Melon vines with corn

I've not tried this yet, but am considering using watermelon vines as the ground cover between rows of sweet corn.  My thinking is, to direct seed on mounds in between the ends of the rows of corn at the same time as I plant the corn.  The effect I'm going for is to create ground shade to prevent weeds and to hold more moisture in the soil for the corn.  I'd prefer to train a single vine per plant to travel on the ground between the rows of corn.  Since sweet corn is typically shorter, I doubt it will block the sunlight too much from the melon leaves.  I know different types of melon have different vine lengths & habits, but I'm lookin for around an 8 foot vine or less, smaller bowling ball to basketball sized fruits, and the earlier the harvest, the better.

Is this thinking flawed?  

Has anyone out there had success with this before?  

If it didn't work, what pitfalls did you run into?

Can anyone recommend watermelon varieties that meet this criteria?  
(Very sweet, bright red inside, 8 foot vine or less, & no larger than basketball sized.)  (Also curious about orange & yellow varieties, and since I've never tried them, could use some recommendations from those who have.)

I have considered doing the same thing but never have. Pumpkins & squash have been used for ages though. Watermelons have the same type of structure.

I would suggest letting the corn get about a foot tall before planting the watermelon. Maybe also add a few pole beans then to climb the corn. It will be like Three Sisters v2.0.

Corn and watermelon are both nitrogen hogs. That might be a limiting factor. Try it though!

Hi,
We plant squash with corn, my husband's family has done so for generations--possibly millenniums--no need to "train" the vines in any direction. We just direct seed the squash with the corn (not sweet corn) in this way---in the BOTTOM of the row, not on the mound (keeps the wind from blowing over the corn stalks and helps collect the first precious rains of our season, drop three corn kernels, cover, take a step, drop three corn kernels and a bean, cover,  take a step, drop three corn kernels, cover, take a step, drop three corn kernels and a squash seed, cover and take a step. Repeat, and Repeat and Repeat.

All of my corn beds have either cucurbits or watermelon plants. It has worked well for me. I haven't needed to plant them at different times. The corn grows quickly, much quicker than the others. My summer climate is very hot and the shading from the lower plants helps with water retention. As long as you feed the plants sufficiently I haven't had any problems with it. Usually I feed with coffee grounds, egg shells and urine.

Three sisters planting is known for a millennia. You actually try put 2 sisters of them together.

Sister Nr 3 would be beans that climb up the corn without interrupting your corn growth.

Corn gives support
Melons shade the ground
Beans fertilize all (nitrogen fixer)

Cy said, " I know different types of melon have different vine lengths & habits, but I'm lookin for around an 8 foot vine or less, smaller bowling ball to basketball sized fruits, and the earlier the harvest, the better.

Try Sugar Babies watermelons as they are just about that size or maybe a little smaller.

'Sugar Baby' watermelon requires 60 to 90 warm days to produce ripe 10-pound melons.

https://homeguides.sfgate.com/tell-sugar-baby-watermelon-ready-pick-82059.html

I will most likely try the "Sugar Baby" you recommended.  It seems to be what I'm looking for in sweetness, size, & harvest time.  

Thank you all for the input!  

See Hes wrote:Three sisters planting is known for a millennia. You actually try put 2 sisters of them together.

Sister Nr 3 would be beans that climb up the corn without interrupting your corn growth.

Corn gives support
Melons shade the ground
Beans fertilize all (nitrogen fixer)

There's actually more than 3 in this equation, but the 4th element is invisible to "western" eyes because it is not planted.

Quelites are a group of eatible leafy green plants that grow in the milpa, they are picked when weeding the corn field and supply an important nutritional part of the diet before the other crops are ready.

From what I understand about this type of companion planting, is they were traditionally untouched "cluster" crops until the fall harvest of dry beans, dry corn, & winter squash.  It seems to me, when using modern variants for fresh eating such as sweet corn, pole beans, & watermelon, that the function of each plant is the same, you just have to be mindful of the timing, traits, and growth habits of each plant.

For example, modern sweet corns are typically shorter in height than flour/flint types.  They also grow very fast, and give a fresh harvest sooner than flour/flint types.  As far as pole beans, I could possibly use a half-runner type pole bean that wouldn't reach too tall to match up with the shorter sweet corn, and plant them 2 weeks after the corn.  Then there's the watermelon, which from what I've seen in other people's gardens takes a little time to start it's sprawl, so could likely be planted at the same time as corn.  This will surely make getting in to harvest green bean pods a bit tricky in a row crop style layout, but should be doable.  With this much "congestion" I can certainly see why this style is best suited for "plant it & forget it" style gardens that want dry corn, dry beans, & a ground vine that has a fruit that stores well.

The reason I suggested planting the corn earlier than the beans is because when I've planted them at the same time the beans can latch onto the top of the corn & pull the young corn stalks down. Doesn't seem to be as much of a problem when the corn in planted earlier. The type of corn & beans are probably a factor.

Mark, I agree with you.  The corn does need to be planted first before the beans to give them something stronger to climb on without smothering the corn in its young stage.  I also agree that the types of both corn & beans matters.  Some sweet corns have thin stalks and only grow a couple feet tall, while others have strong stalks, and can be 8 feet tall.  The type of bean can be half-runner with 4 foot vines or full pole beans with much longer vines.

It has never been a problem of the beans pulling the corn down--for thousands of years it has been planted this way--it may be the TYPE of beans, yes, it may be. Also, we plant 3 corn stalks together, so one bean for three corns in the same hole.

Cy, they are not traditionally untouched until dry, though I understand why it looks that way to North American eyes as the bulk of the crop is left in the field to dry.
The first thing that is harvested is Quelites wild greens, these begin to be harvest about 2-4 weeks after planting.  You might call this weeding.  You separate the edible weeds and take those with you, just turn over the non-edible ones and leave them to decompose back into the soil. Then about 4- 6 weeks you can pick the male squash flowers--these are great in soups or quesadillas.  The first summer squash (Mexican squash varieties can be eaten in both summer and winter forms--the same squash, it's just a matter of when you pick them) are ready 6-8 weeks later, just about the same time that you sneak in and pull out some young ears of corn to eat as sweet corn--yes the same variety as you will make into tortillas later!  You can also pick some green beans at this time. Some of the squash is harvested kind of between the summer and winter time and this is usually cooked into stews.  Then the rest is left until it is dried, usually a full 5-6 months after it was planted. The winter squash is now made into sweet treats and the seeds are toasted. The beans are stored and of course, the corn is then used to make many Mexican staples including tortillas, tamales, and pozole.

Mike Barkley wrote:The reason I suggested planting the corn earlier than the beans is because when I've planted them at the same time the beans can latch onto the top of the corn & pull the young corn stalks down. Doesn't seem to be as much of a problem when the corn in planted earlier. The type of corn & beans are probably a factor.

Yeah I think it depends a lot on the types of corn, beans, and the climate.

When I plant this way, if I don't plant my squash before my corn, the corn quickly shades out my squash and the squash ends up stunted. What I end up doing is planting a large squash seedling with the corn seeds.

I've never gotten beans to grow successfully, just a random bean vine here and there with a total of 5-6 bean pods at the end of the summer.. I think my climate is too cold and the shade from the corn is too much for the beans to get a foothold. It's just too cold and they grow slowly until the heat of mid-July and by that time, the corn is tall and shady.

Last summer I got some beans that ended up climbing to the roof of my house so I should try again with the beans among the corn with some of those saved seeds.

Melissa Ferrin wrote:
There's actually more than 3 in this equation, but the 4th element is invisible to "western" eyes because it is not planted.

Quelites are a group of eatible leafy green plants that grow in the milpa, they are picked when weeding the corn field and supply an important nutritional part of the diet before the other crops are ready.

Melissa, that's funny to me because last summer I spent quite a few hours weeding something from my corn and squash and I thought to myself, "this looks edible" and did some research and found that it was. It looks just like the picture of quelites you linked to, same leaf shape and arrangement, so it's probably the same family. My brain isn't letting me remember the name right now.

Just a thought, I wonder if watermelon will get enough sun planted with corn.  It needs a lot of sun.

I'm currently growing a variety of sweet corn that will be 3.5-4 feet tall.  With close to 3 feet width between rows, I think there might be enough sunlight for most of the season until the corn really matures, but I've not tried this companion planting style yet.  You may be right, but with the roots planted at the end of the rows in full sunlight, it might work.  We'll have to see.

It's always fun to try new things, and as long as it's not a grow or starve situation, why not. I hope you keep us posted so we can learn with you. Good luck, and thanks

Will do.  

I may regret it, but then again, I may have some home grown watermelons to accompany my sweet corn feast.  Time will tell.

Update:

So, I planted about 2 dozen watermelon seeds in various places in my 2nd planting corn patch.  I ended up losing many corn seeds to rodents this time around, so had to keep replanting.  After a few weeks went by of replanting the eaten corn seed, I began to fill the empty row spaces with watermelon seeds to fill the gaps.  I lost a lot of watermelon seed the same way as I did the corn seed, but I was successful with sugar baby watermelon planted in hills (shortest DTM I could find).  I still have about 17 watermelon plants left, and wanted to share some of what I've learned.

-Watermelon does absolutely grow best in full sun as opposed to shaded/filtered light.  
-The plants in hills have slightly more prolific growth than the ones planted in the corn rows on flat ground, though sunlight seems to be a more critical growth factor.
-The few plants that have been shaded by the taller corn are still healthy & growing upward toward the sunlight.  However, they are much slower growing than their full sun counterparts, and are behind in development.

Would I interplant watermelon with corn again?  Yes, I would.  

What would I do differently next time?
- I would start the watermelon seed indoors about a month before planting the corn seed.  Then, interplant the watermelon transplants amongst the fringes of the corn & between the ends of the rows.  My theory is that the watermelons will get plenty of sunlight early on before the corn gets tall, & the vines will help shade the weeds & keep moisture in the soil.
- Direct seeding the watermelon would certainly be easier, but by getting a head start with transplants, I avoid rodent issues, & begin with a more mature plant while there is full sun.
- I will try this adaptation next spring with my new batch of mixed watermelon seed to see how it works out, and what adjustments I'll need to make in the future.