can I pick it yet? how about now?

[habitat_gardener]

First-time melon grower...specifically, Eden's Green Gem. It's a sprawling plant with lots of little melons, and some of them are looking a little more mature than others. Do I have to wait until the stem separates from the fruit? Or do I have to put my nose to the ground and smell it to find out if it's fragrant yet? Another heat wave is coming this weekend and I'm wondering if I need to be visiting this garden a couple times a day just in case a melon turns ripe. The Diva cucumber plant growing near it (into it!) has been producing more cucumbers than I've ever had before.

[habitat_gardener]

The melon is still not slipping off the stem! It's looked like this for over a week. I got down on the ground and sniffed: no fragrance. And the single plant is producing a lot of them.

Meanwhile, I picked 9 Divas yesterday.

[peppero]

being an successful failure at melon growing ,i can say i have a serious case of envy at seeing your results. may you have big smileat the conclusion of the matter.

jon

[Tormato]

First,

It's difficult to know what variety you really have. Ther's alot of confussion over Eden's Gem, Rocky Ford, Eden's Green Gem, Rocky Ford Green Fleshed, etc...

Some say Rocky Ford is orange fleshed, and the rest may all be the same green fleshed "melon". I haven't read anything about the green one(s?) being described as aromatic, so you may not be able to tell by your nose if it's ripe. I also don't know if your variety slips from the vine when ripe, some do, some don't. Sometimes a gentle squeeze will show you it has slightly softened and would be ripe. But, you may have a firm fleshed type.

Gary

[habitat_gardener]

I was wondering about that. I got this particular plant from a fellow gardener, so I don't know the seed source, but iirc she had the Baker Creek catalog.

If it doesn't slip from the stem and doesn't have a fragrance and is firm-fleshed, how can I tell when it's ripe? Do I have to sacrifice one that looks farthest along, or is there something else to look for? Is it like cantaloupe, where the rind under the netting goes from green to yellow as it gets riper?

[Tormato]

I've seen several varieties that go from green to yellow or at least green to tan. Hopefully, a color change or some other indication will let you know. The key to flavor, for all melons I've tried, is restricting water about a week or more before they ripen.

This thread reminds me I forgot to trial a few "winter" melons this year.

[habitat_gardener]

It finally slipped off the stem when I gave it a little tug, and the green stripes between the netting may have been a bit shinier. I ate it! Now I won't be able to buy melons anymore because I know what a ripe melon tastes like. I'll add that to the list along with tomatoes and strawberries.

Photos later. (My computer no longer recognizes my camera, so I have to go through a tedious process with a card reader that probably takes 15 minutes but feels like it takes forever, and I can't do anything else on the computer while I'm doing it.)

[newatthiskat]

Congrats on getting the melon Ripe! Mouth is drooling jsut thinking about it. Great to know you have more coming!

[habitat_gardener]

Photos!! I have small hands...the melon is larger than a softball.

And the second photo shows it minutes before it was eaten -- outdoors, of course, sitting on a bench in a garden. Very juicy! And unlike cantaloupes from the store, not crunchy at all.

[newatthiskat]

very very yummy looking