Cantaloupe are the easiest of all the melon varieties to grow. Look after them well and you will enjoy a tasty treat full of summer goodness.
What melon grows the fastest?
1. Alvaro. This beautiful little melon is one of the first to mature each season. With only 65 days to maturity, this Charentais-type averages just 5 inches in diameter.
What is the best melon to grow?
Melon varieties
Good varieties: Charentais, Edonis, Ogen, Sweetheart. Honeydew: firm yellow flesh, which keep well. Good variety: Magenta. Musk: yellow or green-netted skin, green to orange-coloured flesh, which are only worthwhile growing in a greenhouse or similar.
What month do you plant melons?
Start melon seeds indoors before transplanting to your garden outside. Sow seed indoors at the end of April, about 2 to 4 weeks before the last spring frost date. Use peat pots or other biodegradable containers that you can place directly into garden soils. Use larger pots than you would for other vegetables.
Do I need 2 melon plants?
Melon varieties do not need to cross pollinate with each other, as each plant produces both male and female flowers. Pollinating insects will need to get to the plants to transfer the pollen between flowers, otherwise the female flowers (identified by a bulge below the flower) will need to be pollinated by hand.
What is the easiest cantaloupe to grow?
Our favorite varieties to try
Minnesota Midget an heirloom variety producing 4-inch melons on 3-4 foot vines. It’s relatively quick growing and matures in 60 to 70 days. Divergent is a favorite of many gardeners. It has a sweet flavor, performs well in short seasons and matures in 75 days.
What is the best tasting melon?
33 Delicious Melon Cultivars
- Hale’s Best Jumbo.
- Honey Rock.
- Papaya Dew.
- Piel de Sapo.
- Prescott Fond Blanc.
- Rocky Ford Green Flesh.
- Sakata’s Sweet.
- Sweet Delight.
Are melons difficult to grow?
Melons are closely related to cucumbers and require similar growing conditions to thrive. To grow them successfully you need to provide them with warmth, water and food. They can be quite vigorous, so regular pruning is needed to keep them under control. Each plant should produce two to four melons.
Is it easier to grow cantaloupe or watermelon?
Beginners often do best with cantaloupes, she notes. “They’re easier than watermelons because they tend to be more disease-resistant and mature more quickly. Plus, some varieties grow on a more compact vine.”
How long do melons take to grow?
Melons plants require 8-10 weeks of good, hot growing weather from the middle of June to the end of August. During that time, a melon vine must grow 5-9 leaves before starting to flower, then set 4 or more male flowers before making its first female flower, and then ripen its fruit before cool, damp weather sets in.
What can you not plant with melons?
Plants that don’t do well with melons include other cucurbits such as pumpkins, squash, summer and winter, and cucumbers. Also, avoid planting potatoes with your melons. Tomatoes and peppers don’t thrive with melons because melons take up so much space they crowd them out.
How many cantaloupes will one plant produce?
Each plant can produce anywhere from four to eight delicious melons.
Can you grow melons in pots?
While you can grow full-size melons in containers, you’ll get the best results with dwarf cultivars that produce smaller fruits and shorter vines.
Do melons need full sun?
They need about 100 frost-free days to produce fruit. Melons are easy to start from seed but should be started inside unless you have a long growing season. They’ll do best in full sun with plenty of air circulation, where they’ll stay warm and dry to help prevent the spread of diseases.
How much space do melons need?
Melons need room to roam. Space plants 36 to 42 inches apart. Or, to save space, plant melons 12 inches apart at the base of a trellis. When trellising melons, tie vines to the trellis daily, using soft plant ties that won’t crush stems.
Do melons need a trellis?
You’ll need to be sure to install a trellis that will hold the weight of the melon vines and ripe fruit. Encourage the vines to climb by training them up a support system such as concrete reinforcing wire. Getting the vines up the trellis is only half of the job of growing melons vertically.
What is the sweetest cantaloupe to grow?
- Sugar Cube.
- Honey Rock.
- El Gordo.
- Hannah’s Choice.
- Ambrosia.
- Halona.
- Sarah’s Choice.
- Other Super Sweet Muskmelon/Cantaloupe Varieties.
Is honeydew easy to grow?
Melons like cantaloupe, honeydew, muskmelons, and watermelons are an excellent choice for beginning gardeners—they’re a great snack, aesthetically pleasing, and easy to grow. If you’re a fan of sweet, juicy summertime fruit, consider planting honeydew melons in your garden.
What is the sweetest variety of melon?
Crenshaw. One of the sweetest varieties available, the Crenshaw ripens from midsummer through autumn. The thick, pink-orange flesh has a heady aroma and works well with prosciutto and other charcuterie.
What is the most popular melon in the world?
Three of the most common melons are cantaloupe, honeydew and watermelon. Cantaloupe has become the common name for all netted, musk-scented melons or muskmelons. Honeydew melons are another type of melon with white or green flesh, although some newer varieties may have orange or pink flesh.
What is the most expensive melon?
Japanese Yubari King melon
Inflation may be dictating what we can and can’t buy at the grocery store these days, but even with the skyrocketing price of food, we’d still struggle to find fruits that cost at about $200 apiece at an American supermarket — yet that’s what you’d need to pay if you want to get your hands on a good Japanese Yubari