Growing in Miles

Best time to plant rockmelon in Miles

Cucumis melo var. cantalupo

Also called Cantaloupe, Cantaloup, Muskmelon, Spanspek

Sow rockmelon in Miles in Sep to Dec.

Rockmelon is the Australian name for the netted melon North Americans know as cantaloupe, prized for sweet, fragrant, usually orange flesh, and weighing from half a kilogram to 5 kilograms. Seed lines filed here can also include smooth or mottled relatives from the same species, such as honeydew, whose flesh is green or pale.

When to sow in Miles

Miles, QLD is in the subtropical zone. The zone also plants in Jan, Jul to Aug, but Miles's frost dates make those months risky for a frost-tender crop.

Matches local guides.

Your local conditions can shift any months shown here, so treat them as a guide.

Frost in Miles

Frost usually arrives in Miles around mid May and finishes by mid September. In about 1 year in 10 it comes as early as late April or as late as late September, so frost-tender crops are planned around those dates.

From its Bureau of Meteorology station, 1991 to 2020, counting a night at 2°C or lower as a frost. Frost hollows and hillsides can shift these dates by weeks, so ask the growers at your garden too.

On a shared plot: needs a lot of room

Vines wander, so train them back into your plot or up a frame.

Growing details

How to start
Raise seedlings, then transplant
Sowing depth
2.5cm
Plant spacing
40-60cm
Row spacing
120cm
Height
40cm
Germination
3-14 days, in soil of at least 15°C
Time to harvest
85 days
Frost
Frost tender
Sun
Full sun
Life cycle
annual

These are typical figures, and varieties differ. Your seed packet takes priority.

Rockmelon elsewhere

Rockmelon across Australia