Melons are ready to harvest when they smell sweet and come away from the vine easily. Each type of melon offers visual, tactile, and aromatic clues to ripeness. I’ve grown melons for years in raised beds, mounded beds, and even containers. Here’s how I recognize ripeness signs for each variety: General Signs of Ripe Melons […] More
After growing dozens of melon varieties in my warm Sonoma Valley garden over the past three decades, I’ve learned that harvesting melons at peak ripeness—and storing them properly—is just as important as planting and caring for the vines. Knowing the right time to pick and how to handle each type—whether it’s a fragrant Galia, a […] More
There are two ways to eat melon: at the beginning of a meal as an hors d’oeuvre or starter for savory dishes or at the end as a dessert fruit. The high water content of melons makes them refreshing, especially during hot summer weather, but because they are so high in water content they are […] More
Melons are a tender, warm-weather crop. Plant melon seeds directly in the garden 2 weeks after the last frost date. Melon seeds can be started indoors 3 to 4 weeks before plants are transplanted directly into the garden, sooner if transplants will be protected by a plastic tunnel or row cover. Melons include cantaloupes and […] More
Melon plants are vulnerable to a variety of pests and diseases that can affect their growth, yield, and flavor. As an experienced gardener with over 30 years of melon-growing practice, I’ve encountered numerous challenges, from aphids and cucumber beetles to fungal infections like powdery mildew. Properly identifying these pests and diseases early, and knowing how […] More
Melon en Surprise was Auguste Escoffier’s title for a five line description of a tasty combination of melons and other fresh fruits in his 1903 masterpiece Le Guide Culinaire. Of course, Escoffier was working from the notes and techniques of Antoine Carême, an earlier codifier of French Haute cuisine. But as you will see here, […] More
Stephen Albert