18 Cantaloupe and Other Melon Varieties to Grow Now
Compare the wide range of characteristics to find which cantaloupe varieties and other melon selections are a good fit for your vegetable operation.
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Accolade (Syngenta Vegetable Seeds, Gowan Seed Company)
‘Accolade’ is a hybrid cantaloupe with improved internal fruit quality, for extended shelf life. It has a tight seed cavity with firm flesh, and is an early-to-main season variety. A strong and vigorous plant. Matures in 73 days.
Disease package: HR: Fom (0-2), Px (1), IR: Ag, Px (3.5), T: S
https://gowanseed.com/products/melon-cantaloupe-hybrid-accolade
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Athena (Syngenta Seeds, Osborne Quality Seeds)
Top selling early maturing, orange-fleshed cantaloupe. It has good yields and sugary flavor. ‘Athena’ will stay firm even when harvested at full slip. Stands up well to field stress and shipping. Matures 75 days from transplant.
Disease package: IR: F (0-2), PM (1-2)
https://www.osborneseed.com/products/athena-f1-untreated-melon-seeds
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Atlantis F1 (Sakata Seed America, Garden Trends Inc, DBA Harris Seeds)
‘Atlantis’ is an impressive Eastern shipper melon with its strong vines. It has excellent interior quality, and consistent high sugars with a firm rind. Ideal for a long distance shipper. Although developed for the shipping market, its high quality, firm flesh have great consumer appeal for local farm markets. The 6 to 8 pound fruit have medium netting, slight sutures, and a deep-orange, flesh color. Matures in 74 days.
Region: Well adapted
Disease package: IR: Fom (0-2), GC (1, 2)
https://www.harrisseeds.com/products/11577-melon-atlantis-f1?variant=39983878635592
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Bodacious F1 (Seeds by Design)
‘Bodacious F1’ is an early maturing, ivory, yellow-skinned honeydew. The green flesh is sweet and firm. A wonderful variety for fresh market. Matures in 100 days.
Region: All USA
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Chiriaco RZ (Rijk Zwaan USA, Osborne Quality Seeds)
A dual-purpose honeydew, suitable for fresh market sales, mechanical harvesting and processing. ‘Chiriaco’ has excellent flavor and high Brix levels of 17-18°. The widely adaptable strong plants have larger leaves for better fruit coverage, and sun protection. Matures 85 days from transplant.
Disease package: HR: F (0-2), IR: PM
https://www.osborneseed.com/products/melon-honeydew-chiriaco-rz-f1-untreated
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Desert Crunch (Seminis, Bayer Crop Science)
‘Desert Crunch’ is a premium, hybrid fresh market melon. It features crisp texture and has excellent eating quality. A uniform fruit size and appearance and strong plant vigor. The days to maturity vary by production region, and environmental conditions.
Region: Western U.S. desert production regions, and other warm (climate commercial melon) growing areas.
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Fabulous F1 (Seeds by Design)
An oval, pale green honeydew, with bright green flesh. ‘Fabulous F1’ flesh is sweet and contains a high sugar content. A fabulous and tasty find at fresh market! An early maturing variety. Matures in 100 days.
Region: All USA
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Flavor Journey (Johnny's Selected Seeds)
‘Flavor Journey’ is one of the most resilient, adaptable varieties of green-fleshed honeydew that we've seen. Most green-fleshed honeydews only perform well in very dry climates, so it has been a challenge to find a variety that will work for growers outside of more arid environments. However, ‘Flavor Journey’ has excelled in both wet and dry condition, in our trials at our research farm in Maine. The fruits average 5 pounds and have a small cavity. The flesh is very sweet and flavorful. Matures in 75 days.
Disease package: IR: Ag, PM
https://www.johnnyseeds.com/vegetables/melons/honeydew-melons/flavor-journey-f1-melon-seed-5184.html
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Goddess F1 (Seneca Vegetable Research, Inc., Garden Trends Inc DBA Harris Seeds)
‘Goddess’ is an Eastern shipper that produces 4 to 6 pound fruit in only 68 days! Grow this melon to get a jump on the competition. It outperforms all other early melon varieties. The oval-shaped fruit have slight suturing, and medium-coarse netting. ‘Goddess’ has flavorful, orange flesh and produces sugars that rival main season varieties. Matures in 68 days.
Disease package: IR Gc (1, 2), Fom (0, 1, 2)
https://www.harrisseeds.com/products/11571-melon-goddess-f1?variant=39983958032456
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Honeycomb (Takii & Co., Ltd.)
‘Honeycomb’ is an early hybrid honeydew that has excellent fruit setting ability. A strong, vigorous vine provides ample protection for the fruit. Slightly oval with a small seed cavity and very smooth skin. It has thick, medium-to-firm and sweet flesh. Region: Arizona, Texas. Matures 40 days after flowering.
Disease package: PM, Fom (0, 2)
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Honey Orange (Johnny's Selected Seeds)
Exclusive! Unlike typical honeydews which have pale-green flesh, ‘Honey Orange's’ flesh is a pale, salmon-orange color. Thick, crisp, and honey sweet, it is delicious to the rind. The medium size, oval round melons average 3 pounds, and have smooth, ivory skin. Unlike many other honeydew varieties, ‘Honey Orange’ is tolerant of cooler and wetter growing conditions. A 10 to 15 day shelf life. An early maturing variety. Matures in 74 days.
https://www.johnnyseeds.com/fruits/melons/honeydew-melons/honey-orange-f1-melon-seed-2086.html
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Melidor (Seminis, Bayer Crop Science)
‘Melidor’ is a Galia-type hybrid melon developed for western U.S. fresh market production. It combines high sugar content, with excellent fruit quality, producing a well-netted, round fruit with a small seed cavity. The golden-yellow skin at maturity, serves as a clear harvest indicator. A high sugar content (13–16° Brix potential), and concentrated fruit set. The round fruit average 2.5 to 3 pounds. Good field manageability for fresh-market production. Region: Western U.S. Matures in 82 to 86 days.
Disease package: IR: Gc, Px (1, 2, 5), HR: Fom (0, 1, 2), MNSV
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Natal RZ (Rijk Zwaan USA, Gowan Seed Company)
‘Natal RZ’ is a hybrid canary melon. It has good vigor, easy fruit setting and great taste. The oval fruit matures to a beautiful shiny yellow rind. Matures in 80 to 95 days.
Disease package: HR: Fom (0, 2), IR: Gc (1), Px (2)
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Nebula (Seneca Vegetable Research, Rupp Seeds)
‘Nebula’ is a beautiful Eastern cantaloupe, with excellent holding ability. It has outstanding flavor and texture and known to be a widely adaptable variety. Matures in 80 days.
Disease package: Fom (0, 1, 2), Gc (1, 2)
https://www.ruppseeds.com/vegetables/products/melons/cantaloupe/nebula
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Orion (Earthwork Seeds, Clifton Seed Company, SEEDWAY LLC)
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‘Orion’ is a large Eastern shipper cantaloupe. It shows consistent uniformity of size and consistency in quality, from crown set to end of vine. The fruit has a clean appearance with a refined, complete net. The background color transitions to tan, and the vine detaches at maturity. ‘Orion’ is flavorful, with a balance of sweet and musky flavors. It averages 5 to 6 pounds. It has prolonged shelf life. Matures in 76 to 80 days.
Disease package: IR: PM, HR: Fom (0, 1, 2)
https://www.seedway.com/product/orion-cantaloupe-treated-seed/
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Sugar Cube (Seneca Vegetable Research, Rupp Seeds, Stokes Seeds, Inc.)
Mini! A personal size hybrid cantaloupe, with deep-orange flesh. The amazing quality (14% Brix) has an excellent shelf life. In addition, it has the best disease resistance package. The fruit size is around 4 inches. ‘Sugar Cube’ is a hybrid Eastern shipper. Matures in 80 to 81 days.
Disease package: HR: Fom (0-2), IR: PRSV, Px (1, 2), WMV, ZYMV
https://us.stokeseeds.com/melon-0260108.html
https://www.ruppseeds.com/vegetables/products/melons/personal-size/sugar-cube
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Sugar Rush (Seneca Vegetable Research, Stokes Seeds, Inc.)
‘Sugar Rush’ is a hybrid Eastern shipper cantaloupe. It has a quality meeting size. The fruit has sweet (15% Brix). A nice, orange flesh and productive plant habit. The flavor is similar to that of ‘Sugar Cube’. Matures in 73 to 75 days.
Disease package: HR: Fom (0-2), Px (1, 2)
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Sweet Peridot (Takii & Co., Ltd.)
‘Sweet Peridot’ is hybrid honeydew that has consistent round shapes. The skin is smooth, milky white and has a small seed cavity.The firmness is 6 to 7.5 PSI. It expresses less sugar net. The fruit size class 5 and 6. ‘Sweet Peridot’ has high yield and fruit set, during the main season. It’s good for both fresh and processing markets. Region: San Joaquin Valley, CA, AZ. Matures main season California in 97 to 102 days.
Disease package: Fom: (0, 2), IR: PM, Strong: S
View all
Accolade (Syngenta Vegetable Seeds, Gowan Seed Company)
Athena (Syngenta Seeds, Osborne Quality Seeds)
Atlantis F1 (Sakata Seed America, Garden Trends Inc, DBA Harris Seeds)
Bodacious F1 (Seeds by Design)
Chiriaco RZ (Rijk Zwaan USA, Osborne Quality Seeds)
Desert Crunch (Seminis, Bayer Crop Science)
Fabulous F1 (Seeds by Design)
Flavor Journey (Johnny's Selected Seeds)
Goddess F1 (Seneca Vegetable Research, Inc., Garden Trends Inc DBA Harris Seeds)
Honeycomb (Takii & Co., Ltd.)
Honey Orange (Johnny's Selected Seeds)
Melidor (Seminis, Bayer Crop Science)
Natal RZ (Rijk Zwaan USA, Gowan Seed Company)
Nebula (Seneca Vegetable Research, Rupp Seeds)
Orion (Earthwork Seeds, Clifton Seed Company, SEEDWAY LLC)
Sugar Cube (Seneca Vegetable Research, Rupp Seeds, Stokes Seeds, Inc.)
Sugar Rush (Seneca Vegetable Research, Stokes Seeds, Inc.)
Sweet Peridot (Takii & Co., Ltd.)
Disease Code Key
- Ag: Cotton aphid
- Fom: Fusarium wilt caused by the specified races of Fusarium oxysporumf.sp.melonis
- MNSV: Melon necrotic spot virus
- Px: Powdery mildew
- Px (ex Sf): Powdery mildew caused by the specified races of Sphaerotheca fuliginea
- S: Sulfur burn caused by the application of some sulfur-based pesticides
- ZYMV: Zucchini yellow mosaic virus
- PRSV: Papaya ringspot virus
- WMV: Watermelon mosaic virus
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Carol Miller is Editor of American Vegetable Grower. See all author stories here.