Author Topic: Cantaloupe results?  (Read 1174 times)

strom

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Cantaloupe results?
« on: September 28, 2021, 06:23:30 PM »
Hi there:
Did anyone else here receive the cucumis cantaloupensis seeds from the now-banned Romanian user?  That user sent me a very nice letter with the seeds meticulously organized last year.  I have very little space and never grew any sort of melon other than pickling cucumbers.  So, I've really no idea what I'm doing here both in terms of growing and knowledge of this fruit, that's the fine print  ;D

We grew a total of five plants:  one in a double-bucket self-watering system, two in a 22 gallon grow bag, and 2 in the dirt.  The two in the grow bag had no fruit, and the remaining three plants had one fruit each. 

The SWC cantaloupe grew to a 7x5 inch ellipse, and days before full ripeness, it split!  >:(  Despite this, I went ahead and tried it.  It had a nice cantaloupe aroma, the meat was dry and mealy, a mild sweetness.  This growing method was a total experiment and a fun try.  Will try it again, and probably tweak the fertilizer a bit.

One of the plants in dirt has a small fruit that needs probably another 2 weeks to ripen, it's small, about a 4" diameter water-balloon shape - this is the one we're all waiting for because it has no netting on the fruit (apparently important).  According to this now former cantaloupe expert, the netting means hybridization, which is something we are looking to avoid.  Okay then! :)

The other one turned color to almost ripe, and while I took pictures, it fell off the vine.  It took only two days to turn fully yellow (including the ribs), so we opened it up.  It was juicier than the SWC cantaloupe, texture was sort of like a plantain/banana and not silky like what we are used to here for honeydew or cantaloupes.  Aroma was pretty strong.  Flavor was good, also mildly sweet, actually, pretty refreshing especially after chilling.  I like these with a little salt.  I also tried a bit of sugar as suggested by the user, it didn't really do much for me.  Many of the seeds had already begun to germinate inside the watermelon, that was interesting to see!

Will try growing again next year, with some tweaks to the bucket system, and try to find other in-ground spots.  Will report back once the third fruit ripens, hopefully, this time without issue!

Very curious to hear if others here had any luck with these cantaloupes :)
















Jaboticaba45

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Re: Cantaloupe results?
« Reply #1 on: September 28, 2021, 07:23:21 PM »
If you have any spare seeds, I would love to try growing this next year.

strom

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Re: Cantaloupe results?
« Reply #2 on: October 25, 2021, 11:58:00 AM »
Unfortunately the third plant with the deisred un-netted fruit died shortly after I posted.  We left the fruit on the vine just to see if it would ripen.  It remained pretty much the same color, with a little flush, and this weekend rolled off the dead vine.  We cut it open.  It had mild cantaloupe flavor, but wasn't sweet.  Until next year!

Hopefully, others who tried growing this can chime in?  Did you all have any luck?
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sc4001992

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Re: Cantaloupe results?
« Reply #3 on: November 02, 2021, 01:35:03 AM »
What does "SWC" cantaloupe stand for ?

Jaboticaba45

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Re: Cantaloupe results?
« Reply #4 on: November 02, 2021, 04:42:01 PM »
What does "SWC" cantaloupe stand for ?
SeaWalnut Cantaloupe. Seawalnut used to be an active forum member.

sc4001992

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Re: Cantaloupe results?
« Reply #5 on: November 02, 2021, 09:26:25 PM »
Ok, yes I remember his posts. So he got removed from the forum ?

strom

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Re: Cantaloupe results?
« Reply #6 on: November 03, 2021, 06:02:14 AM »
What does "SWC" cantaloupe stand for ?
What does "SWC" cantaloupe stand for ?
SeaWalnut Cantaloupe. Seawalnut used to be an active forum member.
Hi there, that's a funny coincidence, however, in this case, "SWC" stands for Self Watering Container, and not the former forum member.  Double bucket self watering system takes too long to type out, I thought SWC was a recognized acronym, sorry about that  :P