Melon “Caramel”: variety description, reviews, growing methods

Description of the variety and characteristics

Melon “Caramel” is a hybrid that was originally created for the industrial cultivation of very early ripening fruits for sale. But soon the variety took root in the gardens of private owners - gardeners fell in love with it for its high precocity (the fruit ripens in 10-60 days) and resistance to any vagaries of weather.

The fruits are ellipsoidal in shape, weighing up to 3 kg, bright yellow in color, covered with a large white mesh, with a thick skin. The pulp is almost white, with a characteristic caramel taste and a small seed compartment.

The “Caramel” variety tolerates both drought and high moisture, and is resistant to fusarium.

Review of Melon Varieties Caramel

Caramel F1 is not a variety, but one of the hybrids of Pineapple Melon, created for cultivation on an industrial scale, in small-scale and household plots. Everyone likes the hybrid - business executives, consumers, sellers, and this is not surprising, Caramel has absorbed all the best from the parent varieties - excellent taste, early ripening, long-term storage, resistance to weather conditions. The hybrid is intended for cultivation in Moldova, the southern regions of Russia, Ukraine; in areas with cool summers it is grown by seedlings using greenhouses and greenhouses.

The photo shows a melon of the Caramel variety

Description

Melon Caramel is distinguished by large, oval fruits with yellow or light brown skin, covered with a large network of cracks. The pulp is cream-colored, sweet, aromatic, with an excellent caramel taste. The peel is quite thick, but it is due to this feature that the fruits can be stored for a long time. The seed zone is small; seeds from first-generation hybrids marked F1 are not collected for propagation; it is impossible to grow real Caramel from them.

The first fruits gain weight up to 3 kg and a length of 20-24 cm, subsequent melons on the stem are smaller, weigh from 1.8 to 3 kg, their length is 15-20 cm. But even with these sizes they have a quite attractive presentation and excellent taste.

The hybrid is early, ripens 2 months after the first leaves appear. Suitable for growing in vegetable gardens, melon fields, and greenhouses.

Resistance to weather conditions is another advantage of Caramel; it easily tolerates drought, temperature increases up to +30 degrees, and produces stable yields in any weather. Its yield reaches 90 tons per hectare, under conventional agricultural technology.

Melon Caramel, like most of its relatives, is a climbing plant, the shoots weave along the ground for 4-5 meters, and not just weave, but take root approximately every 80-90 cm, put down additional roots, and thereby provide themselves with increased nutrition. Growing on the ground, with horizontal shoots, gives the plant the opportunity to receive more nutrients due to additional rooting, as a result, the yield increases. One bush bears from two to eight fruits of different weights.

Some hobbyists grow melons on trellises, in which case it is necessary to provide them with adequate nutrition at the site of their only roots. In addition, it is necessary to take into account the significant weight of future fruits and provide reliable support for them.

Ripe fruits are collected, consumed fresh, and processed to make candied fruits, jams, and preserves. When fresh, in a cool room, they are stored for 15-25 days; they can be easily transported without losing their qualities.

Growing variety seedlings

In northern latitudes, it is recommended to grow melons through seedlings. For planting, take the largest seeds. First, they are soaked for 12 hours in a solution of zinc sulfate and boric acid. You can also use a solution of ordinary potassium permanganate. The floating seeds are removed as they are empty.

The remaining seeds need to be hardened so that the plant can tolerate temperature changes well. The seeds are first placed in warm, 40 degrees, water, kept for several minutes, then the water is cooled to room temperature, then lowered to 0 degrees C., then heated again to room temperature. The procedure is repeated up to 3 times.

In mid-April, seedlings are planted in pots. It is better to use peat pots, since the delicate root system of melons does not tolerate transplantation well. Soil recipe for seedlings:

2 parts humus;
1 part peat;
1 part turf;
fertilizers (ash, superphosphate).

2-3 seeds are placed in each pot, and when shoots appear, only the strongest sprout is left. At the initial stage, the pots can be covered with film or placed under glass.

Review: Melon seeds Prestige “Caramel F1” – Yield variety

The package contains only 5 seeds, which are treated with thiram.
The seeds, in my opinion, are too small for melon. Next year there are only two seeds left. I spent three this year. But only one plant grew. Due to the cold weather, the seedlings were overgrown for at least 2 weeks. I planted it in early May and planted it in the greenhouse in mid-June. It was dangerous to plant in open ground. The first half of June this year was cold. Periodically there were frosts at night. If the plants had not died from the cold, they would probably have died from heavy rains. So the decision to plant in a greenhouse was absolutely correct. Until the beginning of August, the plant simply grew and did not bloom. I grew melons in a greenhouse similar to cucumbers. My plants were growing upward. If anyone doesn’t know, melons and cucumbers cannot be grown in close proximity. In the greenhouse, these plants grew at different ends. This is also not very good, but acceptable, since all my cucumbers are parthenocarpic. But they still have pollen. If you plant melons and cucumbers next to each other, they will cross-pollinate. The melons will be bitter. The first ovaries began to appear and become tied on the third level lashes. Five fruits began to bloom almost immediately. Two of them grew rapidly, while the rest grew very slowly. As a result, I removed all the small ones so that all the forces went into the main fruits. This was already at the end of August. Autumn was quite warm and somehow the melons became an acceptable size. My melons were different from the illustration on the seed packet. The fruits had an oblong shape. The skin of my melons was dark green with a melon-like mesh-like surface. The weight of the large fruit was about 2 kilograms, the smaller one weighed around 1.5 kilograms. I picked the fruits in early October, when the leaves of the plant itself began to turn yellow. Perhaps the melons were green because they were unripe. However, the period was more than sufficient for maturation. The flesh of this melon is quite juicy and loose. Somewhat reminiscent of the Uzbek “melon torpedoes”. The color of the pulp is light green. The seeds are all well formed. Therefore, the question of the unripeness of the fruits remained open. Next year I will try to plant the remaining seeds again. If the weather is better, all this can be checked. I definitely won’t buy this variety again because of the high price and controversial fruits. There are quite a few cheaper alternatives on the market. Still, I would like to note that this variety is quite unpretentious. Still, the conditions this summer were abnormal for such plants. It seems to me that under favorable weather conditions you can get up to 5 fruits from a plant. I will not recommend this variety.

If something worthy grows in the next season, I will supplement this review with photos.

Growing in a greenhouse

You can plant both ready-made seedlings and simply prepared seeds in the greenhouse. Between plants you need to leave 60-80 cm of free space. In the greenhouse, prepare trellises in advance, onto which the plants will then be tied.

You may be interested in: Favorable days for planting melon seedlings in open ground and a greenhouse in 2022 Planting watermelons and melons for seedlings in 2022: rules for crop rotation in the garden and greenhouse Favorable days for planting melon seedlings in 2022 according to the lunar calendar

The greenhouse should be ventilated in warm weather and allow insects to pollinate the flowers. Otherwise, you will have to pollinate yourself.

How to grow melon seedlings?

Melon seeds should be planted for seedlings in mid-April. Before this, harden large melon seeds using one of the three methods described above. Plant 2-3 seeds to a depth of 1.5-2 centimeters in peat pots with a diameter of 10 centimeters. Soil mixture for growing seedlings: 9 parts peat and 1 part sand. Mix 10 liters of this soil mixture thoroughly with 1 cup of wood ash.

Pots with seeds until germination are kept at a temperature of 20-25°C during the day, and at night the temperature should not be higher than 18°C. When shoots appear - after about a week - one of the strongest sprouts is left in the pots. The rest are not pulled out, but cut off at surface level, trying not to damage the root system of the remaining seedling.

When the seedlings have three pairs of true leaves, the seedlings are pinched, thereby encouraging the development of side shoots. It is best to keep pots with emerging seedlings on a southern windowsill or create artificial light in another place to illuminate the seedlings (with fluorescent lamps) for 10-12 hours.

Caring for melon seedlings involves regularly moistening the soil with warm water. The first watering after planting the seeds is done when the seedlings have one true leaf, and the main thing is that water does not get on the stems and leaves of the seedlings. To avoid infection of seedlings with blackleg, the surface of the soil can be sprinkled with dry sand.

When growing seedlings, it is recommended to fertilize twice with a solution of complex mineral fertilizers, and a week before planting in open ground, seedlings should begin to be hardened: during the day, lower the temperature to 15-17°C, at night to 12-15°C, and prolong the ventilation sessions.

Planting in open ground

The basic rules for growing melon in open ground are very simple:

Young plants need protection from rain and cold.
The quantity and quality of the harvest depends on the correct formation of the plants, removal of the tops of the lashes and excess ovary.
A well-established watering schedule will help you get sweet, full-bodied fruits without cracks.
Melon requires regular, competent feeding.

Planting of seedlings and seeds is carried out at a distance of at least 60 cm from each other.

The seeds are buried 5 cm, and, as with the seedling method, 2-3 seeds are placed in a hole. An additional teaspoon of nitrophoska or other nitrogen-containing fertilizer is added to the hole for both seeds and seedlings.

If plants are planted on the melon in peat pots, the earthen ball should not be buried. After sprinkling with soil, it should rise slightly above the general level, only after this the plants are watered and the already moist soil is mulched with dry soil.

In the future, it is better to protect melon seedlings from the sun, rain and possible cold snap for the first time, while acclimatization is underway. As they get used to it, the greenhouse is removed during the daytime, and at night the plants are again hidden under the covering material.

Growing in open ground

Melons can be grown in open ground if the weather conditions of the region do not imply sudden cold snaps and frosts in the summer.

You should choose a new place; you cannot plant melon in the same place from last year. The area should be open and well lit by the sun. The crop likes soil that is loose and not acidic, fertilized and fed. You can add sand to the soil. Before planting, the soil can be mixed with compost and fertilized with mineral complexes. Make clear grooves. Plant seeds at a distance of at least 70 cm from each other. When the first real fruits appear, you should place boards under them so that the melons do not lie on bare ground.

Review of the melon variety Caramel

Description

The hybrid is early, ripens 2 months after the first leaves appear. Suitable for growing in vegetable gardens, melon fields, and greenhouses.

Another advantage of the hybrid is that Caramel is highly resistant to diseases such as fusarium.

Agricultural technology

Caramel, just like other varieties of melons, loves heat. Seeds are planted in open ground after the ground warms up to +15 degrees, and the night air temperature does not drop below +16-18 degrees. In different regions of Russia, such conditions develop at different times - from mid-May to early June, and here the quality of Caramel, such as early ripening, comes to the fore. The hybrid manages to ripen even in a short summer, although the duration of fruiting is significantly reduced due to cold nights and cool mornings.

Seeds coated with vitamins and minerals are sown without preliminary preparation, the rest are soaked in a warm, slightly pink solution of manganese, and treated with a growth stimulator.

As for crop rotation, melon will grow well after cabbage, potatoes, and legumes. But it is better not to plant it after pumpkin and zucchini.

Melon Caramel prefers well-lit places - shade and partial shade are not for it. The soil should be light, loose, fertile, with a neutral pH level. As for the composition, it can be black soil, loam, or sandy loam. Heavy loamy soils should still be improved by adding peat, sand and humus. Poor soils are enriched with organic matter and mineral complexes. It is important to completely break up the lumps of earth in the holes, this will make it easier for the seeds to germinate.

The seeds are buried 2-4 cm, seedlings appear within a week. Melon seeds are planted in rows, with an interval between seeds of 20 cm, and a row spacing of 40-50 cm. Also, 3-4 seeds per hole. The distance between the holes should be at least 60 cm, thickening has a bad effect on the fruits - in the field or garden, the plants must have plenty of space, air, moisture and nutrients.

Features of agricultural technology

Melons can be planted in beds when the temperature of these beds does not fall below +15 degrees Celsius. Seeds are planted 2-4 cm deep. The culture loves light and moderate amounts of moisture.

Rules of care

Water the melon should be no more than once a week, and on very dry days - 2-3 times a week. Be sure to do constant weeding, hilling, pinching and removing unnecessary tops. Melon loves a variety of fertilizers, but not in concentrated, but in diluted form.

Main characteristics

The hybrid is early, the fruits ripen 5–60 days from the date of sowing. It grows well in Moldova, Ukraine, and the southern region of Russia in open ground, provided that it is necessary to sow when the soil at a depth of 10 cm warms up to +15 degrees. In greenhouse conditions, sometimes only seedlings are grown, but more often melons are grown if climatic conditions do not allow this to be done in the garden.

The plant tolerates temperature fluctuations well and shows high resistance to fusarium.

With a large number of male flowers, which bloom for only a day, from 12–14 female flowers, from 2 to 10 ovaries are obtained. The very first fruits grow up to 2.5–3 kg, and subsequent ones weigh from 1.2 to 2 kg. The fruits are distinguished by a strong aroma and pleasant sweet taste; they are consumed not only fresh; candied fruits, jams, and baking fillings are made from melons. Ripe fruits are well transported and stored. The high taste and commercial qualities of the fruit contribute to the popularity and therefore the wide distribution of this particular hybrid of pineapple melons.

Possible diseases and pests and their control

Candy melon may have the following ailments:

growth retardation, uneven coloring of melons, wilting, spots on leaves and fruits, leaf burns. Fertilize with anti-stress agents;
if the fruit turns black and rots, apply humic fertilizers;
root rot or damage to the root system - loosen between rows, do not water directly on the root;
The tops do not go well - spray the leaves with fertilizers;
marginal necrosis - use potassium fertilizers.

Melon is also loved by insect pests: melon aphids, melon flies, slugs, click beetles, mites, and cutworms. Spray the crop with pest repellents.

Planting and care

Before planting seedlings, check the soil temperature; it should not be lower than +15°C. Usually in Siberia the ground warms up sufficiently in early June.

Plants are planted according to a 70x70 cm pattern in pre-prepared and moistened holes. Peat pots are tightly covered with soil and watered. The root collar is left flush with the soil surface. For the first 2-3 days, seedlings are protected from the sun with covering material.

The row spacing is loosened as the crust forms. After the appearance of side lashes, the bushes are hilled.

Watering

Moisten the bushes with warm, settled water. For 1 plant use 5–7 liters of liquid.

The watering regime for melon beds depends on the stage of development of the bushes. After picking, seedlings in dry weather are watered every day in small quantities. When the plants take root, the frequency of irrigation is increased to 1-2 times a week. When the fruits ripen, watering is reduced to 2 times a month.

Feeding

For the first time, melon seedlings are fertilized 2 weeks after transplanting to a permanent place. To do this, use a solution of mullein (1:10) or ammonium nitrate (20 g per 10 liters of water).

Subsequent feedings are applied at intervals of 2 weeks. Use a solution of 50 g of superphosphate, 30 g of potassium salt and 30 g of ammonium sulfate per 10 liters of water.

Ready-made complex fertilizers are used in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations. They are introduced only after abundant watering (1–1.5 liters per bush).

To ensure that the fruits receive more nutrients, the bushes are shaped. This speeds up the ripening of pumpkins, increasing their sweetness and quality.

Protection from diseases and pests

Melon crops are susceptible to fungal infections. The development of diseases is promoted by low temperatures, high air and soil humidity, and insufficient heat and sunlight. This provokes the appearance of putrefactive processes on the leaves and fruits.

When caring for plantings, follow some rules:

when watering, avoid getting water on the leaves and vines;
moisturize the bushes moderately, avoiding excess liquid;
when picking, maintain a sufficient distance between the bushes;
plantings are periodically thinned out, excess vines and leaves are removed;
follow the rules of crop rotation.

In addition to diseases, melon is subject to attack by insect pests. The main preventive measure against them is to treat the seeds in disinfecting solutions (manganese, copper sulfate, Fundazole and other similar products).

Distinctive features of honey melons

Gardeners value this variety most of all for its pleasant honey taste, which is where its name comes from. But this is not its only advantage.

Among the distinctive features of honey melons are:

The fruit is oval in shape, without grooves or depressions, with a rich yellow skin. Two-colored pulp: closer to the skin it is greenish, and in the center it is yellowish.
The stable yield of melon is manifested in the annual formation of 5-6 ovaries on each bush and, with proper care, the collection of approximately 6-20 kg of harvest from one specimen.
The variety demonstrates good transportability, excellent shelf life with preservation of taste and external qualities for several months after harvesting.

A large number of beneficial properties, thanks to the balanced content of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, as well as vitamins, ascorbic, folic acid, pectin, fiber.
Low calorie melon (100 grams contains 32.9 calories). Therefore, nutritionists advise using it to lose weight, cleanse the body of waste and toxins, improve the condition of the skin and hair, and increase the body’s immune response.

Honey melon has no significant drawbacks, it has an excellent taste, and caring for it is quite simple, so even a novice gardener can handle it.

Attention! The only thing that requires attention is the low frost resistance of the cultivated plant, which is why in some regions it can only be grown in greenhouses.

Why do melon ovaries fall off?

There is no need to blame yourself for not opening or closing the greenhouse with melons in time, because the most important factor in fruit set is the weather conditions in Siberia, and not the temperature in the greenhouse. Melon is quite drought-resistant, and, unlike tomatoes, it is not afraid of heat. As e_z writes: “I read that the female flower of a melon lives only for a day and if it is not pollinated in that day, then everything will disappear.” Ballusha confirms: “Yes, girls, it’s not a melon year. And how successfully it all started! There were a huge number of ovaries, I even cut off the extra ones. Then there was a short-term cold snap, and everything was cut off. The ovaries, even quite large ones, fell off. I have 3 melons left on 3 plants.”

"Sweet Million"

Considering the sweet tomato series, reviews, photo yield, one cannot help but consider the tomato, which has long been heard by vegetable growers due to its merits.

Thanks to Agrofirma Aelita LLC, Moscow, in 2001 the variety was entered into the register and recommended for all regions of the Russian Federation. Both farmers and vegetable growers can grow the variety in their garden plots under film covers.

The variety is early, on the 100th day after germination you can start enjoying the ripened fruits. Salad, small-fruited tomato up to 20 g can be used both as salad products and for canning.

The plant, although indeterminate, is of medium height and rarely grows above 150 cm. The first inflorescence is formed above the 8th leaf, and then after 1-2.

The fruit formation is round and smooth, red-scarlet in color with 2-3 nests.

The taste of the tomatoes is excellent, balanced, aromatic with a slight piquancy, which makes the tomato recognizable.

The yield of the variety is within 7 kg per meter of greenhouse area.

The plant is very resistant to the main contagious diseases of tomatoes.

Advantages:

early ripening of the crop;
excellent taste;
compactness of the vegetative form and brush;
maturation is friendly and generous;
disease resistance.

How to grow melons in central Russia

Melon is an undisputed southerner, so growing even hardy varieties in the middle zone can be problematic. For this region, planting melons in a greenhouse or a film shelter using the seedling method is more suitable.

Growing seedlings. Melon seedlings in the middle zone begin to be grown in mid-April. You need to sow immediately in separate pots. In April, seedlings will not require additional lighting; it is enough to place the pots near the brightest and largest window. When young melons are two weeks old, it is necessary to feed them with complex mineral fertilizer.

Planting melon seedlings. In central Russia this is carried out in the last days of May. The soil should warm up well. Seedlings need to be prepared for transplanting: reduce watering and place them in fresh air for several hours a day.

Soil for melon. Melons like to grow in light sandy soils. In addition, melon perfectly accepts organic matter. Experienced gardeners practice adding humus or compost when planting. For each hole you will need 1-2 kg. The fertilizer should be poured on top with water and immediately sprinkled with dry soil on the roots of the plant.

Tips for growing melons in central Russia:

• You should remember to ventilate greenhouse or greenhouse beds on warm days. • Two weeks after planting, melons should be fed with nitrogen-containing fertilizer. • In case of unexpected cold snap, a low frame is stretched over the melon beds so that it can be covered with insulating material if necessary. • Temporary cover is removed when melons begin to bloom so that they can be pollinated safely.

In central Russia, melons are grown in a greenhouse or under film cover

• Distribute the melon shoots so that they evenly cover the area of the bed. • No more than three ovaries should be left on each individual plant. • Having cut off the excess ovaries, it is necessary to pinch the tops of the lashes and tear off the side shoots. • Planks should be placed under the melon ovaries to prevent the fruits from rotting on the wet ground.

As you can see, there are quite a few varieties of melon for central Russia. We have provided you with descriptions and photographs of some of them in this article. You have the opportunity to choose the variety of culture to your liking. We hope you will find the recommendations received useful for growing melons in central Russia. The main difference from growing in other regions is the need to place the beds in a greenhouse or temporary shelter. Otherwise, agricultural technology is not much different.

Watch the video: Planting melons in a greenhouse and open ground