FRUIT-MOON & STARS-WATERMELON
FRUIT-MOON & STARS-WATERMELON
A$3.50
Availability: 80 in stock
Citrullus lanatus
FRUIT-MOON AND STARS-WATERMELON is a legendary heirloom watermelon, a very unusual variety with a dark green rind that is speckled with bright yellow spots ranging from pin-hole to 50c piece in size, giving the impression of the night sky. The small specks resembling stars & the larger ones like moons. The leaves of the vine are alight green colour & also speckled with yellow. Large oval fruit with sweet bright red flesh, 7-14kg. Spectacular appearance. Good long keeper. Harvest after 95 days. It was grown sometime prior to the 1900s & was listed in seed catalogs until the 1920s. It then vanished for decades & was believed to have died out. A search for the melon began in the 1970s. In 1981, a farmer in Missouri, Merle Van Doren, contacted the Seed Savers Exchange (USA) & gave them some of the seeds from the melons he was still growing.
Plant seed not over 2cm deep 4 to 6 to the hill, pressing soil firmly over them. When plants are well established thin to 2 to each hill.
| Germination Time (Days) | 5 |
| Maturity Time (Days) | 85 |
| Sowing Depth (mm) | 10 – 20 |
| Plant Spacing (cm) | 100 – 120 |
| Row Spacing (cm) | 150 |
| pH | 6.5 |
| Soil Temperature (°C) | – |
| Hardy / Frost Tender | Frost Tender |
| Sow Direct / Raise Seedlings | Raise Seedlings |
| Seed Preparation | – |
Scoville Heat Units (SHU)
Plant Height
30 - 60 cm (1 - 2 feet)
Season of Interest
Summer to early Autumn
Temperature Range
21 - 32 °C
Determine / Indeterminate
Annual / Perennial / Biennial
Annual
Frost Hardy / Tender
Frost Tender
Full Sun / Part Sun / Shade
Full Sun
Sow Direct / Raise Seedlings
Best sown directly, but seedlings can be raised
Soil
Well-drained loamy soil with organic material
pH
6.0 - 7.5
Soil Temperature
21 - 27 °C (70 - 80 °F)
Seed Preparation
Soak seeds for 24 hours before planting.
Sowing Depth
1.5 - 2.5 cm (0.5 - 1 inch)
Plant Spacing
60 - 90 cm (2 - 3 feet)
Row spacing
1.5 - 2 meters (5 - 6 feet)
Watering
Regular watering, about 1-2 inches per week.
Germination Time (Days)
7 - 10 days
Harvest Time (Days)
85 - 100 days
Good Companion Plants
Beans, Corn, Nasturtiums, Radishes.
Bad Companion Plants
Potatoes, Onions, Cucumbers.
Pests
Aphids,Melon Worms,Cucumber Beetles
Diseases
Anthracnose,Fusarium Wilt,Downy Mildew
More About Us
When I started this journey in 2009, I found nothing existed commercially, that was reasonably priced and easy to use. There was a homemade system which I also found was not that user-friendly.
Then a friend of mine told me about a homemade method she used. However, when I tried her method, I found this also didn’t suit my needs, as it too had flaws that I considered where important. It did not keep vermin out, did not have a lockable lid and (to me) looked unsightly in the garden
