You
just can't get a good melon around here anymore, so in 2015
we started growing them. Adams County seems to have a great
climate for melons. Who knew?
We
chose unusual, heirloom varieties and were very pleased
with the results. I chose a muskmelon variety, a hybrid
personal size cantaloupe, two charentais types and a specialty
type melon. All did very well, most were sweet. The heirloom
varieties we tried were sweeter and we intend to concentrate
on these.
Going
to market with our unusual melons was fun, and educational
for our frequent buyers. Many had never seen what we were
offering and were thrilled to give them a try.
Is
it cantaloupe or muskmelon?
There
is technically a difference, but often the names are used
interchangeably. The term cantaloupe refers to two varieties
of muskmelon. What we typically call a cantaloupe is the
North American cantaloupe it has a net-like appearance on
the skin. The other variety, European cantaloupe, has ribbed
light green skin and looks nothing like what we commonly
call cantaloupe.
While
both of these cantaloupe varieties are muskmelons, not all
muskmelons are cantaloupes. The name muskmelon comes from
the sweet fragrance of the ripe fruit. The term musk comes
from a Persian word for perfume, and melon is a French word.
Muskmelons, including cantaloupe are native to Persia, which
is present-day Iran.
At
the turn of the 20th century the French began experimenting
with muskmelons and started producing the French charentais
varieties we know today. Going forward we plan to continue
to improve our melon offerings choosing American and European
heirloom varieties which were popular at the turn of the
20th century.
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