Best time to plant rockmelon in Australia
Cucumis melo var. cantalupo
Also called Cantaloupe, Cantaloup, Muskmelon, Spanspek
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.
On a shared plot: needs a lot of room
Vines wander, so train them back into your plot or up a frame.
When to sow
| Zone | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CoolBroadly matches local guides, with some differences | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Sow | Sow | Sow |
| TemperateMatches local guides | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Sow | Sow | Sow | Sow |
| SubtropicalMatches local guides | Sow | No | No | No | No | No | Sow | Sow | Sow | Sow | Sow | Sow |
| TropicalBroadly matches local guides, with some differences | Sow | Sow | Sow | Sow | Sow | Sow | Sow | Sow | Sow | Sow | Sow | Sow |
| AridBroadly matches local guides, with some differences | Sow | No | No | No | No | No | No | Sow | Sow | Sow | Sow | Sow |
Good months to sow
Your local conditions can shift any months shown here, so treat them as a guide.
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.