Tularosa Market Melon

85 days — Although this melon was originally grown in the Tularosa Basin of Southern New Mexico for the local farmer's markets, it does very well for us here in the Northern Willamette Valley of Oregon, although its fruit don't grow as large here. The fruit have rinds that are pale-yellow with green spots and vary in weight from three to nine pounds. Their flesh is pale-orange, tender, sweet and juicy. Although the rinds are thick, allowing them to be shipped to market, like many older heirloom melon varieties, they have a limited shelf-life and are best consumed shortly after harvesting.

This melon is another example of our core mission to preserve old heirloom varieties by making them available to home gardeners. We received the seed sample from a preservation minded individual named Sheri Miller who realized that this variety was disappearing quickly. In an email she told us, "The original grower of this melon, Jack Shores, is 82 years old (in 2013). Your company is literally saving this melon from extinction . . . thank you so much." This grower had been raising them for decades and told Sheri that they were originally from a Japanese farmer. Mr. Shores passed away in December of 2013.