Mother Mary's Pie Melon

Pie melon. Small, yellow-orange, round to slightly oblate fruit. Highly uniform. Smooth skin with minor netting at blossom end. Fruit abscises easily from vine when ripe. Fruit measure 2.4-2.9" long by 2.5-3" wide and weigh 5-8oz. Soft leaf pubescence. Fruit can be peeled like an apple. White flesh. Slightly tangy and not very sweet. Firm, grainy texture. Harvest while still firm (before vine slip) for best eating qualities. Early maturing. Highly productive when grown in 2014 at Heritage Farm. Donated to SSE in 1997 by a Minnesota family and named after the donor's mother. The variety was passed down from the donor's grandmother who grew it since circa 1914. Used by the family in apple pies by mixing 1/2 and 1/2 with sliced apples. SSE Accession # 113288