Blog by the Garden Center Team
Honey Rock Melons (Cucumis melo)
This month's seed kit features honey rock melons! To support our environment seed kits are now available digitally.
An heirloom variety of cantaloupe with delicate, sweet taste and attractive salmon-orange color. Fruit from this early melon generally grow to 3-4 pounds and are the perfect size for sharing with a friend.
Planting Instructions
- Culture: Prefers warm weather, for best results keep soil temperatures between 75°F - 85°F. For direct seeding, plant seeds 1/2 inch deep in a well-drained soil. Sow 3 seeds every 18-24 inches. Germination will take approximately 5 - 10 days.
- Water: Requires regular watering. Keep soil moist but not flooded. Water plants with approximately 1 inch of water per week.
- Harvest: Will reach maturity in about 80 days. Mature melons will weigh about 3 – 4 lbs. When the melons are ripe and ready for harvest their ends will soften and they can be easily removed from the vine with a gentle tug/twist.
Origins of Melons
Melons are truly an ancient food. Believed to have originated in Western Asia, melons appear in Sumerian texts dating back to 2500 BCE. Sweet and juicy, they were brought to North America by Christopher Columbus in the late 1400s. Melon seeds were traded to and then planted by the Native Americans to be used as a food source. In addition to being tasty, melons are a valuable source of vitamins C and D as well as fiber.
The Honey Rock melon was developed in Ohio and introduced to the vegetable growing community in 1925. Also known as sugar rock, this variety of melon is particularly sweet and was an All-American Selection Gold Medal Winner in 1933.
Sources: Real Food Encyclopedia, Foodprint and Specialty Produce
Recipe: Cantaloupe Summer Soup
- Serves: 4
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 cantaloupe large cut into 1” cubes
- 1 c. Greek yogurt
- 1 tbsp. honey
- 1 lemon or 2 limes juiced
- ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
- ¼ tsp. ground black pepper
- 1 sprig of mint
Instructions:
- Cut melon in half and remove all of the seed s and fibers. Cut cantaloupe into 1” cubes.
- Add chopped cantaloupe, yogurt, lemon juice, honey to food processor or blender. Pulse the blender to puree until smooth.
- Add nutmeg and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Refrigerate for a least 1 hour before serving.
- Garnish with mint leaf.
Craft: Big Leaf Printing
Supplies:
- Old baking sheet or sheet of cardboard
- Acrylic paints
- A large leaf
- Sheet of blank paper (slightly bigger than the leaf you chose)
Instructions:
- On the baking/cardboard sheet, pour a variety of acrylic paint colors roughly the same size as your leaf.
- Lay the leaf on top of the paint and press lightly to get paint coverage across the leaf.
- Place leaf onto your paper and press firmly on all parts of the leaf.
- Gently remove the leaf and let your artwork dry! Try using the same leaf again; the patterns will be different, even with the same leaf.
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