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Melons (Cucumis melo) and Watermelons (Citrullus lanatus)

General information

  • Description: The Cucumis melo species, which includes a diverse range of both netted and smooth melons. Useful comparison chart at JohnnySeeds.com.
  • Grow bags: Use 10-15 gallon bags. Gardzen 20-Pack 10 Gallon, (10gal - $40), Delxo 10-Pack 15 Gallon (Amazon, 10gal - $20, 15gal - $24)
  • Hybrid to Open-pollinated: Select the best plants of a hybrid crop and save the seed. Plant the next year and save the best of that year. After a few years, you will have a stable open-pollinated variety derived from a hybrid.
  • Variety groups (suggested by JohnnySeeds.com):
    • Ananas: Ananas are oval, netted melons originally from the Mideast. Renowned for their sweet, aromatic, and slightly spicy flavor.
    • Asian: Among the earliest of melons to mature, these small, long, oblong melons are popular in Korea and other Asian countries. Moderately sweet, crunchy white flesh.
    • Canary: Common in parts of Asia, including Japan and South Korea, canary melons produce attractive yellow fruits with a distinctively sweet flavor and juicy white flesh.
    • Cantaloupe (Muskmelon): Varieties include Eastern (deeply ribbed skin) and Western (smooth-skinned) melons.
    • Charentais (French): Small French melons that originally developed in west-central France. More succulent than North American cantaloupe.
    • Crenshaw: Oblong with skin of a pale, creamy yellow color. The flesh is orange, creamy, sweet, and very aromatic.
    • Galia: Also called tropical melons, originated in Israel. Their thick, lime-green flesh is smooth, with a complex flavor suggestive of tropical fruit and a fresh, banana-like aroma.
    • Honeydew: Larger fruit varieties require a long season and hot weather. Difficult to grow, because it needs so much care. See BonniePlants
    • Piel de Sapo: Yellow and green mottled skin, are most commonly grown in Spain. Piel de Sapo tend to be very sweet and aromatic.
  • How to grow: The Basics of Successful Melon Growing.
    • Sow in 50-72 cell flats, 2-3 seeds.
    • Keep warm until germination--80-90f, after germination reduce to 75F.
    • When a couple of "true" leaves have set, it is time to transplant.
    • They need to be "hardened" for about a week, however, by reducing temperature and water before moving them outdoors.
    • Use plastic mulch to keep the soil warm or Solar Mulch.
    • Use row covers initially to protect from cucumber beetles
    • Water well until the fruit is ripening, and stop then to improve the texture and flavor. Too much water during the ripening phase will result in bland, watery fruit.
  • Articles:

Melon varieties (under 5 pounds)

  • Notes: I selected smaller varieties since I will be growing vertical and don't care to support the fruit with nets.
  • Miscellaneous varieties:
    • Pepino: 4-6' shrubby growth, 9-12 month season (too long), some support required, 2-5" fruit, mild, sweet and juicy fruit, tastes like a mixture of honeydew and cucumber. Grows like a tomato, but upright and can grow as a free-standing bush. Plant from seed. Sellers: Plant-World-Seeds.com
  • Varieties (heirloom, open-pollinated):
    • Canary - Amy: 70-75 days, 2-3 lb fruit, 40-50F lowest temp. Sellers: HarrisSeeds.com ($2.16, 25 seeds)
    • Canary - Brilliant: 75 days, 4 lb fruit, very sweet. Sellers: JohnnySeeds.com ($5.30, 30 seeds)
    • Cantaloupe - Delicious 51: 75 days, 2-3 lb fruit, 3-10' tall, heavy yields. Sellers: UFSeeds.com
    • Cantaloupe - Hearts of Gold: 90 days, 2-3 lb fruit. Sellers: UFSeeds.com
    • Cantaloupe - Honey Rock: 75-90 days, 3-4 lb fruit. Sellers: UFSeeds.com ($3.00)
    • Cantaloupe - Lilliput: 73 days, (small, personal-size) fruit. Sellers: HarrisSeeds.com ($3.65, 25 seeds)
    • Cantaloupe - Minnesota Midget: 75 days, 1-2 lb fruit. Sellers: UFSeeds.com
    • Cantaloupe - Rocky Ford: 75-90 days, 2-3 lb fruit, sweet and spicy. Sellers: EdenBrothers.com ($3.00)
    • Cantaloupe - Top Mark: 80-90 days, 3-4 lb fruit. Sellers: EdenBrothers.com ($3.00)
    • Cantaloupe - Trifecta: 83 days, 3-5 lb fruit, large yields, disease resistant. Sellers: NatureAndNurtureSeeds.com
    • Cantaloupe - Zena: 70-75 days, 4-4.5" diameter, 2-2.6 lb fruit, 13-15% Brix. Sellers: TrueLeafMarket.com ($7.58, 100 seeds).
    • Charentais, Emerald Green Gem: 3 lb fruit. Sellers: UFSeeds.com
    • Charentais: 85 days, 2-3 lb fruit, very sweet, 2-3' spacing. Sellers: EdenBrothers.com ($3.50). Videos: Charentais Melon Review - Weird Fruit Explorer
    • French - Savor: 78 days, 2 lb fruit. Sellers: JohnnySeeds.com ($5.70, 15 seeds)
    • Galia - Gallo: 70 days, 1.75-2.3 lb fruit. Sellers: TrueLeafMarket.com
    • Honeydew - Earli Dew: 80 days, 2.5-3 lb fruit. Sellers: HarrisSeeds.com ($5.95, 25 seeds)
    • Honeydew - Green Flesh: 90 days, 3-4 lb fruit, sweetest of the honeydew family. Sellers: UFSeeds.com
    • Honeydew - Honey White: 77 days, 3-3.5 lb fruit. Sellers: JohnnySeeds.com ($5.15, 30 seeds)
    • Melon - Emerald Gem: 77 days, 2 lb fruit, pastel-orange flesh. Sellers: NatureAndNurtureSeeds.com
    • Melon - Haogen: 85 days, 3-5 lb fruit, 10+ fruit per vine, green flesh, honey flavor. Sellers: UFSeeds.com
    • Melon - Kajari: 80 days, 2 lb fruit, copper-red with green stripes, sweet green flesh, aromatic, slight musky taste, partial shade is Ok. Sellers: eBay
    • Melon - Sakatas Sweet: 80 days, 10-12oz (softball size) fruit, soft green flesh, sweeter than a honeydew (but some had failures growing this), stores a few weeks. Sellers: UFSeeds.com
  • Varieties (HYBRID):
    • Cantaloupe - Sugar Cube: 81 days, 2 lb fruit.
    • Cantaloupe - Tasty Bites: hybrid, 80 days, 1-2 lb fruit, 2-4 fruit per vine, spacing 18" to 2.5', Ananas/Charentais cross. Sellers: NeSeed.com ($3.00, 20 seeds)
    • Galia - Arava: 77 days, 3-4 lb fruit. Honeydew and cantaloupe cross, developed in Israel around 1970, popular there. Sellers: JohnnySeeds.com ($4.90, 30 seeds)
    • Honeydew (Honey Blonde): 70 days, 3-3.5 lb fruit. Sellers: JohnnySeeds.com ($5.65, 25 seeds)
    • Piel de Sapo - Lambkin: 75 days, 3 lb fruit. Sellers: JohnnySeeds.com ($5.95, 30 seeds)
  • My HYBRID selection:
  • My heirloom selection:

Melon varieties (5+ pounds)

  • Cantaloupe - Sugar Rush: 74 days, 4-5 lb fruit. Sellers: HarrisSeeds.com ($6.15, 25 seeds)
  • HoneyDew (green): 100-120 days, 5-6 lb fruit. Sellers: EdenBrothers.com ($3.00)
  • HoneyDew (orange): 100-120, 5-6 lb fruit. Sellers: EdenBrothers.com ($3.50)
  • Varieties (heirloom, open-pollinated):
    • Crenshaw: 110 days, 8-10 lb fruit, very sweet and juicy. Sellers: UFSeeds.com
    • HoneyDew Stutz Supreme: 90-100 days, 5-10 lb fruit. Sellers: UFSeeds.com

Watermelons (Citrullus lanatus)

  • Growing tips: Grow after Memorial Day. Need a lot of nitrogen. Add boron to get sweeter fruit. Sugars are produced in the leaves. The more leaves and the healthier they are the better. However, commercial growers will cut the vine after the fruit to put all the energy into growing the fruit. Wait until the fruit is the size of a grapefruit before pruning it.
  • Watering: Water frequently, but allow the surface soil to dry between waterings. Good soil moisture is important in early stages of growth and during pollination when fruits are setting. After this point do not water the last week before fruits are ripe, as overwatering can cause bland fruit.
  • Videos:
  • Varieties (heirloom, open-pollinated):
    • (Too big to grow in a trellis tunnel.)
    • Crimson Sweet: 80-85 days,15- 25 lb fruit, vigorous vines up to 10 feet long.
    • Kaho: 75 days, 2-4 lbs, orange flesh. Sellers: RareSeeds.com
    • Lemon Drop: 70 days, 1-2+ lbs, yellow flesh. Sellers: RareSeeds.com
    • Sugar Baby Bush (or Bush Sugar Baby): 75 days, 6-12 lbs (8" across), vines only grow 3' in length, produce 8-10 watermelons, sweeter than Crimson Sweet. Sellers: RareSeeds.com
  • Varieties [HYBRID]:
    • Cal Sweet Bush: 80-90 days, 5-10 lb fruit. Sellers: UFSeeds.com
    • Hime Kansen [aka Japanese Icebox]: 90 days, 5-6 lb fruit, dark red flesh, thin rind, Brix count of 12.5-13 (high). Growing information: KitazawaSeed.com
    • Yellow Baby Doll: 70-75 days, 5-7 lb fruit, yellow flesh. Sellers: TrueLeafMarket.com

2021 Schedule (HEIRLOOM, OPEN-POLLINATED)

Melon variety Image Type Size Days Tall Notes Seller
Delicious 51 delicious cantaloupe 2-3 lb 75 3-10' heavy yields UFSeeds.com
Emerald Gem EmeraldGem melon 2 lb 77 4-5' 10 fruit per vine NatureAndNurtureSeeds.com
Sakatas Sweet sakatas melon 10-12 oz 80   very small, sweet fruit UFSeeds.com
Honey Rock HoneyRock cantaloupe 3-4 lb 80 7'   UFSeeds.com
Trifecta trifecta cantaloupe 3-5 lb 83   heavy yields, disease resistant SouthernExposure.com
Charentais Charentais French melon 2 lb 85 7'   EdenBrothers.com
Haogen haogen melon 3-5 lb 85   10 fruit per vine UFSeeds.com
Green Flesh greenflesh honeydew 3-4 lb 90 3-10' heavy yields, disease resistant UFSeeds.com
Kajari Kajari melon 2 lb 60-70   sweet eBay

2021 Schedule (HYBRID)

Melon variety Image Type Size Days Tall Notes
Honey Blonde Honey Blonde honeydew 3-3.5 lb 71 8'  
Lambkin Lambkin piel de sapo 3 lb 75 6'  
Arava Arava galia 3-4 lb 77    
Tasty Bites tastybites cantaloupe 2 lb 80 ??  
Sugar Cube Sugar Cube cantaloupe 2.5 lb 81 6' ?  
Yellow Baby Doll BabyDoll watermelon 5-7 lb 70-75 6-8'? very sweet, dense
Hime Kansen HimeKansen watermelon 5-6 lb 90 6-8'? brix 13 (i.e. very sweet)