Anybody ever grow "Banana Melon" ??

ContainerTed · August 6, 2016

My brother received a melon that he had no idea what the name was. His normal standard was that it tasted good. After tasting it, I agree on the good taste. But he didn't know the name and the grower he got it from did not want any publicity about it. He didn't want folks coming to his farm and begging for them.

I was lucky enough to get one today and it really does taste extremely good. I finally found enough info on it and compared images to determine that it is absolutely a Banana Melon - a member of the Muskmelon family.

So, this thing really does taste good. Have any of you folks out there ever grown it? Victory Seeds and Baker Creek (among others) sell the seed. But I just want to hear from anyone who has grown it and how they managed to get mature fruit, any problems I should be aware of, and any other tips on growing them.

Here's a picture off the internet of what they look like (an elongated football). They're about 18 inches long and 5-6 pounds in size.

pmcgrady · August 6, 2016

No... But I am next year!

rhoder551 · August 24, 2016

Yes, I grew it a couple of years ago from a seed someone gave me. I think the seeds came from Baker Creek. I planted one seed, just because I wanted to try growing the banana but I have a small garden so did not want to invest a lot of space. Got a small vine and one melon and it was very very good. I saved seeds from that melon and planted a few last year and got something that looked right but tasted horrible... there must have been some cross pollinating. I will grow it again in the future from purchased seed. My garden is marginal for melons since summers can be on the chilly side, but the banana melon grew just fine without a lot of pampering from me. Mine was about half the size of the one in your attached pic...

October 11, 2016

It looks like you've got seeds in the melon there. Unless there are cross-pollination concerns, I would personally go with those seeds over store-bought ones.

I haven't grown Banana melon, although it has been a fascination to me. I have, however, grown Healy's Pride melon, which is part Banana melon. It's a very firm, large melon with great taste. I only got one fruit (last year), but I imagine it'll be more productive the next time I grow it from saved, potentially crossed, seeds. It didn't have a banana taste, but strangely, my second year Ginger's Pride melons (this year) do taste like bananas (they didn't last year; they must have crossed with something).

August 24, 2016	#3
rhoder551 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: SF Bay Area Posts: 219	Yes, I grew it a couple of years ago from a seed someone gave me. I think the seeds came from Baker Creek. I planted one seed, just because I wanted to try growing the banana but I have a small garden so did not want to invest a lot of space. Got a small vine and one melon and it was very very good. I saved seeds from that melon and planted a few last year and got something that looked right but tasted horrible... there must have been some cross pollinating. I will grow it again in the future from purchased seed. My garden is marginal for melons since summers can be on the chilly side, but the banana melon grew just fine without a lot of pampering from me. Mine was about half the size of the one in your attached pic... Last edited by rhoder551; August 24, 2016 at 02:01 PM.

August 6, 2016	#2
pmcgrady Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: Central Illinois Posts: 1,836	No... But I am next year!

October 11, 2016	#4
shule1 Guest Posts: n/a	It looks like you've got seeds in the melon there. Unless there are cross-pollination concerns, I would personally go with those seeds over store-bought ones. I haven't grown Banana melon, although it has been a fascination to me. I have, however, grown Healy's Pride melon, which is part Banana melon. It's a very firm, large melon with great taste. I only got one fruit (last year), but I imagine it'll be more productive the next time I grow it from saved, potentially crossed, seeds. It didn't have a banana taste, but strangely, my second year Ginger's Pride melons (this year) do taste like bananas (they didn't last year; they must have crossed with something).