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Any Melon Worth Its Salt©
By: Arlene Wright Correll
When I was a kid growing up that was a famous slogan for Morton Salt and may still well be. A big treat for us in the summer was watermelon, cantaloupe and honey dew melon. Nothing else came into our little world.
I like them still and until our youngest daughter, Glynis, started helping with the grocery selection that was all that was still in our little world. However, Glynis is much more of an adventurer, explorer of new places and things than I am and when it comes to trying melons, she is the "go to" gal. As she introduced us to these new taste sensations over the years, I started to grow different ones each season and they were even better than the "store-bought ones".
Most of the melons I will talk about will need fertile soil and abundant heat in order to arrive at their most perfectly delicious state. Growing melons has a great advantage because they can ripen on the vine, be picked and eaten at their peak season. Should you have to buy melons at a farmer’s market or store then the test of all melons except for watermelon is not "thumping" or pushing in on the stem end, but smelling. If they smell like a melon then they are ripe. If they do not, they are not ripe, but will probably be in 2 to 4 days when left at room temperature. Most people put their melons in the refrigerator. However, I like mine at room temperature because the flavor is just more flavor to me at room temperature.
When you sow your melon seeds sow in place about two weeks after the last spring frost and plant your seeds about 1 inch deep, 12 inches apart, in rows 5 feet apart. For those who follow the "hill" planting method then plant 4 to 5 seeds per hill with your hills about 5 feet apart.
Small melons can be trellised but larger ones would need a cloth sling to support each fruit. I used to use old panty hose, recycled mesh onion and orange bags. The ideal weather for melons is 2 weeks of dry climate just before harvesting.
I love planting Charentais melons. From sowing to harvesting takes 85 days and this wonderful heirloom French melon is super sweet and very, very fragrant. They have light grey-green skin and bright orange flesh growing to a smooth round 2 to 3 pound melon. We picked them and ate them as fast as they were ready.
A wonderful Italian Melon is the Rugoso Di Consenza which is a beautiful "Amarillo Oro" type melon with sugary-sweet white flesh and a bright golden rind with ridges. This is a good late season melon and is also a good market variety melon.
If you like pickled melons then grow some Kin Makuwa which is a rare heirloom melon that has been grown for centuries in northern Japan.
If you want a good producer and an early melon plant some Golden Sweet which is an oriental melon with skin so thin that many people do not peel the lemon colored rind prior to eating its crisp white flesh. Delicious and good!
From Israel try Israel or Ogen which is an excellent tasting early melon that can be harvested in only 80 days. This very fragrant melon is so flavorful with green flesh that you will be glad you grew some.
Thomas Jefferson grew a melon called Ananas D’ Amerique A Chair Verte (Green Fleshed Pineapple) and this variety has become rare, but is still available. The fruit has netted skin and light green flesh that is highly fragrant, firm and sweet. This melon is very productive and can be trained to climb up a trellis.
For those of you who like honey dew melons and want one that can be harvested two weeks earlier than most honey dews then plant some Golden Honeymoon which only takes 92 days to harvest. This has a unique flavor, brilliant gold rind and delicious green flesh. It produces a good yield and the melon is a good keeper.
One of Glynis’ favorites is the Casaba Golden Beauty which has very sweet flesh with a tough golden rind. This is a good winter keeper as it stores well into the winter. We consider this to be the finest of the Casaba melons.
Make a place in your garden for melons and you will be glad you did.
Author Resource:-> For more gardening or cooking information click http://www.learn-america.com/
To see Arlene’s Gardens and to read her gardening diaries or click on Arlene’s Books where you can download or buy her gardening & cook books. Remember to check out her artwork, especially of her fruits and vegetables. Arlene says, "All my royalties from the sale of my books go to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and I thank you for visiting my site."
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