No melons for me this year. May's cool wet weather set us back about a month, which didn't help, and I had such a poor showing from the Black Mountain watermelon I tried last year that it didn't seem worth trying again this year. I AM going to try again next year, maybe some cantaloupe and another variety of watermelon. I look forward to finding out what folks are growing this year and hope to read some success stories at harvest time, too! :-D

I saw this cucumber trellis online that looks as if it might work for those who want to control where their squash\cucumber\melon vines end up "sprawling." Rather expensive, but I am sure you could make up one or more of your own if interested: https://www.westcoastseeds.com/shop/garden-supplies/plant-supports/large-cucumber-trellis/ I'm always looking for ways to save space in my limited veggie garden area, so I might try to rig something up like that for next year. I think a wooden frame with rabbit wire would work....

Holly

I've got a charentais, a small honeydew called Swan Lake, and a watermelon called Cream of Saskatchewan. This is my second year growing melons, and so far things are looking great.

Mathewgg, which charentais variety and was that one you had in 2014?

Holly, your link to West Coast Seeds led me to that Vancouver company's melon offerings. At least, two of the four cantaloupe are U of New Hampshire varieties (Halona & Early Champ).

I have become something of a believer in how their melons succeed in my garden. I have the UNH Goddess cantaloupe again this year. Passport galia melons always came through for me for about 10 years. Other melon plants would die in our miserable spring weather, Passports would come through!

I'm going out on a limb by not buying Passport seed this year but got Johnny's Passport replacement, Diplomat. Then, we didn't have a miserably cold and windy spring so, I'm not going to really know how those two compare. I was looking at the Diplomat and Goddess vines this morning, however. They look fine! And, what am I worried about? Diplomat is also a UNH release ...

Steve

Good information about the UNH varieties doing well for you, Steve. I will definitely look into them and give one or two a try next year. West Coast Seeds doesn't have anything in the description about UNH developing the varieties you mentioned. I did a search but couldn't find a listing of the veggie varieties developed by the University of New Hampshire; do you have a link by any chance?

While searching for info on UNH plant breeding, however, I "discovered" a company called Hollar Seeds. (It was in this interesting article about UNH plant breeding: http://www.unh.edu/news/cj_nr/2008/jan/mg17loy.cfm ) According to the article, Hollar Seeds is located here in Colorado. Here is their website: http://www.hollarseeds.com/home They have "specialized in the breeding and development of cucurbits since 1950" according to the info on their site. Can't find an address but their phone number starts with 719 so they are somewhere here in the southeastern part of Colorado. Since they are experimenting with growing squash, melons, cucumbers, etc., right here in Colorado, those are the seeds that I would like to get a hold of; has anyone tried them??

The BlackTAIL Mountain watermelons (which I incorrectly called Black Mountain watermelons previously) were developed for the short growing season in North Dakota. They didn't do well for me, but perhaps I didn't plant them where they would be happy. lol - no clue, as it was my first attempt to grow any sort of melon.

I look forward to hearing how your melons do, mathewgg. Not sure that I can deal with a watermelon that doesn't have red flesh, lol, but the Cream of Saskatchewan looks like a good short season variety to try here. Here is some info about the variety, including some handling info that might be useful; the quote is from this article - https://gardeningafterfive.wordpress.com/tag/cream-of-saskatchewan-watermelon/ - "Cream of Saskatchewan watermelon – although not as sugary as some of the red watermelons, this white-fleshed one does well in our short season. The flavor is lightly sweet and citrusy. The only drawback I find is that the rind is thin – so much so that when a buddy knocked her knuckles against it to ‘sound’ the melon, it burst. Handle it gently, and because it isn’t a super-sweet, wait until the tendril nearest the melon dries back to ensure best flavor."

This thread is making me wish I had grown some melons this year!

Holly

Steve, the charentais was this one from Baker Creek: http://www.rareseeds.com/charentais-melon/

It is the same variety I grew in 2014. Last year, I did get two small but delicious melons. I also got two watermelons and 2 Ananas D'Amerique A Chair Verte Melon, but my dog got both of those before I did, much to my disappointment.

More than two of each melon would be nice, but it is just me eating them, as my spouse detests melon of any kind. Crazy, I know.

Holly, you can find more about Brent Loy and his melons on his faculty page: http://biolsci.unh.edu/faculty/loy The 3rd paragraph down in his "academic pursuits" has info on the UNH melons.

Mathewgg, I can't understand people who don't like melons. If there was only one thing I had in my garden - that would be it! Of course, if I lived any further north or higher in elevation ...

Well! That's the way it used to be. I don't consider Passport the most wonderful melon I've ever eaten. It was just that I could plant it and expect ripe melons, year after year.

A charentais melon might have been the best melon I've ever eaten! Burpee used to sell a "Honey Girl" charentais. It came through for me 4 years out of 5, I think it was. Then, they discontinued it! I've tried 2 or 3 different charentais since. I bet the original, French Charentais, would be the best but I can't believe it would ripen in a normal year. Anyway, Johnny's has a new one (Escorial) to tempt me to try again ...

Steve

My landrace (evolutionary bred) watermelon plants seem to be doing well so far. This started out as a genetically diverse population of watermelons in an attempt to breed a better watermelon for this climate. This a project in collaboration with Joseph lofthouse in Paradise Utah. He also has developed his own land race cantaloupes which has been a huge success for him. He never used tobe able to grow cantaloupe reliably. I've tried blacktail mountain before, honestly i wasnt impressed. I had better success with Yellow Doll and Sugar Baby. But there is a possibility some of its genetics survived and is still in the population. Hopefully i get good watermelon this year.

How are the melons??

Steve

They're gorgeous, Steve!

Lovely indeed! I am envious!

Holly

Ya know, I don't know which ones they are ...

The galia melons look like cantaloupe until they begin to ripen. There are only the two varieties out there. My good fortune is that there is plenty of fruit at both ends of the row.

... ヅ

Steve

Steve オ

Here is what I have said on RMG about the beginning of my Passport Galia melon harvest.

September 12, 2007 "two weeks ago"

August 20, 2008

September 1, 2010 "this week"

August 21, 2013 "just harvested my 2nd"

I don't think the earliness is a result of growing this new melon, Diplomat. It's because of the very warm 2015 season.

Steve

Very nice, Steve. Must be wonderful to be eating your homegrown melons - the Diplomat Galia looks delicious!

Holly

Awsome Steve! Boy am I envious! I would love to grow melons, but I guess I'll just have to settle for taking the 4 hour drive down the Rocky Ford and getting them there. A couple years ago, a lady sold me a melon she said was cross between a cantelope and a honey dew, possibly the best tasting melon I've ever eaten.

A " cross between a cantelope and a honey dew," that is a lot like the galia. I've never grown honeydew but they might be more firm ... but it could just be the "shipper" honeydew I'm familiar with. They are okay.

The Rocky Ford is a green flesh melon. Ya know ... that variety has been around an awfully long time.

What I think is the best - & I've always loved melons - is a charentais. I just need to try more varieties as the breeders come up with them.

I'm having the Goddess Cantaloupe right now, for lunch. It's just short of a worshipful relationship ...

Steve

I don't buy honeydew melons from the store. They are always rock hard and virtually taste-free. I tried to grow them one year, I got one melon on them and it was nowhere near ripe when the first frost came around. That was the same year I got volunteer cantaloupes in my compost bin. I got TWO melons on them, one got ripe, the other did not. The ripe one was delicious. I haven't yet tried to grow melons since then, I have chalked them up to "an effort in futility" in my particular location. I MAY revisit them, someday, driving all the way down the S.E. corner of the state is a long haul.

I was toying with the idea of trying that green fleshed Rocky Ford melon, but I don't know. The town it's named after, being a melon growing hotspot, is a MUCH different climate then where I'm at, 160 miles northwest.

I suspect your French melons are charentais, Mathewgg. Correct me if I'm wrong.

The entire naming scheme for melons confuses me. There is something like all cantaloupe are muskmelons but some muskmelons aren't cantaloupe and charentais are a cantaloupe ... or, sumthin ...

Anyway, it was Honey Girls that ripened a crop, 4 years out of 5. I've tried 3 or 4 others since Burpee dropped Honey Girl but not one grew as well. Gotta keep trying ッ .

Cream of Saskatchewan, eh? I've just seen another gardener give that one a thumbs up.

Steve

I'm eating a melon from a volunteer vine, this morning. It's good!

They are obviously offspring of the Alvaro Charentais hybrid I grew in 2014. I'm not gonna get too excited about them. The catalog outfits talk about their early ripening. That's so. From plants set out in the spring in '14, I had melons the 24th of August, or thereabouts. These volunteers aren't too late.

They seem exactly like the Alvaro, small, without very much of that charentais flavor.

It has been a very good melon season. There are still a couple Goddess cantaloupe out there!

Steve

Not a great year for watermelon, but partly because i did not plant in a good spot. Although it was a poor year for squash too, so perhaps weather contributed. Despite that i harvested a perfectly ripe watermelon today (because it split open) and a nearly ripe yellow watermelon yesterday (harvested because of slight bird damage).