|
Post by deanriowa on Feb 8, 2014 22:58:41 GMT -5
I am looking at growing three or four muskmelons, Cantaloupes specifically, this year and I am looking for some recommendations. I will be ordering from Fedco Seeds and Sandhill Preservations this week. I have seeds for Hales Best and I am looking at buying Crane. Any other recommendations would be helpful? ** Note: When I was young I remember my grandfather buying truck loads of melons and then I would sell them out by the highway on hot summer days. What fun, really. thanks, Dean
|
|
|
Post by diane on Feb 9, 2014 20:44:14 GMT -5
Dean,
It sounds as though you might still live in an area with hot summers, so my recommendation won't suit you.
I live on the Pacific coast - definitely NOT melon territory. I tried several kinds last summer, though, and one plant of Sweet Granite produced 7 delicious melons.
|
|
|
Post by raymondo on Feb 10, 2014 5:35:08 GMT -5
No hot summers here either but I did enjoy Marygold. Not sure what you mean by cantaloupe. Marygold is a Canary type melon with sweet white flesh. Lovely honey flavour it had. In general though, I like the green-fleshed melons though I've had scant success with them in my usually cool summers. Wouldn't you know it but this summer is hot, relatively speaking, and I didn't sow any!
|
|
|
Post by jondear on Mar 3, 2014 20:32:13 GMT -5
Petite Gris de Rennes was my best tasting melon last year in my breeding patch. They weren't terribly large but the flavor more than made up for it.
|
|
|
Post by rowan on Mar 3, 2014 21:09:44 GMT -5
If you are looking specifically for true cantaloupes, I would suggest Noir des Carmes, Zatta and D'Alger. Although Crane is not a canteloupe I highly recommend it as it does well here no matter what the season. Check out my research at www.melonmaster.com for more melon info
|
|
|
Post by canadamike on Apr 20, 2014 18:51:16 GMT -5
I would strongly recommend, on top of Noir Des Carmes, VÉDRANTAIS, a true type of Charentais that I find, as a canadian, better here than Charantais, way earlier and more productive, like a modern hybrid really. In 2010, it went trough hell, cold treatment at seedling stage, even got covered in snow in April like my 200 cultivars at the 2 leaf stage in its 2 inches pot, then went through the worst drought in 50 years, temps went up to 114 F here ( in the shadow), no water or rain, plus a severe crisis of powdery mildew where I lost most of the melons that had not already died from the harsh spring treatment ...about 20 out of 200 were surviving at this point, but Védrantais , one single vine, gave me 5 beautiful melons, and after that heat wave, we got 380% of the usual August rain, so it met cold, drought, heat, powdery mildew ( it was covered like all others) then cold and rain..and it gave me delicious sweet melons.
Most of the melons I harvested were tasteless, ripening in endless rain, but not him...and a few others...
Lunéville wouls also be a good choice IF it ripens without huge rains, it is extremely cold resistant, and heat too, but so powerfull it will grow tasteless giants in very heavy rain. It is a son of Noir Des Carmes and Prescott.
On the non cantaloupe but with a cantaloupe taste ( at least here) I would recommend GNADENFLED, a netted melond, definitely not a cantaloupe, but with a taste that is here quite european. It grows well in the canadian prairies with their short summers, grows ( I think) even better here... I am not too much a fan of the musky taste...and I love it. But terroir has an impact on taste, it is not only true for grapes and wine...
|
|
|
Post by Drahkk on Apr 21, 2014 20:42:26 GMT -5
Of the ones I've grown, Ha-Ogen is the sweetest and juiciest, but is no good if you're planning to sell them as it bruises easily and does not keep well. The best tasting I've found is Ananas, and the longest keeping that still tastes good is Juan Canary (I actually still have a small one from last summer that I'm just keeping to see how long it will last), but neither of those are cantaloupe type. Juan Canary is closer to a honeydew, and Ananas is simply unique, unlike any other I've tried. I wasn't impressed with Zatta when I grew it, but it was planted late and I only got one full sized melon, and as many positive reviews as I've heard I think it deserves a regrow.
MB
|
|