Not What I Expected

According to the seed packet, this was supposed to be a Kincho Hybrid melon. But what I got looks more like a green cantaloupe. No matter, It tastes GREAT!

Just Under The Wire

My Minnesota Midget Melon plant, bred for maturation in a short period of time for areas with limited growing seasons, has come through like a champ. I started the seeds late this year and didn't transplant the seedling until the last week in July. Still it managed to produce over a dozen fruits and beat the first frost date by almost two weeks! I won't tempt fate next year. But I'm glad that the odds were ever in my favor this time around.

All In Good Time

Thanks to a summer that has been far cooler and wetter than normal, the melons in the garden have taken their own sweet time(pun intended) to grow and ripen. However, as the old saying goes, good things come to those who wait. And it has been well worth the wait. I thought the lack of ninety degree days and sunshine would have an adverse effect on the taste of this season's crop. I was wrong. These are some of the sweetest melons I've ever grown. My only complaint is that there might have been more of them to harvest if the weather had been more cooperative. Well, in the immortal words of Mick Jagger, "You can't always get what you want." But thankfully, I can truly say I'm happy with what nature provided despite adverse conditions.

Yes, We Have No Bananas!

But we do have Banana Melons and they are something else! Take a whiff of these beauties when they're ripe and the aroma will transport you to the tropics. Slice into one and the orange interior at first reminds you of a cantaloupe because of its color. But it is more firm than you'll find in the average cantaloupe and has a flavor and sweetness all its own. This is the first time I've tried growing them, but it definitely won't be the last.

A Slice Of LIfe Situation

All good things must come to an end. This is the thought that kept running through my mind today as I enjoyed what will probably be one of the last melons from my Minnesota Midget melon plant this season. It's September, a month that can be a scorcher here in the Midwest, but which is more likely to be filled with days where the temperatures swing lower and lower with each passing week; especially at night. Mother Nature didn't design melon plants for less than warm weather. So while my squash and leafy greens will be comfortable until the first hard frost, the melon vines will no doubt give up the ghost long before then. It's just a sad, inconvenient truth. Soon I'll be without those sweet, tasty slices of sunshine. And I'll be left feeling very melon-choly.

Ode To A Melon

Oh wonderful sight,
Oh most excellent orb,
Oh fruit of delight,
Oh sweet succulent gourd,
Born of earth and water and light
You are a true child of the vine.
And I must wait.
Until the date,
Nature makes your taste full and divine.

Winter Survivor

Last autumn before the first hard frost I took a couple of healthy cuttings from my pepino melon plant. I placed the cuttings in water and waited for them to grow roots. Then I planted them in pots, placed them in a south facing window and hoped that they would somehow make it through the winter. Of the two cuttings only one survived and I've noticed that it has been sprouting new growth as the days have lengthened. So perhaps this season I'll be able to sample some of this rare fruit from my own garden.

Maybe Next Year

It seems that beautiful blossoms are all that my pepino melon plants will be offering this year. I knew they had a long growing time, but the hot dry summer slowed them down even more. So I guess this exotic fruit won't be on my menu until next season.