Kazahk Melon

[mythkat]

Hi all,

Has anyone grown these melons? I bought the seed from Baker Creek and it's doing great in my garden. I have lots of melons. I just don't know if they're ripe yet. They are a little larger than softball size, dark green with light green stripes. They aren't supposed to get very big. They have been the best producer of my Asian melons. I'm going to have to save the seeds as I couldn't find it on BC right now.

Thanks.

 

[wifezilla]

Never heard of them. You might have to sacrifice one to test for ripeness....and YES...save the seeds!!

 

[mythkat]

I've been comparing them to the Golden Sweets. They are about the same size but the GS hasn't turned gold yet. It's a soft lemon yellow, so I'm thinking I should wait a while. Does that sound right?

 

[Greensage45]

I am growing a melon this year that was given to me a long time ago. It has a honeydew skin with cantaloupe meat without the muskiness of cantaloupe. I do not know the name of it but I call it HoneyLoupe... it's catchy!

What I have done is that I tug on the stem connecting the melon, if it begins to give way and leave a bellybutton then it is ready. If it is holding tough then I would wait. I have pulled several in and let them mature on the counter, that has shown me that there is a level of suppleness to the skin as I depress it. I also noticed the aroma increasing as it neared ripeness.

So, if it is hard when you depress it with your finger, does not have a ripen aroma, or does not pull away from the vine easily, then it is a fair guess that it is just not time.

What kind of flavor does your little melon produce?

Ron

 

[mythkat]

I don't know yet. It's supposed to be very sweet, like Golden Sweet or Sakata's Sweet, with an edible skin. The flesh is white and it's a single serving size melon. It's been very enthusiastic.

 

[davaroo]

I tried some Armenian Tiggers this year, and they were a disappointment. Small and pretty, but without any real flavor.

Next season I will try some "Collective Farm Woman" melons, which I got from Sustainable Seed Co. I just love the name.

In fact, I ended up with rather a lot of melon seed for next season:

- Collective Farm Woman
- Sun Jewel
-Cantalope
- Charentais
- Prescott Fond Blanc
- Nutmeg Green
- Basketball melon (??)
- Banana Melon

- Moon and Stars watermelon

Methinks it be time for another contest....

 

[mythkat]

Tigger didn't do anything for me. Tiny, pretty plant, but nothing. My watermelons didn't do anything either. :/ I want to try Charentais and Swan Lake next year. I did find out that the Kazahk should turn yellow when ripe so it seems I have a bit of a wait.

 

[digitS']

I am growing a melon this year that was given to me a long time ago. It has a honeydew skin with cantaloupe meat without the muskiness of cantaloupe. I do not know the name of it but I call it HoneyLoupe...
Ron

Interesting Ron, the Passport I grow has a cantaloupe skin with honeydew meat . . . tastes different than honeydew but looks the same.

I grew Golden Sweets a year or 2 ago in my continuing quest to find a melon suitable to grow here. It did fine but wasn't especially sweet. Turns out that you are "supposed" to eat it unpeeled. Not knowing that and not waiting the time necessary meant I was harvesting them too early. I was amazed how early they were . . . jumped the gun, I guess.

The Asian melons are interesting but nearly entirely different from what I'm used to. With a "normal" year, there are a few choices for my garden. This turned out to be a "warmer than normal" year. I coulda grown all sorts of melons!! . . . I think.

The climate here is probably not too much different from some parts of Kazakhstan. In the northern hemisphere, that country is exactly opposite from where I live. Can you please give us as full a report on that Kazakh melon as possible, MythKat?

And hey, the Charentais that grows well for me is Burpee's Honey Girl. Oh, it's so good!

Steve

 

[davaroo]

I am growing a melon this year that was given to me a long time ago. It has a honeydew skin with cantaloupe meat without the muskiness of cantaloupe. I do not know the name of it but I call it HoneyLoupe...
Ron

Interesting Ron, the Passport I grow has a cantaloupe skin with honeydew meat . . . tastes different than honeydew but looks the same.

I grew Golden Sweets a year or 2 ago in my continuing quest to find a melon suitable to grow here. It did fine but wasn't especially sweet. Turns out that you are "supposed" to eat it unpeeled. Not knowing that and not waiting the time necessary meant I was harvesting them too early. I was amazed how early they were . . . jumped the gun, I guess.

The Asian melons are interesting but nearly entirely different from what I'm used to. With a "normal" year, there are a few choices for my garden. This turned out to be a "warmer than normal" year. I coulda grown all sorts of melons!! . . . I think.

The climate here is probably not too much different from some parts of Kazakhstan. In the northern hemisphere, that country is exactly opposite from where I live. Can you please give us as full a report on that Kazakh melon as possible, MythKat?

And hey, the Charentais that grows well for me is Burpee's Honey Girl. Oh, it's so good!

Steve

Hey Steve the Collective Farm Woman melon is said to be a short season, cool weather melon:

"COLLECTIVE FARM WOMAN MELON is a wonderful Ukranian heirloom with smooth 7"-10" melons. Yellowish-white flesh is extremely sweet and fragrant. Early, and a good candidate for Northern climates, it ripens in central Russia and can even be grown in Moscow. I love melons that tell me when to pick them. This one turns yellowish-orange when it is ripe! 80-85 days."

 

[Ridgerunner]

Here's a write-up I found on the kazahk melon. Thought you might be interested. It's on a competing site so to not violate policy I did a cut and paste instead of a link.

I worked for a couple of years in a construction camp in Kazahkstan. The country is the 9th largest in the world with the variety of terrain you would expect. Some of it is mountainous with great winter snow skiing, some is equivalent to the Russian Steppes, very flat, and some around the Caspian Sea is marsh.

I only saw one small portion, 20 miles south of Russia and 70 miles east of the Ural River. The climate is called "continental", kind of harsh, pretty dry, and not tempered by the oceans. I cannot speak for the climate of the whole country, but where I was, the ground froze in November and thawed in March. The normal winter day was in the single digits to low 20's F for a daily high. The coldest I saw was (-) 30 F but that was only twice per year. It could be windy. The snow cover I saw was about 1-1/2 feet, although I saw pictures where it could get quite a bit deeper. (They would not admit it, but I'm sure those photos were of drifts.) The summers were usually quite nice except for two to four weeks where it got hot, in the 90's. We'd get some pretty good rains in October and an occasional spring shower during the thaw, but otherwise it was dry.


Cucumis melo
( Kazakh Honeydew Melon )

An early melon with white skin that turns yellow upon ripening. Flesh is white, to be eaten fresh, not a good keeper but with incredible taste. Climbs on a trellis well, and produces 1-3 pound fruits. Rare. An annual warm season crop. Plant 1/2 inch deep, 24 inches apart, outdoors in warm season areas, with lots of room for the vines to sprawl . As transplants they should be started one month before planting out when the soil is warmed up. Maintain temperatures of 70-80F until germination. Soil should be kept moist, and young transplants fed weekly. When planting out take care to not disturb the roots and add plenty of rich organic matter such as compost to the mound. After blooms have set, prune the vines back to aid remaining fruits to ripen, especially in cool climates. Night time temperatures should be at least 60F for fruit set. When fruits are getting close to ripening, decrease the watering to increase the sweetness the fruit.
Important Info : They can be difficult to grow outside the region in which they were developed. Baking hot, sandy soil, is generally a good bet for improving your crop. It is useful to have a cold frame to get the plants going early.