I have 2 Honey Rock plants that look healthy and I'm looking for a place to get one more in. Anybody else growing cantaloupe this year? Tell us about it.

I'm doing Sierra Gold again this year, and I have three that are a week or two away from harvest.

I have Charentais melon, Ambrosia, Ha'Ogen, Hearts of Gold, and Papaya melon(new, first time ever).

I should have included Muskmelon in the title, sorry.

phish49 said:I should have included Muskmelon in the title, sorry.

Not necessary. Melon may be a bit more generic, but cantaloupe is generically used for a broad array of melons. While technically cantaloupe is limited to muskmelons , Charentai types and Galia melons. Many will also lump Crenshaws in the group as well as several specialty melons. Honeydews are usually listed separately , Spanish melons are usually listed as specialty melon.
Galia Max
Gourmet (specialty)
Melaro ( Canary melon)
Honey Pearl ( Honeydew)
Lily ( Crenshaw)

As long as we're talking muskmelons, I'll add Armenian cukes.

I've got a bunch of honeydews as well, though as farmerdill says, those aren't muskmelons. My understanding is that honeydews have smooth skin. Muskmelons are ribbed or netted.

I've seen charentais with and without netting. When they are young, and immature, they certainly are pretty smooth.

I like tomatoes. But I like melons better. I regard the vegetable gardener's fixation on tomatoes with some amusement.

Melons take more room, and have a shorter season. Not all zones can grow them, and frankly, I can't discern a difference between a store bought Cantaloupe and a home grown one. I sure can with tomatoes!

Carol, you haven't tried mine. I gave my massage therapist one melon once and she said it was very sweet, she saved it and only ate a little bit at the time, much different than store bought. However, I have not been able to repeat that experience in the last few years. I have no idea why, maybe I shouldn't try to grow too many melons at once.

Weather has varied the last few years. You don't say where are, and I don't blame you, but I've lived and worked in OC since I was 10. Things/ weather has changed a lot in those years. Generally speaking , coastal areas are not hot enough for melon of any kind and of course this year, all bets are off.

This is what I was referring to.

No, ctcarol. Melons do not necessarily have a shorter season than tomatoes. Where I live, my tomato season is May-June. Why? Because of the summer heat. Zero tomatoes in the summer heat. Zip, nada. My melon season goes through November. Store-bought melons are bred for shipping and lifetime. You should try a non-store variety. But I agree that whether melons are better than tomatoes may depend upon where you live.

Cantaloupes/melons are soil and weather sensitive. They may have great flavor in one area and the same variety be tasteless in another.
There are two Asian melons That are gaining in popularity in North America. The Hami type and the Crisp/pickling melon. Once in a while I will encounter a Hami grower, more often a crisp melon like Sprite or Early Silver Line.

I believe that one nutritive key to wonderfully flavored melons is potassium. The Pecos canteloupes are world renowned, and it's thought that they are so good because of the high potassium in the soil there. In general, melons are heavy feeders. But you can also get poor flavored melons if the melons were overwatered near harvest, and also if they aren't harvested at the right time. Sunlight and heat make a big difference as well. Melons love both.

I'm hoping to find room for another cantaloupe (or 2 ) but I got pics today.


This is growing nicely so far.

I withhold water on my melon plants closer to ripening time. From what I've read online from one grower, it increases sugar content of the melon. So I wrap plastic bags around their roots.

SoCalGardenNut said:This is what I was referring to.

That is nice.

SoCalGardenNut said:I withhold water on my melon plants closer to ripening time. From what I've read online from one grower, it increases sugar content of the melon. So I wrap plastic bags around their roots.

I was just reading this again last night, the fruit will be bland and watery if it's over hydrated.

I got flowers.

It's a good idea to put them in pots. I might do that when I get back from my vacation.