Winter melons

[Mrs Ava]

Bought 'Grow your own' mag this month, never have, thought I would have a gander, and apart from some lovely lovely recipes, they suggest now is the time to sow winter melons.  I have never heard of melons that will do okay kept just frost free in a greenhouse to produce fruit for Christmas.  Well, I HAVE to give that a go, but they don't say where to buy the seed, and my email is down  :'(. Anyone have any ideas?

[Mrs Ava]

[Icyberjunkie]

Hope this is of help EJ.  Lots and lotsand lots of melons!!

Iain

http://www.seeds-by-size.co.uk/melon98.html

[john_miller]

What varieties are they suggesting EJ? The only melons I have ever heard refered to as winter melons are strains such as Casaba and Santa Claus but you don't grow them "just above freezing"!

[carloso]

ya cant beat winter melons !!

somthing to warm you up after that winters day on the allotment

carl

(i didnt laugh)

(Yet)

(i have now)

[Mrs Ava]

har dee har Carl!

John, I apologise.  They say a minimum temp of 70 to 80'f to maintain good growth.  See what happens when you don't have the magazine with you whilst typing the post!

The varieties they suggest are:  Rochet, Santa Claus, Piel De Sapo, Tendral verde Tardiff and Valencia Winter melon.

Would you recommend them John?  With our milder winters I think it would be possible for me to keep a good temperature in the greenhouse, or even the conservatory!!  Are they tasty and productive enough to be worthwhile??

[john_miller]

Sound like mostly European varieties EJ. The only one I have heard of, and tried, is Santa Claus. It  has a very distinctive flavour which means it is not that popular over here (it also goes for a premium price which doesn't help). It is slightly "sharp" compared to a canteloupe.
It is available AYR here, only grown in California, but counts as a winter melon because it stores well. Presumably the others are similar.
What surprises me is that the magazine suggests sowing now. They are such long season melons that we can't grow them here. I did try Casaba once, harvested nothing and that was from a spring sowing! Worthwhile? One way to find out, and I know you love experimenting.
One recommendation I would give is in the Seeds by Size seed listing. They list the melon "Early Dawn" which is a very popular melon here in short season areas. This has an AGM from the RHS so could be worth trying next summer?

[ruud]

Hi e.j. i have got piel de sapo,crenshaw,casaba,canary and claus(Xmas) seeds for you if you want them i will send them over.They are from a seedswap with somebody from the states.I will hear it from you if you want them or not.

[Mrs Ava]

I have 'pm'ed' you Ruud!  ;D :-* ;D

[jennym]

I'm a little confused on this. Are the winter melons to be sown now and grown on up to Christmas? Or is it just that you can keep them over winter (like squashes, which I do regularly). I've had not much luck with melons except in 2003 when the summer was really hot. Other times they grow but don't really seem to ripen well. I eat them but use them more like a sweet cucumber in salads.

[Mrs Ava]

For sowing now Jennym, altho as John points out, there isn't a lot of time if they take an age to mature.  I never have a lot of success with melons, but will persevere!  Mind you, I have 3 plants on the allotment and finally they have flowers on them!

[jennym]

OK, thanks. I have some growing too, but this year I've put in v.large pots in a metal frame covered with enviromesh to give a bit of shelter. we can't have glasshouses or polytunnels on our site.