Growing Cantaloupe with the Groasis Waterboxx

The Groasis Waterboxx was developed to grow trees in very dry areas without irrigation or other continued watering.  For this purpose, it is superb, with 88-99% survival during a Sahara desert planting trial.   The Waterboxx has been less well known until recently as a way to plant fruits and vegetables, especially vine crops, without any continued Watering.  We had had very dry summers here in Indiana recently so we wanted to test by planting pumpkins and cantaloupes with the Waterboxx.  It is also best to start seeds of a new plant outside the Waterboxx to ensure the most light initially.  We planted several cantaloupe seeds in a peat pot, and transplanted these into the ground.  We placed the Waterboxx over this new cantaloupe, and filled the Waterboxx as well as pouring about one gallon of water down the central opening of the Waterboxx.  Below you can see the cantaloupe on July 28, 2014.

It was a cold spring here in Indiana (as well as a remarkably cool summer) and we may have gotten the cantaloupe in the ground late, but we saw good growth within a few days of the leaves of the cantaloupe reaching the top of the Waterboxx.  Below you see the Waterboxx on August 2, 2014.

The cantaloupe continues to grow very well now.  The Waterboxx usually has one wick, releasing approximately 50 mL (10 teaspoons) of water daily to the roots of the growing plant.  We inserted a second wick after drilling a 3/16 inch hole opposite the original wick hole.  This has given the cantaloupe roots more water, and with our amount of rainfall in Indiana, the Waterboxx has stayed completely full.  In drier climates, a second wick may mean the Waterboxx would need to be refilled.

Below you see the cantaloupe on August 16,2014, with several small yellow blooms.

The cantaloupe has grown significantly by August 24, shown below.

The Groasis Waterboxx allows a means to grow plants in very dry areas.  Areas where cantaloupes are traditionally grown (like Southwest Texas) have very irregular rainfall, but the Waterboxx can counteract this by providing daily moisture to the plant.  The Waterboxx has also been used to grow many other plants, including pear and cherry trees, oaks, sequoias and pumpkins.   You can buy the Waterboxx here from Dew Harvest® LLC.  We will continue to update this post with the progress of our cantaloupe planting in future years. We would love to hear your comments below - to leave one, please click on "Comments".