The Different Types of Melons

The Melon umbrella houses so many different varieties of melon that we wouldn't normally think of. Find it all here. You many learn something and find a new variety on your next outing to your Farmer's Market.

Amarilla Oros are a Spanish Canary-type melon grown along the Mediterranean coast northeast of Gibraltar. Fruit is bright-yellow and weighs 4-6 pounds. Flesh is thick creamy-white with a slight pink tinge at the seed cavity. These yield abundantly and are great for market fairs.

Amish melons are heirlooms from the Amish community. Fruits are oval-shaped, 8-9" long and between 4-7 pounds. Flesh is orange, sweet, and juicy, and has full musk-melon flavor. These grow well in almost any environment.

Banana melons have been listed as a novelty for as long as American seed catalogs have been in print. Fruit are long, banana-shaped, and tapered at both ends. From 16-24" long and 4" in diameter, skins are smooth and yellow, and flesh is salmon-pink. Flavor is sweet and spicy.

Bidwell Casabas hail from Chico California, where a Civil War General and U.S. Senator procured these from the USDA in 1869. These melons are huge, growing as large as 12-14" long and 9" wide and weighing between 12-16 pounds each. Flesh is sweet and orange.

Burrell's Jumbo are large fruits very popular with home and market gardeners. Netted melons weigh up to 5 pounds and have extremely thick, sweet, flavorful, salmon-colored flesh.

Cavillion Espagnol is a Spanish heirloom variety dating back to the 1800s. Fruits are heavily netted, large and oblong shaped, 8-10" long and can weigh up to 6 pounds. Flesh is sweet, juicy, and yellow.

Canoe Creek Colossals are large, ribbed, football-shaped melons that can weigh over 20 pounds if properly watered. Normal size ranges between 8-15 pounds. These have great flavor!

Charantais have been hailed the most divine and flavorful melons by many the world over. Melons are smooth and round, grayish-yellow with green stripes, and have a sweet, juicy salmon flesh. Fruit averages the size of a grapefruit and weighs about 2 pounds. Very fragrant variety.