Plant · P-203

Muskmelon

Cucumis melo

Muskmelon is a fruit vine that actually prefers hot days and warm nights, since fruit that ripens below 70 F turns out poor quality - a rare case where summer heat is the advantage rather than the obstacle. It needs a single long stretch of 110 to 140 frost-free days to mature, rather than the two-crop pattern some other vine crops follow. The seed is an overlooked yield in its own right: eaten raw with a nutty flavor, and pressed for an oil that can run as high as 39 percent by weight, rivaling a true oilseed. Bacterial wilt, spread by cucumber beetles, has no resistant commercial variety yet, so early planting, row covers over young seedlings, and rotating off cucurbit ground are the only real defenses.