"The melon referred to as cantaloupe is actually named muskmelon (Cucumis melo, var. reticulatus). The term cantaloupe is a misnomer that has been used widely in the vegetable industry as a synonym for muskmelon. True cantaloupe (C. melo, var.cantalupensis) is grown in Europe and is a small fruit with a hard, scaly, or warty skin."
This explains why we called it muskmelon when I was a kid. I thought that was just some local Missouri term for the fruit, because everyone I talked to later had no idea what fruit I was talking about. I guess the name muskmelon does not sound very appetizing for folks in the produce isle?
Reading further down, I see that our problem might be not enough pollinators:
"Cucurbits have separate female and male flowers, with the male flowers appearing prior to female flowering. For the female flowers to produce fruit, pollen from the male flower must be transferred to the female flower by insects. Generally, satisfactory pollination occurs when one strong beehive is present for every two acres of muskmelon. Flowers of muskmelon and other cucurbits open just after sunrise and close in the late afternoon or early evening."
So it appears we will have to pollinate both the cantaloupe and tomatoes by hand, unless someone has a beehive handy.
very informative, thank you,
ReplyDeleteGregory
Frequently Muskmelons (and cucumbers, and squash, and watermelons, and gourds) will produce male flowers well in advance of the females. (Like humans - they're anxious). Anyway, you'll know the females by the miniature fruit or veg. that is at the base of the flower. Once you see one, you'll know what to look for. You can hand pollinate them, but if you have bees around, they'll mostly be ok.
ReplyDeleteI forgot to mention that we do actually have 2 fruits that I saw this Sunday. One is large but not ripe yet, and one was smaller. I can almost taste it!
ReplyDelete