Cucumis melo (77 days) F-1 hybrid. A class of cantaloupe notoriously slow to ripen and difficult to harvest ripe without splitting, the ideal Charentais eluded our trialers for years until Heron found Alvaro. Alvaro takes the mystery out of growing Charentais. He called it the Halona of Charentais melons because his, so early, matured around the same time as Halona in 2013. CR’s, first ripening on Sept. 4, 2014, the day after his French Orange and twelve days after his first Halona, were still way earlier than any other Charentais he had ever tried. Almost as if sculpted, grey-green Alvaro shows remarkable uniformity. All 5 fruits, averaging 2.28 lb, ripened within a 3-day window, none splitting or showing any other damage. Even in water-bursting 2013, Heron had nary a split. Deeply sutured 5x6" fruits without netting fill the room with that incomparable Charentais aroma.
In 2020 on July 28 Altoon Sultan of the Northeast Kingdom of VT delightedly observed: “With the wacky hot weather we’ve been having, a lot of my warm weather garden vegetables have been early…But when I saw the Alvaro melons starting to warm in color a couple of days ago, I was flabbergasted. This morning I picked two…now in my kitchen…and scenting the room deliciously.” Thick orange flesh luscious and succulent with silky but firm texture and rich full-bodied flavor—everything we’ve wanted in a Charentais but not found since French Orange. ④
948
Alvaro
Additional Information
Charentais Melons
This French melon is a true cantaloupe, almost smooth with no netting. Green skins blush yellow-tan when ripe; fruits emit a memorable redolence. Harvest at half-slip (they pull off with a moderate tug) and bring inside for a day or two for best flavor. Don’t wait till full slip—they’ll be over-ripe.
Diseases:
F: Fusarium
PM: Powdery Mildew
PRSV: Papaya Ring Spot Virus
WMV: Watermelon Mosaic Virus
ZYMV: Zucchini Yellows Mosaic Virus
Melons
About 25–35 seeds/g; watermelons about 20 seeds/g; exceptions noted.
Days to maturity are from date of transplanting.
Melon seed lives more than 10 years with proper storage. 18th- and 19th-century growers preferred to sow 4- to 10-year-old melon seed, believing that such seeds produced plants that spread less and fruits with a finer perfume.
Most Years You Can Vine-Ripen Melons In Maine Melons are a tender crop with high nitrogen requirements. They love heat, cannot stand frost, and may be damaged by night temperatures below 40°. Though they require some extra fussing, the results are sure worthwhile.
Note days to maturity and select varieties that will ripen in your climate. Alvaro and Halona are surest bets.
Start indoors in early May (later if the spring is slow to warm) in plastic or peat pots, 2 or 3 seeds to a pot. Minimum germination soil temp 60°, optimal range 75–95°. Melons resent transplanting but will take if their roots are not disturbed.
Prepare hills in advance with liberal amounts of well-rotted manure or compost. A cold start can permanently stunt growth, so wait for a warm spell after all danger of frost to transplant, usually between May 20 and June 20. Don’t place melons next to vigorous crawling plants like cucumbers, gourds or winter squash.
Water heavily and, if soil is dry, place a temporary hay mulch around plants until a soaking rain comes.
Melons are much more sensitive than squashes so use low tunnels with floating row covers that do not abrade plants. If you have sandy soil, check daily and irrigate when needed.
Use blue, black or clear plastic mulch between plants.
Use a foliar feeding program to speed ripening.
Remove row covers before buds open. Replace them when you don’t desire any more fruit to set.
To reduce rot loss, rotate ripening melons occasionally. To reduce mouse damage, place ripening melons on bricks.
Inspect your patch daily at ripening time. Check fruits for aroma and color and pull gently on those that appear to be ripe. Most muskmelons are ripe when the pressure causes them to slip from the vine. Harvest Galia, Charentais, Honeydews before full slip. Watermelons are ripe when the tendril near the stem is dry.
Enjoy an incomparable taste treat!
Pest: Striped Cucumber Beetle Cultural controls: use tolerant or resistant varieties, rotate crops, till under crop debris soon after harvest, use floating row covers until flowers appear, use plastic mulch, perimeter trap cropping (Black Zucchini and Blue Hubbard make particularly good trap crops), use yellow sticky strips, hand-pick early morning when beetles are very sluggish. Materials: Surround, Pyrethrum (PyGanic).
Disease: Powdery Mildew Controls: Use small plots to slow spread, plant indeterminate (viney) varieties, control weed competition. Materials: sulfur and whole milk, mineral or other oils in combination with potassium bicarbonate. Disease: Bacterial Wilt Cultural control: Striped Cucumber Beetle is vector—control it; choose resistant varieties.
Fascinated by heritage melons? Amy Goldman’s Melons for the Passionate Grower (ISBN 1-57965-213-1), a mouth-watering journey through her 100 favorite varieties, is an indispensable identification and cultural aid.
Germination Testing
For the latest results of our germination tests, please see the germination page.
Our Seeds are Non-GMO
All of our seeds are non-GMO, and free of neonicotinoids and fungicides. Fedco is one of the original companies to sign the Safe Seed Pledge.
