Melon Charentais 10 Heirloom Variety Fruit Seeds

Melon Seed - Canteloupe Melon 'Charentais'

Interested in trying something deliciously different in your garden allotment? Try the French Charentais melon! Charentais melons ? Cucumis melo ?Charentais? ? are true cantaloupes, unlike their American muskmelon cousins ? Cucumis melo. Charentais melons are sweet like the American variety, but they don?t have a muskmelon flavor. In a nutshell, they?re mush smaller, more delicious and very rewarding to grow.

Our own seed selection of a very old variety of excellent flavour - and oh so juicy! Whilst being a popular commercial variety, Charentais is actually one of the easier varieties to grow and perfect for the novice gardener.

Mid sized fruits are grey-green in colour - sometimes stripy, sometimes not quite so pronounced. Inside the flesh is a rich orange colour and literally so juicy you may struggle to not dribble when eating!

Quite simply fantastic!

Recommended by the RHS to be an excellent attractant and nectar source for bees and other beneficial insects.

• Sow under protection in pots late February to April.

• Place seeds on end, blunted end pointing downwards in compost - simply push into compost out of sight. Water thoroughly and germinate at a temperature of 75°F (24°C).

• When seed leaves are developed reduce temperature to around 65° - 70°F (18° - 21°C).

• Plant out late March (heated greenhouse) or late May (unheated greenhouse), or later if growing outside. Plant two per grow bag or straw bale or one per large pot.

• Support the plants with canes and pinch out the growing points when the main stems reach the greenhouse roof.

• Harvest as required.

• Top Tips

• Protect newly sown seeds from mice. Mice are notorious in 'sniffing out' seed of this nature.

• Keep the soil / compost moist - watering around the plant, not the foliage.

• Fruits are ripe when they colour yellow ever so slightly, the flesh around the stem becomes slightly soft - and they smell strongly of melons!