"Collective Farm Woman'' Melon

flowerpower · March 27, 2007

My friend liked the way this melon looked in pics. So I got her a pack of seeds as part of her Bday gift. So 2 questions. When should she start seeds if our LFD is 5/31? And the stupid question-what does it taste like? Looks like a honeydew -is the taste similar?

Thanks

Suze · March 29, 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by flowerpower

When should she start seeds if our LFD is 5/31?

Melons prefer a warm soil temperature; best not to jump the gun too much with them. The usual recommendation on starting them is to wait to direct sow a couple of weeks or so after last frost. They can also be started in pots a couple of weeks before time to set out to get a little bit of a headstart.

I have personally come to prefer starting in four inch pots outside (bringing in at night if cool), then transplanting into the garden. I won't start them under lights -- that way they don't have to be hardened off. Cucurbits don't like to be rootbound. Nor do they care for disturbance of the rootball, and as such should be carefully transplanted.

The Cornell site has some fairly good information on growing melons that your friend may find useful.
http://www.gardening.cornell.edu/hom...ml#growinginfo

Andrey_BY · March 31, 2007

First of all about this melon variety which you know only by translated in English name. The original name of Collective Farm Woman is Kolkhoznitsa 749/753!
This melon has a very nice fruity flavor and strong smell.

It is a Russian pre-1940 CV bred by Biryuchekutskaya Veg. Breeding Res. Station, which is still located in the town Novocherkassk, in Rostov region of Russia (South of Russia near Black Sea). Actually there are several other Kolkhoznitsa varieties with different breeding numbers - Kolkhoznitsa 593, for example, with some changes in skin colours as you it had been shown on your books as well.

All these melons are Russian and not Ukrainian at all like mentioned in most American seed sources, Ukrainians just liked (and likes) to grow this variety very much in Ukraine, because it is an early enough to ripe in almost any Ukrainian region!

And of course there was no any particular Collective Farm Woman who had brought seeds of this melon to Marina Danilenko, who had introduced it to SSE, because in early 1990s any Moscow inhabitant could buy seeds of Kolkhoznitsa 749/753 in any seed shop or farmer market in Moscow.
It is still the most popular melon variety in former Soviet Union countries.

I see it was included in honeydew league in SSE Yearbook, but I believe it'd be better to place it to MELON/OTHER section since I've never known any Russian honeydew melon varieties been bred. They are not for our climate even in the South of Russia.

flowerpower · April 1, 2007

Thanks very much. I figured it would be a good variety for this area. We have a short season here.

Andrey, Thanks for the history. Very interesting. I may have to bum a few seeds from her to grow out. My BF works with a few guys who are originally from Russia. I know they would enjoy it.

**carolyn137** · April 4, 2007

Since we're so close to each other here in NYS I'll share with you what I used to do with all my melons.

Direct seeding is really not the way to go here b'c the soil warms up so late and most melons take so long before ripe fruits appear.

I would start all of my melons, and cukes as well, inside and sow about two weeks before set out date which for us should be in the early part of June. If you sow sooner you start to get the long vines going and that makes it harder to transplant.

I'd use large cells, maybe about three inches in a standard sized nursery tray and plant five seeds, one in the middle and four surrounding. Then let them germinate and grow for a bit

Then carefully tap out the cluster of plants to transplant, where you've hopefully added some sand to the soil, where you're going to put your plants.

See how they do, then thin down to the strongest three plants/hill ( a hill is not an actual hill, just terminology). I'd space the hills about 4 ft apart, but it sometimes depended on the actual varieties I was growing.

Did I get good production every year? Nope. Again, it depends on the specific varieties being grown, but when the nights are coolish, as they can be where we live, the melons are not happy and sometimes I couldn't mature them before it got just too darn cold for them to progress.

I used to use one 250 ft row just for melons of all kinds as well as watermelons and did have my faves.

flowerpower · April 4, 2007

I start all my squash the same way, 3-5 seeds in a good sized pot. Do you think I should cover the soil with black plastic? I was picking up sand anyway, so I will add some to that area of the garden. I am concerned about the cold nights. I always am

Dumb question-Will melons get roots along the vine like squash do?

Douglas14 · May 20, 2007

I grew Collective Farm Woman melon one year. It wasn't my favorite tasting melon. I guess I like muskmelon or cantaloupe types better. I can't recall the taste real well(it was maybe 4 or 5 yrs. ago). Maybe because it was different than I'm used to(in a melon), that lessoned my enjoyment of it. Maybe if I grew it every year, the taste would grow on me.
I hope your friend likes them.

March 27, 2007	#1
flowerpower Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Catskill Mountains, NY Z5 Posts: 94	"Collective Farm Woman'' Melon My friend liked the way this melon looked in pics. So I got her a pack of seeds as part of her Bday gift. So 2 questions. When should she start seeds if our LFD is 5/31? And the stupid question-what does it taste like? Looks like a honeydew -is the taste similar? Thanks

March 31, 2007	#3
Andrey_BY Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Minsk, Belarus, Eastern Europe (Zone 4a) Posts: 2,278	First of all about this melon variety which you know only by translated in English name. The original name of Collective Farm Woman is Kolkhoznitsa 749/753! This melon has a very nice fruity flavor and strong smell. It is a Russian pre-1940 CV bred by Biryuchekutskaya Veg. Breeding Res. Station, which is still located in the town Novocherkassk, in Rostov region of Russia (South of Russia near Black Sea). Actually there are several other Kolkhoznitsa varieties with different breeding numbers - Kolkhoznitsa 593, for example, with some changes in skin colours as you it had been shown on your books as well. All these melons are Russian and not Ukrainian at all like mentioned in most American seed sources, Ukrainians just liked (and likes) to grow this variety very much in Ukraine, because it is an early enough to ripe in almost any Ukrainian region! And of course there was no any particular Collective Farm Woman who had brought seeds of this melon to Marina Danilenko, who had introduced it to SSE, because in early 1990s any Moscow inhabitant could buy seeds of Kolkhoznitsa 749/753 in any seed shop or farmer market in Moscow. It is still the most popular melon variety in former Soviet Union countries. I see it was included in honeydew league in SSE Yearbook, but I believe it'd be better to place it to MELON/OTHER section since I've never known any Russian honeydew melon varieties been bred. They are not for our climate even in the South of Russia. __________________ 1 kg=2.2 lb , 1 m=39,37 in , 1 oz=28.35 g , 1 ft=30.48 cm , 1 lb= 0,4536 kg , 1 in=2.54 cm , 1 l = 0.26 gallon , 0 C=32 F Andrey a.k.a. TOMATODOR Last edited by Andrey_BY; April 2, 2007 at 10:00 AM.

April 4, 2007	#5
carolyn137 Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Upstate NY, zone 4b/5a Posts: 21,169	Since we're so close to each other here in NYS I'll share with you what I used to do with all my melons. Direct seeding is really not the way to go here b'c the soil warms up so late and most melons take so long before ripe fruits appear. I would start all of my melons, and cukes as well, inside and sow about two weeks before set out date which for us should be in the early part of June. If you sow sooner you start to get the long vines going and that makes it harder to transplant. I'd use large cells, maybe about three inches in a standard sized nursery tray and plant five seeds, one in the middle and four surrounding. Then let them germinate and grow for a bit Then carefully tap out the cluster of plants to transplant, where you've hopefully added some sand to the soil, where you're going to put your plants. See how they do, then thin down to the strongest three plants/hill ( a hill is not an actual hill, just terminology). I'd space the hills about 4 ft apart, but it sometimes depended on the actual varieties I was growing. Did I get good production every year? Nope. Again, it depends on the specific varieties being grown, but when the nights are coolish, as they can be where we live, the melons are not happy and sometimes I couldn't mature them before it got just too darn cold for them to progress. I used to use one 250 ft row just for melons of all kinds as well as watermelons and did have my faves. __________________ Carolyn

April 1, 2007	#4
flowerpower Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Catskill Mountains, NY Z5 Posts: 94	Thanks very much. I figured it would be a good variety for this area. We have a short season here. Andrey, Thanks for the history. Very interesting. I may have to bum a few seeds from her to grow out. My BF works with a few guys who are originally from Russia. I know they would enjoy it.

May 20, 2007	#7
Douglas14 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2007 Location: Minnesota Posts: 602	I grew Collective Farm Woman melon one year. It wasn't my favorite tasting melon. I guess I like muskmelon or cantaloupe types better. I can't recall the taste real well(it was maybe 4 or 5 yrs. ago). Maybe because it was different than I'm used to(in a melon), that lessoned my enjoyment of it. Maybe if I grew it every year, the taste would grow on me. I hope your friend likes them.