What Is a Canary Melon?
Canary melons are a type of muskmelon (or cantaloupe) known for their pure, honeydew-like flavor. Identifying the canary melon is easy – look for smooth, creamy-colored rind with yellow and pink flesh inside.
A good rule to follow when identifying this variety is: if it looks like a cantaloupe, it’s probably a canary melon.
The canary melon is most commonly found in the southwestern United States, but you can find this fruit growing in nearly every state in the US. They are also popular in parts of Canada and other countries around the world.
You might grow your own or pick one up at your local market for a tasty treat! Planting Your Canary Melon Before planting a new melon plant, take a look at its leaves and make sure they haven’t been damaged by frost or freezing temperatures.
No matter what time of year you’re preparing to plant, choose an area that gets plenty of suns (at least 6 hours per day). You may
Canary Melon Care & Maintenance
Once you’ve chosen your soil and planted your seeds, be sure to keep the plants well-watered. A nearby hose can help with this, but make sure the soil isn’t waterlogged or too dry either.
In order to get a great harvest of tasty melons from your plant, follow these tips for caring for your canary melon: – Soil should be allowed to dry out in between waterings
– Monitor weather conditions regularly because they can have an effect on vine growth
– Plant at least 3 weeks before the last expected frost date USDA Hardiness Zones 10-11 (up to 5500 feet) Watering Requirements Drought tolerant; low watering requirements. Requires little maintenance and will do fine in dry weather.
The plant is not drought tolerant once established and will require watering during extended periods of hot, dry weather. Soil Requirements Prefers well-drained soil High fertility preferred pH 6-7 (5.8-6.2) Plant Type Fruit / Vegetable Fertilizer Requirements Slow growing and relatively unproductive; does not need frequent fertilization, but will respond well to fertilization in the spring. Select a fertilizer high in potassium; use it according to package directions.
Timing Requirements Grown as an annual where night temperatures stay above 50 degrees Fahrenheit/10 degrees Celsius. In colder climates, it can be grown as an annual or planted as a perennial for winter harvest (in USDA hardiness zones 4b-8).
Light Requirements:
Full sun (at least 6 hours per day) Soil Temperature: 60 – 65 degrees F/16 – 18 degrees C Plant Spacing: 3 feet apart for trellis; 2-4 feet apart for no trellis Fruit Spacing: 2-3 inches or more Row Spacing: 4 feet apart when using raised beds; 6-8 feet apart in rows Water Requirements: Low to moderate
Recommended Planting Dates *minimum of 60 days before last frost Rows Separate rows by several yards. This will help prevent the spread of disease and keep your melons off the ground, away from pests. Buying Tips If you’d like to pick out a canary melon at your local grocery store rather than grow your own, look for one with a bright orange coloring at the top of the melon. This indicates that it’s ripe and ready to eat!
Avoid purchasing any canary that has cracks on its skin or bruises. Canary melons are very delicate and may bruise easily during packaging and transport. It is still safe to eat these types of melons, but you’ll receive much better taste if they aren’t bruised.
Water Requirements:
Although canary melons are drought-tolerant, this doesn’t mean that they don’t need to be watered. Make sure your plants get between 1 and 2 inches of water each week. In periods of extended hot weather, they may need more frequent watering.
Water the soil around their roots as opposed to the plant itself during hot weather. This reduces leaf damage and helps prevent diseases in general. If you find that your melon plant’s leaves are turning yellow or brown quickly, it could indicate a disease problem.
You’ll want to check for signs of blight or mildew on the foliage and treat accordingly with a fungicide if necessary.
Harvest Tips: When picking out your melon, make sure it is at least 2 inches in diameter and has an even shape. You’ll want to wait until your melons are ripe before picking them.
The best way to determine if your canary melon is ripe is to smell the stem where it meets the fruit. If it smells like cucumber or musk, the melon is ripe; if not, look for another choice.
Avoid bruising your fruits when you harvest them by handling them with care once they’re off the vine. Keep an eye out for cracks that may have developed on their skin while they grew so that you can pick those fruits first when harvesting.
Soil Requirements:
Sandy or gravelly soil with good drainage and aeration is preferred. Can be planted in loamy soil over rock, but will produce more readily in sandy soils.
Pruning Requirements:
Does not require pruning (unless you’re using it as a vine).
Cold Weather Protection: Canary melons do not tolerate frost at all, so they must be protected during cold spells. If the temperature drops below 45 degrees Fahrenheit/7 degrees Celsius for several hours, your plants may need to be covered with plastic sheeting or moved indoors to prevent damage.
Plant Options: Since this plant grows best when spaced 2-4 feet apart, you can use rows of trellises on both sides of your planting area. This will allow your plants to spread out and grow without competition from neighboring canary melons.
You can also grow them alongside cucumbers, squash, or pumpkins without worries of cross-pollination.
Temperature and Humidity Requirements:
The ideal temperature for growing Canary Melons is between 70 and 80 degrees F/21-26 degrees C.
Make sure you create a proper environment for your plants by providing them with the right amount of heat and humidity. These are considered tropical plants, so they grow best in warm temperatures.
For the most part, Canary Melons aren’t very picky about humidity levels. However, if you notice any wilting during the day and night, keep a spray bottle on hand to mist your melon leaves with water when necessary.
If you live in an area where high heat and humidity are present year-round, these melons will do well under those conditions.
If nighttime temperatures drop below 65 degrees, make sure to protect your plants from frost with plastic sheeting or move them indoors until spring.
Fertilizing Requirements:
Want to grow the biggest, best Canary Melon possible? To obtain maximum production and quality, your plants need a steady diet of nutrients. Fertilizing every 10 days is best in order to maintain the strength of the plants’ roots and growth throughout the season.
Since this plant’s fruits are so popular for their sweetness, you’ll want to feed them produce-specific fertilizers high in potassium. Using a water-soluble fertilizer or liquid organic fertilizer once per week will give your plants all they need for optimal success.
If you’d rather use dry fertilizer instead, make sure it has an NPK ratio that falls between 4-1-6 or 8-2-4.
Potting and repotting Requirements
Since the roots on this plant can grow very long and wide, you’ll need to repot every 3-4 months when they start crawling over the edges of their pots. You want to keep your plants in a pot that is one size larger than what it originally came in.
Use well-draining soil like coconut husk fiber or perlite to ensure there is plenty of airflow around the roots.
Propagation info:
This plant does best when propagated from cuttings, so you should always have extras on hand to ensure a continuous supply of growth. The process is quite simple:
Remove the bottom leaves and strip off any flowers/pods before submerging your cutting in water for about 2 weeks in order to induce root formation. Once the roots start forming, pot up the new plant with soil as explained above.
You can also propagate by removing blooms that are just starting to open and placing them in water completely submerged until they have fully opened.
You may also see some seeds 1-2 weeks after bloom if your plant has not been fertilized or pollinated by insects. If this happens, either remove them with tweezers or wait for them to fall off naturally.
Disease/Pest Protection:
These plants are more resistant than many other cucurbits but may still be susceptible to powdery mildew, anthracnose sprays or dust with a baking soda base are helpful in controlling these diseases.
Powdery mildew is not a problem in dry weather. Bacterial wilt can be controlled by planting the cucumber on 1-2 foothills to increase air circulation and spraying with copper compounds during drought conditions.
No garden pests can be a nuisance to the growth of this plant. It is resistant to several types of insects and mites. The root-knot nematodes are a problem for many cucurbits but melons grow so vigorously that they usually outgrow them before damage occurs.
