Save Garden Space By Growing Your Melons Vertically With This Pantyhose Hack

There's no end to the usefulness of old pantyhose. Backpackers use it to filter water. Home cooks use them to hang onions and garlic for storage. You probably use at least one genius pantyhose trick in your garden, too — to repel pests or tie floppy saplings to stakes, for example. Nylons have another great use for those growing melons on a trellis. Melons grown vertically have an annoying habit of dropping off the vine as they ripen and grow heavy. Space-challenged or container gardeners can support their growing fruit using hammocks (also called slings or nets) made from hosiery. Even better, there's more than one way to sling a melon with stockings, so you can experiment to find what best suits your gardening style.

Once made from silk, the pantyhose of today is made from nylon. This synthetic fabric is cheap to produce, washable, and super hard-wearing, all attributes that contribute to its popularity as gardening equipment. Gardeners find it stretches to allow fruit to grow, holds up to heat and humidity, and lasts a long time. Before you start knocking on your granny's door asking for all her laddered stockings, this method isn't without its downsides — for one, the aforementioned ladders. Homemade hosiery melon hammocks are prone to tearing if accidentally knicked by sharp secateurs. There's also a concern that stocking slings will shed microplastics into your garden since nylon doesn't hold up well to UV light (sun) exposure.

That being said, the pantyhose melon hammocks are widely promoted by gardening experts, from USDA Extension offices around the country to farming experts. Ready to try this gardening hack that'll help with growing melons and other vining plants vertically? If you don't have any old pantyhose on hand, you can buy basic nylon tights relatively cheaply. Amazon has a 4-pack of L'eggs nude-colored pantyhose for $5.87. Get two pairs of Hanes Silk Reflections pantyhose in black for $13.00 at Kohl's. To make a hammock, cut the pantyhose leg into portions about 12 inches long using tailor scissors. Gently push the fruit you want to support halfway down the nylon tube. This will leave you with two dangling ends.

Tie each end of the sling to the trellis or a sturdy stem. Alternatively, place the fruit atop a piece of hosiery, leaving some of the fruit exposed. The feet of a pair of pantyhose also make great melon nets. Ease the fruit to the toe end, then knot the top around the trellis or vine. In all cases, you can secure the ends with a plant tie if you're worried the knots will slip. Put the hammocks on the fruit right when it starts developing. Melons grow quickly, and even the most diligent gardener may not catch them before they fall. Hosiery slings work best for melon varieties that produce fruit over seven pounds. Smaller melons don't need the support.