Park’s Whopper Hybrid Cantaloupe… 6- to 8-pound melons.

We love our summer melons, especially cantaloupe. What we found with Park’s Whopper Hybrid is a cantaloupe that is living up to its name. We are probably a couple weeks away from picking our first melon, but watching these giants growing has been a ton of fun, and we have been sharing images in our Garden Gallery along the way.

This hybrid cantaloupe is suppose to grow no matter where you live. It has a shorter growing season, producing melons 77 days from setting out transplants or 91 days from direct sow. The plants are sturdy, thankfully, so they support these huge melons quite well. We have some of our melons growing on a fence, and have used some laundry bags to support a few of them. We’re unable to reach others, so we’ll see if they hang on until it’s time to harvest. (Fingers crossed, they do!)

We planted our cantaloupe in a well-drained area, which helps us avoid fungal and other diseases. It gets morning and afternoon sun, but is shaded in the late afternoon. From the results we’re getting, this seems to be perfect for growing the melons.

As the melon plants grow, we use Miracle-Gro once a month as a fertilizer. We make sure they get 1 to 2 inches of water per week, watering infrequently, but deeply. We have found that the summer heat doesn’t produce many melons; this is because cantaloupe plants only produce male flowers when it’s scorching hot outside.

Be patient when the first blooms on your cantaloupe plants don’t turn to fruit. As the temperature gets more mild, the female blooms will appear and you’ll be on your way to a crop of cantaloupe.

From the Farmer’s Almanac, here are some good tips on when to harvest your cantaloupe:

The rind will change from green to yellow (or tan), but don’t pick too early! Cantaloupe will not sweeten off the vine. This is why you often get cantaloupe in a grocery store that just isn’t that sweet.
Look for a crack in the stem where it attaches to the fruit. This is a sign that your cantaloupe is ripe.
When picking a cantaloupe, simply give a slight twist. If the cantaloupe separates from the vine with ease, perfect. If the cantaloupe holds on to the vine, set the cantaloupe back down and give it a few more days.

Once you harvest your cantaloupe, you can store it for 5 to 6 days uncut. Once sliced, it will last up to 3 days in the refrigerator… if no one eats it first! Ours never lasts that long. :)