Melon suggestions?

Hello,

I love watermelons and am planning to grow some this year but I was wondering if there were any other kind of melons that might be good. I don't like cantaloupe or honeydew so those are out. I can't even stand the musky smell of a cantaloupe so I want something with a totally different taste. I was wondering about some of the asian melons like Sakata's Sweet, Golden Sweet, Thai Golden Round, and Kazakh. Do these have a different taste and what is it like?

Thanks much,
Danita

Danita, you've been hitting the Baker Creek catalog hard!

I have seed for all the Asian melon you mention - so don't buy any, OK.

I had poor luck with them last year. These are all soft rind melons and the ants got to them badly. However, this year I am going to try a new plan. I will grow them on arches, and put some diamataceous earth on the ground where the vine emerges and keep putting it down until I get some melons!! We did try some, but they were fairly immature and tasted more like a cucumber but were very fragrant and melonish but no musky smell.

GGG

Hi GGG,

HAHA!!! Yep, you caught me! :)

They just updated the catalog so I thought I would get an order together while they have everything in stock.

What a pain about the pesky ants. Are the melons suppossed to taste like cucumber? :(

Thanks for the offer of seeds! :)

Are you ordering from them too this year? Maybe we should check to see if we are ordering any of the same things and just split a pack.

Talk later,
Danita

I grew Petit De Ris Grennes last year and loved it. It took me a moment to figure out when they were ripe but once I did, boy were they good.

I have seed if you are interested

BB

Oh, that looks good Bronx. Did you put them on anything in the garden to ripen? Hang them, lay on cardboard etc.?

Danita, the melons are supposed to taste cucumbery when not-ripe. I have heard Japanese friends say that they cook with them when they are at this stage, sometimes use them in sushi...the melons themselves smell like candy, so they are clearly incredibly sweet and perfumey. TINY little things that would fit in your pocket!!

I'm ordering from them too. Was going to wait for the paper catalog and new photos, but I guess I shouldn't. I don't wanna miss those warm weather tollerant lettuces again. I also have tons of seed from last year, that I didn't have space to grow. Planning on expanding this year. A LOT!

GGG

I don't like musky muskmelons either, but I love these two crenshaw melons.....Burpee's Early Hybrid and Lilly.

Hi Triple G.

Hope the injury is healing nicely.

They were grown in a raised bed. The vines spilled out of the bed but they were resting on the wood chips in the paths.

Giving my melons their own special area this year

I tried the Kazakh back in the 60's. Very poor performer for me. I have grown crisp melons (Early Silverline) crisp, tastes like a cucumber with sugar on it. Not to my liking, but good producers. At the same time I was growing Sweetie a personal sized smooth white skinned melon and Haogen. Sweetie is sweeter than a run of mill cantaloupe, but still recognizable as a cantaloupe. Fairly close to the Crenshaws in taste. Haogen is closer to a honeydew. Good performer but very subject to slugs etc.There are other types of asian melons including the pickling melons. I have not tried them. While my personal preference is the Crenshaws and Galias If you like neither cantaloupes or honeydews, they probably would not suit your taste buds either. I am very picky about cantaloupes , prefering those with stronger flavor. Many are way too bland for me.

Farmerdill:

Is Haogen a cultivar that originated in a kibbutz in Isreal? I read about a melon with a similar name and was thinking of growing it. I'm not home and can't check the speeling but it seems close to what you wrote. The author of the book I was reading praised it. How was the flavor of the one you grew?

BB

Yes, Today it is often listed as Ogen or Israeli. There is a similar melon named Old Israeli Excellent flavor, green fleshed melon only surpassed by Galia and its derivatives.

Farmerdill, I do believe you are correct when you mention honeydew. The asian melons I grew were closer to honeydew (I forgot how that tasted since we never buy them!!).
A few Kazakh melons grew on the vine here this year, they were very small and again, ant laden.
I'm going to try one more time for the heck of it, and also grow some tiny watermelons up a trellis.

GGG

Hey Danita; Since you are in GA you might want to grow Georgia Rattlesnake or Kleckly Sweet watermelons.Both really Great tasting old cultivars.The asian melons are bland and insipid.These are primarily used as pickling melons and are used with sweet or spiced liquids.
Also you say that you can't stand the musky smell of cantaloupes.Actually muskmelons have this and in America muskmelons are commonly and incorrectly sold as cantaloupes.Cantaloupes do not slip off the vine when ripe and also don't have netting on the skin.The taste is way better.I grow this variety out most every year and have thousands of seeds.If you are in the exchange I'll send some your way.(Charentais)
Also the Haogen melon is originally from the Pueblo Indians of the American southwest.Israel did put this cultivar "on the map" but they are not the originators.

This message was edited Dec 10, 2007 7:04 PM

what is Charentais melon, how big, will it do well on a trellis.

I want to try a small melon next season in a raised bed with a trellis support

zebraman,

You are very correct that cantaloupes in this country are actually muskmelons. My grandmother always called them muskmelons -- never cantaloupes.

I tried the Charentais this year, but they did not do well. I found a new place on this property for melons -- very sandy soil. I have heard really good things about the Charentais, so I am going to try again next year.

Unfortunately, my "new melon patch" will be outside the house fence, so I'll have to put up a deer fence. Bambi really likes melon, pumpkin, and gourd vines.

Karen

Hi all,

Do me a favor. If anyone does try to grow a melon on a trellis also
try hanging your melons in pantyhose legs (if the right size).
The melons not the hose.

I hope no one has pantyhose large enough to fit watermelons in. :)

If you do - I'm sorry. :(

name withheld (forgot to put another :))))))))))

This message was edited Dec 19, 2007 12:34 AM

Hey Fiddle; Charantais is the True French Cantaloupe.It is small-between baseball and softball sized.It grows really well on a trellis.True Cantaloupes do not slip from the vine when ripe.(No panty-hose required). I personally use the tendril method to determine ripeness.I also use this with watermelons as well.Since you are in TX. I would take advantage of local TX limestone soil and mix that in the planters with compost.I also use Azomite mixed in as well.Also holding off on watering as the reach maturity will produce much sweeter melons.-

As far as cantaloupes and small watermelons go, I usually let those set on as many fruits as they want to. As far as large watermelons go, Pruning them off to 1 or 2 fruits at a time seems to be the best insurance for flavor, texture, and sweetness for me ...far more than witholding water at the end. I think that the reason for this is that with fewer mouths to feed, they do a better job of complete brixing the fruits. Again, this is for large watermelons only.

Is there exceptions to keeping them to a 1 or 2 fruits at a time?...sure, I remember the time that I belatedly discovered an Orangeglo with 4 melons. The smallest was 28 pounds! And once a small Tiger Baby set only only one fruit on the first set...15½ pounds of the best eating!

Oh brother! You guys are making me hungry! LOL I have some seed I saved from a watermelon we got at the farmer's market this year. It was wonderfully sweet and small sized. I'd like to try the Georgia Rattlesnake or Kleckly Sweet. I'm a slightly chillier zone then y'all, but it think they would work here. I'd also like to try some cantalope since there is such a difference in the taste. I can see what I thought was going to be a small garden this year, starting to expand with every thread on here. LOL

This was my first really good year with melons.

One of the varieties I grew was a called Congo which I brought as an afterthought at the feed store. Well those things took off with the largest one coming in a 68 pounds. The taste was good.

BB

BB, I didn't know that Congo would get that big. I found it to be the firmest melon I ever raised. I don't raise very many heirloom watermelons [Congo is not heirloom]. I raise mostly newer varieties.

Congo is a big melon, But BB 's is exceptional. Usually run about 35-40 lbs here. It was the most popular market melon in the 50's into the 60's when it was supplanted by the Charleston Grey. Georgia Rattlesnakes and its derivatives Garrison and Garisonian are pretty good melons. Kleckley's Sweet/Wonder Melon is an old timer that it is a bit more difficult to grow. Bottlenoses badly. Requires good deep sandy soil. Taste and texture is good but does not come close to Allsweet or Crimson Sweet.

Here's a pic:

It was actually 58 pounds. Still a big melon


I had no idea they would get this big. I had a couple of others that topped the 40 pound mark.

The only bad thing about a melon this large is trying to eat it all before it goes bad. It's just 3 of us. We ended up cutting it up and selling it in pint containers at market

Edited to note actual size



This message was edited Dec 20, 2007 6:14 AM

This message was edited Dec 20, 2007 6:25 AM

Farmerdill:

Thanks for you watering advice you gave me last year. Cutting back on the watering prevented the cracking problems I had the previous year.

BB

I still have to get a little more experience on when to pick them. I used Farmerdill's method of looking at the little stem end and picked when it was shrivled.

That worked very well for the Congo melons. But when I did it for some of the other melons, (Petit de Ris Grennes and Charentais), it seemed that I waited too long and some of them were a tad overripe.

Whoops , wrong color BB. That one has Jubilee markings. Congo is medium green with darker green markings, A pretty good melon, but tends to get watery hearts when over ripe.

Congo:

Can you make some recommendations for seed companies, please?

That makes sense.

The ones that I did pick late were somewhat watery.

Guess the label guy was asleep at the switch LOL

Good thing I posted as I saved a lot of seed and it would have been mislabeled.

Does Jubilee typically get this big?

I got my seeds from Baker Creek, Seed Savers Exchange and Vermont Bean

Speaking of Asian Melons, has anyone ever grown Tigger?

BB

Jubilee is in the same size range as Congo. Also a pretty good melon in its time period.

Seed Company recomendations; For modern melons- Willhite, Twilley ; For old timers. Sandhill Preservation, Victory Seeds. There are lots of others that sell watermelons seeds, but these have the best selections.

This is an original Jubilee. There are a lot of more modern derivatives.

Holy cannolis.. That's a big monster of a watermelon.. Been watching this thread to figure out what to grow that's small since I'm the only one in the family that likes watermelon.. I'd be munching on that one for years.. :) The never-ending watermelon.. :)

If you want an OP melon, Micky Lee and Sugar baby are good melons in the 8-12 lb class. There are lots of smaller melons including personal size ( less than 6 lbs). The good ones are mostly hybrids. Johnny's has a good selection of this type. There are a couple of OP's in this class;New Hampshire Midget and Golden Midget. Tastewise I don't care for them, but your taste may vary.

Micky Lee

Thank you, I'll check it out.

That's a big one!

BB

I just got seeds for sugar baby. I will see about getting seeds for Micky Lee, New Hampshire Midget and Golden Midget to try. Thank you for the recommendations. :)

anyone grow Orangelo watermelon ?
i got his one and was wondering on the flavor . It looks good. Different too.
thanks
sue

It is a very good late season orange flesh melon. A large melon in the 35-40 lb class. Very fragile rind, have to be handles with care. Never had one split in the patch tho. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/60064/

thanks Farmerdill
thati s a great pic im hungry for watermelon :)
sue

when you say to handle" gingerly " meaning . Picking up the melon may cause it to split ?
sue

No, but if it slips! Can't haul them around in the trunk or in the back of the pickup. Even using a wheelbarrow is risky. It does not take much of a bump to bust them.

So not a market melon :) unless packing peanuts are involved lol :) or bubble wrap layered in the wheelbarrow :)
that is good to know .:) otherwise i think i would have a big mess on my hands or the floor :)
thanks
sue