Alfalfa
Alfalfa is a hero in both the kitchen and the garden. It is easy and fast to grow indoors to add a slight nutty taste to salads or sandwiches.
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Watermelons, rockmelons and honeydew – the quintessential summer fruit trio! They’re oh-so-sweet, juicy and delicious when eaten straight from the fridge or partnered with desserts and savoury dishes. If you’re looking to grow them in your garden, make sure you have plenty of space to allow the vines to roam.
How to grow melons in a garden
- Choose a spot in your garden that sits in full sun. Loosen the soil with a garden fork and enrich the soil with Yates Thrive Natural Blood & Bone with Seaweed.
- Sow direct by pressing 3-4 seeds into mounds of moist soil 1m apart or fill starter trays with Yates Black Magic Seed Raising Mix. Sow seeds, cover, firm down and water well. Keep the soil moist so the seeds don’t dry out. Transplant after 3-4 weeks.
- Once seedlings appear, thin to 2-3 strong plants and feed weekly with Yates Thrive Natural Fish Seaweed+ Plant Food Concentrate.
- Water well while the fruit develops, then reduce watering as the fruit begins to ripen to sweeten before picking.
- Harvest rockmelon and honey dew when the stem begins to break away from fruit. Watermelons are ready to harvest when underside in contact with soil turns yellow and the fruit gives a dull, hollow sound when tapped.
Growing tips
Fruit develops best flavour if left to mature for a few days after picking.
To reduce risk of disease, keep leaves dry by watering at the base of plant or in the mornings.
Plant flowering perennials such as lavender and salvia to encourage bees into your garden to help pollination and fruit set.
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Recommended products
Yates Thrive Natural Blood & Bone with Seaweed
A certified organic garden input boosted with NZ Seaweed to gently nourish plants, enrich the soil and encourage a strong healthy root system.
Yates Thrive Natural Fish & Seaweed+ Plant Food Concentrate
A complete plant food enriched with natural fish, seaweed, humates, molasses and more - boosted with NPK to improve plant and soil vitality.
Yates Black Magic Seed Raising Mix
Specially formulated for trouble-free seed raising in trays (or outdoor seed sowing direclty into the ground) and propagation of cuttings.
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