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Google
Wow! Isn't she a beaut!
+7
donnainzone5
GWN
camprn
CapeCoddess
Pollinator
LittleGardener
songstriss
11 posters
Page 1 of 1
Wow! Isn't she a beaut!
This is my very first muskmelon. It measures 8.5" long and 6.5" across, that's 13" around! It's huge!!!
To me anyway.
It has started turning color so I'm hoping to harvest it soon. How do I know when to pick it? Do I need to back off on watering it?
To me anyway.
It has started turning color so I'm hoping to harvest it soon. How do I know when to pick it? Do I need to back off on watering it?
songstriss- Posts : 107
Join date : 2012-06-10
Location : Zone 8 Southwest High Desert, CA
Re: Wow! Isn't she a beaut!
Congratulations! - How to tell when melons are ripe depends on what kindsongstriss wrote:This is my very first muskmelon.
It measures 8.5" long and 6.5" across, that's 13" around! It's huge!!!
To me anyway.
It has started turning color so I'm hoping to harvest it soon. How do I know when to pick it? Do I need to back off on watering it?
Listen:
Honeydew will rattle from loose seeds when ripe. Cantaloupes you thump. A deep and thick dense sound is good. A hollow sound can mean insufficient moisture. If ripe, it will resonate with a hollow thump.
Smell the fruit: Both cantaloupes and honeydew have a strong sweet smell.
As the fruit matures, the skins become smooth & slippery, and some varieties change color to orange.
the muskmelon & Galia types are easy to tell when ripe as the fruit pulls off easily or "slips" from the vine.
Was this helpful?
LittleGardener- Posts : 370
Join date : 2011-07-21
Location : PNWet 7 B
Re: Wow! Isn't she a beaut!
Thank you. I've read that with some fruits you're supposed to back off on watering while they are ripening. Do I need to do that with this muskmelon?
songstriss- Posts : 107
Join date : 2012-06-10
Location : Zone 8 Southwest High Desert, CA
Re: Wow! Isn't she a beaut!
songstriss wrote:I've read that with some fruits you're supposed to back off on watering while they are ripening. Do I need to do that with this muskmelon?
Yes, definitely. Too much water and the fruit won't be very sweet. I will spoil faster, and it might even split. No water, once it starts to turn.
Re: Wow! Isn't she a beaut!
Pollinator, once it starts to turn what? Also, does this no watering pertain to squash, too?
CC
CC
CapeCoddess- Posts : 6824
Join date : 2012-05-20
Age : 68
Location : elbow of the Cape, MA, Zone 6b/7a
Update
Here are some photos of the muskmelon to date. It has been 10 days since it started turning color and has grown even larger.
It doesn't give when I try to pull it from the vine. It has a hollow sound when I thump on it. Do I wait longer to harvest it or is it ready?
It doesn't give when I try to pull it from the vine. It has a hollow sound when I thump on it. Do I wait longer to harvest it or is it ready?
songstriss- Posts : 107
Join date : 2012-06-10
Location : Zone 8 Southwest High Desert, CA
Re: Wow! Isn't she a beaut!
Nice! I am so jealous! Enjoy it!!!
43 years a gardener and going strong with SFG.
https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t3574-the-end-of-july-7-weeks-until-frost
There are certain pursuits which, if not wholly poetic and true, do at least suggest a nobler and finer relation to nature than we know. The keeping of bees, for instance. ~ Henry David Thoreau
https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t1306-other-gardening-books
Re: Wow! Isn't she a beaut!
So does that mean I should harvest it or leave it on the vine longer?
songstriss- Posts : 107
Join date : 2012-06-10
Location : Zone 8 Southwest High Desert, CA
Re: Wow! Isn't she a beaut!
I TOO am envious, is a muskmellon sort of like a cantaloupe?
I have 3 canteloupes and the whole hollow sound thing to me is just difficult to know.
when I make bread they say to tap on the bottom and if it has a hollow sound it is done, I just never know. :scratch:
I have 3 canteloupes and the whole hollow sound thing to me is just difficult to know.
when I make bread they say to tap on the bottom and if it has a hollow sound it is done, I just never know. :scratch:
GWN- Posts : 2804
Join date : 2012-01-14
Age : 67
Location : british columbia zone 5a
Re: Wow! Isn't she a beaut!
Yes muskmelon is a cantaloupe. I think the difference is that the muskmelon is more elongated, whereas cantaloupe is more round.
songstriss- Posts : 107
Join date : 2012-06-10
Location : Zone 8 Southwest High Desert, CA
Re: Wow! Isn't she a beaut!
I'd wait a bit longer, until the rind is more golden and less green, to harvest it.
Re: Wow! Isn't she a beaut!
donnainzone10 wrote:I'd wait a bit longer, until the rind is more golden and less green, to harvest it.
That would be my advice. That melon isn't fully ripe, IMHO, the dark green under the netting means it will get much sweeter and tastier if you wait. However, I suspect it's also quite eatable right now and probably better than store bought. Melons are a challenge and they can go from beginning ripe to over ripe really quick.
For an additional concern, how's the neighborhood pest situation? Skunks, opossums, etc? As it ripens it's going to smell, I've lost many a melon I was waiting for full ripen to come out in the morning and see something half ate it. Oh the frustration.
No_Such_Reality- Posts : 666
Join date : 2011-04-22
Location : Orange County, CA aka Disneyland or Sunset zone 22
Re: Wow! Isn't she a beaut!
Looks soo delicious, when its ripe you must tell us how it tasted
llama momma
Certified SFG Instructor- Posts : 4921
Join date : 2010-08-20
Location : Central Ohio zone 6a
Re: Wow! Isn't she a beaut!
Awesome!
Misia Pedro- Posts : 19
Join date : 2012-06-28
Age : 44
Location : Cherokee,NC
Re: Wow! Isn't she a beaut!
actually a muskmelon is not a cantaloupe.cantaloupe don't have netting.
now a honey dew is cantaloupe with green flesh.
there are several other difference like cantaloupes easily come off the vine when ripe
muskmelons don't.
now a honey dew is cantaloupe with green flesh.
there are several other difference like cantaloupes easily come off the vine when ripe
muskmelons don't.
thegreatcob- Posts : 52
Join date : 2012-08-23
Location : usa
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