Melon Varieties for Pots in Northern Gardens
Warm Season Vegetable Gardening in Small Spaces During Short Summers
Aug 27, 2009
Varieties of cantaloupe, muskmelons and watermelons are called warm season crops because they like summertime weather. In northern gardens, summers are shorter making it important to choose vegetable varieties that mature before it turns cool outside. Small melon plant varieties, requiring a shorter season to harvest, can grow well in large containers too.
Icebox Sized Melons for Containers
Gardeners can grow small melon varieties, sometimes called icebox size, in containers by adding a trellis that allows vines to climb. Sink the trellis inside the large container or just outside in the ground, between the side of a building and the container. Here is a selection of watermelons able to grow in a large container:
- ‘Sugar Baby’ grows only 7” - 9” in diameter, weighing up to 9 pounds. The fruit has an almost black skin and red-tinged orange fruit. This variety can be harvested between 70 – 80 days.
- ‘Yellow Doll’ is another watermelon but with sun yellow fruit and a thin rind. Harvest can occur within 65 days.
- ‘New Queen’ also takes up to 65 days to mature but will yield a large harvest. The vines grow up to 9’ and the fruit has a striped skin with bright orange fruit. This was a 1999, All-American Selections winner, indicating longtime plant reliability.
Heirloom Melon Plants for Small Gardens
For gardeners who love melons, unusual melon varieties are worth the effort to make room for in a small planting bed. Each of these plant varieties takes up to 90 days to mature, consider starting seeds indoors where summer starts late.
Vine Peach, also called ‘Mango Melon,’ is said to be a Native American heirloom vegetable according to J. W. Jung Seed Company. The fruit is the size, shape and color of an orange but the flesh has a texture of a mango and is pure white. This melon can be grown in a large container or small in-ground garden; this plant can also vertically grow up a trellis.
Watermelon ‘Moon and Stars’ was rediscovered by Seed Savers Exchange and is a Van Doren strain. This heirloom plant is drought tolerant and disease resistant but too large to grow anywhere but in the ground. This watermelon fruit has the traditional bright red color and very sweet taste. However, it is the skin and leaves that are distinctive with its dark green surface freckled with bright yellow tiny “stars” and only one large “moon” spot. The leaves are speckled as well.
Although melons are a warm season crop, now is the time to assess the current vegetable garden and make plans for next year with new vegetable plant ideas. Try small melons in a container garden even in northern gardens where the summer growing season is shorter.
Permission received for all photos used in this article.
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