Transplanting Young Plants Seedlings are ready for transplanting once they have two or three mature leaves. The ideal date for planting melons outside is anywhere from April through June. Because vine peach cantaloupes are a warm season crop, wait until the soil temperature has warmed up to at least 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Planting Vine Peach Melon Seedlings Choose a planting site that gets full sun exposure and has acidic, well-draining soil. Melons thrive in soil with a pH between 6.0 and 6.5. Till the soil about 6 inches deep to loosen any clumps. Add 2 to 4 inches of compost, or other organic materials, to enrich the soil. Lay black plastic in the planting area to help keep the soil warm and protect the plant from fungal diseases and sow bugs that attach to the melon's rind. During hot weather, gardeners using black plastic need to use leaves or other organic mulch to cover the plastic and prevent the heat of the plastic from radiating up to burn the foliage and fruit. Plant potted vine peach seedlings through the black plastic mulch, spacing them 2 feet apart. Caring for Vine Peach Melon Regular maintenance is crucial to making sure that the melons grow and ripen. Water vine peaches in the morning, adding 1 to 2 inches of water to plants every week. Top off the compost monthly, adding 1 to 3 inches of fresh compost to the planting area around the plant's root system. Additionally, use an all-purpose, balanced fertilizer such as a 5-5-5 formula, adding it every two or three weeks. Harvesting Vine Peach Melon Vine peach cantaloupes are usually ready for harvest in 60 to 90 days. Once the fruit is ripe, you should be able to smell it, and the stem should separate from the vine peach easily. Avoid damage to ripening vine peach melons by placing them on a board or some other material to keep them from lying on the damp ground. The same size, color and food value as tree peaches. Vine Peaches make excellent preserves and pies, and have a vine-ripe flavor and texture much like a mango. It's an easy plant to grow, with fruit maturing on spreading vines in about 80 days. Planting guide: Plant after danger of frost in hills 4 to 6 feet apart. Plant seed not over 1/2 inch deep 4 to 6 to the hill, pressing soil firmly over them. When plants are well established thin to 3 to each hill. Seed can also be started indoors for an earlier harvest.