Best Melons for hot and dry climates ?

MendozaMark · November 12, 2015

I am trying to find any type of melon that would do well in a hot and dry environment. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers !

Mark

BigVanVader · November 12, 2015

Ali Baba is hands down the best dry climate melon I have ever grown. They produced heavily with no watering and are delicious. Here is a description. http://http://www.rareseeds.com/ali-baba-watermelon/

Tormato · November 12, 2015

Hot and dry conditions sound about perfect for any melon. Where I'm at, flavor is hit or miss depending on the amount of rain, often too much.

I've read where someone may have solved the problem of too much watering in very hot weather (where it would water down the taste). They divide the root area into three "pie slices" and water 1 different area basically each day, so that the roots in each area get water about every three days, while the plant gets watered most every day.

February 20, 2016

Ali Baba is indeed supposed to be a good one for hot, dry climates. It's from the Middle East, and I believe it's descended from Charleston Gray (and looks just like it, but seems to like drought more).

You might also consider Allsweet, Crimson Sweet, Desert King, Red-seeded Citron, Yellow Shipper, Black Diamond (and similar), Hopi Red, Hopi Yellow, Yellow Doll F1 and others. Ancient might work well (since it was discovered in a cave in the southwestern USA where it's hot). Allsweet is descended from Crimson Sweet. Allsweet is used in the creation of a lot of hybrids.

A lot of desert areas have cool nights (which is something watermelon can have a hard time with). Blacktail Mountain is supposed to handle cool nights well. Sugar Baby seems to do well. Katanya and Janosik might handle them well, too (but that's just a semi-educated guess). Also, try Joseph Lofthouse's landrace watermelons.

November 12, 2015	#1
MendozaMark Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Yarmouth,NS Canada Posts: 296	Best Melons for hot and dry climates ? I am trying to find any type of melon that would do well in a hot and dry environment. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Cheers ! Mark

February 20, 2016	#4
shule1 Guest Posts: n/a	Ali Baba is indeed supposed to be a good one for hot, dry climates. It's from the Middle East, and I believe it's descended from Charleston Gray (and looks just like it, but seems to like drought more). You might also consider Allsweet, Crimson Sweet, Desert King, Red-seeded Citron, Yellow Shipper, Black Diamond (and similar), Hopi Red, Hopi Yellow, Yellow Doll F1 and others. Ancient might work well (since it was discovered in a cave in the southwestern USA where it's hot). Allsweet is descended from Crimson Sweet. Allsweet is used in the creation of a lot of hybrids. A lot of desert areas have cool nights (which is something watermelon can have a hard time with). Blacktail Mountain is supposed to handle cool nights well. Sugar Baby seems to do well. Katanya and Janosik might handle them well, too (but that's just a semi-educated guess). Also, try Joseph Lofthouse's landrace watermelons. Last edited by shule1; February 20, 2016 at 04:53 AM.

November 12, 2015	#2
BigVanVader Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Greenville, South Carolina Posts: 3,099	Ali Baba is hands down the best dry climate melon I have ever grown. They produced heavily with no watering and are delicious. Here is a description. http://http://www.rareseeds.com/ali-baba-watermelon/

November 12, 2015	#3
Tormato Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: MA Posts: 4,971	Hot and dry conditions sound about perfect for any melon. Where I'm at, flavor is hit or miss depending on the amount of rain, often too much. I've read where someone may have solved the problem of too much watering in very hot weather (where it would water down the taste). They divide the root area into three "pie slices" and water 1 different area basically each day, so that the roots in each area get water about every three days, while the plant gets watered most every day.