Cantelope, Yum!
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Screaming Eagle
Joined: Jul-16-2003
Location: Puget Sound corridor
Posted: Sep-15-2003 at 12:39pm
I'm so excited, I noticed my three little green cantelopes starting to yellow and separate from the vine. I've eaten two of them--oh my goodness but they were good! I've saved one for my husband, but he better get a move on or I'll devour that one too! Now this was an experiment and the success might be attributable to the unusually warm summer, but I'm ready to plant them again next year. This year they were in a pot so they might get some ground space next year!
The Grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love and something to hope for.
~Joseph Addison
Lisa A
Joined: Aug-14-2003
Location: Oregon, Greater Portland Metro
Posted: Sep-15-2003 at 2:37pm
Congrats, Theresa! I hear they aren't always a sure thing in our climate. My hubby talks hungrily about the great cantalopes that a friend grew every year (wonder what his secret was?). And this is years ago! I guess they made an impression. ;-)
Gardening in Sunset Zone 6, USDA Zone 8.
"If you are not killing plants, you are not really stretching yourself as a gardener."
~ J. C. Raulston
gary
Joined: Jul-26-2003
Location: Washington, Puget Sound Corridor
Posted: Sep-15-2003 at 5:00pm
OK:
First we need to get better location info into this website. I know that Lisa is on the west side of Portland but Theresa?
From Olympia, I have this report. In a good sun location last year, we got 62 fruit from 18 plants. This year we got 54 melons from 16 plants. Same ratio but this site and I both got 5+ pound Passports this year but not last year.
Longtime readers know that I have only 6-hours of mid-summer sun. I've never gotten anything near this year's 5# Passport. But then last year and this year, I also didn't get 3.5 melons per plant as my friend has.
Will I keep trying? My wife, the melon eater says, "For Sure!"
Gary
Screaming Eagle
Joined: Jul-16-2003
Location: Puget Sound corridor
Posted: Sep-16-2003 at 9:50am
Gary, I'm in Bellevue and this plant was in a pot in my driveway in front of the house, southern exposure. We have lots of tall trees but this spot doesn't get shaded till the very last part of the day so plenty of sun and plenty of heat (sorry but that's as scientific as I get). I'm but an infant in gardening compared to you, I am very excited when I grow things even more so when it's something I can eat!
By the way I have great respect and am in constant awe of your knowledge and ability to rattle off facts and figures. Thank goodness for folks like you 'cause I'll never be at that level.
Theresa
The Grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love and something to hope for.
~Joseph Addison
gary
Joined: Jul-26-2003
Location: Washington, Puget Sound Corridor
Posted: Sep-16-2003 at 1:14pm
Theresa,
Warm soil is one of the requirements so you may have trouble finding soil as warm as the pot on your driveway.
I am now allowing about 10 sq. ft. of ground for the plant's leaves to spread. That leaf surface is where the 'sweet' comes from. That is a lot of space for most folks to provide in a small garden unless they apply a premium for the melon's taste.
A good article on raising them is now available on Travis' new site Westsidegardener.com.
Gary
Screaming Eagle
Joined: Jul-16-2003
Location: Puget Sound corridor
Posted: Sep-17-2003 at 10:18am
Thanks for the info Gary. So maybe I'll just do them in pots again next year, since it worked so well. BUT I gotta have more!
The Grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love and something to hope for.
~Joseph Addison
dusty
Joined: Jul-27-2003
Location: Outside the Maritime Pacific Northwest
Posted: Sep-19-2003 at 5:17am
I tried Crenshaw mellons this year and got good size but they aren't ripening up! Can I cut them and ripen off the vine??????
dusty
gary
Joined: Jul-26-2003
Location: Washington, Puget Sound Corridor
Posted: Sep-22-2003 at 6:54am
Dusty,
Melons don't ripen off the vine. That is why home grown ones taste so much better than the store versions.
Burpee has an early hybrid that they say is the first Crenshaw that can be grown up north. But "up north" doesn't mean HERE! It means in the humid east where a 90F day will have a 75-68F night and not a 48F night like we have.
You might try to boost the warmth we are getting this week with an openended cloche. Otherwise, it is another of those 'hair on your chest, scabs on your ___' learning experiences.
Gary
gary
Joined: Jul-26-2003
Location: Washington, Puget Sound Corridor
Posted: Sep-25-2003 at 10:09am
Dusty,
My partner in melon growing is a shipwrecked Texan (SR. Master Chief, USN Ret.). He confirms that Crenshaw melons are HOT weather plants. Though Whidbey maybe the best place in W. WA, it's just not warm enough here.
Gary
Gardening for the Homebrewer: Grow and Process Plants for Making Beer, Wine, Gruit, Cider, Perry, and More
By co-authors Debbie Teashon (Rainy Side Gardeners) and Wendy Tweton