Collective Farm Woman is a Keeper!
Collective Farm Woman is a Keeper! In spite of powdery mildew devastating my two Collective Farm Woman melon plants (see “Cutting My Losses”), I will be planting them again next year. Why? Because they are quick to ripen (80-85 days), and there’s no guesswork when they are ready. They simply let go of the vine and you pick them up. And because the taste and texture is divine.
Collective Farm Woman melon in different light
My online garden pal, Bob, (+dakotabob10) and I exchanged melon seeds in the spring. I had seen the Kajari melon featured on Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds site, and when I tried to order, they were sold out. But, I wrote to them and they found just a few seeds and sent them to me to try. I split them with Bob, and his are growing great and mine never made it past the sprout stage. Meanwhile, he sent me Collective Farm Woman seeds. I only managed to plant two seedlings due to my small space garden.
Ripe Collective Farm Woman melon
Those two vines were very prolific, before being devastated by powdery mildew. (When leaves are coated front and back, it’s really too late to spray.) Even so, I will harvest at least a dozen melons. I gave two away and reports came back they were delicious. The one I have eaten melted in my mouth. The rind is thin, so almost all of what’s inside is tender, and very sweet. Usual ripe size is about 7″. Mine are on the small side, mainly because I don’t think they got enough water.
Cut Collective Farm Woman melon
I’m saving seeds and for the first 10 subscribers who share this post with a friend who subscribes, I will send you seeds for next year! Just send me an email with your address from the Contact Kaye page of this site.
Collective Farm Woman seeds were first collected in the Ukraine. Collectivization was a policy under Stalin in the USSR which put individual peasant farms into collective farms to increase production and streamline distribution. I’m so glad we can all grow our own food in our own space!
Success strategies for next year will be to give more room between plants and grow them on a trellis. I gave them a piece of fencing on one side this year, but they spread through it and all around. Next year, I will be a stricter mother! I will water more. Because it doesn’t rain in the summer, I tend to be a bit stingy with watering, but melons need water! I will also be spraying with all-natural sprays for powdery mildew and rotating with compost tea spray every week, because these melons are very special! Thanks for reading and please share! Thanks!
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Category: Fruit, Seeds, Urban Gardening, Vegetables, Warm Season
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My friend and I went to a local farmers market and bought 2 melons to compare .One was a french chartenais melon from a large usda organic farm. It had very little flavor. The other Noir de Creme was an heirloom that looks like yours on the outside only smaller and has a yellow flesh. It was delicious and sweet. I did save the seed. It was from a local biodynamic farm “Perennial Roots ” Perhaps we could go to that market & or visit that farm when you come ???
MY Edisto cantelope may be ready near the end of the summer if they survive having no care! I have grown them for over 20 years… my favorite…. They originated in California!
:)Sharon
I hope so, too, and I’ll be getting a few of your Noir de Creme. Do you sell that on your Local Harvest page? http://www.localharvest.org/store/M6681 When are you leaving for Ireland? Definitely plan to visit Perennial Roots!
What a perfect size melon for one or two. Can you describe the flavor?
Similar to a honeydew except does not have that sharpness, it’s milder, sweeter and almost has a floral essence. I hope that’s a good way to describe it. Thanks for stopping by!
We are currently running a scavenger hunt giveaway for a kajari melon photo. For more information, visit http://blog.gardeningknowhow.com/giveaways/scavenger-hunt-contest-for-the-kajari-melon/
Basically you just need to share a kajari melon photo with tag #gkhpichunt on Facebook (www.facebook.com/gardeningknowhow), Twitter (twitter.com/gardenknowhow) or Instagram (instagram.com/gardeningknowhow)!
I had my friend Bob Morenski submit a photo. I acquired Kajari melon seeds from Baker Creek, and shared a few with Bob. His did well, but mine didn’t. Hopefully, you like his photo!
This was my first year growing Collective Farm Woman Melon. While the melons were smaller than I anticipated, they turned out to be the sweetest melon that I have grown to date. This melon is on my Must Grow Again list for as long as I garden. It is a white fleshed melon that has its own unique flavor. Best of all, I can grow it here in zone 3. I highly recommend it.
I can’t wait to give it another try, too, Bob! Thanks for turning me on to it!
Hi Kaye: Good evening. Thank you for sharing your experiences of gardening. I envy your success in growing the “Collective Farm Woman” melon. Did you grow this melon on the ground/dirt or along a trellis? If you grew these on the ground, did the slugs attack the melon. Thank you.