Days to Maturity: 91 from direct sow: 77 from transplant
Now you can grow enormous 6- to 8-pound melons with great flesh firmness and a juicy-sweet tasteno matter where you live.
Even in short-season areas, Park's Whopper grows quickly on super vigorous plants, bearing plenty of open-netted melons with firm, thick peachy-orange flesh bursting with flavor. 7½ to 9 inches in diameter, these are whoppers in size, flavor, and speed of harvest.
Park's Whopper owes its ready growth and large fruit to very strong plants. They're resistant to Fusarium races 0, 1, and 2, as well as to powdery mildew races 1 and 2. With disease fighting capability like this, it's no wonder the fruit is so abundant and healthy.
Sow seeds directly in the garden after the soil is thoroughly warm or, for an even earlier harvest, start them indoors in pots. Set out 18 inches apart with 4 feet between each row, or plant in hills 4 feet apart, with 2 to 3 plants per hill. Cantaloupes are ready to harvest when the stem slips easily from the fruit with slight pressure.
