Last minute mini cantaloupe

I have not had very good luck with cantaloupes the last few years.

Last year I had a few plants do well but was unable to beat the rodents to the fruits. This year we had very bad drought through the hottest parts of summer.

I direct seed everything and do not irrigate so most of my seeds stayed dormant and came up late.
I had one cantaloupe plant that survived this year and it had one little fruit which I have been checking daily.

We have had frosts and been touching 33°F at nights and I have been watching this little fruit and not expecting it to be ripe before a real freeze. The plant was in a very exposed area, no protection or microclimate to benefit from.

Yesterday I went to check it and was surprised to find it had ripened at about the size of a tennis ball. The vine finally gave in and melted from the cold, and a rodent had started chewing the fruit but not too deep.

This little plant really pushed it to the last minute. It tasted good, average cantaloupe taste. Good creamy smooth texture and a very floral slightly tropical scent.

Best of all I was able to save lots of good seeds. I have no idea what variety it would be because I planted many different types.


Quarter for scale.

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