"Getting rid of everything that doesn’t matter allows you to remember who you are. Simplicity doesn’t change who you are, it brings you back to who you are."

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Take A Look At Them Melons!

With most of the country in the worst drought the US has had in 50 years, what I'm about to say will make most of you want to give me the stiff middle finger.

Try to restrain yourselves...But I'm tired of rain.

We must be the ONLY place in the US getting rain and we're getting it everyday.  Yesterday, I had to deal with flash flooding on the way home from work.  A storm dumped 3 1/2 inches in 1 hour in the South Charlotte area where I work.

We've had rain everyday here between 5-7pm.  Don't know how much...don't really care.  As usual the tap is either full on or shut off completely.  The grass is really HIGH.  The dogs high step through the back yard.  Except for Scooter, who just plows through.



Even the cat looks at me in reproach..."I may be blind lady, but don't you think you can get out and mow this stuff?"




The garden is in chaos.  Weeds abound.  They're everywhere and I don't care.  My pumpkin plants can grow around them.  The tomatoes are in blight.  I just shrug.

But will you take a look at them melons!




These are Ambrosia Cantaloupes (Hybrid).  I had wandered in to our local nursery last month wanting to see if they had any sweet potato slips (they had sold out) but I felt obliged to buy something, so I bought these. 




Holy Moley are they happy!  Fruit is setting right and left and the bees are happy pollinating!  This comes as a total surprise to me as last years melons were a fail.  I haven't made it to harvest yet but my fingers are crossed.




I do know that you have to be really careful with melons.  If the skin is in anyway cut by bug or rot the entire melon is bad and you shouldn't eat it.  I've read horror stories of people who got REALLY sick after eating a melon that way.

 


I can remember my Dad putting melons on cans to keep them off the ground to try and prevent rot.  I had a few cans but grabbed some coffee mugs to set some of them on too.

I'm a newbie with melons so if any of ya'll have got words of wisdom, toss em at me.

After you're done flipping me off, of course...

9 comments:

  1. Revel in your rain, I say, revel in it! (Too bad you didn't plant your whole acreage in corn. You would be an instant millionaire this fall.)

    As for your melons? Va-va-voom! Nice lookin'. ;o}

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  2. Love that Ohio State mug--Go Bucks.
    :)
    Lisa

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  3. Nice melons. ;) (Sorry, I couldn't resist!)

    I will not give you the stiff middle finger because I'm tired of rain too. Well, actually I'm tired of no middle ground. We're either bone dry or flooded. Is it winter yet? Where is the snow?

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  4. I would take an inch or two of your rain, please.....

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  5. Ambrosia melons truly do live up to their name. You are in for a royal treat!

    Now, about that rain... after you send some to Sue, send some to me. LOL

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  6. I'm so jealous! I don't have luck with melons.

    And... it's POURING down rain here right now too. We're very lucky in our area. :)

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  7. I'm not jealous of your rain. We had a very dry June, but we're getting some rain now. May, however, was extremely wet, to the point that everything I planted that month either drowned or was eaten by slugs. (Stuff I planted earlier got eaten too but managed to come back.)

    I haven't had any success with melons, although I have heard good things about putting them on trellises. You do have to do that before they set fruit, though, so the plant grows appropriately to support the weight.

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  8. I am also tired of the rain. Check with Renfrow's in Matthews that is where I got mine, but it was a couple of months ago. Also, Grow Share Charlotte (facebook) people were e changing slips.

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  9. It's been rainy here in Georgia for the last two weeks. I finally went out to my poor neglected garden yesterday and the plants have all grown about 2 feet taller, are a healthy green, and actually making tomatoes and peppers. Before the rain they looked pretty anemic. Who knows, might actually get a halfway decent harvest now!

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