Is it ok to plant one melon?

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

i think we also have one called 'granite'! it is tough to find it in stock around here. i think Johnny's and FedCo were the only 2 places that carried it locally if you got them before they sold out! last year i found a local that was supplying plants to the feed store and i got some good varieties that i know were locally developed, i just can't remember their names this year. i should have kept the tags.

 

[digitS']

What kind of name is "Granite" for a fruit?!?

Yes, I have grown that cantaloupe ! Halona is one that I really should try.

You can find some others here (click, 5 page pdf).

Steve

 

[SuperChemicalGirl]

Ha!

I want you to take note of this, Super and Chickie'sMoma!

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h22/Digit_007/organica014.jpg

These are Passport melons from my garden and the variety is from . . . the University of New Hampshire. The Galia melon parent is from Israel but the development of this hybrid was in your home state.

Just so that you might give some thought to growing this nice little melon.

Steve

How does it taste? I'll definitely try it next year if I can find it and you say it tastes good.

I broke down and bought a watermelon plant from Home Depot last night (I had to go and replace my dead tomato plant). I am determined to have some kind of melon this year.

I might just have my boyfriend pick up a watermelon at the grocery store and leave it in the front yard for me to find if it doesn't go well...

 

[digitS']

Honeydew isn't a strong favorite for me. This isn't quite a honeydew and has a slightly different flavor - I would even say a better flavor.

The variety is definitely a favorite because I can grow it!

. . . now, if I can just a ripe Charentais back in my garden . . .

Steve

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

What kind of name is "Granite" for a fruit?!?

Yes, I have grown that cantaloupe ! Halona is one that I really should try.

You can find some others here (click, 5 page pdf).

Steve

ok, i found the seeds! they call it 'granite' because NH is known as the granite state! the stuff is everywhere! http://www.johnnyseeds.com/p-6624-sweet-granite-og.aspx

 

[digitS']

A good name or not, it grew just fine in my garden.

(Can you imagine, I've got a cherry tomato this year called Sweet Quartz . . ? "Here, bite into this piece of qua . . ." I don't even like to think about it!! )

Granite has been around, forever. I had it for 2 or 3 years and may go back to it if I have too much trouble with some of these others. Casting about almost futilely gets frustrating.

That's why Passport makes me feel good. Need at least one that can be relied on.

Steve

 

[digitS']

I thought I'd come back to this thread because Super' is thinking of growing melons in 2012. Encouraging her to do so, just seemed like a good thing to do .

However, anything called a "jumbo" should probably be avoided this far north, I'm sorry to say.

"If wishes were horses, beggars would ride ."

I am risk-averse - there's no question about it but I'm human. Just a few years ago, I was browsing the seedrack at a garden center and my hand moved completely out of control of my brain: I picked up a packet of seed for an "Ambrosia melon," paid for it and later planted those seeds in a container and moved the seedlings into my garden. It was entirely inadvertent but human and it was completely unsuccessful :/. The "Ambrosia melon" slipped away on one freezing cold morning in the fall. There may have been tears . . .

In 2011, Passport Galia came thru for me again (flashing my passport: click). The Santon Charentais kinda did, too. I've got a basket of baseball-sized melons beside the backdoor that may or may not ripen now that they are off the vines. I did have a few that ripened this month. It was very late to be harvesting a melon but this year had very bad weather at the start of the season.

As I say, Passport got me thru . . . but those melons were all harvested back in September! These things, showed up a couple weeks ago (not a very good picture, the tomato is just there for comparison - a good-sized beefsteak):

Weird looking aren't they? I think that once again, the hybridizers screwed up and I got a seed from the parent line. I waited until these fully ripened and ate one yesterday and here is the one I had for breakfast this morning (that's a small Gala apple in there, part of my "More" fruit diet program ):

These things may well be non-hybrids but I'm not saving seed. They are just too late for a normal growing season. I mean, these melons would never have had a chance if there had been September frost.

The flavor is okay and yet I'll certainly go for the "real" Passport again while hoping the seed isn't contaminated with any more of these . But, I wanted you to see how what might even be a close relative is over a month behind a faster horse on the melon track.

Steve

 

[SuperChemicalGirl]

Thanks for reviving this thread... I know I'm going to fall in the melon trap (so to speak) again next year. But I'll try and buy more reasonable seeds.

Here's what happened...

My lone watermelon on the cutting board which is probably 6 inches by 10:

The chickens told me it was delicious. This is, however, the best I've done in watermelons in my years, sad to say.


And here's my famous "Hale's Best JUMBO" on the same tiny cutting board:

I have to say this one was actually edible by human standards, although relatively few bites.

 

[digitS']

Well, those don't look so bad, Super'!

My melon patch is a couple hundred square feet so I can't see setting up plastic but that could be an option with just several vines after such encouraging results. I know a grower who lives in a very climate challenging area who not only grows melons but has cucumbers in May!!!!

He has all of his melons and cukes in tunnels. How he keeps things from blowing away thru the long months, I don't have any idea.

Steve

 

[vfem]

I still have 3 watermelons to bring in! :/

Our cantaloupe was not so yummy this year. However, I couldn't imagine NOT growing it every year here in the south.

I do feel your frustrations from having to deal with such a short season with melons... they are something a garden should have every year, everywhere!

Have you thought about creating some sort of temp hoop house to go over your melons in the spring and fall to get you a few more weeks of warm temps and soil for them?