Winter Melon Growing Guide: Planting, Care & Harvest

Benincasa hispida

Growing calendar

Typical timing for central Japan (Kanto region). Shift it for your own climate, and record your actual dates.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Sow / plantGrowingHarvest

Guides

Common problems

Start from what you can see on the plant.

Yellow leaves Leaves dying Leaf spots Fruit problems

Pests and diseases (18)

Problems recorded for this plant, most serious first.

Powdery Mildew

Disease

White patches appear scattered on the upper leaf surface at first, then the whole leaf is coated in a white powder. Leaves later yellow, brown and die back, and reduced photosynthesis cuts growth and yield.

Late Blight

Disease

Dark green water-soaked lesions appear on the leaves and expand quickly into brown dead tissue. White mold forms on the underside and at the lesion edge, and dark brown lesions spread to stems and fruit.

Cucumber Mosaic Virus

Disease

New leaves show a yellow-green mosaic, crinkle, and the whole plant becomes stunted. Fruit colors unevenly and grows misshapen.

Cucumber Green Mottle Mosaic

Disease

Dark green blotches and raised mosaic appear on the leaves. The fruit surface becomes mottled and the flesh discolors, spoiling the flavor.

Zucchini Yellow Mosaic

Disease

Strong yellow mottled mosaic appears on the leaves, which become narrow and shredded in shape. Fruit is knobbly and lumpy, twisted and bent.

Anthracnose

Disease

Light brown to dark brown round lesions with sharp margins form on leaves and fruit, slightly sunken in the center. In wet weather salmon-pink slimy spore masses ooze out on the lesions.

Gummy Stem Blight

Disease

Gray-brown lesions form at stem nodes and the crown, exuding brown gum and splitting lengthwise. Round to V-shaped brown lesions form on leaves, dotted with small black fruiting bodies.

Fusarium Wilt of Cucurbits

Disease

Part of the vine wilts during the day and eventually the whole plant dies. The stem splits lengthwise near the soil and exudes gum, and the vascular tissue is browned when cut.

Damping-off

Disease

The stem pinches in at soil level, turning water-soaked to brown and thin, and the seedling topples over. Infection before emergence makes the stand uneven with missing plants.

Bacterial Soft Rot

Disease

The crown or the head becomes water-soaked and soft, then collapses into a slimy mush. The rotting tissue gives off a distinctive foul odor.

Root-knot Nematode

Pest

The plant wilts in the daytime and does not recover with feeding or watering. Pull it up and the roots carry beaded chains of galls of varying size with few fine roots.

Downy Mildew

Disease

Pale yellow to yellow-brown angular lesions form on the upper leaf surface with a gray-purple mold in the matching spot underneath. Lesions merge, the leaves die back and the plant declines early.

Mosaic DiseaseBacterial Fruit BlotchPlant-parasitic NematodesWhite Leaf SpotFusarium Wilt and Damping-offBrown Blotch

Written byYasuGrowing vegetables and fruit in Chiba, Japan, and building Gadenin. Corrections are welcome. 15 years of growing.