Pride of Wisconsin

Description

(88 days) The best full-size open-pollinated muskmelon. CR’s first fruit, harvested vine ripe on Sept. 3, a flawless 5.56 lb specimen, was the highlight of his 2016 growing season, confirming Pride’s place at the pinnacle of heirloom melons. It was melon nirvana: its superb smooth texture and juicy refreshing sweetness satisfying through and through with just the right delicate balance and no musky aftertaste. High-quality large oval salmon-fleshed 5–7 lb fruits have coarse netting and compact seed cavities. Edible all the way to the rind. Tends to crack at the blossom end during wet seasons so not recommended for long-distance shipping. Known as Queen of Colorado when it was introduced in 1923 by the St. Louis Seed Co. Offered in the ’40s and ’50s by Burpee and Eastern States Cooperative. All but disappeared from the trade after the onset of hybridization, maintained by a handful of seed savers