The Different Types of Melons
Amarilla Oros are a Spanish Canary-type melon grown along the Mediterranean coast northeast of Gibraltar. Fruit is bright-yellow and weighs 4-6 pounds. Flesh is thick creamy-white with a slight pink tinge at the seed cavity. These yield abundantly and are great for market fairs.
Amish melons are heirlooms from the Amish community. Fruits are oval-shaped, 8-9″ long and between 4-7 pounds. Flesh is orange, sweet, and juicy, and has full musk-melon flavor. These grow well in almost any environment.
Banana melons have been listed as a novelty for as long as American seed catalogs have been in print. Fruit are long, banana-shaped, and tapered at both ends. From 16-24″ long and 4″ in diameter, skins are smooth and yellow, and flesh is salmon-pink. Flavor is sweet and spicy.
Bidwell Casabas hail from Chico California, where a Civil War General and U.S. Senator procured these from the USDA in 1869. These melons are huge, growing as large as 12-14″ long and 9″ wide and weighing between 12-16 pounds each. Flesh is sweet and orange.
Burrell’s Jumbo are large fruits very popular with home and market gardeners. Netted melons weigh up to 5 pounds and have extremely thick, sweet, flavorful, salmon-colored flesh.
Cavillion Espagnol is a Spanish heirloom variety dating back to the 1800s. Fruits are heavily netted, large and oblong shaped, 8-10″ long and can weigh up to 6 pounds. Flesh is sweet, juicy, and yellow.
Canoe Creek Colossals are large, ribbed, football-shaped melons that can weigh over 20 pounds if properly watered. Normal size ranges between 8-15 pounds. These have great flavor!
Charantais have been hailed the most divine and flavorful melons by many the world over. Melons are smooth and round, grayish-yellow with green stripes, and have a sweet, juicy salmon flesh. Fruit averages the size of a grapefruit and weighs about 2 pounds. Very fragrant variety.
Collective Farm Woman is an old Ukranian variety, very popular on the island of Krim in the Black Sea. Melons are smooth, round, 7-10″, and yellowish-orange in color. Flesh is yellowish-white and extremely sweet and fragrant. This variety ripens in central Russia but can be grown in Moscow as well.
Crane melons hail from Santa Rosa, California. This variety is tear-shaped and weighs between 3-5 pounds. Fruits have light green skin dotted with dark green freckles that turn orange upon maturity. Flesh is light-orange and has a great sweet flavor.
Early Hanovers hail from Richmond, Virginia and are very popular there. Flesh has a sweet, sugary flavor. Melons are 2-3 pounds each, 5″ long and 6″ in diameter.
Early Silverlines are small fruits that weigh 1-2 pounds. These melons have a crisp, white, refreshing sweet flesh.
Eden’s Gem were developed in Rocky Ford, Colorado. About the size of a softball, netted fruits weight almost one pound each and have a distinct spicy flavor.
Emerald Gem’s have pale-orange rich juicy flesh that is sweet and spicy. Melons are 2-3 pounds each.
Green Nutmeg melons yield very abundantly and weigh 2-3 pounds. These have a great aroma and a sweet flavor with a unique spicy tinge.
Haogens are very popular, associated with Israel where the name translates as “the anchor.” However, these melons originated in Hungary. Round fruits are 2-4 pounds each, have yellow-orange rind and green ribs. Sweet, spicy green flesh.
Hearts of Gold weigh between 2-3 pounds and have a firm, juicy, very flavorful, aromatic, high quality flesh.
Hollybrook Luscious melons hail from Richmond, Virginia. Melons are dark-green, oblong, and are 9.5: by 8″ in diameter and weigh between 8-10 pounds. Flesh is pale orange, thick, juicy, and full of flavor.
Jenny Linds were named after a popular singer of the 1840s. Fruits are small, 2-2.5 pounds, slightly ribbed, with a small button or knob on the blossom end. Flesh is whitish-green, sweet, and juicy.
Minnesota Midgets are round 3-4″ fruits with thick golden-yellow flesh and a high sugar content.
Noir des Carmes are so luxurious. Skin is very dark green and turns orange mottled with green upon maturity. Flesh is sweet, orange, and aromatic.
Oka (Bizard Island Strain) hail from Quebec and have a great flavor and texture.
Piel de Sapo (Frog Skins) are common in European and Spanish markets. Fruits are solid, 7-9 pounds, 12″ long by 6″ wide. Skin is wrinkled, mostly green, and turns slightly yellow when ripe. Flesh is a sweet pale-green.
Prescott Fond Blanc are French melons that weigh 4-9 pounds and have beautiful warted skin and sweet flesh. Aroma is incredible when fruits are fully ripe.
Pride of Wisconsins are a Midwest heirloom which produce an abundant yield. Fruits are football-shaped and weigh 4-8 pounds. These have sweet flesh and tasty flavor you can get at a roadside fruit stand.
Queen Anne’s Pocket Melons are almost round, 3.5″ long and 2.5″ wide. Skin is velvety with orange and yellow stripes. Flesh is white but bland. Fruit is very fragrant. In Victorian times, women carried these in their pockets for their aromatic qualities.
Sakata’s Sweets have been grown in the East for ages and are now appearing in US markets. Fruits are small golden-yellow and have crisp, refreshingly sweet flesh.
Schoon’s Hard Shell Melons are almost spherical, weigh 5-8 pounds, and have thick apricot-flavored flesh. Flavor is sweet and great for home and market.
