Those of you who are vegetable gardeners are now experiencing the bounty of your efforts. Enjoy the fruits and vegetables of your labors.

This is always a good time to note things you WISH you had done in this year’s garden…Fence the corn from raccoons, tie up the tomatoes sooner… A couple of possible future improvements are noted here.

Growing Melons on a Trellis
There are many excellent reasons for growing melons. You can experiment with varieties not found in the stores and the sweet full taste of the ripened fruit far surpasses the “picked green” store bought kind.
However, if your garden is small, there are good reasons NOT to grow melons. A single muskmelon plant (the least expansive variety) can spread vines over a 20 square foot area! The last time I set out two hills in the traditional manner, they took up a quarter of the garden and yielded only a few fruits.

Training melons (and other expansive plants such as squash, pumpkin and cucumber) to grow on a trellis, a technique used by Oriental gardeners, is a good solution.

Site the A-frame trellis as you would a solar collector. Use two by three boards and concrete reinforcing mesh to create a sturdy frame. Since the vines should receive as much sunlight as possible, a 60 degree angle is optimum for maximum exposure. Make the trellis about 4 feet tall and set length according to the size of your garden. The trellis should face south, so run it east to west along the northern edge of the garden so it won’t shade other crops. The shady strip under the trellis is a great place for a bed of leaf lettuce.

Plant seed directly in the ground as soon as the soil is completely warmed. Keep the seedlings moist as they emerge.

Train the vines up the trellis while they are young and flexible — and keep an eye on them! The vines grow vigorously and it’s best to redirect them before they get away! Wind the ends through the holes in the wire to keep them growing UP.

Once the melons emerge, they will hang down behind the trellis. Some varieties may have to be supported since the stem alone is not strong enough to support the weight of the mature fruit. When the melons are a little larger than golf balls, cradle them in a piece of nylon stocking or onion sacks and tie both ends of the sling to the trellis. The melons will grow into the pockets and harvesting is a snap.

Rooting Butterfly Bush
With a surge of interest in water gardens and the creatures that live near them, the fabulous Butterfly Bush
(Buddleia) is experiencing great popularity. In my role of uninvited garden advisor to my friends, I am always urging folks to plant more Butterfly Bush.

These excellent shrubs bloom all summer, bridging the gap between spring bloomers such as azalea and rhododendron and fall foliage. They can be successfully rooted with no more equipment than a sharp knife, a few square feet of sandy soil and some one liter canning jars.

Prepare the bed for the cuttings. Exposure is critical. The cuttings need bright light to root but will wither in direct sun, so find a sheltered spot. The foot of a north-facing wall is ideal. The size of the plot should allow four inches square for each, about the size of the canning jar.
Amend the soil with one part sharp builder’s sand and one part peat moss for each part soil. This will raise the bed and allow the drainage required as well as a moist well-aerated medium that encourages root growth.

Take the cutting in early morning since the wood will be crisp and turgid with water. Search the new growth for a new shoot just beginning to harden into mature wood. The shoot should flex easily and snap back when bent.

Make sure the shoot has at least two lateral buds. With a razor sharp knife, slice off the top 4 to 6 inches just below the lowest set of leaves. Slice off any side shoots and strip all the leaves except the top two or three.

Dust the bottom of the cutting with rooting hormone and place gently in the hole prepared, taking care not to rub off the hormone or damage the cutting. Make sure there are two or three lateral buds below the soil and only one above. The cutting will root from these underground buds.

Firm the soil around the base of the cutting, moisten thoroughly and cover with a one liter canning jar. If condensation begins to collect inside the jar, place a pebble under it’s rim to allow air in.

Never let the bed go dry. The seedlings should be kept moist but not saturated or standing in water.

In four to six weeks the cutting should have rooted, depending on variety of Buddleia, soil and temperature. Test for roots by tugging gently on a leaf. If the plant starts to pull free of the soil, it has not rooted yet.

This technique works well for roses and other deciduous shrubs such as forsythia and viburnum. If your success rate is 50 percent, you’ve done well and will have many plants to share with grateful neighbors.

Robin Milliken is a Landscape Specialist and Master Gardener
The Master Gardener appears monthly in The Olathe Daily News.
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