Caribbean King RZ | F1 Rockmelon Seed

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Cucumis melo

CULTURE: A light, well-drained soil with a pH of 7.0 and a southern exposure is ideal. Good soil moisture is important in early stages of growth and during pollination when fruits are setting. After this point do not water the last week before fruits are ripe, as overwatering can cause bland fruit.

TRANSPLANTING: Sow indoors in 50 cell plug trays or 5-7.5cm peat pots in late October or one month (no sooner!) before transplanting outdoors. Plant 3 seeds per cell or pot, about 6mm deep. Keep temperature 27-32C until germination. Handle young plants carefully and never let the soil dry out. Grow seedlings at 24C. Reduce water and temperature for a week to harden seedlings. When the weather is frost-free, warm, and settled, transplant 60-90cm apart in rows 2 metres apart or thin to 1 plant/pot or cell with scissors and transplant 35cm apart. Even hardened melon seedlings are tender. Do not disturb roots when transplanting, and water thoroughly.

DIRECT SEEDING: Sow 1-2 weeks after last frost when soil is warm, above 21C, 3 seeds every 35cm, 12mm deep, thinning to 1 plant/spot.

ROW COVERS: Since melons like consistently warm conditions, plastic mulch and row covers will make for earlier crops and better yields, especially in the south of Australia. Remove covers when plants have female flowers (tiny fruit at base of blossom).

DISEASES: Choose varieties resistant to diseases in your area. “Sudden wilt” is a complex disease and cold weather stress syndrome in late summer when plants have a heavy set of ripening melons, can cause plants to wilt almost overnight. Keep plants healthy with good fertility and irrigation to avoid sudden wilt.

INSECT PESTS: Protect against cucumber beetles with floating row covers applied at transplanting, or control with pyrethrin or azadirachtin.

RIPENESS: Each variety is a little different. Most are ready when the gray-green color begins to change to buff-yellow and when a light tug separates the fruit from the vine. Some melon types, like honeydew, Charentais, canary, Spanish, and Crenshaw are overripe by the time the stem can be tugged from the fruit. These must be cut from the vine.

STORAGE: All melons should be stored at 85-95% relative humidity. Store ripe netted melons at 2-5C; store other melons at 7-10C for 7-14 days.

DAYS TO MATURITY: From transplanting; add about 10 days if direct-seeded.

AVG. DIRECT SEEDING RATE: 30 seeds/3.3m, 100 seeds/30m, 1M/120m, 15M/acre at 3 seeds every 35cm in rows 2 metres apart.

SEED SPECS: SEEDS/500g.: Avg. 19,000.

Quick Facts

• Caribbean King RZ | F1 Rockmelon Seed
• Latin Name: Cucumis melo
• Days To Maturity: 80-110Days
• Life Cycle: Annual
• Hybrid Status: F1
• Resistances: High resistances Fom:0,1,2. Intermediate resistances Px (ex Sf):2,3,5