Oh-so-sweet, cantaloupe is one of the most exciting joys of having your own organic vegetable garden! A member of the cucurbit family, cantaloupe is most closely related to cucumbers. Cantaloupe needs hot weather to ripen, so August and September are ideal for fruit production.
Cantaloupes (Galia type) are ready for harvest when the skin behind the netting turns from green to orange and the fruit “slips” from the vine. This means when you try to pick the fruit up, the vine easily detaches from the fruit without cutting the stem with scissors. The fruit should also be very fragrant.
