BALCONY FARMER

winter melons 冬瓜

GROWING MINI WINTER MELON

✅ ideal 1 - 2 kg,

✅ max 2 fruits per plant,
✅ plug and cook instantly.

✅ perfect for small families, elderly, harvest once, cook immediately.

1️⃣ SUN REQUIREMENT

5 - 6 hours direct sun, bright light rest of the day.
Mulch top

2️⃣ SPACE

Trellis height 1.5 to 2.4 meters

3️⃣ CONTAINER

≥ 40–50 L soil volume

Depth ≥ 30–35 cm

Minimum pot size: 40 cm diameter x 35 cm depth or bigger.
Smaller than this plant survives but won't fruit properly.
Foam box, fabric bag, large pot all OK.

How many fruits per container (realistic & safe)
For containers / foam boxes / grow bags:

1 fruit per plant → safest

2 fruits → only if plant is very healthy & container is BIG

Trying to set too many fruits:

weakens plant

small fruits

bland taste

👉 Commercial farms also thin aggressively.

4️⃣ Water & feeding (container rule)

Good Watering, no water logging.

Because roots are confined: water deep, not frequent, Soil must drain well.

5️⃣FERTILIZERS

Feed lightly but regularly: Compost tea / fish emulsion / slow-release organic pellets
Overfeeding = leaves only, no fruit.

6️⃣ VINE MANAGEMENT

Keep only ONE main vine
Remove side shoots below node 8–10

Allow 1 side shoot ONLY for fruiting.
Once fruit sets, Cut vine 2 leaves after fruit

This forces energy into the fruit, not length.

7️⃣ VINE CONTROL PRODUCTION

What actually triggers winter melon fruiting?

Winter melon (冬瓜) is naturally (genetically) a long-vine plant, but fruiting depends on:

Sunlight
Enough root volume
Healthy leaves
Female flowers
Energy balance
Node position
Correct pruning

—not total vine length.
👉 If you control vine length and focus energy, the plant can fruit even when kept short. you can keep it compact and still get fruit.

PINCH TIP / TRIM HEAD - REMOVE APICAL DOMINANCE

Pinch tip at 1.5 m to 2 m height (field farming logic - not balcony/container), the apical dominance is gone, it will stop growing upwards from the removed tip, the laterals explore randomly.

Winter melon flowers like this:

Male flowers → appear first (early nodes) on the main stem.

Female flowers → appear later, usually:

on secondary (side) vines
after the plant feels “established”

👉 So the key is forcing side vines early, not letting one main vine run forever.

Early Pinch tip at 5 - 7 true leaves
(Usually at 40 - 60 cm long) , on after the 6th true leaves ( exclude the codelydon ) pinch the main tip.

after pinching tip, plant sends energy into side shoots, i.e., the female flower factories.
after pinching tip, keep only 2 - 3 strong side vines, remove weak / crowded one.
this keeps the plant compact, breathable, productive.
LATERAL THAT ARE PRODUCING FLOWERS AND FRUITS
With correct pinching, vine length needed 1 meter to 1.5 meter total per side vine to produce fruit, with a vertical trellis height of 1.8 to 2.4 meter. Horizontal or circular looping is ok.

for container farming, keep only one to two fruit per plant max for healthy fruit.

PRUNING

Winter melon fruits mainly on lateral vines.
remove lateral under 4th nodes (count the number of leaves from the soil),
above 5th nodes (count from the soil), near the upper half (cut tip/pinched tip), choose 2 main strongest, thickest stem lateral just below the cut(pinch).
Select any thick lateral that grows outward and gets light.
Train them sideways, or slightly downward angle about 20 - 45° downward. This triggers flowering, fruit set and thicker stems. Winter melon LOVES slight downward growth.

Let laterals grow 1 to 1.5 meter, pinch their tips later after flowering to push fruiting.
Remove extra small laterals competing with the chosen ones.
Remove very thin, weak laterals near the base, remove laterals growing inward / tangled.

FRUITING LOGIC

On each chosen lateral:

Allow ONLY 1 fruit (container growing the plant has limited resources, soil volume, nutrients, water etc.,) limit to 1 fruit per lateral reduces stress on the plant and ensure each fruit gets enough energy to grow large. keep one fruit per lateral; pinch extra flower/fruits. it results in bigger fruits, larger size, more uniform shape, less chance of vine collapse, easier to manage.

When fruit sets:

Count 5–6 leaves after fruit

✂️ Pinch that lateral tip

This stops chaos.

Ground / Open Field Farming, farmers usually allow multiple (two to three) fruits per lateral. the soil has more nutrients and water, vine can support more weight. they may still prune slightly to avoid overcrowding.
Farmers may do "one fruit per lateral" for premium fruit production to get larger size, more uniform shape, but lower yield per area.

8️⃣ BALCONY POLLINATION REALITY

In HDB / condo, Pollinators may be limited, so, either hand-pollinate, or grow where bees can reach (near railing / open side)
Hand pollination is easy:

Morning: Male flower → touch pollen to female stigma

9️⃣ SUPPORT SYSTEM = STRONG TRELLIS + FRUIT HAMMOCK

Never let fruit hang by vine alone, provide fruit sling.

Winter melon cannot hang freely, not on light green net.

Best options:

Metal trellis / balcony railing, strong net + fruit hammock (Recycled laundry net, potatoes / onion mesh, fruit bag etc.,)

👉 Once female flower appears:

Tie vine to sturdy frame, Prepare hammock before fruit gains weight.

20251126 1336 Friday hot afternoon

Commando no 1, 3 meters height.

Status

~3 m tall
Main vine intact
Side shoots (laterals) emerging

What this means

Winter melon fruits mainly on lateral vines
A tall, strong main vine is good — it acts as the “trunk”

What to do?

✅ Keep

2–3 strong laterals near the upper half (especially those with thicker stems)
Any thick lateral that grows outward and gets light

❌ Remove

Very thin, weak laterals near the base
Laterals growing inward / tangled

Tip

Let laterals grow 1–1.5 m, then pinch their tips later after flowering to push fruiting.
👉 Winter melon No.1 is in ideal condition.

Commando no 2，2.8 meters height

🌱 Winter Melon No. 2 (Top Right – Trimmed Head)

Status

Head trimmed at ~2.5 m (forced topping)
Moved down to trellis support.
Side shoots responding
This is GOOD, not bad.
Topping redirects energy → laterals → flowers → fruit.

What to do

✅ Select

Choose 2 main laterals just below the cut
Train them sideways or slightly downward

❌ Remove

Extra small laterals competing with the chosen ones。

hmmmm... this winter melon no 2 is a little bit out of my planning and imagination. initially, I thought, it will follow the line and crawl up and grounded on the canopy on top. then run on the canopy, to the railing, and I will hammock the flower and fruit on railing. then, I saw there is no way I can pinch it's tip because I cannot go out to stand on the canopy, so , I cut tip at it's 2.5 meter, still thinking that the laterals shall clinch and up to the top. but it looks likes it won't listen to me. LOL ... ... hahaha ... now, it neither crawl further up or landing anywhere, high in the air with nothing to hold. ok, change plan, instead of let it crawl up to the canopy, let it down to rest on the 3m x 3m x 2.4m Arch Trellis. so it's lateral and fruit can hammock on the trellis, better fruit management.

20251222 Monday 1000 hot weather