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Charentais Cantaloupe Melon Seeds

Heirloom

#0186
This packet sows up to 16 mounds.
2 out of 5 stars
(2 reviews)
Availability: In Stock
'Charentais' melons aren't found in your grocery store because they're too fragile to ship. A true cantaloupe, the 1 ½–2-pound fruits have smooth skin with light green stripes, maturing to creamy yellow. The delightfully scented, creamy orange flesh is filled with unsurpassed flavor. One of the sweetest rewards of home gardening!
$2.29 1 gram (~32 seeds)

Botanical Name: Cucumis melo

Days to Maturity: 90 days

Family: Cucurbitaceae

Native: Africa, Asia, Australia, West Pacific Islands

Hardiness: Frost-sensitive annual

Plant Dimensions: 4'–5' sprawling vines.

Variety Information: Charentais' is about 1½ pounds, and the size of a small grapefruit. The skin is smooth and light green, with bands of darker green from the stem to the bottom. 'Charentais' is a type of true cantaloupe bred in France around 1920. It has deep orange flesh and a spicy, delicate aroma. The fruits' tender fragility makes shipping difficult; this is why we don't see them in the local grocery stores.

When to Sow Outside: RECOMMENDED. 1 to 2 weeks after your average last frost date, and when soil temperature is 70°–90°F.

When to Start Inside: Recommended for short-season areas. 2 to 4 weeks before transplanting within 2 weeks after your average last frost date. Sow into biodegradable pots that can be directly planted in the ground; roots are sensitive to disturbance.

Days to Emerge: 5–10 days

Seed Depth: ¼"

Seed Spacing: 2–3 seeds per mound

Row Spacing: 4'–6' apart

Thinning: Thin to 1 plant per mound

Harvesting: Harvesting at the right time is very important with melons. Commercial growers harvest before melons are ripe, forcing them to ripen off the vine. But, the last few days of ripening on the vine put a lot of sugars into the melon; bottom line is that melons taste significantly better when vine ripened. How do you know when melons are ripe? Several indicators. 1) The color of 'Charentais' changes from pale green to creamy yellow. 2) The blossom end (opposite the stem) yields slightly to gentle pressure. 3) Unlike muskmelons, 'Charentais' and other cantaloupes do not abscise, or slip from the vine when ripe; cut from vine, rather than pulling or twisting, to avoid damaging plant and fruit.

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Charentais Cantaloupe Melon Seeds Reviews

2 reviews

Alas the Charentais

3 out of 5 stars Aug 2, 2020
I'm guessing these melons are awesome in France, but in Central Texas, the heat was too much for them. I checked them every day for ripeness, sometimes twice, but every single one split open and was inedibly by the time I found it.
Robin Chotzinoff from TX
Owner Response: Hi Robin, Here are some tips to tell when this melon is ripe. 1) The color of 'Charentais' changes from pale green to creamy yellow. 2) The blossom end (opposite the stem) yields slightly to gentle pressure. 3) Unlike muskmelons, 'Charentais' and other cantaloupes do not abscise, or slip from the vine when ripe; cut from vine, rather than pulling or twisting, to avoid damaging plant and fruit. You can find tips like this on the inside of the packet or on the product page in the "Growing Info" tab.

Very slow growing!

1 out of 5 stars Sep 23, 2022
These seeds germinated about 15 days after planting, and then stayed in their seedling stage for almost the entire summer before taking off in mid-September. Finally, as we head into October, we have some fruit on the vine that will likely not survive to maturity. I am not sure whether our summer was too hot for these to grow? Everything else we planted grew pretty much as expected, so I don't think this was user error!
Kate from CO
Owner Response: Hi Kate, Thank you for sharing your experience with us! Melons are heavy feeders. Even when in fertile soil, melons benefit from additional fertilization. Slow-release, balanced fertilizer at first, and then once flowers form, you will want to cut back on nitrogen, and use a fertilizer higher in phosphorus and potassium. We are always happy to help with situations like this. Feel free to reach out!

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