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Has anyone ever tried Olivin muskmelons?
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Posted by janevx z4 MN (My Page) on Thu, Mar 10, 05 at 18:44
| I have some old seed for Olivin muskmelon from SSE 1997 Polish Collection. I tried germinating 5 seeds (wrapped in damp paper towels in ziploc baggies on the top of my fridge), just to see if they were still viable. I can't believe it- 5 of 5 sprouted! Has anyone ever tried this variety? Is it flavorful? Is it worth growing? Are the fruit pretty?
I've already got seeds for Noir des Carmes from SSE's catalog. I don't have a lot of space for melons, but I've never seen any melon as beautiful as the catalog picture for NdC. Should I grow a few less Noir des Carmes and give some space to Olivin?
I'm so intrigued by melons- beautiful vines and beautiful fruit. I've only eaten store bought muskmelons and they are so not flavorful. I'm really hoping to find something really special that tastes as good as it looks.
Suggestions, PLEASE!
Thanks!
Jane |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Has anyone ever tried Olivin muskmelons?
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| I'm only just really discovering home grown melons myself, but I'm assuming it will be like other things I've tried. The taste of fully ripened, fresh picked anything just doesn't compare with what's on the supemarket shelves, well, most of the time. I think you'll be delighted with your choices. I'd grow a couple of each, on opposite sides of the garden if you want to collect seeds. Whenever I try anything new, I try to make sure that the seeds it produces will be pure, just in case I really love it and want more of the same. |
RE: Has anyone ever tried Olivin muskmelons?
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| Hey, Ray: Thanks for the message. I'm definitely growing Noir des Carmes, but my yard is small. I don't think that I could ensure isolation. However if Olivin is really special I might grow that this year and grow Noir des Carmes next year. Hmmm. Ciao!
Jane |
RE: Has anyone ever tried Olivin muskmelons?
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| Hi Jane, just saw on your member page that you'll be growing one of my favourite tomatoes - Jaune Flammée. I just love its tang. Goes really well with a nice, sharp cheese! |
RE: Has anyone ever tried Olivin muskmelons?
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Jane,
I've never grown Olivin, but have grown Noir des Carmes, which was an early ripener, produced very well, and tasted very good IMO. I think you'd enjoy it. If you aren't saving seeds, you could grow both, to compare them. If you are saving seeds, you could protect the flowers, and hand pollinate, so you'd have pure seeds. Douglas |
RE: Has anyone ever tried Olivin muskmelons?
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| Hi, Melon gardeners: I'm still wondering if anyone has any information about Olivin. Douglas, I'm going to try both and save seeds. Do you suggest floating row covers to protect the flowers for hand pollination? Ray, I've grown Jaune Flammee for the last 2 years and love it. We're also growing 4 more tomatoes, since I just received them from a listed member in SSE- Sara Black, Italian Black, English Rose and Tomate Rouge du Chexbres. Have you ever tried those? Jane |
RE: Has anyone ever tried Olivin muskmelons?
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| I'm still wondering if anyone has any information about Olivin. Since you mentioned the 1997 Polish Seed Collection from SSE I went back to my earlier SSE Yaerbooks and cannot find it listed. I find that a bit strange b/c usually the collections have varieties that SSE members have liked. I know one of my tomato varieties was also included in that collection. Perhaps I missed a listing if it wasn't listed strictly as Olivin, but I' ll be darned if I can find it in back SSE Yearbooks. And I didn't look at all of them, which I hav e back to about 1976, just the few preceding 1997. If you find no other information about this variety I suggest that you e-mail Glenn Drowns who is the Curator for Cucurbits for SSE. His e-mail address can be found at his website which is sandhillpreservation.com But I wouldn't e-mail him now since they are swamped with orders and there's just Glenn and his wife packing seeds and Glenn has a full time job as a science teacher as well. Far better to contact him off season for seed matters re his website, like mid summer , for instance. Carolyn Carolyn |
RE: Has anyone ever tried Olivin muskmelons?
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| Hi, Carolyn: Thanks for the tip on contacting Glenn Drowns. I will contact him after the rush to fill orders. Do you have any idea how long this rush lasts? I ordered the Polish Collection and the Russian Collection from the 1997 SSE catalog. "Olivin Muskmelon" is how it is listed on the seed packet and it is from the Polish Collection. I've rarely ordered from the SSE yearbook- although I did order from some folks this year- I get them usually to read all the fascinating entries. Sincerely,
Jane |
RE: Has anyone ever tried Olivin muskmelons?
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| Far better to contact him off season for seed matters re his website, like mid summer , for instance. Jane, As I indicated above, mid-summer might be better, even June would be better. You're going to be growing them anyway, and would be growing them as you would any other muskmelon, so any extra info Glenn might be able to furnish would be just that. Right?( smile) Carolyn |
RE: Has anyone ever tried Olivin muskmelons?
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| Hey, Carolyn: Thanks for repeating the best time to contact Glenn Drowns. For some reason I didn't read that part of your first response. Hmmm :) Ciao!
Jane |
RE: Has anyone ever tried Olivin muskmelons?
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| Ray, I've grown Jaune Flammee for the last 2 years and love it. We're also growing 4 more tomatoes, since I just received them from a listed member in SSE- Sara Black, Italian Black, English Rose and Tomate Rouge du Chexbres. Have you ever tried those? None of those Jane, but they sound interesting. Hope your melons do well for you. This year I'm planning on trying Amarillo Oro, Charentais, Noir de Carmes and Petit Gris de Rennes. |
RE: Has anyone ever tried Olivin muskmelons?
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Jane,
I haven't saved seeds from melons, so I'm inexperienced.
I wouldn't go with floating row covers, as pollinatoras may be able to crawl under them. I think you'd need to protect both the male and female flowers, by covering, or tying them up individually(the ones used in controlled pollinations). Then using a paintbrush to pollinate the females, with pollen from the male flowers. After pollination, the females would have to be protected until the fruit starts to form(so the bees don't pollinate as well).
I'd look for better instructions than mine, on the internet, or in a book. Douglas |
RE: Has anyone ever tried Olivin muskmelons?
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| Hi, Douglas and Ray: Please let me know how you do with growing Amarillo Oro, Charentais, Noir de Carmes and Petit Gris de Rennes. Thanks for that information on hand-pollinating. I'm very new to growing melons, so I'll be reading up on this. I've just bought Amy Goldman's book and have some other research to do on this. Happy St. Patrick's Day! Ciao! Jane |
RE: Has anyone ever tried Olivin muskmelons?
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| I think that I may have found information on Olivin. Even though the SSE seed packet says Olivin Muskmelon, there is an Olivin melon shown in Amy Goldman's book. According to her book it is a winter melon or a honeydew, Cucumis melo inodorus. She does say that it is from Poland. I'm definitely going to grow Olivin this year and try to hand pollinate it and Noir des Carmes, so that I can save seed from both. |
RE: Has anyone ever tried Olivin muskmelons?
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Good luck on your melons Jane.
Amy's book is wonderful.
Last year was a very poor melon year for me here in central, MN. The year before was excellent.
I hope you keep us updated. Douglas |
RE: Has anyone ever tried Olivin muskmelons?
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| Thanks, Douglas! I certainly will. Will you also keep us updated? I know from other threads that you grow several different melons. Very interesting! Best regards! Jane |
RE: Has anyone ever tried Olivin muskmelons?
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Jane,
I'll only be growing one or two melon varieties this year. A few giant pumpkin plants will be grown, and they take up a lot of garden space. I'm not sure which melon variety(s) I'll grow yet. Likely ones I have left over seed from. Take care,
Douglas |
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