I planted a couple varieties of cantaloupe this year and they're all ripening at the same time. I think that next year, I'll plant a couple of hills in early May, like I did this year, then plant a couple more in mid- or late-May to spread out the harvest. The melons are very good but it's getting difficult to keep up with them. Fortunately, the sheep enjoy the excess.
Paul
i'm worried about that problem happening here too.
i'd say that is a good problem to have if you can find people who want them.
i've also thought if it would be possible to juice them...
songbird
My best cantaloupe was one one melon and it was the size of a baseball.
What variety did you grow?
What kind of fertilizer did you use?
I searched online and found a lot of recipes for cantaloupe pies, salads, jams, etc. My wife isn't interested in any of those. I may try making a batch of cantaloupe wine.
Paul
I grew one hill of El Gordo melons; we just picked a 15 pound melon this morning. Another hill was just plain cantaloupes, I don't recall any special variety on those. Those are normal size, like what you get at the store.
I scattered sheep manure from the barn in the pumpkin patch and tilled it in well in the spring. When I planted the hills, I dug out a shovel full of dirt below each and filled the hole with compost. I also sprinkled a tablespoon or so of 10-10-10 into the hole but that was all the fertilizing I did.
We also have a very large pumpkin out there; the variety is called "First Prize" and is said to grow up to 300 pounds. Will let you know how that one turns out.
Paul
"sheep manure". That explains it.
Frozen melon balls are great in fruit salad in the winter.
Paul
Don't your worms like these things?
T wrote: ...melons...
worms love melons/melon peels, but i only have ten buckets and can't possibly keep up with 30 or more melons (my last count for six plants).
the other day i was out checking the bean gardens to see which were ready to pick (as dry beans). i looked over and saw a melon that had formed between two large rocks. it was more ripe and i could even smell it so i picked it to see how it was.
it was excellent, perhaps a few more days and it would have been perfect. flavor is not quite the same as a standard cantaloupe/muskmelon - it has hints of cotton candy flavor. very good. i'm sure i'll have a ton of seeds.
i have to learn somehow. :) the first one i picked way too green, it was barely edible in the center. this second one was fully ripe in the center and only a bit hard along the edges.
i'm going to have to give a lot of these away!
songbird
I am envious! I can't grow a melon for my life!
Then again, I can only eat three tablespoons of melon a day do to my blood sugar, so it might be a good thing.
:'(
Pavel314 wrote: ...
like i suspected too many all at once. i have called my friends to see how many they might come to pick up today. there's probably six or more out there ready to come in.
i picked three yesterday that were ready and all of them were good. i ate half of one or more, but that's about my limit for a day. the rest i cut up and we have a container in the fridge that will last another day or two.
out in the garden there is one that i missed picking yesterday so either my friends will get it today or i'll pick it to see how ripe it is at that color. it is fully orange - that may be overripe.
songbird
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