There's nothing like the sweet smell of a ripe melon that you've just pulled from the vine.
Melons thrive on warm weather and full sun.
However, if you live in an area where the summer temperatures tend to be on the cool side, you've probably been disappointed trying to grow the heat-loving melons at home. Many people who live in Cupertino and other cities on the northern end of the peninsula, do not try to grow melons because summer nighttime temperatures can drop into the 50s and result in small 2-3 inch melons that are not very sweet. For the 2000 McClellan Ranch vegetable research trial in Cupertino, the Master Gardeners took on the challenge and proved that using a combination of special varieties and growing techniques can indeed result in a successful melon harvest for cool weather climates. Melon Varieties We specifically chose early ripening melon varieties so most of the melons could be harvested after 70-85 days. We also picked varieties that were developed to grow well in difficult cool weather areas such as northern, coastal, or mountain climates.