Noir des Carmes Melon
Item Details
A true French cantaloupe named for the Carmelite monks who once tended it in France. One of the easiest to grow and most luxurious of all melons. Rich black-green skin when immature, ripening to orange mottled with green. Sweet, aromatic, orange flesh; flavor is complex and deeply satisfying. Tends to split when ripe. Very productive
- Organic
This variety works for:
- Fresh eating
Melons are traditionally eaten raw or fresh. Top a slice of melon with a dash of salt and serve with any meal or on its own!
Melon pairs nicely with both sweet and savory flavors so you can combine it with other fruits in a salad or toss with mint, feta, and cured pork or bacon.
Growing Instructions
Instructions - Melons love heat. Sow seeds outdoors in 12" diameter hills after danger of frost has passed and soil has warmed. Space hills 6' apart in all directions. Seeds will germinate in 4-10 days. Can also be started indoors 2-3 weeks before last frost.
- Direct Seed: 1" Deep
- Seeds to Hill: 6-8 Seeds
- Thin: To 3-4 Plants
- Light: Full Sun
Ratings & Reviews
4 reviews
Not sweet
by Beth
We tried growing these 2 years in a row but the fruits all tasted bland.
Aromatic is an understatement
by R Barry
Vigorous, many fruits. Very aromatic as described. No splits with drip irrigation.
could have been so good, but....
by SARA
Convenient personal size, but I could not catch these before they split. I have drip irrigation but would check these every day. They change color as they ripen, which is so helpful! But every time I got the sweet, fully ripe melon, they had busted out their bottom. And when I picked them early, lackluster flavor. Zone 8b
Sara,
We are sorry to hear that the Noir des Carmes was not what you had hoped. These melons do tend to split when ripe, so that can be a challenge. We hope that you will try another variety of melon! Thank you, Jody
Amazing melon, fantastic taste
by Anna
Grew these for the first time, and I don't know where people get that it's bland. If you wait for the melon to properly fall off the vine/when it's fully orange, it's got awesome flavor. One was described as extra sweet cantaloupe + vanilla ice cream. It also didn't have the weird aftertaste of store-bought cantaloupes. It's a little hard to get them to the right point, and I find they develop tiny splits/holes around the stem attachment when they're nearly ripe that draws fruit flies, but I'm absolutely going to keep growing this melon. Plus, it looks dead-on like a small pumpkin! I love fruit that don't look/taste like they "should", so this one's a winner for me.It's also surprisingly productive, even in zone 6! Tons of melons, great taste, awesome appearance, smell fills the room.