As stated above.....all cantalope/muskmelons turn tan/yellow when ripe.Galia types also turn that color.Both kinds slip from the vine.But don't tug them off or they will be at 1/2 slip and not as sweet. For varieties I have grown around 35 different ones.For muskmelons....I like the new Goddess and Alaska for an early ones and Aphrodite,Sensation and probably the best tasting of them all.....Athena. The Galia types are green fleshed,and to me taste closer to Honeydews.I like Passport,Arava,and Rocky Sweet. Honeydews do not slip and it is a lot more difficult to tell when ripe.Look for a suttle change in color from green to a soft greenish./cream color.Earlydew is reliable here. Watermelons are totally different.My favorites are Yellow Doll,Mickylee....the crispiest melon I have grown....Sweet Beauty....all 6-10 lbs and the old fashioned Crimson Sweet for a later larger melon.They will hit over 20 lbs here if we have a warm summer.For a seedless.....Gypsy is my favorite.It is the only one that germinates reliably There is no way to easily tell when watermelons are ripe just by looking at them.I look for the tendril opposite the melon to be dried up.But the best way to tell is to label them when they are polinated.When they are golf ball sized.....I take plastic knives and write the date on it and stick it in the ground next to the melon.Add 30-35 days and it should be ripe most of the time. Since I live in zone 4 I have to do somethings extra to get ripe melons before frost kills them. 1.Start them indoors 3 weeks early in pots. 2.put down black plastic in a row where they will go to warm up the ground 3.I use clear plastic grow tunnels over them.Cut holes in the black plastic,dig out the soil.Put in some 10-10-10 and put 2 or 3 plants in.Move down the row 3 feet and do it again and again until you have them all planted.Put your clear plastic over hoops and cut holes in it here and there to let out excessive heat.When the melon plants stretch out to the edge of the plastic,uncover them. 4.Get those melons up off the ground and out of the shade of the leaves and into the sunshine.I use overturned pots.Put your dated plastic knife next to it and wait for them to ripen. People in warmer zones probably don't have to do this.....but here in the northern part of the country it gives me lots of good melons to eat for about 2 months.

Hello Susan, yes, allotments are popular places for murder (of a literary type) although there certainly have been a few instances of real life (should that be death?) murder over supposed sabotage of giant vegetables (there are venomous rivalries over massive leeks - camping out to protect the particular pumpkin or long parsnip is not unheard of. They are measured in poles (or rods or perches), an ancient measure based on ploughing - a rod is the length between the back of the plough and the nose of the oxen doing the pulling. In reality, this equates to about 5 paces or 5.5metres. 10 poles - a standard allotment, is therefore, about 300 square metres (5.5mx55m) The rent is paid yearly - I pay �66 - �31 each as I have 2 ($80 approx.) There are also private allotments which can vary hugely regarding rent and amenities - not all sites have running water for example. I have a shed and a long coldframe, various experimental gardens, a fruit area, a veg area, a herb area and cutting beds. There are no words to truly express my gratitude for my plots (my home garden is 5m x 9m). I probably spend an average of 20 hours a week working mine. One of the loveliest things is to have a barbecue or bonfire with all the food from the plot - when the sweetcorn ripens, this is usually when we really get into our stride (although the first potato harvest is a reason for celebration too). I wassail my apples on 12th night (6th Jan), with a libation of cider poured on the soil - another excuse for a bonfire and party too. We also try and have a summer solstice party as well as celebrating the first broad beans (which I jealously keep mostly for myself). We have a party when the strawberries are ripe(which coincides with the roses) and we have a party after spring potato planting. Some sites have 300 or more plots but ours is the smallest in Cambridge with 17. There is generally a bit of plot envy but we are a mixed bunch. The best allotmenteers used to be retired old geezers but immigrants beat them into a cocked hat....and they grow some amazing stuff too. We are allowed to keep rabbits or hens and we have several taps although there are no toilets (a bucket in the shed although Reuben, my sweetheart, pees on the compost heap) Our site is right in the middle of town, surrounded by high density buildings (including a martial arts dojo - a source of endless entertainment for me). There are ancient laws regarding landuse - it would be hard for the council to try to sell the plot - but many people are reluctant to invest much money in their plots so there are many ancient fruit bushes and it certainly doesn't look as nice as the plots in Sweden (although some councils are creating what they call leisure gardens which have little chalets and quite strict rules but are not specifically for growing food). Allotments were really associated with old working class men - indeed, they were created for the urban poor who had no access to gardens, but the demographic has changed during the last decade. After years of unpopularity, they really are the must have accessory (I fought an underhand and quite nasty council attempt to take one of my plots back because there was a such a long waiting list. They tried lots of guilt-tripping which almost worked. There was all sorts of other stuff going on (intangible but profound desires, a sense of history, of class struggle, social justice, fairness and a sneaky pleasure at seeing middle-class angst concerning council waiting lists) At the time,though, there were already half a dozen plots leased out which were practically abandonned so I suggested they (the council) deal with those plots first. Since my plots clearly are loved and worked, the council really had to accept that being greedy and having 2 cultivated plots is still not as bad being greedy and having one plot....which has been paid for but not used.

We live in Surrey, England, and have an allotment (for non-UK residents, an allotment is an area of land (125 square metres) that you rent from the town council on an annual basis; there are usually 50 - 100 of these plots, and most have access to water, via a stand pipe (faucet). We're growing Marina di Choggia winter squash. From 6 seeds potted on the kitchen window-sill, four sprouted. One got nibbled by slugs (pernicious creatures!) in the cold frame, but three are doing well on the plot. I have built a trellis (basically two capital 'A' shapes leaning together) out of lengths of 2" x 1" treated timber. The squash are doing fine, but I'm going to have to provide sling supports of some sort, as the fruit can reach 10 or 15kg each. I'll see if I can get some photos uploaded somehow. Cheers

I'm growing them for my 1st time too, but I can tell you what my LA experience with other melons has been 100% in the past -- powdery mildew appears, sweeps through every melon & cuke & squash leaf in the yard, then I race this terminator fungi to reach full vine fruition with hose washings, milk spray, hand-picking the worst leaves and trying to anticipate each plants' needs, so growth never stalls. This gets me great squash, good cukes and the melons are a total crapshoot, but are often crispy critters when the melons are still unripe and unsweet. Every year I vow it will be different. In 2009 I had 60 really nice, tasteless honedew. 2010 I didn't bother, as Spring was so cool. It's probably a fogbelt issue, but I see PM in every yard in the neighborhood on various plants, so it's not going away no matter what I do. If you're in Burbank or Pasadena, you might never notice. If you're in Venice or Palos Verdes, you might be in for a fight. Reposted from the Produce Hunter, because it makes me want to even bother to wage 2 months of battle with asexual spore dispersal: Melon mavens assert that tourists in France have been known to pull to the side of the road, drawn to a halt by the incredible scent of a CHARENTAIS MELON field. We have not witnessed this phenomenon first hand, but can believe it to be true. Charentais melons (also known as Cavaillon melons) are a true cantaloupe, globe shaped, around 3 1/2" in diameter and weighing 2 pounds each. Creamy green to golden beige in color with darker longitudinal ribbings, they have flesh the color of the traditional canteloupe. What makes the Charentais melons so special are their superior eating quality and heady, perfumey aroma. Their flesh is softer than that of a cantaloupe, and their flavor is deeper and sweeter. The French traditionally serve Charentais with prosciutto, but also feature them as an hors d'oeuvre by cutting them in half, scooping out the seeds and filling them with a sweet wine such as Barsac, Marsala, Port or Madiera. I will have Charentais sangria, dagnabit!