Close readers will remember we planted a few new melon varieties this year. I don’t expect we have any really close readers, so to recap, we planted MN Midget Melon, Pepino Melon, Kiwano Horn Melon and Banana Melon. All but the Pepino have more than taken their fair share of garden space. The Pepino have suffered in the shade of several tomato plants. Sorry Pepino.

We’ve had MN Midgets before, so while they are not new, they are a favorite. Perfect size and flavor. A small cantaloupe with super sweet flavor.

But now we have something new. Or new to us anyway. The Banana Melon.

Turns out this variety was popular back in the late 1800′s. It was in the seed catalogs of the day, so I’m guessing it enjoyed some level of popularity. Either that or some clever marketer realized we gardeners enjoy planting different varieties and was trying to sell us on an oddity. I know that’s why I bought them.

They are large. Much larger than I would ever have expected. This one was about 13”, but I gather they can grow close to 2 feet. I picked it slightly immature I think, but there was a little soft spot, so rather than let it rot, I thought we should try it.

It’s pretty good. The taste and texture is much like a cantaloupe. It was not quite as sweet as our MN Midgets, but maybe that was due to immaturity. The vines love to climb, and it appears to be a heavy producer – if only we had a longer Summer. And not to be a complainer, but many sites and catalogs claim this melon’s name is derived from it’s shape — sure, it’s oblong like a banana, but it doesn’t have that quintessential banana curve to it. I vote for renaming this the Yellow Mellow Melon.

Tags: banana, cantaloupe, fruit, garden, melon, produce
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