the "back nine"
the "front nine"
Timidly, BN and I started a garden this year. We constructed two 4x4 raised beds and planted according to the Square Foot Gardening techniques and it has been a learning experience.
First, we planted everything from seed (against my better judgement) and some of it worked. Actually, everything grew something, but not everything produced.
The melons were the most puzzling. They both literally fell off the vines when ripened.
That watermelon was the size of a large navel orange. It was ripe and delicious but I was only able to scoop about a cup of fruit from the rind. The seed packet, "Moon and Stars" shows an oblong melon of up to 40 pounds!
Those cantaloupes? Not much bigger than the very large eggs we get from the farm. I used a 1/4 teaspoon measuring spoon to scoop out the wondrous 1/3 cup fruit. The seed packet, "Hearts of Gold", shows a melon the size of a child's head.
Both types of melons produced very tasty flesh. Both looked exactly like their much (did I say much) bigger cousins in the stores, but why so little? Hmmm.
Farmer error of some sort.. Do you think Mel will return my calls?
~R
Melons, like pumpkins do much better on the ground rather than on a support (that's for peas, tomatoes and beans), plus you have to really pump the water into them. But great work anyway!
ReplyDeleteWT - Thanks. According to the method we used, they should do well on a support. A friend of ours grew his on a support and his turned out as they should have. Of course, he rigged an in ground watering system and I'm sure I neglected my watering duties a bit. :o(
ReplyDeleteBut we have another watermelon growing on the ground from a rogue vine so we'll see how that does. It's mild enough here that we should see it to the end. Thanks for the input.
I like your melons! *snicker*
ReplyDeleteMelons do need a lot of water. And cantaloupe fall off the fine when ripe.
ReplyDeletewe try every year to grow watermelon here but I don't think it is quite hot enough. I tell myself at the end of every summer "I'm never growing watermelon again"....and every spring I buy a silly plant.
and that was "vine" not "fine"
ReplyDeleteMy melons were small this year but delicious...then again in the northwest we are lucky they ripen at all! I don't grow melons on supports but on the ground on black plastic (attractive I know) to give them as much heat as possible. Kim
ReplyDeleteI haven't thought of growing them on supports, thinking they may be too heavy. Of course it isn't always warm enough here to grow them. I had some little starter plants and they shrivelled and died due to freezing then drought. I have had fruit from both, but they have been like yours, likely due to lack of moisture.
ReplyDeleteLook at you! I'm just a tiny bit jealous about the garden! I didn't have a chance to do any this year and I have missed it.
ReplyDelete