The Return of the Montreal Melon: An Agricultural Treasure at the Heart of the Neighborhood

In 2024, in collaboration with the Côte-des-Neiges Historical Society (Souvenirs et Mémoires de CDN), MultiCaf launched a very special and unique project: reviving Côte-des-Neiges’ agricultural heritage by growing the Montreal melon — a seed variety that had disappeared for decades at the Les Bonnets Bleus micro-farm, located on the site of the former Blue Bonnets racetrack.

Occupying one hectare of the old racetrack grounds, Les Bonnets Bleus sits in an area where nature has reclaimed its space for over 20 years.

In spring 2024, MultiCaf was mandated by the borough of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce to develop an agricultural site on the former Blue Bonnets grounds. While the future Namur-Hippodrome neighborhood is being planned, this medium-term transitional use aims to create an urban farming space that promotes food autonomy, education, and community engagement.

At the site, we grow a wide variety of field vegetables that are redistributed to vulnerable members of the neighborhood through our mobile solidarity market and our community cafeteria. This project helps supply MultiCaf’s food services while increasing access to fresh, local produce for residents.

But this special Montreal melon project is something different. It’s an experiment to regrow something that was once cultivated here but vanished in the early 20th century.

A Legendary Fruit, Rediscovered

The Montreal melon was once so prized that it was sold all the way to the United States for impressive prices. According to legend, a single slice once sold for $1.50 , which, adjusted for inflation, would be about $40 per slice today!

Thanks to our urban agriculture initiative, the Montreal melon is making a comeback in the gardens of Côte-des-Neiges. Today, we’re proud to revive this tradition and even more excited that the community is doing it with us 😊

Trial and Error, with the Community

Since this is an ancestral seed, our first year involved a lot of trial and error. In 2023, we invited local residents to help us plant the melons, and later in the season, we hosted a melon tasting. The goal was to identify the best-tasting melons so we could save their seeds and plant them again the following year : gradually working toward recovering the fruit’s original flavor.

A Project That Brings People Together

Beyond just growing fruit, this project is a way to bring the community together around local history, gardening, and food culture.

Want to see this Montreal treasure growing for yourself? Follow us on instagram @inari_cdn to not miss the next community tasting event or join us for the Inari Ferstival on August 30, 2025 to see them in person before !

Together, let’s bring back a delicious tradition deeply rooted in our neighborhood.