Product Description
Montreal Melon
3,78 $
Also known as the “Montreal Market Muskmelon” or “Montreal Nutmeg Melon”. This mythical green flesh melon with a nutmeg flavor has almost disappeared.
The earliest records come from the Jesuits, who cultivated this variety in the Montreal Plain in 1684. According to the Potager d’Antan : “this melon went through many selections during the 17th Century, before being introduced under the name “Montreal Melon”, in 1870. In the 1880s, it was listed as one of the best seller in New England by American seed company Burpee“.
Very popular at the beginning of the 1900s and until the 1950s, it was largely commercialized and grown by three families : the Aubin, the Décarie and the Gorman. But lack of labour force, rises in wages and the spreading of the city triggered its decline. As highways paved the island, it slowly faded from our collective memory. When farms vanished from Montreal, it risked being obliterated. Until a journalist found its trace in a seed bank, in the United States.
This melon is a living proof of our seed and food diversity decline. Save your seeds and share them.
Heirloom variety. Listed on Slow Food Canada’s Ark of Taste.
Pkt : 12 seeds.
Out of stock
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BOTANICAL INFORMATION
Latin name : Cucumis melo
Common names : Montreal market muskmelon, Montreal nutmeg melon
French : Melon de Montréal, melon muscade
Family : Cucurbitaceae
DESCRIPTIVE INFORMATION
Plant type : Annual
Habit : Crawling
Height : 30 to 40 cm
Width : Can crawl over a few meters
CULTURAL INFORMATION
Days to maturity : 75 to 85 days
Sowing : Indoors 4 weeks before transplanting outside, which should be done after the last frost, once the ground has warmed up.
Depth : 1.5 cm
Germination : 5 to 7 days
Soil : Rich, melons are heavy-feeders
Exposure : Sunny
Plant spacing : 75 cm
Row spacing : 1 m
Watering : Abundant right after transplanting, regularly afterwards.
Care and other considerations : Montreal melon cultivation is tricky. It requires a rich soil, abundant water, and heat. It is hard to assess the fruit’s maturity and, once harvested, it can’t be stored for very long. At the very least, it’s delicious and worth the trouble!
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