Looking for melon recommendations for next year
 

This was the first year we've grown melons in North Carolina (in Pennsylvania we did very well with Burpee's Hybrid and Sweet Dreams canteloupes - Jenny Lind was kind of bland to my taste).

We've had great success with Passport and Touchdown - so now want to branch out a bit for next season and try some that we've not sampled before. I noticed that Baker Creek lists many of the historic European melons that Amy Goldman featured in her melon book. They also list quite a few historic US heirlooms (Tip Top, Emerald Gem, Nutmeg, etc).

So I am looking for recommendations from you all - what has done well for you? I am more interested in flavor than anything else. What should we go for next year?

Well I've heard that no garden is complete without Charentais.

Amy Goldman loves the Petit Gris de Rennes so I grew that 2 years ago and was thrilled with the few I got here--very sweet, small. (Perfect season etc etc). This year I switched to the Vert Grimpant and 1 vine has completely covered the fence (it's supposed to be grown on a fence, leaving room for the tomatoes). I bet it would be a winner farther south/longer season.

I completely agree with Petit gris de rennes, other very good ones are: de bellegarde, I love the Jenny Lind but you've tried that one, another very good one is unavailable :streits freiland gruengenetzt, it could be available in Baker Creek from the end of the year, because I send them seeds, but I can send you seeds, I should have some 50 varieties lying about,most of them are indeed old European varieties,
Frank

I totally bombed on the (musk melon front) The bugs got every dag gum melon out there. Next year the melons are going on the trellis. I will watch them like a hawk.8) 8)

Deaath to slugs!!! Death to Rolley Pollies!!:evil: :evil:

I planted petite yellow watermelon which is growing like crazy. I must have 10 melons on the vine. Haven't picked any yet so will have to comment on the flavor later. Also have Sleeping Beauty and Green machine. I have them trellised on small square tomato cages and they are growing with out any problem. None are quite ready to pick yet, but seem to like the heat and humidity here in VA.
Carol

Oka melon is the favorite of my family...I don't eat them, but this one gets lots of great flavor reviews...SSE regular public catalog should have desc. and maybe picture....

Jeanne

I have been pleasantly surprised with Asian melons, eg Sakata Sweet, seeds from Johnny's. Maybe baseball sized, a totally different taste. Eat the rinds.

Noir de Carmes turned out to be a very pleasant cantaluope.

Moons & Stars red (Van Doren strain) is the best tasting and best producing watermelon I've grown here in the hot, humid, bug-infested Ozarks. It's a keeper for me.

Green Machine is pumping out green-fleshed melons as promised, but I don't think they are ripe yet, so no flavor report.

Thanks to all for their input so far - much appreciated! Keep the suggestions coming!

I second Moon & Stars for watermelon varieties that do well for me. When I tried to grow Blacktail Mtn, it came out about the size of a grapefruit, with no sweetness. The Moon & Stars reached a decent size and was very good.

Yes, I have both Long Milky Way (black seed, red flesh) and Yellow Flesh, white seeded Moon and Starts growing - in fact...glad you asked!

Below was dessert tonight (cut up with another that we just picked, Ananas, and some Raspberry Sorbet). I've wanted to grow and taste Yellow M&S for 20 years...tonight, success!

WHAT - A - MELON! Perfect texture - crisp but tender, incredibly juicy, sweet but also watermelony....it will be back next year!

So the yellow fleshed M & S is very good too? I grew the round, pink fleshed one (Van Doren strain I believe). It was excellent! It's really the only watermelon variety I've had any luck with at all. I have high hopes for an Orangeglo, if it will hurry up and ripen before the danged pickle worms get here! Has anyone found an effective means to combat those things? I surely haven't.

[FONT=Arial][SIZE=3][FONT=Book Antiqua]A fellow CHOPTAGer brought a Cream of Saskatchewan watermelon to last year’s Taste Fest. Everyone really liked it. Of course I saved a few seeds.[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Arial][SIZE=3][FONT=Book Antiqua]I have tried to grow several types of melons in the past including Moons & Stars red (Van Doren strain) but I’ve never had any success until this year. In the past either the melons were way underdeveloped :( or the beasts that live in the woods around us would feast on them.:evil: [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Arial][SIZE=3][FONT=Book Antiqua]This year I started the Cream of Saskatchewan seed inside and planted them out around the middle of May. They took a long time to get established but finally took hold. Once the first fruit set I built a wire cage around it that only a stick of dynamite could move. It is about 12” in diameter now and looking real nice. From everything I’ve been able to read about telling when it is ripe I’ll be picking it in the next few days. :mrgreen: :D [/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Arial][SIZE=3][FONT=Book Antiqua]Here’s hoping for the best. I’ll let y’all know the outcome.[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT]

In the cantaloupe-muskmelon group, I've grown Ambrosia (many years), Savor charenterais type (many years), Trocadero charenterais, Rayyan (one year), and Petit Gris de Rennes (last year and this year as a volunteer). My very favorite is Ambrosia. Sweet, aromatic, excellent flavor, just wonderful. Mr. Woodchuck likes it, too, unfortunately, but we've still managed to harvest dozens of them to share with friends and neighbors. The charenterais-types are tasty but, in my experience, much more prone to cracking than the other types. Once they crack, it's a free-for-all bug-wise.:evil:

Orangeglo is a watermelon I wouldn't be without. Blacktail Mtn. (my first year growing it) will be back as well, and Ali Baba is another great one of the red-fleshed varieties. Moon and Stars is another great one that is taking the year off in my garden.:D