Is there anything tastier than a juicy , cushy - yet - fast while of cantaloup vine unfurl its delightful flavor on your glossa ?
Of course not !
And there ’s no better reward for the work involved inplanting and growing this tasty melon vine .
Photo by Raquel Smith.
possibly your melons are looking more and more mature every solar day , and you ’re not sure when to glean them .
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If that ’s the case , you ’ve amount to the right place , because today we ’re operate to talk about when and how to reap this luscious melon vine ( Cucumis melovar.reticulatus ) .
Photo by Raquel Smith.
Here ’s what I ’ll wrap up :
What You’ll Learn
When to Harvest Cantaloupe
This sun - loving fruit takes about 65 - 90 days from sprouting to reach maturity date – calculate on the variety – and when you deal the sizing and complexity of a melon , that ’s telling .
So depending on yourUSDA Hardiness Zoneand thecultivar you are growing , you might be harvesting melon as early as June , while others may have to look until late August .
You do n’t want to harvest your cantaloupes too early or they wo n’t be sweet enough ( this is how I always feel about the seemingly inexplicably named honeydew – no-good , honeydew lover out there ! ) . And if you await too long , they ’ll get gritty and spongelike . Yuck .
If you do glean a slightly unripe melon , itwillcontinue to soften , but the sugar cognitive content of the fruit will not increase . It wo n’t be quite as sweet as it would be if it had ripened on the vine .
Unripe cantaloupes will still be green , and you ’ll be able-bodied to see this through the web of “ netting ” that arise over the rind .
Check your seed packetoryour garden plannerto determine when they ’re about a week away from their due date , and at that point , reduce irrigation . You want to water just enough to prevent the vine from wilt .
This will countenance the gelt to center in the flesh of the fruit , and helps to prevent the yield from splitting .
Now is also the time to watch the melons closely . As presently as the netting turns creamy - yellow and the rind below it release gold , it ’s clock time to whiff the end of the fruit that ’s connected to the vine .
If it smell musky and sweet , it ’s time to pick !
But if you do n’t smell anything , give it another sidereal day or two .
While you ’re down there sniffing , check the link between the vine and the melon . Does the melon appear to be detaching from the vine , or is there a crack in the stem ? If so , it ’s quick for picking .
For the best flavor , muskmelonslike cantaloupe should be harvest at a stage known as “ full case . ”
This is when the fore separates easy from the yield , without twisting or pulling .
For a longer shelf life sentence , they can be harvested at the “ half slip ” point , which is observe when you may see a slight depression at the root ending . But the flavor may be compromise .
This is often done in commercial-grade ontogeny , but there ’s no need to compromise flavor when you ’re growing your own , if a retentive shelf life is n’t a concern for you !
How to Harvest
It ’s unbelievably easy to harvest a good cantaloupe .
If you experience in a cold growing zone and have to work on hard to keep the melon vine strong enough all summer like I do , this is the cantaloupe ’s crowning talent – aside from its sweet flesh , of form .
All you have to do is lightly pull it off the vine , and it will practically leap into your blazonry .
That ’s literally all there is to it .
Take it to the kitchen , and if you are going to eat it straight away , cancel the rind with a smarmy veggie brush under track down water , rinse off it well , and hack it up .
For expert tips on how to do that , check out this cantaloupe - thin guidefrom our babe site , Foodal .
And do n’t feel ashamed for not knowing how to cut up a bulky melon vine !
Back when I was in college , I grease one’s palms an onion plant for a dish I was cooking in my unlawful dorm - room kitchen . ( Okay , I had a mini Crock - Pot , which I used often to keep off the greasy cafeteria food ) . I got a tongue out , looked at the onion , and balked .
Even though I ’d grown up helping my parent cook , I ’d somehow never peel off and cut an onion myself .
Go onward , express joy at me . But those of you who are hesitating about slice into your beautiful garden - turn melons can rest assure that you ’re not alone .
If you ’re not going to eat the cantaloupe right away , salt away it whole and vulgar in the refrigerator . It ’ll keep there for a whole week .
Just remember to wash it before you cut it , to avoid permit any bacteria on the rind transfer to the sweet flesh deep down .
Cantaloupe that ’s already been cut will stay fresh in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days . Or , you could freeze the cube on a cookie sheet layered with wax paper .
After several hour , channelise them to airtight charge card containers and memory board in the freezer for up to a calendar month .
Recipes and Cooking Ideas
Most of us credibly love eating cantaloupe all by itself , overbold off the rind . And there ’s nothing incorrect with that !
But it also makes a pure substitute for mango in this recipe for a hemangioma simplex mango smoothie , from our sis website , Foodal(does that not sound dead brisk and awing ? ) .
For something really unlike , you could even make cantaloupe bread by interchange freshly grated melon vine for the zucchini that ’s called for in this garden - new simoleons formula , also from Foodal .
I will most definitely be make cantaloupe kale when these slight guys get on at the end of the summer :
Or what about a no - churn cantaloup , linden tree , and cream Malva sylvestris sherbet ?
Switch out the mango musical composition ring for in this frozen dessert recipe for your fixed chunks of melon and prepare for an irresistible taste sensation . It ’s perfect for cool down you down on a hot summer ’s daytime . You canfind the recipe over at Foodal .
If you desire to get adventuresome with a odorous and tangy salsa but do n’t deal for mangoes ( shamefaced ! ) , chop some cantaloupe up into small pieces and toss it into your pet yield salsa as a tasty substitute .
With a apprehension of originative thinking , there ’s so much you may do with this voluptuous and delicious fruit .
A Happily Harvested Melon
Now that you roll in the hay how easy it is to reap your cantaloupes , you may pose back , unbend , and watch them mature .
I recommend heading to the garden to check on them day by day as they approach their development engagement . Now that you bonk how to pick out the sign of harvest zeal , you ’ll know on the dot when to pluck them from the vine .
Are you search formore cantaloupe vine growing and care tips ? Then check out some of our other expert guides :
Photos by Laura Melchor and Raquel Smith © need the Experts , LLC . ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.See our TOSfor more detail . Uncredited photos : Shutterstock .
About
Laura Ojeda Melchor
