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Post by steev on Dec 5, 2011 0:38:05 GMT -5
So since the flesh was yellow, not Hami Jiageda?
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Post by extremegardener on Dec 5, 2011 15:50:38 GMT -5
Some say that the melon Piel de Sapo, available through Baker Creek, is the same as Santa Claus, though Amy Goldman is not one of them. Never having grown either I can't attest to this but it may be worth trying out as a storage melon. I think some seed companies it is the same, and others it's not, i'm fairly sure there are a lot of inconsistencies. If i had to guess I'd say that Piel de Sapo is not the same as Santa Claus, and that something like Yellow Canary is closer. I'd guess that Piel de Sapo, Yellow Canary, Snow Leopard F1, and that turkish melon are all the same kind of storage melon, but different varieties. The Piel de Sapo that I've grown was pretty close to the Santa Claus melons I've bought in the supermarket. I think they both fit under the category Valencia melon, from that part of Spain originally. They're quite different than the yellow canary-type melons. Both types are supposed to be great keepers. I can vouch for Piel de Sapo, which I've had some success with in my melon challenged location. I've been trialing some yellow canary types, but so far have not gotten decent results. Bear in mind that I have just about the wost conditions possible for melons, and don't baby them.
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Post by steev on Dec 23, 2011 12:42:49 GMT -5
Looking through Seeds of Italy, I noticed that melon Tendral Valenciano looks/sounds like that green melon.
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Post by 12540dumont on Dec 25, 2011 13:21:48 GMT -5
I'm looking for someone to duplicate the melon trial in a different growing locale. Minnie? I have ordered and received many seeds. As soon as I have logged them all in the computer, I'll post it up.
What I'm asking is that you do exactly what I do here, planting the same varieties in the same way, even if you do it on different dates. (I typically plant melons on May Day.) In this way we can compare what varieties do well across the regions. I'd also like you to give out seeds of these melons in future years.
Regards, Holly
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Post by steev on Dec 25, 2011 15:01:33 GMT -5
I'm looking at ~10 more varieties to try next year! I don't feel safe planting melons out before the end of May, so I like to start them ~mid-April. If it doesn't start catching up on rain, though, all bets are off.
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Post by 12540dumont on Dec 26, 2011 14:48:43 GMT -5
Steev, I'm also worried.
Leo is predicting heavy rain in April. So, I'm still planting cover crops. I covering everything that isn't moving. It's drier than Death Valley here.
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Post by steev on Dec 29, 2011 9:11:59 GMT -5
I would really like to get some serious rain before the normal first hump of our rainy season is gone; we're coming to our usual lull before the Spring hump; it's looking like we'll be lucky to get half our normal rain for the year. That's not good when normal rain is only ~21 inches.
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Post by 12540dumont on Dec 29, 2011 14:56:47 GMT -5
Eden Gem (Rocky Ford) Dionysus Melon Grex -orange Golden Honeymoon Bidwell Casaba Rampicante Zuccherino Cantalupo di charentais tendral Valenciano Zatta Ananas Golden Jenny green nutmeg Italian Melon Mix Exotic Melon Mix Rugoso di Cosenza San Juan Valencia Winter Hales Best Sakata's Sweet Melon Old WV Heirloom Musk Collective Farm Woman Sleeping Beauty Iroquois Ames 29858 France - Melon De Luneville Ames 13261 Spain, Juen - Invernizo Ames 13267 - Spain, Huelva, De Invierno Ames 13271 Spain Canary Islands, Villaconejos Ames 13295 Spain, Cuenca Verde de Invierno Ames 13292, Spain Albacete, de Todo El Ano GREAT GREY GREEN GREASY LIMPOPO CRACKING THING I'm still waiting for the watermelons to come in from the USDA. I've done a preliminary trial design and am patiently waiting for advice from a melon master. So the point of this trial for these melons is to work on storage melons. Melons are productive here and my CSA loves them. This is my main fruit for the boxes. (Grapes only last a few weeks and no one gets more than a basket of berries a week) I have been selecting for good melons and over the years have eliminated melons that I didn't think were very good. My criteria for a melon is first, I love anything that slips (yeah! harvested on time) or changes color to announce that it is done. Second, they can't succumb to bugs. Third and this is key, anything below a brix of 10 doesn't deserve to be on the farm. Fourth, I have to be able to pack it in a box. So over 20 pounds is too big, also if bruises instantly, it's too delicate. Attachments:
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Post by 12540dumont on Dec 29, 2011 15:07:30 GMT -5
Don't you just hate it when you get a great melon and no one can tell you what it is. Until we find out what it is we fondly refer to it as the Great Grey Green Greasy Limpopo Cracking Melon. After the story, the Elephant's Child by Rudyard Kipling. It's sort of a crocodile looking thing. 11.4 brix and I don't have a clue what it is. And no, it doesn't slip and you can smell it's perfume across the field. The cracks do not go down to the skin, but are more or less just on the outside. I've never seen it before. It came out of an exotic melon mix from Long Island Seeds and Ken told me that he has no idea what it is either. Or it came out of an Alan Bishop melon grex and he has never seen it before either. Even the melon curator for the USDA doesn't know what it is. Although she tried. So I sent some of these seeds to Joseph and kept some and who knows what it will be next year or if it ever comes again? Melon mystery indeed. So if any of you recognize this little wonder, please don't hesitate to speak up. It is NOT an American Melon. Attachments:
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Post by castanea on Dec 29, 2011 19:30:57 GMT -5
I grew a melon that had a similar type of skin cracking about 4 or 5 years ago, although it was elongated rather than globular. The seeds were from India and it was a non sweet melon used as a vegetable. The melon would eventually expand along the cracks, splitting open, if not picked.
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Post by raymondo on Dec 29, 2011 22:05:44 GMT -5
Interesting looking thing Holly. How was the flavour?
My green melon mix is finally beginning to show signs of life. We're having a cooler than usual summer - daily maximums of around 22°C (~72°F), nights dropping to around 10°C (~50°F). I covered them about 10 days ago and they're loving the extra warmth. Now that they're beginning to flower I'll uncover them each day until mid-afternoon.
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Post by 12540dumont on Dec 30, 2011 0:16:16 GMT -5
Ray, It was like a honeydew but sweeter. Under ripe it tastes like a cucumber. It's actually the sweetest melon I have grown in 3 years. I had a melon that was a 14, but it was hybrid and the company stopped selling seed, and okay, I never saved any
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Post by DarJones on Dec 30, 2011 21:54:45 GMT -5
Holly, send the photo of the mystery melon to Glenn Drowns at Sandhill and see if he can ID it.
I have the watermelons requested that you asked for.
DarJones
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Post by steev on Dec 31, 2011 0:05:40 GMT -5
That thing looks like a triffid cyst.
You may find the Bidwells too delicate-skinned, even just sitting around they tend to crack; pretty tasty though. Too much melon for a small household.
I'll send some seed from my green wrinkly melon so you can see if it seems to be Tendral Valenciano.
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Post by 12540dumont on Dec 31, 2011 14:01:27 GMT -5
The Bidwell's sunburn here, so I do have cover them. I use the bean hay to do that.
Dar, will do. Thanks for the melons.
Hoping for rain! The almanac says hotter than normal September, so if we get rain, it will be a great year for melons.
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