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Saving Cherished Slow Foods, One Product
at a Time
Crane Melon
Cucumis melo
The Crane family, originally from Missouri, first settled in Sonoma County, California in the 1850s. In the 1920s, Oliver Crane planted a Japanese melon that had a reputation for growing well without irrigation in clay soils. The fruit was too thin-skinned and fragile to be a practical economic commodity, so Crane crossed it with a cantaloupe, creating the Crane Melon.
The melon was known as the Japanese melon until World War II when the local farmers changed the name to Crane. This 4-6 pound, teardrop shaped melon has a light orange flesh that is highly aromatic. The fruit is sweet and exceptionally juicy. Unfortunately, the melon is rarely available in conventional markets, so avid followers buy Cranes from the Crane Family Melon Barn and at local farmers' markets.
Producers
Santa Rosa, CA
The Crane Family Melon Barn
Petaluma Hill Road
Santa Rosa, CA
Penngrove, CA
Grossi Farms
6652 Petaluma Hill Road
Penngrove, CA 94951
Phone: 707-664-1602
Geyserville, CA
Yael Bernier
1720 Canyon Road
Geyserville, CA 95441
Phone: 707-433-3272
Seed Sources
Decorah, IA
Seed Savers Exchange
3094 North Winn Road
Decorah, IA 52101
Phone: 563-382-5990
www.seedsavers.org
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