From what I've heard they are delicious, but I haven't tried to grow any as of yet.

Marla

well im going to plant some and see how delicious they are

My aunt in NM sent me some seeds a few years ago, unfortunately I didn't get them planted. She likes them.

Also, if you can get some Asian melon seeds, try them. They're harder to pick ripe, because if they're just a little too ripe they split. But they are delicious, nothing like a cantalope, looks more like a honey dew skin, but oblong in shape.

Marla

I may try try the Asian next year as everything I grow is in my greenhouse in hydroponics so I first have to build more supports for anything that vines and has large fruit, you should see my watermelons :)

hillbilly-just wondering if you grow in the winter months in your greenhouses hydroponic .maybe to costly to heat?

Cowpie, I don't know if hillbilly's zone is 10, but if it is he will have a 'winter' of about 2 weeks. In Tampa, zone 9, we had 'winter' of 2 weeks, and that winter was NOTHING like we had in IN, zone 5. But growing things was totally different also.

Marla

I don't grow much in Dec or Jan because of the need for extra lighting but what I do grow is cheap to heat as I heat my greenhouses with wood. you can go in any of them at night in the winter and their temps are about 75 .

I am not in zone 10 I am located in SE MO zone 7-6 but growing the way I grow I don't worry about what zone I am in for anything except what I put in my orchard.

hydro, I'm sure the weather does affect you, if the heat goes out.

I'd be interested in knowing more about the wood heat in your greenhouse. Is it an outdoor furnace and then piped in, or is it inside of the greenhouse? I've seen one greenhouse that uses the outside furnace and then pipes it in and thru a 'water' furnace with blowers.

Care to share your set up?

Marla

Hill billy to answer your original question, I have grown the Banana cantaloupe. It is a novelty, some folks like it but most don't. It has a cucumber after taste. Pretty tho and has been around since the mid 1800's, but never attained more than novelty status. Really a varient of Armenian cucumber.

Marla,
I built my furnace out of a 500 gal propane tank it sets in a 8x10x8 concrete building that has a concrete roof then i have underground insulated duct work running to my greenhouses with 5 ducts in every greenhouse ....I only have to fill it up 1 time a week normally tho if the temp goes below 0 for more than a couple days I end up filling it every 3 days...the heat never goes out....the duct fans are all hooked to thermometers in each greenhouse and all run off 12 volt batteries that are charged with solar panels and wind turbines, which I built them too.

is this also referred to as winter melon? from the description of the taste it sure sounds like it. We grew winter melon this year and the last one we had (Jan 1st) was delicious but most of the melons before they Tasted bland with a definite cuke aftertaste and burping effect

Depends, the common name winter melon is associated with the wax gourd (Benincasa hispida). Some varieties of Spanish melons (Cucumis melo var. inodorus) are sometimes refered to as Christmas melons or less frequently as winter melons. Banana cantaloupe is Cucumis melo as is Armenian cucumber. Winter melons/wax gourds are shaped like a watermelon and are usually large.