Athena Hybrid Cantaloupe

I have planted many breeds of cantaloupe throughout the years. I never plant 2 breeds at the same time because I don't want them to cross pollinate. But, without question, these are the best, sweetest cantaloupe I have ever grown. I will continue to order these seeds every year.

We bought and planted these seeds in 2012. All the seeds came up and did well. We had one of the driest seasons on record so I hand watered once or twice a week. We planted 8 seeds and got more melons than we could possibly eat or give away. Like most plants they stopped producing during the hottest parts of the summer (95+ degrees) but kicked back in again once the temperatures moderated to 85-90 degrees. I lost track of how many cantaloupes we actually got but it was way over 25 from those 8 seeds. I had bad problems in the rest of my garden with cucumber beetles and squash bugs but those pests didnt touch my Athenas all season long.

Usually grow ambrosas this year added some Athena. Ambrosas are great but blight hit them(got them last year also) but not the Athena while planted side beside. Incredible favor vine ripe. Will be making a switch to all Athena.

We love cantaloupe, and we have a new favorite! We planted several varieties this year, and found the Athena to be the most consistent for size, taste and general ease to grow.

I have had my fourth Athena this season. Unbelievable! All solid 10's. My father has raised melons for nearly 25 years in Molalla, Oregon. they call him the melon man and he throws a big melon feed every year about labor day. He calls them his babies and he starts them indoors from seeds, long before the weather is good. Then he does a bunch of other stuff to get melons to grow here in the Portland Weather. The only cantaloupe variety that usually gets SOME 10/10 ratings has been Gurneys Giants and occasionally Super 45. But every year, he just has to bother growing more varieties instead of just sticking with GG. Finally, it was actually worth it and I am amazed that any melon could top Gurney's Giant, but Athena is really the Goddess of Cantaloupes. My Dad always wants me to sample and rate every melon type because I am very particular with flavor and texture. He got nice big Athenas, but only planted one hill, since it was the first time for that variety. I told him, I get all the rest, everyone else will just have to wait until next year. He picks the melons vine ripe, when the crack forms around the stem and it twists off completely. The very best store melon I have ever had was a rating of 5/10. These are in a different league.

I have had my fourth Athena this season. Unbelievable! All solid 10's. My father has raised mellons for nearly 25 years in Molalla, Oregon. they call him the mellon man and he throws a big mellon feed every year about labor day. He calls them his babies and he starts them indoors from seeds, long before the weather is good. Then he does a bunch of other stuff to get mellons to grow here in the Portland Weather. The only cantaloupe variety that usually gets SOME 10/10 ratings has been Gurneys Giants and occasionally Super 45. But every year, he just has to bother growing more varieties instead of just sticking with GG. Finally, it was actually worth it and I am amazed that any mellon could top Gurney's Giant, but Athena is really the Goddess of Cantaloupes. My Dad always wants me to sample and rate every mellon type because I am very particular with flavor and texture. He got nice big Athenas, but only planted one hill, since it was the first time for that variety. I told him, I get all the rest, everyone else will just have to wait until next year. He picks the mellons vine ripe, when the crack forms around the stem and it twists off completely. The very best store mellon I have ever had was a rating of 5/10. These are in a different league.