Cold spring hit Emir F1 melons, then fleece and strings sped up ripening

Emir F1 melons reportedly ripened quickly after a cold spring when no-dig gardening author Charles Dowding used simple protection and training methods. In an Instagram post, Dowding said the melons were sown on March 28 and planted on May 18, with fleece placed over the plants for two weeks during cold conditions. He described burying each plant’s string under the rootball and training the main stem upward to a wire. Dowding said he removes laterals until the plants reach one meter, never prunes the fruit, and does not do pollination or use feeds or fertilizers. A commenter asked how Dowding decides how many melons to leave per plant.