melon growing experiment over
 

I wanted to grow more melons and fewer weeds by covering my melon patch with weed barrier fabric. My idea sounded good and may have worked if I had used a heavy duty barrier. I opted for the medium cost stuff.

After a couple of hundred sharp hooved deer walked all over and poked deer hoof holes in the fabric followed by a week of 30 to 60 mph winds, the fabric was shredded and useless. A ten by 50 foot section of heavier weed barrier is still intact and the weeds are not growing.

In the beginning there were suggestions to use straw as the weed barrier. That cost would a lot less and easier to apply. Straw will be spread over the uncovered area. By the way, all the melon plants are doing very well.

My hippy cousin used to use old discarded carpet. He said it worked very well.

Organichris,

"My hippy cousin used to...".

I'm curious...is your cousin still a hippy? I haven't seen one of them, in a long, long time. :)

Gary

Those who were still are except with short hair (or no hair), clean shaven...both men and women, no tie-dyed clothes, regular frames on the bifocals, money in the bank managed by establishment bankers, driving Toyota Camrys, taking care of the grandkids, keeping the lawn mowed and complaining about the daggone loud crap that is a poor excuse for music these days. Well, maybe they aren't hippies any more.

Who me? I sure don't remember ever being a hippie....most of the time. The older I get, the tamer I was.

Tormato,

Yes, my second cousin is a bonified hippie. He just got his license revoked for not paying his taxes. I don't know what he's doing these days, but when I was a kid he made his "living" growing tomatoes and other goodies. He sold to local burger joints and whatnot. He's gotta be in his 60s now.

I did just as you did, only I put a deer fence up around my entire garden. Melons are doing well. I covered the weed barrier with shredded wood chips.

Bunnies are going after mine this year, ... and chipmunks. Anyone for rabbit stew?

Update: I have covered the ground with straw mulch to save what little moisture we have gotten and to keep the weeds down so I can find the ripe ones. It seems to be working. There are about 50 small (from pea size to football size) melons both watermelons and muskmelons. Several weeks until the first is ready.