This winter, when I received seed catalogs in the mail, I immediately turned to the Melon pages. After years of struggling to grow melons in conditions that simply were not suitable – partial sun, cool nights – I was determined to grow a few delicious heirloom melons in my tiny garden.
Baker Creed Heirloom Seeds, based in Missouri, has the most incredible selection of melons I have ever seen. It was incredibly difficult to select only a few, and I ended up with a dozen or so varieties. Sadly, some of my starts didn’t transplant well, but I was still left with an assortment of eight varieties, of which we are still harvesting several! Here are my favorite (and most delicious) heirloom melon varieties to grow:
Banana Melon – Looks like a banana, tastes (faintly) like a banana. A sweet, unique melon that I really enjoyed. Fun to share with friends because it’s such an interesting shape and color!
Prescott Fond Blanc – When this melon began taking shape in my garden, I thought I had misplanted a winter squash. Its bumpy, warty appearance and squat shape are very un-melon, but the flavor is rich and sweet. The photo above does not do this melon justice, as I picked it a bit too early.
Ananas – A white fleshed melon that is SO sweet and juicy. This melon was Brian’s favorite.
Piel de Sapo – (In Everett’s arms) We enjoyed this variety in Oregon, purchasing it from the local natural food store. It is a late ripening melon – today we harvested the first of the four fruits on our vine.
Charentais – A French melon. Small, extremely fragrant, and sweet. We cut one of these open this morning and ate it before breakfast, with no leftovers.
What are your favorite melon varieties?
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I know I’m late in the game here, but you have to try Sakata sweet melons. They are small, tender and delicious. In fact you can eat the skin even. They are so sweet we have a jar time getting them harvested before the bees begin chewing into them. YUM!!
Those sound amazing! I will put them on my list for next year!
Our favorite cantalope is superstar,…can’t find it always
Looking so yummy! Do you know if any of this would be suitable for a short growing season? Thank you
Anna
Hi Anna, I have had good success with melons from High Mowing seeds for short growing seasons.
Thanks for the list! They all look great! The banana melon is definitely on my list for next year. Just the desert king watermelons for me this year. Which are still growing like crazy. They started out in what I thought was a generous 6 x 8 foot area, but have gone over the garden fence, out a good 15 feet in width and probably 20 feet in length and have produced all summer with another 9 or 10 on the vine right now. I think the kids are kind of done with them, but I’m still loving it!
wow – those sound amazing! I will have to recommend them to my father-in-law, who lives in the desert!
We can’t grow melons here without a greenhouse, but I’ve had the Piel de Sapo before and it is hands down my favorite melon.
That’s how it was for me in Oregon. Here, they grow very well! I’m feeling happy that we did not have pest problems on the melons and they thrived!