Cantaloupes ripening early in Fallon

Monday, July 10, 2000 | 2:42 a.m.

The fruity orbs are developing a little too quickly, said Vickie Detomasi of Workman's Farms.

"Everything is coming out a little early this year," she said. "The cantaloupe crop will be early, which means we may run out early so there will be less for the festival."

Still, the annual festival held over the long Labor Day holiday weekend will go on as scheduled.

Four years ago conditions posed a different problem.

That's when an early summer hail storm left much of the crop in tatters. Then, a spell of cool, wet weather slowed ripening of the surviving plants, giving growers barely enough melons to supply the festival.

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