Growing and Picking Cantaloupe

Cantaloupe is a tasty and easy crop to grow. The sweet taste of freshly picked cantaloupe allowed to ripen on the vine until the sugars in the melon reached their peak is beyond a rare treat. Ripe cantaloupe is easy to bite into. Ripeness leaves very little green rind left to cut off and above all it is sweet tasting and juicy.

My cantaloupe crop turned out be a good one this year. I planted the seeds into small pots in early spring and transplanted them after the possibility of frost pasted. The ground here doesn't freeze over in the winter and there is no reason to wait. If you planned a little too early you make sure you have enough seedlings to transplant again, if needed.

Growing Cantaloupe takes a lot of space. It will surprise you and vine out wide distances and may need to be trimmed back or the vine moved in another direction if possible. The seed I used for this years crop I saved from a cantaloupe I bought at a flea market and thought it tasted exceptionally good. I don't know what it is called but I am calling it next years crop too. I usually transplant six plants since my space is limited, but that is enough for you family and a few neighbors or friends.

The cantaloupe plants took several months to grow and needed watering the few times there was no rain. The rain did good and I got some really larges ones this year. The picture you see is of my last melon that will finish ripening and be ready in a few days. It is growing into a tomato plant. Seems like it is taking longer for them to ripen farther on into the season when it hasn't been so hot and the plants leaves are drying up. Usually the stem will rot off or it will be easy to pull off when ripe. The skin color has also turned all yellow. The green color on the skin disappears as it ripens.

You will need to watch for several things when growing cantaloupes. If you see cracks developing in the or insects invading it or around the stem, then harvest it. You will have to cut the cantaloupe open and determine if you want to eat it. There is a danger of food poisoning from bacteria entering the damaged fruit. I usually cut out the suspicious areas and enjoy the rest of it.