Cons: Unremarkable taste, not an abundant producer.
The Bottom Line: It's unlikely that I'll continue growing this melon. And as much as I like the way it looks, I probably wouldn't recommend it to another gardener.
lyagushka's Full Review: Moon & Stars Watermelon - 25 Seeds
I grew an heirloom watermelon called Moon & Stars in my 2006 and 2007 garden. It's an interesting varietal named for the one large and myriad tiny pale splotches that ornament its dark green skin. There is even a Moon & Stars watermelon with a deep blackish-blue skin that further justifies its name, but I grew the green skinned variety.
In both years, this melon did poorly in my garden. Both years it could have partially been my fault as the melon vines were crowded in with other plants that grew more aggressively and hogged much of the sunlight (read:winter squash). I harvested less than five melons from three plants each year. They were modest in size for watermelons, the largest being about the size of a very large cantaloupe. Everything about this watermelon had an attractive appearance, from the black and grey speckled seeds, to the pretty leaves with their pale yellow speckles on a medium green background. While visually appealing, both as whole melons and when cut into slices, the flavor was only fairly good, at best. I've since found out that this melon rarely wins any taste tests.
I suspect that the strain is preserved for the very reason I picked up the seeds at a local seed swap: for its unusual and striking appearance. I have not made a final decision about growing this melon again this year, but I am strongly inclined to leave it out of the roster. If I had plenty of space, I probably would go ahead and grow it. But with the limited amount of space I have, and my intention to grow at least two different sprawling winter squash varieties, I don't think there's adequate room for a moderately performing melon without superlative taste. If I planted this or any other melon near the squash plants, the shorter melon leaves would simply be shaded out by the faster growing squash. It would take a good deal of tending to keep the bullying squash off the wimpy melons, and that's time I'd rather not devote to the task. Still, it's tempting to give this plant one more honest chance at success before giving up on it.
Commercial growers with much more space might find it worthwhile to grow this melon, because it is certainly eye-catching, which is a quality that matters at the market. Americans still largely shop for produce with their eyes. The taste of the few melons I got were not at all bad, and might well have been better had the plants gotten more sun. I wouldn't recommend this plant highly to any gardener, especially not a novice gardener. However I did find it very easy to save seed and propagate them from one year to another.
Grows to as much as 40 pounds Legendary melon; rediscovered in rural Missouri Unique patterning of bright yellow splashes resembles moons and stars Br...More at Amazon Marketplace
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