Sweet Success with Cantaloupes

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Melon varieties respond differently to various weather patterns, so Goldman suggests trying three or more varieties to increase your chances of success. Ryan Morris, owner of Country Roots Farm, also thinks diversifying varieties is the best way to experience different tastes and colors. Two of Morris’ favorite orange-fleshed varieties —‘Schoon’s Hard Shell’ and ‘Canoe Creek Colossal’— are best suited to his region’s low humidity levels, but both Goldman and Morris like the green-fleshed ‘Jenny Lind’— despite her tendency to “pout” when the weather is not to her liking. Check with your seed supplier for help determining what will grow best in your area (see “Cantaloupe Seed Sources”).

All the varieties named thus far are open-pollinated (OP). A few OP muskmelons offer some disease resistance, such as ‘PMR Delicious 51,’ recently released by Cornell University’s Vegetable Breeding Lab (PMR stands for powdery mildew resistant). You probably will want to experiment with a few varieties before you start saving seeds, but working with OP types helps to keep worthwhile varieties in circulation, enables you to select the best seeds for replanting and removes you from the biotech loop dominated by companies that are mainly interested in selling synthetic agricultural chemicals.

But, if you live in a humid area where insects, mildew and other afflictions put heavy pressure on your plants, the melon best suited to your garden may be a hybrid variety, such as disease-resistant ‘Savor,’ which is less likely to split than other Charentais types, or ‘Sweetie,’ which features swirls of orange and green flesh and resists wilts and mildews. Hybrids don’t breed true from seed, but that doesn’t matter to the increasing number of fans behind ‘Sugar Queen,’ a big, vigorous muskmelon that produces well in a wide range of summer climates. Some folks say ‘Sugar Queen’ is to orange-fleshed muskmelons what ‘Silver Queen’ is to sweet corn — both hybrids are vigorous and dependable, with a sweet, luscious flavor that makes them popular choices among gardeners.

Starting Strong

Cantaloupes prefer sandy, well-aerated soil and need consistent moisture until the fruits begin to ripen. Melon vines do spread, but you don’t need a huge garden to grow several varieties. Different varieties of cantaloupe and muskmelon can cross-pollinate, and this sharing of the pollen supply makes it possible to mix varieties within a plot. Six plants will produce about as many melons as most families can eat, and those plants can be a combination of three different varieties, provided you’re growing them to eat and not to save seeds. When you’re ready to save seeds, you’ll need to hand-pollinate selected flowers, a delicate process that Goldman explains in detail in her book.

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