AMY GRANTATHENA melon plants are the most common melons grown both commercially and in the home garden.
The Athena melon fruits are cantaloupe hybrids prized for their consistent early yields as well as for their ability to store and ship well. Athena melon plants are grown in most parts of the world including southern Africa, the United States, Mexico, and some parts of Canada. Other significant countries growing cantaloupe are Turkey, Iran, Egypt and India.
Athena melons are part of the Reticulatus group of melons known for their netted skin. They are alternately referred to as cantaloupe or muskmelon depending on region. In South Africa and Namibia they are known as spanspek.
When these melons are ripe, they slip easily from the vine and have an ambrosial aroma. Athena melons are oval, yellow to orange, early maturing melons with a coarse netting and firm, yellow-orange flesh. The average weight of these melons is around two kilogrammes.
Athena melons have intermediate resistance to fusarium wilt and powdery mildew.
The Athena melon is ready to harvest about 75 days from transplanting or 85 days from direct sowing. Plant three seeds 46 cm apart and one centimetre deep. If starting seeds indoors, sow in cell plug trays or peat pots one month prior to transplanting outside.
Plant three seeds per cell or pot. Keep the seed bed or pots consistently moist but not saturated. Thin the seedlings when they have their first set of leaves. Cut the weakest looking seedlings with scissors, leaving the healthiest seedling to transplant.
Prior to transplanting, reduce the amount of water and temperature the seedlings receive to harden them off.
Transplant them 46 cm apart in rows that are 15 cm apart. You can grow Athena melons in row covers to keep them consistently warm, which will elicit earlier crops with higher yields. Row covers also protect young plants from insects such as cucumber beetles.
– gardeningknowhow.com
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