I have always love sweet Summertime melon and longed to spring up my own . yr ago I tried , failed and adjudicate they were n’t deserving the trouble . This class I essay again with a dissimilar approach , plenty of enquiry and careful variety excerption . The result was sweet scented success !
While planning my Summer garden , I want to admit melon vine for treats for the kids . I knew I did not have room for immense vines , or patience for big melon that might moulder on the vine before maturing . So , I decided to grow only humble melon vine that produce quickly and take up little space .
I thoroughly researched every type of pronto available Mini - Melon germ . I ended up choosing 3 varieties to try and then bechance to get aunother through seed swapping . I grew 4 varieties of melons this year in only 26 square foot of garden space !
The space that was leave in my garden after reap Spring new potato was pure to try out these melon variety show . The potatoes were dig in belated May , compost added , mini - melon seeds implant , and yield harvest by the end of July / early August .
I take aim notes , kept a tally of the sweet green goods , and evaluate each melon vine . My Bob Hope was to find at least one variety Charles Frederick Worth growing again . In the end , I was pleasantly surprised with the success of my Mini - Melon Melon trials and actually find a couple of varieties that I will blithely develop again . We consume deal of delicious home grown fruits this summer and I am proud of to be able to partake in the news of our sweetened succeeder .
The melons were grow organically in Alabama . They were all planted fairly late in the season in provoke bed . I did not baby them or apply preventative insect powder or antifungal agent . With greater care , these varieties would in all likelihood be even more productive .
Alvaro
Alvaro F1
If this would have been a melon vine sweetheart competition , the beautiful French Charentais , Alvaro , would have won the crown . They had smooth hide and segments outlined in dreary stripes . The lovely fruits that were picked from these lowly vine were 5 1/2″ in diameter and full of sweet sapidity . They were incredibly red-hot with ideal Cucumis melo cantalupensis flavor and texture .
The seed listings for these show that they can bring out fruit in 65 days . That was not my experience however . They guide a bit longer , credibly 70 days . I was only able-bodied to harvest 3 amply mature melons from my 2 Alvaro vine .
There were many more melons farm , but the persist fruits quickly were taken over by small worms and pests . If I had mulched under them with drinking straw or taken preventative footmark by spraying for bug , I might have been able-bodied to cull 2 - 3 more of these delicious melons from each vine . Even though I lost most of them to pests , I would still commend Alvaro . I call back they would be a nifty crop for region with shorter growing seasons and less bugs than we have in central Alabama . Because I was so impressed with the flavor of these beauties , I may be unforced to fight the critter and grow these again . Next clock time with a spot more care and preventative insecticidal measures .
Alvaro
Minnesota Midget
Minnesota Midgets were the existent “ Mini ” fruit . These petite cantaloupes were all 4″-5″ in diam with lacy skin and non-white orange flesh . The sodding little melons were just the right sizing for two the great unwashed to apportion . They might have been small , but the cute picayune Minnesota Midgets were filled with big sweet-flavored melon vine smell .
These tiny fruits were very easy to reap at the right prison term because they pop right off of the vine when they are quick . The full term “ full - case ” is used to report this trait in seed catalogs . When I study “ full - gaffe ” I thought it just meant they would easily pull from the vines . Well , these actually slip themselves right off when they are good .
Minnesota Midgets begin ripening around 70 day after plant and they continued to determine fruits for workweek . They were the most productive melon vine I grew , with 2 - 3 fully forge fruits produced from each vine . Their great taste and impressive productivity has realise scented small Minnesota Midgets a office in my garden plans for next yr and probably every class after .
Alvaro melon with insect damage
Korean
I obtained seeds for Korean yellow skinned melons through seed swapping . These melon may be list in semen catalog under unlike names . But , all of the listings I ’ve seen reasonably much look like the same fruits . The Korean melon vines were very compact with small leaves , and were the flying to farm melons . I pick the first 5 of them in mid - July , in under 60 days from the fourth dimension of planting . The fast growing fruit turned bright yellow when they were advanced , making it easy to know when to plunk them . Each of the small vines produced several oblong fruits that were 3″-4″ in diameter .
They were very fertile , but unluckily , not very tasty . The flesh was white and firm , but not racy and dulcet like I had hoped for . Korean melons make an interesting slimly gratifying addition to green salad and they do pair well with prawn . But , they are far from an ideal melon . The gently sweet pulp of these fruits is a minute like eating watermelon vine rind and like watermelon rind , they are patently big for making fix . I did not try out to pickle them , but did try them prepared many way . After being disappointed with them raw I decide to try cooking them , hoping to bring out some obscure feel . They were less telling after broiling . I only have way for delicious foods . Being pretty and productive will not realize these melon a place in next year ’s garden .
Arava F1
The Arava F1 Hybrid is a cross between a cantaloupe and a honeydew melon that has a netted exterior standardized to one parent and sweet juicy light-green flesh like the other . The tegument of the Arava melons turned yellow when they were ready to pick making them promiscuous to harvest at the right time . My first ripened on August 8th , 74 days after planting . The first bite of the first Arava I pick was without a doubt the most luscious of any food for thought I ’ve ever grown . The sweet perfume feeling of these fruit was intoxicating and the taste perception was sweet melon ne plus ultra . The first leflunomide I pick was substantially bigger than the other melons I grow , measuring 7″-8″ in diam and weighing 3 - 4lbs , not really “ mini ” . The second Arava I beak was 5″ in diameter . These vines were fair compact and perfectly behaved in our small raised seam garden .
These sweet treats were impressive in look and showed no signs of disease or pestilence problems . However , they were not very productive . Two vines raise two melons . be after a small garden is difficult , and ordinarily productivity per square foot is of greatest importance . Can amazing taste pull ahead a few square feet for Arava in next years garden ? Oh , they were so voluptuous and perfect ! I ’m not virtual enough to say “ No . ” I should plausibly not grow these again , but I ’m indisputable I will .
Growing these melons was fun and rewarding . Melons are n’t just for truck farmers and big fields ! Whether they are imbed as a late season craw in the South or a short - time of year main crop up North , mini - melon vine can be a great selection for the back - yard gardener . When compact tight - grow varieties are chosen , sweet-flavored melon winner can be had by all .
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