{
  "schema_version": 1,
  "record_type": "plant",
  "slug": "melon",
  "common_name": "Melon",
  "botanical_name": "Cucumis melo",
  "family": "Cucurbitaceae",
  "summary": "Melons are tender annual vines that need sustained warmth, strong light, fertile soil, careful pollination and controlled fruit numbers to ripen a worthwhile crop.",
  "categories": [
    "fruiting crop",
    "greenhouse crop",
    "climbing crop"
  ],
  "growth_habits": [
    "trailing vine",
    "trained climber"
  ],
  "lifecycle": "Tender annual",
  "difficulty": "Challenging",
  "requirements": {
    "light": {
      "minimum_direct_sun_hours": 6,
      "preferred_direct_sun_hours": 8
    },
    "soil_ph": {
      "minimum": 6.0,
      "maximum": 6.8
    },
    "container": {
      "minimum_volume_litres": 40,
      "minimum_diameter_cm": 40,
      "plants_per_container": 1
    },
    "spacing": {
      "minimum_cm": 45,
      "maximum_cm": 90
    },
    "planting_out": {
      "minimum_reliable_temperature_c": 15,
      "frost_tolerant": false,
      "label": "Plant out",
      "note": "Keep protected until temperatures remain reliably above 12–15°C"
    },
    "harvest": {
      "typical_uk_months": [
        "August",
        "September"
      ]
    }
  },
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "rhs-growing-melons",
      "publisher": "Royal Horticultural Society",
      "url": "https://www.rhs.org.uk/fruit/melons/grow-your-own?type=f",
      "supports": [
        "types",
        "sowing",
        "temperature",
        "containers",
        "spacing",
        "training",
        "pollination",
        "fruit_thinning",
        "harvest"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "umn-growing-melons",
      "publisher": "University of Minnesota Extension",
      "url": "https://extension.umn.edu/gardening-minnesota/growing-melons-home-garden",
      "supports": [
        "warmth",
        "soil",
        "sowing",
        "transplanting",
        "trellising",
        "watering"
      ]
    }
  ]
}