Banana Melon

Banana melon is an old time softer fleshed melon that I remember from long ago. They are juicy with a rich sweet melon aroma and flavor that I favor. Most of the melons were over 12" long and did very well growing on top of the soil. They seem to be resistant to bottom rot, however we did have a very hot dry summer. We are in the process of comparing open pollinated varieties until we settle on one cantaloupe to grow and save seeds from, and this one passed all tests for the particular growing season we just had. Next spring they will be started indoors under lights, so they will get an earlier start, although I can't imagine a better crop. Irrigation was on a weekly basis. Our gardening method uses in ground improved native soil. Compost is added to the beds every year. (Raised beds are not practical in low rainfall country) These melons were an after thought, so started out in high temps. After it was assumed they were finished my son found several more melons when he was cleaning out the vines. I am sure we will be growing these again. Just my opinion, but I believe much has been given up when food crops began to be bred for transportation qualities rather than flavor and probably nutrition. I am 88 years old and cantaloupes were scooped out of the shell with a spoon when I was growing up.

I grow melons every year and am happy with baseball sized cantaloupe varieties trying to find one that will get bigger at 5000 ft elevation. Watermelon get 6 or 7 pounds, cantaloupe not even 2 pounds but the banana melons I tried this year are not the two footers but are 12-14 inches long, 5-6 inches across and average 4-7 pounds each. Very aromatic when ripe, the first slipped off the vine today, 10 total on two plants! Awesome! Can't wait for next year to plant several plants instead of two.

My husband says it takes like ice cream! This great old melon is fun to grow and watch mature. I didn't have a lot of melons this time, but I planted a little late. I'm glad I grew them. Soft mellow fruit with fairly thick skin and good flavor.

I planted this last year as a curiosity and was quite amazed by it. It had a semi-citrus, spicy aroma. In a very hot area such as ours, I found it was better to harvest very slightly green, the flesh was a firmer like that. The vines were heavy producers, held up well, and the fruit was sweet and delicious. It does take quite a bit of space, but was well worth it.

I am surprised to see no reviews for this gem of a melon. If you live north of the 35th latitude, get these started indoors in late February, because their season is pretty long. The slips love a greenhouse or a cold frame. Any extra effort in tending the seedlings is well worth the effort, for when they are ripe, they burst with flavor and moisture, and a hint of banana mixed in with the familiar muskiness of the species. They are everything a cantaloupe wishes it could become. Also an excellent option to be rendered into pancake syrup.