I felt very challenged to grow a melon, Carol.
For years, it was Minnesota Midget or nothing . . . usually, it was nothing.
Then I came across this list: Earligold, Earliqueen, Goddess, Strike, Halona and Passport. Okay, I came across the list after I tried one of these, the Passport melon. It isn't a cantaloupe, it's a "Galia" melon and, I believe, a cross between a honeydew & a muskmelon. I think the others are cantaloupe and this is the 2nd year I've grown Goddess. I've had my first Goddess and 3 or 4 Passports. Today, I just brought 3 more ripe melons in from the garden!
These melons were all developed by Brent Loy at the University of New Hampshire. It isn't as tho' I grow a whole lot of these things. And, these particular varieties are not growing out there by leaps & bounds, either. There is one, 30' by 4' bed in the garden and the melon vines have shared that bed with a bunch of basil plants around the outside and, yesterday, I noticed that there's a cucumber plant in that bed! A melon plant must have died and been replaced a couple of months ago . . .
That used to be a real common problem - melon death :/. Spring has been so cool & miserable some years, that my melon plants just up & die! Passport tuffs it out! Year after year, I've got those melons
. Now, your early season may be entirely different but you and your DH are doing the right thing - trying different types. Keep trying!
Steve
