they are getting over ripe. harvest before they turn to mush.
probably should have harvested last week.

Pictures are welcomed. Are you asking about a cantaloupe cracking open. I ask because the netted cantaloupes rarely crack and 95 days is exceedingly long maturity for a cantaloupe. Smooth skin melons like honeydews crack at the drop of a hat. Usually from a surge in available water. There are some smooth skin cantaloupes that do crack. They do slip when ripe so you should have no problem knowing when. An over ripe melon can get quite mushy but that is seldom a factor in cracking.

Doug,
Yes, you should have thinned them down some to get the best plant health which then translates into the best melons in size and taste.

The maturity days are from sowing.

Splits at the blossom end near maturity sometimes happen, but again, optium plant health might help there too to produce the most vibrant fruits. It is good to set the cantaloupe fruits on something to keep them off the moist earth or at least rotate the fruits a quarter turn the last 3 weeks.

I like to water my melons and the amount you list seems spartan enough to me. I never have watermelons split it seems and never, never have rotting problems with them.

Actually, the tag says 85-90 days to maturity, not 95, but like I said, I only transplanted them about 60 days ago. Some are splitting but don't slip and others do slip. Flesh is still quite firm. And yes, farmerdilla, these are the netted kind. I'll try to post a pic if I can figure out how to do it, haha.

{{gwi:107987}}

Fruit that is overwatered will have a mushy watered down taste. Try them and see what it is like. If they are overripe they can crack as well.
I stop watering my melons about three weeks prior to harvest to help develop the flavour, but I likely live in cooler temps than you.

Great photo. I can only say I have never had that happen and I grow over a dozen cultivars of netted cantaloupe. If it gets dry and we get a hefty rainstorm, it is a major problem with honeydews and one or two varieties of watermelon. A sudden surplus of water causes cracking in melons, tomatoes etc. but my netted ones seem to with stand it.
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It appears to me that the cracky melons are the smaller ones which is usually consistant with the less vigorous fruits. Most netted muskmelons turn a golden tan the last two days before they are ripe. I don't see that on the 4 pictured.
If those melons are not especially good, I would try another variety. The Sugar Queen I cut open today was extra delicious...almost great crenshall taste with that hint of vanilla.

Thanks for the responses, guys. The melons taste fine -- I mean, I'm no expert, but they taste like cantaloupe, so at least they're not going to waste. I don't know the variety because the tag just said "Cantaloupe" and nothing more. I think I got them at Home Depot or WalMart. I'll do a little more research next time around before planting. Perhaps someone in SoCal can recommend a few varieties good for this area?

Temps here range from upper 80's to the 100's in the summer, so I'm a bit leery of reducing the water too much. Right now I have 2 x 0.5gph emitters on each group of three plants and give them about 1 hour (= 1 gallon) 4 times per week. I guess I could cut that in half by taking one emitter away. I don't really want to reduce the amount of watering time as that would result in less water for other plants in the garden.

Thanks again for the replies. I'm new at this, so every bit of info helps.