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Legend
- Start Indoors
- Transplant
- Start Outdoors
- Care
- Harvest
- Succession Plant
"A Crenshaw melon is a hybrid melon with very sweet, juicy orange flesh. Crenshaws are among the sweetest of melons when they are well cultivated, making them a popular melon during their peak season between July and September. Many markets and greengrocers carry Crenshaw melons in the summertime, along with an assortment of other refreshing summer fruits.
When ripe, Crenshaw melons are roughly ovoid, with a greenish-yellow, slightly ribbed skin. Inside, the melons are a rich salmon pink, with a large seeded area in the center portion of the melon. To select a good Crenshaw melon in the store, look for a melon which feels heavy for its size, and yields slightly at the end of the melon where the flower once was. Keep the melon under refrigeration for up to three days before using.
The melons were bred by crossing casaba melons with Persian melons, also sometimes called muskmelons. The favorable traits of both melon varieties successfully manifested in the cross breed, and it quickly became one of the more popular melons on the market. The melons can be eaten plain as a snack food, mixed in with fruit salads, or wrapped in prosciutto for a twist on the classic prosciutto wrapped melon appetizer. Crenshaw melon sorbet is also a great summer treat, and some people like to pickle slightly green Crenshaws to eat year-round.
Cucurbitaceae Cucumis melo inodorus
This is an example of the timeline you would see based on your growing conditions.
Melon: Honeydew & Casaba
Cranshaw
Honeydew and Casaba melons both grow on a vine yet they have different types of skin. Honeydew has a smooth, brownish-green skin, while Casaba produces a slightly wrinkled, yellow skin. Honeydew typically has light green flesh while the Casabas is either white, yellow or orange.
Basics
- Ease of Growing
- Moderate
- Grown as
- Annual
- Days to Maturity
- 105-115 (Spring/Summer)
- Growing Habit
- Vine
- Hardiness
- Very Tender
Melons can't tolerate cold weather.
- Crops
- Spring Transplant, Summer
- Growing Season
- Long
- Cultivar Type
- -
- Growing Conditions
- Warm, Hot
Melons must have hot weather (ideally 90Ż F) if they are to make the sugar needed to produce sweet fruits. In cooler areas you need to give them as much sun and heat as possible. They should also be sheltered from cool winds.
If Melons don't get enough heat they won't taste very good (even if you do grow them successfully.)
- Outdoor Growing Temp
- 65°F - 95°F
- Min Outdoor Soil Temp
- 70°F
Melons need warm weather, so don’t plant them until all danger of frost is past and the soil temperature is at least 70˚ F.
- Start Indoors
- Yes
- Start Outdoors
- Yes
- Light
- Water
- Moderate
Melons are quite shallow rooted, so need fairly constant water. The best way to water them is with a drip system or soaker hose, as they don't like having wet leaves (this encourages fungus disease).
- Feeder
- Heavy
Melons are fairly hungry plants. They don't like a lot of nitrogen, but they do need plenty of phosphorus and potassium.
- Suitability
- High heat, Needs lots of space
- Small Gardens?
- No
- Containers?
- Yes, but will need a large one, like a half wine barrel
Though it's not ideal, the smaller cultivars can be grown in large containers (at least 18" deep and preferably bigger). This is sometimes done in cool climates, where the plants are grown in greenhouses.
- Attracts beneficial insects?
- No
- Color
- Cream
- Fruit Size
- 7.0 - 8.0"
- Plant Height
- 12.0 - 18.0"
- Plant Diameter
- 36.0 - 48.0"
- Hardiness Zone
- 4-11
- Disease Resistance
- -
- Taste Profile
Smooth and sweet with a classic Honeydew flavor.
- Rotation Group
- Fruits: Solanaceae + Cucurbits
Last Frost Date (LFD) refers to the approximate date of the last killing frost of spring.
Example first frost date on April 08.
First Frost Date (FFD) refers to the approximate date of the first killing frost of winter.
Example first frost date on November 01.
