This is our first season to grow melons and needless to say Michael and I are pretty excited with the results. Every day we find more and more new little melons starting from those flowers that the bees just love!
We planted several varieties of melon - along with the regular jumbo water melon we seeded three kinds of French melons: Ananas, Charentais and Petite de Gris.
The Ananas melon here says it's known in France as "Ananas D'Amerique a Chair Verte" and is one of the most popular heirlooms grown in the US and in the Middle East. The word "Ananas" translates to mean "Pineapple."
Charentais which Mother Earth News says here that this French melon is on the top of their list and just the aroma coming from the melon patch is a dead give away. Many chefs love to serve up this melon with a big spoonful of sorbet topped with fresh picked mint. The French adore their Charentais and they the link says that they traditionally serve the melon with prosciutto and that French farmers teach their sons and daughters how to grow the "perfect" Charentais.
Here Petite de Gris says that this French melon was first noted in the garden of Bishop of Rennes nearly 400 years ago. It's a melon with orange flesh, it's deliciously sweet, flavorful and aromatic. This melon is a bit slower in growing for us, but we're hopeful for a good harvest.
Our Charentais sells at the Farmers' Market for $3.25 a pound.
Our Ananas sells at the Farmers' Market for $3.00 a pound.
