Uzbek Sweetness Melon

This year I tried two new melon varieties [new to us, that is].  Charentais and Uzbek Sweetness.  

I got both types from Baker Creek  and if you've never perused their melon selection, go there now and check it out.   A. May. Zing.

The cat dug up the Charentais.  Twice.  [Yes, I threw a fit. Plus,  I swore at him.  He was completely unmoved.  Except when I caught him in the act and threw him bodily out of the garden.  Then he moved plenty.]  I planted them again but by the time they came up, there was a lot of competition in the bed from the other stuff in there.  They stuck it out and I do have one tiny fist-sized baby Charentais in there now.  We'll see if it does anything before frost.   It's the traditional French melon, supposed to be the mother of all muskmelon.   I'll try these again next year.



The cat left the other melon alone and the Uzbek Sweetness did just fine in spite of the cooler weather.  I got three nice melons.   It turned bright orange when ripe - I love that color!   Definitely an Eat Me Orange. 

And eat it I did.  

When I bought the seeds, there was no picture, so I was going on faith and I was interested to see that the insides were white with a peach tinge around the seeds. 

These babies are seriously sweet.   SWEET.  The flesh is firm.

I read later where some people consider these sort of like a honeydew but I'm glad I didn't know that before because I don't like honeydew.  I would never have tried it, and I'm so glad I did. 

Uzbek Sweetness is my new favorite melon!   I saved some of the seeds and I'll definitely do these again.

Melon - Prescott Fond Blanc

Prescott Fond Blanc melons are pretty interesting looking.  It's not your typical netted muskmelon.  These are sectioned and warty.    Don't be put off.   They're pretty good and they're very easy to grow.   Of the six different types of melons I tried this year, these set fruit first and ripened first.

These got about 8 inches in diameter. 

Overnight, they will turn yellow.   The stem will start to separate from the melon and you'll know they're ready to harvest.

They have a classic melon flavor, but they're not very sweet.   If you like the less sweet varieties, I highly recommend these.   If you're looking for an easy melon to grow to make jam, these would be great because you'll be adding extra sugar.

Like all melons, Prescott Fond Blanc require a lot of good soil.   I have extremely well drained soil that we amend generously with manure.    The plants are very bug resistant.    They did fine in the heat as long as I watered during the dry spells [at least every three days].