Melon 'Tularosa Market Melon'

I am currently growing this melon in Pueblo West, CO; climate is much the same as that of Tularosa, NM. Melons are not yet ripe, but sev...Read Moreeral are over 5 pounds. I am looking forward to an excellent harvest as well as an heirloom to keep in my seed bank. This looks like an excellent melon for my area. It grows at about the same rate as a later cantaloupe, and has no problems with bugs. My problem will be judging ripeness to know when to harvest as this is a new melon for me. I am grateful for the information from this site; keep up the good work for all who garden.

The Tularosa Market Melon is a super-sweet, juicy, highly fragrant, orange-fleshed melon. It's a popular, greatly- anticipated melon in ...Read MoreSouthern New Mexico farmer's markets. It was originally only available at the Tularosa, New Mexico Farmer's Market for several years.

The gentleman who farms these melons obtained the seeds from a friend, over 30 years ago. His story of this melon is similar to that of Hale's Best Cantaloupe, in that the original melon seeds came from a Japanese farmer.

This melon has a superb rich, sweetness. The flesh is not firm like "grocery store" cantaloupe, but it has a thick rind, making it suitable for market. Like many heirlooms, they don't have a long shelf life.

The gentleman who is the original supplier/grower of these melons for the Tularosa Basin, is getting ready to retire from farming them. With that in mind, I've been frantically saving seeds directly from his melons. Only one or two other vendors have saved the seeds and sell these melons at the market, but their melons have been cross-pollinted and are not the same as the original grower's melons.

They have a very distinct pale yellow color with green spots when ripe as well as an amazingly super-strong, sweet, fruity, perfumed fragrance. They grow best in well-drained soil. The original grower says his "sandy soil" is the secret to a good melon. They weigh anywhere from 1.5 to 9 pounds! Seed germination takes 3 to 10 days.

UPDATE 12/29/13! Victory Seeds has saved this delicious melon from extinction! You can now purchase Tularosa Market Melon seeds on their website. Here is the link:

http://www.victoryseeds.com/melon_tularosa-market.html