# Why do my cantaloupes have a bad aftertaste?



## Ravenlost

I was so excited to grow cantaloupes this year as I've never grown any before. We love them and they are growing like crazy. However, they taste yucky! Well, they smell great and taste wonderful when you first bite into it, but the aftertaste is awful.

These are from some starter plants I bought and I do not know what kind of cantaloupes they are. I'm hoping the other patch I planted will taste better as I started them from seed.

What would cause this? The horse manure I used as fertilizer? The onions that were growing at one end of the same raised bed (pulled the onions before the cantaloupes started getting ripe)? 

It is driving me nuts that we can't eat these beautiful cantaloupes, but the chickens are happy.


----------



## rocket

That sounds really odd. Can you describe the aftertaste? The only thing I can think of is maybe they are over or under ripe? Did they slip off the vine (easily or on their own)? Has the outer rind begun to get soft?


----------



## Ravenlost

I don't pick them until they fall off the vine with just a touch, but the rinds haven't gone soft.


----------



## moonwolf

I don't know about the aftertaste either. I know melons do well with added calcium, such as crushed eggshell to the fertilizer. The varieties I've grown include Alaska Melon which were sweet, but the chantarais type beat all the varieties I've ever tried for taste and sweetness. As mentioned above, make sure they are ripe and slip easy off the vine at picking time.


----------



## mammabooh

Is it a strange, sort of spicy aftertaste? If so, that's how mine always taste...now matter where I grow them or what variety they are. This year, I'm growing yet another kind and am hoping that they won't taste like that funk (yep, I'm an optimist)!


----------



## Ravenlost

It must be something in the soil. Like I said, the vines are growing all over the place and are just loaded with fruit. I picked one this afternoon that weighs almost eight lbs. It was already partially detached from the stem. There are probably three more that will be ready tomorrow. 

The aftertaste is sort of garlicky/oniony which is why I thought it might have been due to the onions.


----------



## MoonShine

Huh,that's strange. I've never heard anything like that. I hope someone comes along and knows the answer. Now,I'm curious.


----------



## rocket

Hmmm... Is the aftertaste stronger for the melons growing closer to where the onions were? I guess next year make sure you grow them where you haven't grown onions?

And mammabooh, aren't those spicy, musky undertones supposed to be there? That's what makes them good!


----------



## Ravenlost

Thing is, the onions were pulled long before the cantaloupes really started developing and getting ripe. And I didn't let my onions go to seed before pulling, not that they could cross pollinate anyway (right?). 

I've searched and searched online and the only thing I learned about enhancing taste was to make sure watermelons and cantaloupes get plenty of sun because sugars are formed based on photosynthesis. My plants are in full sun, but does that mean the fruits need sun? Perhaps the large leaves of the cantaloupe plant are shading the fruits to much. I can't recall my parents moving the leaves back so the cantaloupe can get more sun, but I'm going to try it!

I've also set the one I picked yesterday in a sunny window for a day or so to see if that helps. Hubby weighed it last night and it was over 10 lbs.


----------



## uncle Will in In.

Mushmelons never taste quite right if you don't sprinkle them with peper before you eat them. Try it, You'll like it.


----------



## mammabooh

rocket said:


> And mammabooh, aren't those spicy, musky undertones supposed to be there? That's what makes them good!


Well, mine are just sort of an odd spicy...just tastes like something isn't quite right.


----------



## cindyc

I have had melons with a slight "moldy" aftertaste before. I figured it was "too ripe" melons? They looked fine, and the first bite tasted fine, but the "afterbite" tasted slightly moldy??? 

Best I can do, sorry. I am no gardening expert. That's the only relevant experience I have.

Good luck,
Cindyc.


----------



## Ravenlost

uncle Will in In. said:


> Mushmelons never taste quite right if you don't sprinkle them with peper before you eat them. Try it, You'll like it.


I suggested to hubby that we sprinkle them with salt and pepper to help with the taste, but he turned his nose up at the idea. :shrug:


----------



## Bolavage

I just cut my first cantaloupe I ever grew and it also had a very onion-y aftertaste! Almost skunk-like- it was very bad. 
I know my soil is super calcium deficient. I wonder if that could do anything? I have no onions in the area. No idea. Best I found when talking to friends and family is that it’s over ripe? I’m new to this, and so confused


----------



## Clydecrashcup

Try " Insulating " them from soil contact . When they are small put a paper plate under them so they won't make contact with the soil. This works well with drip irrigation. If you flood irrigate take a length of say 3" plastic pipe and cut some rings that are about 2 to 3 " long and place these under the melons to keep them high and dry. The commercial grower I talked to about " Clods the field" after they plant. This means plowing the soil so it produces a rough unlevel surface that helps keep the melons in less contact with the soil. You can use all sorts of method to keep them insulated.


----------



## Alice In TX/MO

" According to the University of Minnesota Extension, the ideal soil pH for planting cantaloupes ranges from 6.0 to 6.5. Growing cantaloupes in soil that is too acidic or not acidic enough produces plants with yellow leaves, diminished flowering capability and less fruit."
Instructions for amending soil: What is the Recommended PH Level for Growing Cantaloupe?.

Magnesium:

If your muskmelons taste bland, the trouble could be a lack of magnesium in sandy soil. Sweeten the fruit by spraying the vines with this solution: Dissolve 6 ½ tablespoons of Epsom salts and 3 ⅓ tablespoons of borax in 5 gallons of water. Spray the foliage when the vines begin to “run” and again when the fruit is about two inches in diameter.
Source: Cantaloupes.


----------



## Danaus29

Epsom salts make a huge difference in the taste. The regional famous Indiana melons are grown in soil that is high in magnesium.

Hey Ravenlost, if you see this please sign in and say hi. We miss you.


----------

