'Ambrosia' melons

Coming in sweet and juicy. Very easy to grow in EarthBoxes.

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How do you know? Open it up already! :smiley:

Ha! This is the 4th or 5th melon of the season. I’ve been growing these every year for a few years now. It’s my absolute favorite. I’m going to serve it tonight for desert.

Oh that is SO beautiful, Clint!! Be sure to take a pic when you cut it in half. And, what does Ambrosia taste like? Love, love, love melons. All of them.

It’s a full flavored cantaloupe with super sweet and melting flesh. ‘Ambrosia’ melons are easy to harvest because they decide when they are ready by "slipping’ off the vine. This one slipped while still pretty firm, my wife likes them firmer, I like them really melting. Go figure. This one still had a little green yet on the rind. Most cantaloupes make the roof of my mouth itch, but ‘Ambrosia’ never does.

Oh boy, I’m going to have to try to grow those next spring. That looks just outstanding.

Growing them on a trellis in an EarthBox is water wise and takes up very little space. You should get eight or more melons on four vines, and they ripen over time:

This one is how I really like them:

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Fantastic, Clint. Thanks for the additional photos. I have to figure out where I can stuff a few Earth Boxes. They are a good alternative for us here in drought-stricken S. California.

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melons are similar to lychees.
they are both rough and parched on the outside(that one is almost tempted to apply some moisturizer, lol), but the insides are extremely juicy. Bursting and dripping in flavor.

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A beauty!

I grew that type this year. Of course, my vines were not in EarthBoxes because those don’t make economic sense for my growing conditions. They were in the regular garden between peanuts and zukes.

I will report that they all had a very small seed cavity and very thin rind. In other words, very little waste. Taste wise, those who enjoy cantaloupes liked them. I’ll take a taste of cantaloupe, but don’t particularly care for melons as a group, except for watermelon. I only grow them for the pleasure of others. What I tasted was sweet.

I did not know that they detach from the vines on their own. Thanks for letting me know that is normal, Clint. My fruits all did that within days of each other, no matter when each had started to develop. All were actually ripe. That may have had to do with the variety, but also may have been due to growing conditions - very hot, full sun, lack of precipitation, and possibly insufficient daily watering.

They also ripened at the same time that I was slammed with bushels of ripe peaches, gallons of figs, and all the grapes except for the Concords (which were also ripe, but don’t ripen full clusters at once) had to be picked. People enjoyed the Ambrosias, but didn’t rave. That could have been because of the quality was not superior or because of the sheer volume of other fruits that are greatly enjoyed and only available freshly picked for a short time each year.

MrClint, those are fantastic. Growing melons in the NE is such a challenge. I had three excellent Charentais melons one summer. Now I just dream about them. We just do not have a hot enough or long enough season. You lucky guy! The melons are beautiful.

I have to work hard to keep squashes, melons and tomatoes properly watered in ground. EBs make sense for me, and I keep them going year round.

Can’t advise on short season melons. Wonder if you’d have time for the Minnesota midget variety?

Thats a thought, I’m just stuck on French melons.

@MrClint

“wife likes them firmer, I like them really melting”

Its the Mars - Venus thing.:wink:

Mike

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Muddy, Most melons I’ve grown do what is called crown set, right around the stem they will set up to 12 fruit almost simultaneously and ripen those 1st. They then will set fruit anywhere on the plant that will ripen later. My fave variety,Carole(Wilhite’s) will set 9-11 in good conditions, all ripening the same day! They then will set another 5-7 fruit from there. Commercial growers count on that crown set to make their crop because the vines can get ruined during harvest activities.

mrsg47, Take a look at Carole-75 days.

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Thanks. That’s interesting. The vines are still there, but I haven’t seen any blossoms in quite some time. I don’t know if there would be hope for them if we somehow wound up getting a decent rain and have it drop down and stay in the 80’s for a few days. Sometimes that seems to breathe some life into any plants I have still hanging in there by this time of the year.

Will do! Thanks!

I just posted about Sleeping Beauty, another short season type ripening for me now. Similar time as Minnesota Midget.