Melon, Heirloom 'Charentais', Organic

Melon, Heirloom ‘Charentais’, Organic

This melon is steeped in history.  In the Luberon, Provence, Charentais melons are annually celebrated at the world-famous ‘Feria du Melon a Cavaillon’, or the Melon Fair of Cavaillon. The small town is known as the melon’s native growing region, and each summer in July, Charentais melons are harvested from the fields and placed in large piles around town in preparation for the celebration.

Cavaillon is also home to the Confrerie des Chevaliers de l’Ordre du Melon de Cavaillon, a unique brotherhood established in 1988 that is dedicated to protecting the quality of the Charentais melon. During the festival, the brotherhood inspects the melons for their sugar content, flavor, appearance, and density to maintain the melon’s esteemed reputation. As Charentais melons are piled in the streets, their robust aroma wafts through the town, evoking memories of summers steeped in a rich heritage.

The melons are so highly regarded in Cavaillon that they even have a nine-ton sculpture of the melon at the entrance of the town. Visitors stroll through the streets of Cavaillon during the festival, stopping at local vendor stands that sell fresh melons and a variety of main dishes, snacks, desserts, and drinks infused with Charentais melons. There is also melon-themed art, live cooking demonstrations, music, a parade, and farm tours just outside of town.

Our seeds are directly from the ‘Confrerie des Chevaliers de l’Ordre du Melon de Cavaillon’ and we now proudly grow them in the UAE desert.

They are believed to date back to the 14th century when Avignon was the seat of the pop. Pope John XXII encouraged agriculture in the monasteries around Avignon and some of the oldest seed banks in the area date back to this time.