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| Photo Credit: Mary Moore |
| Wait until the weather has warmed a bit to plant your Charentais melon seeds. |
Interested in trying something deliciously different in your kitchen garden? Try the French Charentais melon! Charentais melons – Cucumis melo (Cantalupensis Group) – are true cantaloupes, unlike their American muskmelon cousins – C. melo (Reticulatus Group). Charentais melons are sweet like the American variety, but they don’t have a muskmelon flavor. In a nutshell, they’re much smaller, more delicious and very rewarding to grow.
Until recently, most companies that stocked this melon charged very high prices for the seeds. In the last few years, however, several seed companies have started to carry them at a reasonable price – and they’re carrying several varieties. You should wait until the weather warms up a bit before planting your Charentais seeds. (They don’t like cold weather, so be sure that the last frost has already passed.) When that time arrives, you can get out in your garden to prep it for your melons. Mix compost and a balanced fertilizer into the soil, digging several inches into the ground to loosen it. Cantaloupes need sun to produce fruit, so make sure your plants have at least 6 hours of sun.
Charentais melons are planted in a group – typically called a “hill.” This doesn’t mean that you have to raise the soil, but you should mound it 1-2 inches higher than grade to ensure good drainage. This “hill” method also means planting several seeds in one spot. So drop in two or three seeds 1 inch deep, then cover them with soil, followed by a nice layer of mulch to hold in moisture and keep down weeds.
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