Melon

What could be more delicious than a sweet summer melon picked from your own backyard? There are a number of melons to choose from for your garden. Cantaloupe, also called muskmelons, have a netted tan rind and orange to pink flesh and are the most widely grown type. Charentais melons, difficult to find in supermarkets, look similar to muskmelons, but are smaller and have a smoother greenish rind with honey-sweet orange flesh.

Winter melons include honeydews with a creamy white rind and light green or orange flesh. They also include casaba melons with yellow rind and white flesh, and Crenshaw melons with a rough rind and pinkish flesh. All melons need extended temperatures above 70 degrees Fahrenheit to grow well, so they're a great choice for warmer climates.

Light:

Sun

Plant Type:

Vegetable

Plant Height:

1 foot tall

Plant Width:

3-20 feet wide

Top Varieties

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'Ambrosia' muskmelon

has outstanding flavor. The 5-pound fruits have salmon-color flesh, and the plants are powdery mildew resistant. 84 days
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'Athena' muskmelon

bears 5-6 pound fruits with sweet salmon-color flesh in 79 days. It has good disease and crack resistance.
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'Early Crenshaw Hybrid' melon

has a golden rind and succulent salmony-pink flesh in a teardrop-shape fruit. 85 days
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'Golden Beauty' casaba melon

is an heirloom casaba melon with white flesh and golden rind that produces 7-8 pound fruits in 110 days. It is best adapted to the Southwest.
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'Savor' charentais melon

is a small-fruited melon has deep orange flesh with a gray-green rind. The highly aromatic and sweet flesh is a gourmet treat. 78 days
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'Sugar Nut' canary melon

bears fruit with a bright yellow rind and creamy greenish white flesh 77 days from planting. The 2-pound fruits are nice size for singles or small families.
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'Super Dew Hybrid' honeydew melon

bears 6-pound fruits that have fragrant white flesh with a green tint near the rind. It matures in just 80 days.
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