He Raises Melons In Silk Stockings

He raises melons in silk stockings AG WORLD Ag World 12-5-20 "I can't wait for my wife to get a run in her stocking because then she gives it to me for my melon patch," says August Wilks, Elk-horn, Wis., who uses stockings to support the weight of the muskmelons he raises on a trellis in his garden. "When the melons start to get too heavy for the vines, I slip them inside a stocking and tie the stocking to the twine that runs crossways on the trellis. Then they don't weight the vine down and it can continue to grow upward on the trellis," says Wilks, noting that as the melons get larger, the stockings stretch. He also raises cucumbers and tomatoes on trellises but they don't require stockings for support. Wilks says raising plants on a trellis makes it easier to pick the crop and lets him raise more produce in a minimum amount of space. The plants don't spread out over the surface of the garden, smothering other vegetables, and the vines don't get trampled when harvesting. It's also easier to weed the garden because he only has to hoe around the base of the trellis.

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