How to grow Cantaloupe

Cucumis melo var. cantalupensis

Full Sun
Medium

Melons are a warm weather crop. If indoors start your melons 3 to 4 weeks before transplanting, in warm (80-90 F) soil in deep peat pots to avoid disturbing the roots. Cutting back on water when fruit is setting will improve the quality but do not allow the leaves to wilt.

Harvesting Cantaloupe

Once the first melon is ready to harvest, the others on that plant are likely soon to follow. An obvious sign of maturity in most melon varieties will occur when the rind changes color from green or grey to yellow. Additionally, once ripe the stem is easily separated from the vine by hand.

Seed Saving Cantaloupe

Cut the melon with a sharp knife and carefully scoop out the inner seed lining and save them for processing the seeds. Place the seedy pulp into a bowl and remove as much of the pulp as possible by hand. Discard the pulp and add warm water to the bowl. You can then skim the surface of the water to remove seeds that will not produce plants, as they will be floating on the top. Rinse the rest of the seeds once more to remove any remaining sugar and pulp and place on a screen to dry. Allow these seeds to dry for about 3 days. Place the seeds in a bag and mark with type of seeds they are and when they were harvested. Place the bag in the freezer until next season.

How long does Cantaloupe take to grow?

These estimates for how long Cantaloupe takes to sprout, grow and harvest are from real observations from real gardeners, right around the world.

Days to Germination How long does it take Cantaloupe to germinate?: 3 days
Average 3 days | Min days | Max days (0)
Days to Transplant How long until I can plant out Cantaloupe?: + 14 days
Average 14 days | Min days | Max days (0)
Days to Maturity How long until Cantaloupe is ready for harvest / bloom?: + 90 days
Average 90 days | Min days | Max days (0)
Total Growing Days How long does it take to grow Cantaloupe?: = 107 days

Cantaloupe Etymology

The name is derived, via French, from the Italian Cantalupo which was formerly a papal county seat near Rome. Tradition has it that this is where it was first cultivated in Europe, on its introduction from Ancient Armenia.² Its first known usage in English dates from 1739 in The Gardeners Dictionary Vol. II by Scottish botanist Philip Miller (1691–1771).²

Cantaloupe Folklore & Trivia

The longer the shelf life the lower the aroma.¹

Other names for Cantaloupe

Mushmelon, Muskmelon, Cantalope, Rockmelon, Spanspek, Charentais melon

Cucumis melo var. reticulatus

Misspellings: Cantaloup, Musk melon

Footnotes

¹ Investigation of volatiles in Charentais cantaloupe melons (Cucumis melo Var. cantalupensis). Characterization of aroma constituents in some cultivars.

² “Oxford English Dictionary 2nd Ed. (1989)”