Melon, Kajari Melon Seeds

Kajari Melon Seeds, Non GMO, open pollinated

Minimum 50 seeds. 

Incredibly ornamental fruit. Flavor is like that of a cantaloupe/melon. Very tasty and it grew very well in my garden last year.
Vines produce heavily and should be cut back to encourage ripening. Fruits are about 2 lbs and change color when ready to harvest, from green to orange.

Planting by Zones

Zones 9-10
Melon is a warm season crop that does best when planted in warm soil in a full sun location.
In Zones 9 and 10, seeds can be started as early as April if they are protected from the cold. By late April it is possible to plant directly into soils that are at least 60°F.

Zones 2-8
Sow seeds in starter pots with a heating pad 3-4 weeks before planting out. Harden off plants 6-7 days prior to planting them out into a frost-free garden.

Planting Melon Seeds:
Melon seeds can be direct sown into warm soil or planted in starter pots and planted out into the spring garden.
Plant melon seeds 1” deep into well-worked soil, watering deeply at the time of planting or prior.
If you are starting seeds in starter pots or trays, plant the seeds 1” deep into pre-moistened high-quality seed starting mix.
Once the seedlings have germinated and have a first set of true leaves be sure to fertilize regularly with an organic liquid fertilizer.

Growing Melon:
You can plant your seedlings in the garden once they are 3-4 weeks old.
Melons need adequate spacing to be happy. But I did allow 4 plants to grow close to each other and as you can see in the above pics they did very well.

It helps to cradle the Kajari if they are growing up a trellis. I used my old pj pants that you can see in the video. I cut them in big strips. You can do panty hose too but I find it easier to use cotton t-shirts cut to size or pj cotton pants. The reason you cradle them is because when they go from green to orange they have to be harvested quick or they fall to the ground and crack. You want to create and install this cradle or hammock about the time you notice the melon is the size of a cherry tomato. It's just easier to do it then. But make the cradle large enough to hold the full grown melon, about 16" round, some melons are larger and some are a bit smaller.

Harvesting Melon: approximately 70 - 80 days
Melons are best harvested at peak ripeness. This is typically when they have turned their appropriate color orange and when the small tendril next to the melon has shriveled but I must say this does not happen every time. They can go from being green to orange over night and they need to be removed from the vine at this point. If you notice any cracking developing the fruit needs to be removed from the vine.