Minnesota Midget Cantaloupe/Muskmelon Melon Seeds

Organic, Heirloom

#3141

This packet sows up to 17 mounds.

(13 reviews)

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Availability: In Stock

This delightful little melon introduced in 1948 by the University of Minnesota produces loads of 4" fruit, sweet and juicy to the rind. Melons in general, love long, hot seasons, but this variety is specially suited to areas with a short growing season, though it can be grown anywhere. Compact, 36" plants are great for containers. Plants are Fusarium wilt resistant.

$2.69 1 gram (~34 seeds)

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Botanical Name: Cucumis melo

Days to Maturity: 60–70 days

Family: Cucurbitaceae

Native: Africa, Asia, Australia, West Pacific Islands

Hardiness: Frost-sensitive annual

Plant Dimensions: Compact vines up to 36" long

Variety Information: 4" round fruits with fine, dense netting and golden-yellow flesh, high sugar content, edible to the rind. 'Minnesota Midget' was developed in 1948 by the University of Minnesota at St. Paul.

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: 24"–36" 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? These indicators: 1) The color between the surface netting is brown, not green. 2) A ripe melon will have a pleasant, fruity aroma at the blossom end. 3) A crack will form on the stem right near the point of attachment. This is called the "slip stage". Harvest when the stem end turns yellow and vines easily "slip" away when the fruit is gently twisted. If it is somewhat difficult to detach the fruit from the vine, the melon is not ready yet. Do not allow to over-ripen.

Hand Pollination for Squash, Cucumber, Melon, and Watermelon
Melon: Sow and Grow Guide

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Minnesota Midget Cantaloupe/Muskmelon Melon Seeds Reviews

13 reviews

Yum!

Oct 16, 2018

We grew these this year for the first time and were surprised by how many melons we got. I put them in bags of potting soil, as I ran out of time to amend the crummy soil where I wanted to plant them. Even though the bags dried out way too fast and their roots were cramped, and the poor plants were wilted by the time I got home from work every day, I still got 4 to 8 melons per plant. We had a warmer than normal year in CO, and I planted them along our cedar privacy fence so they were very sheltered. I would recommend staggering your planting. All 25 melons ripened in about a two week time frame. It was easy to tell when they were ripe, they just fell off the vine. They were perfect size to share with my husband for dessert, and they were very sweet and flavorful.

Lindsey from CO

Intense flavor and scent, yet easy to grow

Mar 19, 2019

Minnesota Midget was my first attempt at growing cantaloupe. I trellised the plants on 5' x 16' tall wire livestock panels and made slings for the melons because they really do drop when ripe. When they drop they are intensely scented like the perfect cantaloupe, yet taste like a smokey, musky cantaloupe with little sugar. I forgot a few on the countertop for two days and when I tasted them, the sugar development at room temperature was astounding. They were perfect! I won't store them in the fridge until after they have time on the counter. Although cantaloupe is normally grown in the heat of South Texas, even last year's drought and extreme temperatures did little to faze the Minnesota Midget. I watered the garden once or twice a week.

Caryn from TX

Drought held it back I think

Jan 18, 2020

Despite having a terrible drought and the vine itself being pretty scraggly, I got six delicious little fruits off a single vine. Unfortunately I lost a couple to our garden bunnies, but the ones I got had a great texture and flavor.

Rowan from GA

Owner Response: Hi Rowan, Thanks for taking the time to share your experience. Your intuition seems spot on. Melons are very high in water and drought will reduce fruit yields. On the flip side, too much water can water down the flavor. We are glad you still got to enjoy some! Happy Gardening!

really slow to germinate

Jun 12, 2020

I was about the throw away the pots that I planted seeds in, 3 months after they were planted, but suddenly there were seedlings. Now it is June, not sure I will get anything from these seeds. growing in Colorado, with whatever weather we got this year, had warming mats under the pots and lights over the pots, not sure what else I could have done to start my seeds.

G Griswold from CO

Owner Response: Hello G, We are sorry these took so long to germinate, that is quite unusual. If seeds were consistently moist and in warm soil they should have taken more like 5 to 10 days. The good news is that it just recently became warm enough here in Colorado to put melons out! happy gardening!

Didn't germinate

Aug 1, 2020

I tried several different times to germinate these seeds indoors and outdoors and not one ever sprouted.

Hilary Forsyth from CO

Owner Response: Hi Hilary, Thank you for sharing you experience. It appears like you had the same issue with two kinds of melon. Melons do need very warm soil to sprout (70 to 90 degrees F) and to be kept moist while sprouting. A customer service agent will be with you shortly to see how we can help. Rest assured our seeds are tested quite frequently to ensure germination rates exceed federal and ut own standards.

midget cantaloupe

Aug 11, 2020

Not much flavor. Won't buy again. Very prolific.

Garry and Sally Truitt from KS

Owner Response: Hello, Overwatering as the fruit ripens can water down flavor in melons. We hope you will consider trying this tried and true, tasty melon again sometime.

Terrific Little Muskmelon

Aug 14, 2020

These are wonderful little 2 person melons. Wonderful muskmelon flavor, juicy & nice texture. We're in Northeast Ohio & the 1st one was ripe beginning of August. I started my seeds outside in 4" nursery pots & then transplanted them, covered them as long as I could to protect them from insects. I like planting small melons (these are the smallest so far) since our melon growing season is only 3 months. It gives the melons enough time to ripen compared to larger melons. They will be in our garden next year.

Doreen from OH

Juicy Flavor

Jan 26, 2021

I planted some seeds, and they sprouted very quickly! I made sure to water daily and to give some fertilizer throughout the season, and I was rewarded with the sweetest, juiciest, most delicious melon I've eaten. I'm excited for the plant to produce more!

anonymous from AL

Tasty but Certainly Midget

Sep 8, 2021

Easy germination, seemed to handle intense June temps well. Didn't produce prolifically, but this was in very poor, unamended soil. Found it a bit challenging to judge the ripeness, the coloring/webbing didn't seem to always align with peak ripeness, but when we did judge it right they were fairly tasty. Definitely midget, though -- personally, I'd probably opt for something a bit larger next time.

Charles from AZ

Owner Response: Hi Charles, Poor soil would contribute to small fruit size. In ideal conditions, you can expect 4" fruit. Also, here are the full harvest tips for this cultivar, "1) The color between the surface netting is brown, not green. 2) A ripe melon will have a pleasant, fruity aroma at the blossom end. 3) A crack will form on the stem right near the point of attachment. This is called the "slip stage". Harvest when the stem end turns yellow and vines easily "slip" away when the fruit is gently twisted. If it is somewhat difficult to detach the fruit from the vine, the melon is not ready yet. Do not allow to over-ripen." If you ever have questions about harvesting (and melons do vary) you can check the inside of the packet or the product page's growing info tab. Happy gardening!

Wonderful

Jan 8, 2022

These plants are wonderful: both prolific and delicious. I will give them more room in my garden this year.

Ruth from CO

Disappointing fruit set and taste

Apr 9, 2022

All the seeds germinated great, grew strong, and blossomed like crazy. Tons of bee and wasp activity, but hardly any fruit set - the little fruits just withered and dropped off like they hadn't been pollinated. Each of my 3 plants only produced 1 fruit, and they hardly tasted like anything at all. Not worth the time and space, I'll try another variety this year.

Jessica from CO

Owner Response: Hi Jessica, These fruits sound like they were not fully pollinated (this would not have been an issue from seeds). even in the presence of European honey bees this is an issue as they are less focused on visiting all flowers on the plant multiple times. You can find an article and video linked in the "learn more" tab on this product page. Holding back on water greatly improves fruit flavor. You can find tips like these inside the packet. Happy gardening!

Wonderful

Aug 20, 2022

I had never heard of this melon before. Spotted the package of seeds at a nursery and was surprised at the 60 day harvest time. We don't have a long enough season for regular cantaloupe so I was excited to give these a try. I started seeds indoors and they sprouted quickly. Planted outside and they grew fast. The first batches of flowers didn't produce melons. I noticed not many bees in backyard, they were all out front in my flowers. I started hand pollinating with a tiny paintbrush and BAM lots and lots of baby melons. So my harvest was later than it should have been but now it's plentiful and they are delicious. I followed the advice of less water while fruits are ripening and the melons are super sweet. Next year my patch will be much larger!

Lisa from OR

Hardy Vines

Sep 23, 2022

I had great germination rate with these. Planted 12 seeds for 6 plants, 10 of 12 germinated. Despite a horrific summer in Texas, they grew decently. A hail storm flattened them, but two of the three vines rebounded at the broken area. I was shocked! Now they are covered in fruit. I will definitely grow these again.

Hayley from TX