When to pick the melons

*grin.... ;>)

Shoe

podster - at least you got to it before the ants did, although, I just wash them off!

Did you have a heavy rain just before it split? I don't actually think this would be the cause, but am curious.

Melons are like children, although each has the same parents, they all look different. LOL

Keep us posted as to how future melons ripen.

Thanks Honeybee ~ I actually had considered the moisture take up being the cause. This split on Friday and the previous Saturday/Sunday we did receive a slow soaking rain from LEE. Perhaps ~ I just don't know.

BTW, anyone here that has photos of whatever type of melon you've grown, can I suggest you go to that melon cultivar in the plant files and submit the photos. I went to this one and there was only one photo of a cut melon. More photos would surely help to tell when it is ripe, etc. I submitted two or three myself of this C. savor.

Then, we Texas should have enough sugary sweet melons out there to make a whole lotta ice cubes!

'Cause their ain't NO rain in sight, and we're drinking a whole lot of icy beverages to stay cool!!!

And the watermelons have been exquisite this summer so that is the case!

Seeds for this melon are drying and I am doing a germination test right now.

We had a dry summer for most of it; only at the end did we start getting rain. But maybe that was enough to do them in....

Both wet and dry here.

We use a combination of methods on telling if the watermelons are ready. Last tendril nearest the watermelon is brown, bottom white spot is turing yellow, and there is a "punk" sound when slapping the melon. If it sounds like "pink" it's too soon to pick it. The color of and amount of yellow on the bottom of the watermelon seems to vary witht hey types we've planted. I'll have to watch the melons we have left to sede if the leaf changes color.

We grow Bite-of-Honey cantalopes. Easy to tell if they are ripe. They change color and seperate from the vine. I had a problem earlier this season with the bugs (in the ground) eating them before they rippened. We went through the patch and bricks under the melons. That took care of that issue.

Soil minerials will impact the taste of the cantalopes. We had some problems with the taste on the cantalope previously but it seemed to be more an issue with the mineral compesition of the soil that amount of water/rain they were getting. But then we get a lot less rain than the coast does. The soil issue was either the amount of phosphorus or potasium. It's been back far enough that I don;t remember which.

No rain this time and all the blasted Charentais melons large enough have split.

In reading, I find that is not uncommon but it irritates me as they aren't ripened enough to be tender even though the taste is great.

Also in reading, I find one grower states they leave them on the vine to ripen and just cut out the split portion. I found it dried out at the split and would think it would attract unwanted critters.

Think I'll try another type next year...

alot of mine have done this also. it's discouraging, cause they tasted so good.

I water my melons. The only year we had issues with splitting I started late watering them. It might be worth the time looking up if they are prone to splitting like tomates if the watering is uneven.

Susan-They already discussed earlier in the thread the watering issue. The only way we could grow anything in Tx, especially this year, would be to water them regularly.LOL Evidentally this cultivator has a problem with splitting, at least that's what the other posts indicate.

Pod- you could try cutting them up and freezing them. That might change the consistency and keep the taste.

That is a good thought Lisa ~ Thanks!

SusanKC ~ yes, from the reading I've been doing, the Charentais savor is noted for splitting. These have not had an abundance of water since LEE came thru and split the first one.

KathyAnn ~ was it just Charentais for you? Or did the other canteloupes split also?

So, I test germinated the seeds and only 1/10 sprouted. Again, I wasn't impressed but it probably wasn't ripe enough...

Podster - we had no splitting on the bit-a-honey cantalope. This is the third year we've grown them. The seeds came from someone in the Seed Savors book.

Thanks for that recommendation. I will be looking at other cultivars for next season...

Oh, Podster,
So sorry about your melons!

Might you consider growing that variety once again, only plant them in an eBucket? I find that my water-HOGGING brassicas are most happy in the eBuckets where they can drink, drink, drink, whenever and however much they want, as long as I keep the reservoir filled for them...

You could conduct an experiment and start just a few vines in eBuckets. Let them sprawl as normal, and put the eBuckets on an automatic drip irrigation system, if holding a hosepipe to fill the reservoirs is not your thing.

Worth a try, maybe? I'd love to see you try and succeed using this system.

Lemme know if I can assist in any way. Trust me -- the water HOGS love 'em (and so do I)!

Here's my #1 proof...

Linda

This message was edited Sep 19, 2011 2:44 PM

nice looking cabbage

podster - try "Tasty Bites" I grew these for the first time this year and was delighted with them. They are a cross between an "Ana" and a "Charentais"

http://www.johnnyseeds.com/p-8402-tasty-bites-f1.aspx

Yes, the Charentais do split easily. Now that I'm home full time, I'm able to check on them several times a day. Once I see the beginnings of a crack around the stem, I pick them.

If you want to stick with heirlooms - try "Vedrantais" - I also grow this one. The seeds don't germinate as well, and there are fewer seeds per melon. Most of them will slip from the vine when ripe. They taste very similar to the Charentais. Here's where I purchased my original seeds. I'm hoping to have some seeds to share at the end of next summer.

http://www.burpee.com/heirloom-seeds-and-plants/heirloom-melons/melon-vedrantais-prod002040.html

Thank you, Susan!

Honeybee ~ thanks for the recommendations. I will research them.

Did you say your Charentais begin to crack around the stem?
Mine have all split on the opposite end of the stem.

podster - I keep watching where the stem meets the melon. When a little crack appears, I have found it's time to pick the melon. I do pick up some of the melons once in a while to see if cracks have started on the opposite end.

Your Charentais is probably a different strain than mine, so you might not get the same ripeness indicators.

Thanks Honeybee ~ by the time these have split on the bottom, the only indicator is the opposing leaf turns brown and crispy. Off course it smells wonderful too.

Gymgirl ~ I'm going to pass on the eBuckets for now. But you might experiment and then you can report back to us?

Pod,
I'd love to conduct this experiment, but I'm gonna need a lot of info, since I've never grown ANY vining veggie before.

These melons ripen in the fall? spring?

Give me the planting time frame and send me a couple seeds and I'll set it up in an eBucket. We'll see what happens!

Linda

I'll see if I have any leftover. The seeds I saved and germinate tested did not impress me.

They are a summer crop. The vine thrives in the heat and this is the time of year they will ripen in our zones.

Here is my cantaloupe growing from my compost pile. It has grown up the wall and attached itself to my neighbor tree on the other side of the fence. The branches hang over my side of the wall. It is over 12' high. I need to get a sling up there somehow.

This one is on the pony wall on the outside of the compost/holding garden. You can see how the white flies have destroyed the leaves. Next year I will start with neem oil the minute the plants raise their first leaves.

I have had the worst case of whiteflies this year. I had about decided the attractor was the canteloupe vines on one side of my raised bed. I have been 'neeming' for a while. At least the vines growing on a trellis make it easier to spray the underside of the leaf.

Last year a friend that owns a small garden center had to close due to a whitefly infestation and he had a beautiful crop of gourd vines down one side of a fence. Now I wonder if they drew the whiteflies also.

When I plant next year, the melons will be isolated and I've recently read for a small crop using row covers can deter them.

Sharon you might move a trampoline under that 12' high one to catch it. lol Can't imagine how you could get up there with a sling.

No not me but I am on the Board of the HOA and I am the liaison with the landscape crew. And they have a very tall ladder. But they would also probably knock it off. I am no longer allowed on ladders. I have a balance problem. I need a ladder like they have in the large box stores with a landing at the top with rails all around it. That would be great for me but where would you store it? LOL.

Finally I get to pick my chanterais!!!!! I wanted to have them for Rosh Ha shanah and they made it in time even though I started them late. I have 3 that are ready to go, they just totally perfume the front yard. I hope they taste as good as they look. There are tons on the vines, most of them won't get to be ripe before frost, but its so cool to have a new fruit to start off the new year and I'll have enough to share too.

Hey, Pod.

Araness is gonna take up the challenge of growing the Charentais in her patented Earthboxes, next season. She love, love, loves them, and when I explained about the uneven watering problem, she agreed the built-in reservoirs might just solve the problem.

So. The game is afoot, Watson!

Pip, Pip, and Cheerio! (which was my first choice of a DG screen name, but it was taken...)

Luv the British accent ~ can you extract a promise that she will report back to us?

You bet your sweet bippie, I will!