Jan–MarApr–JunJul–SepOct–Dec
Planting
Days to maturity
Seasonal yields
Sow indoors · Direct sow · Transplant outdoors
← Explore Plants
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.
Record at a glance
Growing profile
- Sun
- Full Sun
- USDA zone
- USDA 2–11
- Soil
- Silt · Loam · Clay
- Moisture
- Well-Drained · Moderate · Moist
Vertical layer
Vine- Soil pH
- 5.8–6.6
- Plant type
- Annual
- Mature height
- 6–9 ft
- Mature spread
- 12–36 in
- Plant spacing
- 12–36 in
- Root type
- Tap
- Spread pattern
- None
Keep exploring
Similar plants
Discover more plants with shared forest layers or growing conditions.
Achocha
Cyclanthera pedata
Achocha is a fast climbing vine that gives three edible parts off one plant - young fruit eaten raw or cooked with a cucumber flavor, mature…
Vine · USDA 9–11
African Walnut
Plukenetia conophora
African Walnut is a fast-growing evergreen vine of humid tropical rainforest, grown for an oil-rich seed usually boiled or roasted and served…
Vine · USDA 10–12
Air Potato
Dioscorea bulbifera
Air Potato is a true perennial vine that produces edible bulbils in its leaf axils along with an underground tuber - unlike frost-killed…
Vine · USDA 7–11
Akebia
Akebia quinata
Akebia is a fast-growing twining vine from East Asian mountain woodland that tolerates full shade better than almost any other fruiting…
Vine · USDA 5–8
Amur Grape
Vitis amurensis
Amur Grape is a cold-hardy climbing vine, native to the woodlands of Russia, China, Korea and Japan, that survives temperatures down to about…
Vine · USDA 4–8
Arctic Kiwi
Actinidia kolomikta
Arctic Kiwi is the hardiest of the edible kiwi vines, a twining climber from cold parts of eastern Asia that survives dormant winters to…
Vine · USDA 4–8
The deeper layer
Plan what comes next.
- Primary
- Locked ecological function
- Secondary
- Locked ecological function
- Byproduct
- Locked ecological function
Behind the record
- Locked research reference
- Locked research reference
- Locked research reference