm spot I might try and see if they take next year, finding a really quick type. ^^ just got out all the onions and potatoes and today the super hardy bellpepppers are to come out as well.

[@SimplisticFarms]

Yep, we're growing Melons on the tunnel again this year. I wouldn't grow them any other way now, lol. I would definately play around with other varieties, you may find one that works for your location.

[@Finchersfarmstead]

New gardener on the bigger fruits i thought theyd break off if you trellis them like watermelons did you do a smaller variety for the trellises?

[@SimplisticFarms]

Great question! I do a mix of both, and use melon hammocks when they start getting big. It works fantastic!👍

[@Finchersfarmstead]

@@SimplisticFarms ah ok great to know thanks!

[@melchlepp]

Just curious, did you run your trellises east-west or north-south? I can't imagine it would make a huge difference. You have quite a healthy crop there. Great job.

[@SimplisticFarms]

I ran mine north-south. But I agree, I don't think it makes a huge difference.

[@erikaervin9817]

This is amazing! Would you mind sharing your plant spacing? We are getting ready to put the trellis in but not sure how many seeds to plant per cattle panel.

[@SimplisticFarms]

Hi Erika, thanks for asking! I plant all of my Melons 2 rows(in a 30" wide bed) staggered, and I space the plants(I direct seed my melons) 24" apart. So there's essentially a plant every 12" down the bed. 50 plants in a 50' bed. Hope that helps!

[@kathythomas9618]

I want to only put up one panel so I think they are 48 or 50 inches x 16 ft so where do I start my first plant ? 12 in from panel edge? Or at the edge? By the way your awesome Tks for the info very helpful, I’m old now so gardening is much harder needed all the help I can get lol , hopefully this way will keep the deer out and I will actually get some water melon Tks for your response

[@SimplisticFarms]

@@kathythomas9618 I would probably start right at the edge. That way you'll fit as many as possible. Hope that helps👍

[@michellemiller2747]

Just curious, but did the watermelons get heavy and break at the stem and fall as they got bigger?. Or did they stay attached?

[@SimplisticFarms]

Yes, I had to implement melon hammocks. They worked great👍

[@nabilpapu739]

what fealtrizer you used to make them at this size?

[@SimplisticFarms]

I used alfalfa Meal, kelp Meal, blood Meal, bone Meal, and a little dried chicken manure. This video may help > kzbin.info/www/bejne/m6LQZXaibZ5-nMk

[@MadboyShane]

Great work, and great video! I’m curious what your plant spacing was like on these. I’m doing a 12’ tunnel this week and was thinking around 18” between plants. Honestly I hadn’t even thought to do plants on the outside of the tunnel. I’ll have to give that a try too.

[@SimplisticFarms]

On my 30" wide beds I plant 2 rows staggered, spacing the plants 24" in each row, essentially having a plant every 12" running down the bed. If you are only doing 1 row, 18" should work great.👍

[@speakrighttogod]

Is your reply the spacing for the plants on the cattle panels (NOT in a raised bed)???

[@ayanthe90smusiclover61]

Height nd length of cattle panel ?

[@erlindajohnson1440]

And what kinda Fertilize do you use ?

[@SimplisticFarms]

I use Kelp meal, alfalfa meal, blood meal, bone meal.

[@williamfernandez5170]

Awesome video!! Where can I buy this trellis material in the states? And what’s it called? Thanks

[@SimplisticFarms]

I bought mine from Tractor Supply Co. Any farm and garden supply store should have them.

[@bryanpatton1949]

What variety watermelon is this? How big do they get?

[@SimplisticFarms]

I like growing Sugar Baby's, they don't get too big, and then I grow Crimson Sweet, they do get a little bigger. You definately want to plan for Melon hammocks. I also grow my Cantaloup and winter squash on it. Works great👍

[@KLP99]

What are you going to do to keep them from breaking off the vine when they're too big?

[@SimplisticFarms]

Great question! This is what I did kzbin.info/www/bejne/mJmUnWVvj7uqq8ksi=hpUBEkRvUM7oYEt-

[@erlindajohnson1440]

While it’s growing like I see to the other how to trim it ?

[@SimplisticFarms]

I actually don't trim them at all, I just help direct them up the Trellis.

[@jeremyf639]

how long of hog fence sections are those if you dont mind

[@SimplisticFarms]

Great question, they are 16' long. Welcome to the channel 👍

[@growbig27]

What variety of watermelon is that please, I'm in the UK and we are often told you can't grow them outside. I'm in the very south which is an 8-9 zone. How hot do your summers get? With love from Cornwall

[@SimplisticFarms]

You should be able to grow them no problem there. It gets around 90°-100°F here in the summer. I like growing Sugar Baby and Crimson Sweet Watermelons here. But there are quite a few good varieties, and you might find one that grows better in your climate. Good luck this season!

[@growbig27]

@@SimplisticFarms thank you sugar babies are currently taking over my polytunnel 😀

[@mozhui8024]

Do we need to prune?

[@SimplisticFarms]

I personally don't prune my Melons. I only prune my Tomatoes.

[@lilyzhang5574]

Very nice! Love it! I'll consider making it next month. What's the width and height of the tunnel? Thank you so much for sharing!

[@SimplisticFarms]

The width is roughly 78" wide and approximately 6' tall. It allows me to cover two 30" wide beds with an 18" walkway down the middle. It works great for all of your climbing veggies.👍

[@lilyzhang5574]

@@SimplisticFarms Thank you so much for your quick response! I really appreciate it! I'll definitely make this beautiful tunnel next month. Have a good one!

[@speakrighttogod]

Do you have a problem with 4-footed creatures eating your fruit that's closer to the ground/easier to reach?? Have you seen any animals CLIMB the cattle panels to eat??

[@rogerrathbun444]

I'm in Coldwater Mi and I want to do Buttercup Squash this way but my wife seems to think that they will fall off the vine ?

[@SimplisticFarms]

They will grow great that way, but you will want to use hammocks to keep them from falling when they get big. I do the same thing with the Melons and it works great.👍

[@rogerrathbun444]

@@SimplisticFarms Hammock. Do you buy those ?

[@TheShanelle238]

I'm going to be putting this in hopefully this week. I'm going to put it in two raised beds. I have tons of different varieties of melons and watermelons. Some of them get huge. Will that be fine? Not sure if there's varieties I shouldn't plant on the trellis. So I read that you staggered planted them. Can I just put a seed every 12 inches all the way down?

[@SimplisticFarms]

That's awesome! I stagger them to create better airflow when they fill in. Because I'm doing to rows, I still get 50plants per bed. That being said, on occasion I will put 2 seeds at each location, just incase of poor germination. As long as you have a way to support them when they get big and heavy, you should be ok. I do a few varieties and a couple are large. I did a video last season on that, here's the link. For the really big one I'm going to try something a little different this year. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mJmUnWVvj7uqq8k

[@TheShanelle238]

@@SimplisticFarms so I went onto bootstrap farmer and got some melon hammocks. They had the best price and they hold a lot of weight

[@SimplisticFarms]

@@TheShanelle238 perfect, that should work great 👍

[@sarahturps1384]

How far apart did you plant them???

[@SimplisticFarms]

I space them 24" apart in the row, and plant 2 rows staggered in a 30" bed. So essentially there is a plant every 12" down the bed.

[@sarahturps1384]

Thanks! I knew it was different spacing when growing vertically!

[@SimplisticFarms]

@@sarahturps1384 heck yeah, making the most of the space we have!!👍

[@empressiya8888]

Can I do this on big watermelons?

[@SimplisticFarms]

Yes you can👍The key is to have a plan for supporting them as they grow hanging. I did a video on that as well and used Melon hammocks. However, for big varieties I would use a sturdier hammock. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mJmUnWVvj7uqq8k

[@tropicalfruitjungle8650]

Nice set-up! How tall and wide is this tunnel?

[@SimplisticFarms]

Thanks! It's 78" wide(2-30"beds w/18" walkway down the middle), and roughly 6.5' tall. Welcome to the Channel!!

[@pandalorehub]

Did you end up having to support the melons somehow as they grew?

[@SimplisticFarms]

Yes I did, melon hammocks! I made this video about it👇 kzbin.info/www/bejne/mJmUnWVvj7uqq8k

[@robertomaldonado7397]

How long was each panel?

[@SimplisticFarms]

They are 50" tall x 16' long. They work great!👍 Here's the Video I made when I built it that explains it all, check it out👉kzbin.info/www/bejne/b6GXeIt9mqh-q80

[@robertomaldonado7397]

@@SimplisticFarms I was looking for a link to the build, thank you. I think I’ll try it out this year

[@SimplisticFarms]

@@robertomaldonado7397 Absolutely, good luck this year!🤙

[@johnastrero6046]

wouldn't the structure cave in when the fruits reach full maturity?

[@SimplisticFarms]

Nope, I've used it for a couple seasons now and it works great.

[@whospikedmycoffee999]

Did all of this grow in 5 weeks? If not, how long did this actually take to grow?

[@SimplisticFarms]

Yep, that's we're they were at in 5-6 weeks. They still had a ways to go of course before they were ready for harvest. We harvested them in September I believe. Welcome to the channel!

[@krismumm5721]

How long of panels did you use?

[@decarli4280]

Ok my concern is the weight of the 🍈 🍈 melons. Will they fa

[@SimplisticFarms]

Depending on the variety that can be a concern. Here's the video I did with the solution. 👍kzbin.info/www/bejne/mJmUnWVvj7uqq8k

[@decarli4280]

Sorry it cut my message. Will melons fall prematurely because of thier weight?thx love the content