Alvaro melons offer sweet and aromatic fruits, thriving even in cooler climates. These unique melons provide a rewarding experience for home growers, bringing a taste of summer to your table.
What is an Alvaro Melon?
The Alvaro melon is a distinctive French Charentais type of cantaloupe. It features smooth, pale yellow skin with prominent green stripes, transitioning to a tan-yellow hue and developing a sweet, perfumed aroma as it ripens. Its flesh is typically tender, juicy, and sweet salmon-orange. These compact fruits generally measure around 10-12 cm (4-5 inches) in diameter and weigh approximately 500g (1 lb) at maturity.
Growing Alvaro Melons
Alvaro melons are warmth-loving plants that thrive in a warm, sheltered location with full sun exposure, ideally receiving at least six hours daily. Prepare well-drained, humus-rich, fertile soil. Creating raised mounds helps prevent water accumulation around stems and potential rot.
Sow seeds indoors from March to mid-April, or outdoors from early April to May in warmer areas. Sow about 1 cm (½ inch) deep in free-draining compost, maintaining 20°C (68°F) for germination, which takes 7-10 days. Once large enough, pot seedlings individually into 7.5 cm (3 inch) pots, keeping compost barely moist to avoid stem rot. Before transplanting outdoors, gradually acclimatize young plants over 7-10 days.
Plant outdoors after the risk of frost has passed, usually late May to late June, when the soil is warm. Space plants 50-90 cm (20-36 inches) apart in rows 2 meters (6 feet) apart. Utilizing plastic mulch (blue, black, or clear) warms the soil and suppresses weeds, benefiting these heat-loving plants.
Consistent watering is important, especially as flowers develop, and plants should receive a liquid feed every 10-14 days. Melons are sensitive to inconsistent moisture; proper watering ensures even growth and helps prevent fruit splitting. As fruit approaches maturity, gradually reducing watering can concentrate sugars and improve sweetness. Melons have high nitrogen requirements and benefit from fertilizers that include phosphorus at planting, and nitrogen as vines begin to run.
Pinch out the growing point after 5 leaves to encourage lateral shoots. Select 4 vigorous laterals and train them, pinching their tips once they reach the 6-leaf stage. This promotes fruiting sub-laterals. While insects usually pollinate flowers, hand pollination may be necessary for better fruit set, especially for female flowers identifiable by a swollen base.
Harvesting and Using Alvaro Melons
Determine ripeness by a sweet, characteristic smell near the stem end. The skin may also begin to crack near the stem. For cantaloupe types like Alvaro, the fruit is ready when it slips easily from the vine with a gentle tug. For Charentais melons, harvesting at “half-slip” (pulls off with a moderate tug) and ripening indoors for a day or two can optimize flavor.
Once harvested, Alvaro melons are best consumed within a few days to preserve texture and flavor. Melons do not increase in sweetness after being detached from the vine, so timely harvesting is important for peak taste.
The Alvaro melon’s sweet, juicy, and aromatic flesh is versatile. Enjoy it fresh, on its own, or in a fruit salad. Its refreshing flavor also works well in desserts, sorbets, or beverages.