Perhaps I do not need to worry based on this article?

http://www.walterreeves.com/food-gardening/squashpumpkincucumberwatermelon-pollination-explanation/

My confusion is , I can't tell if it is only Armenian (Snake cucumber or Serpent melon) cucumbers that will cross pollinate with melons. Also I do know for sure if a Korean melon is a musk melon? They are in the same genus and species if that is how I can tell.

Thank You for the help!

Same species will cross (assuming insect vectoring pollination). You prevent crossing by either distance or bagging and hand pollinating the blooms you wish to save seeds from. So you need to no the species class for each variety of plant.

Dave

prevent-cross-pollination discussions and FAQ

Any flowering plant in the same genus and species will cross. Melons are for the most part Cucumis melo. Wheras common cucumbers are Cucumis Sativus. Armenian cucumbers are actually melons Cucumis melo. Crisp Melons/Asian melons/ Korean melons/ Pickling melons will cross with with other melons but not with cucumbers C. sativus. Note that what is normally vended as a Korean melon is part of a larger group of Asian ( Chinese , Japanese) melons which are noted for crisp flesh hence Crisp melon. All are C.melo.

If you have several cultivars in the same species you can still save seed by hand pollinating and bagging. Since each fruit contains a lot of seed you only need to do a couple.

Ah Thank You both!

As others have already stated, you won't get crosses from within the garden, unless you grow two varieties of the same species. However, because all members of the gourd family are very attractive to bees, you might still get crosses from outside the garden - especially if other gardens are nearby. For that reason (unless the garden is in a very isolated area) it is best to blossom bag & hand pollinate for seed saving.

My rural garden is at least 1/4 mile from the nearest garden, and I still had quite a few crosses when I saved seed from acorn squash some years back. It was apparent that the other parents were pumpkins & zucchini. Cucumbers are widely grown, so if there are other gardens in the vicinity then some degree of crossing is likely without isolation measures.

I may have to just give up on the idea of saving the seeds then. I don't grow that much to warrant having to do it. The Korean Melon was the only one I really wanted to as it is rare to me. I only discovered the fruit on the market this year and found that the seeds can be grown so that's what I'm doing. I'm trying to grow the seeds I kept from the fruit. However I have about 50 - 75 or more seeds I kept from the fruit and only planted 4 of them. I'll have seeds next year if they remain viable.

If these are seeds from a store bought fruit then they may well already be crossed and won't breed true anyway. Plus they may be a hybrid as there are several cultivars of what are sold as "Korean Melon". Saving seed from commercially grown crops for store sales is not the way to go if you want any guarantee of purity.

Dave

Hmm.. I'll buy some actual seeds as well and get those started. JIC.

I was under the impression that Korean Melons or Chamoe can grow true from seed of the fruit which is why I decided to give it a shot. The seeds company packets suggest saving the seeds from the fruit you grow to grow again. And a friend of mine's parents did just that and managed to grow some as well.

I know many other fruits ( apples for example ) don't grow true to form but I figured that with those two points I found perhaps it's not the case with Korean Melons.

But I'll get some actual seeds and start them and leave the ones which already started to see how they do.