Melons

At the start of this month I posted about the melons that I'm growing in containers on my deck. At the time I was concerned that there wouldn't be enough time for any of these fruits to ripen, that the cold weather would arrive too soon.

Well, we've had a remarkably warm September, and the fruits are now ready! The harvest has been small, with each plant producing only one or two useful melons, but since that's the most I've ever gotten from a melon plant anyway, I'm happy with a small harvest!

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It grows, a melon

I have abandoned my veggie beds.  The tomato plants, beet greens, cucumbers and melons are now for the deer -- since they've been helping themselves this summer anyway. I've realized that the place where my edibles grow is just too far from the house to be on my mind much. You can't even see it from the deck, and out of sight, out of mind.

Since I couldn't give up on growing food entirely, I put several containers of melons on the deck this summer (along with more potted herbs that have been there since the spring). Here's a look at them, as they advance from blossom to fruit.

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What's new?

Or more accurately, "What will be new in your garden next year?" For me the holidays mean it's time to put some seed catalogs to work and to pick out something new to grow.

If I didn't try at least a couple of new varieties of edible plants that I love, plus one or two entirely new plants -- things I haven't grown before -- I'd probably get bored with growing edibles completely. So it's time to choose...

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Mouse Melon

One thing that makes gardening exciting for me is trying new plants every year. This goes for ornamentals in addition to edibles.

I'm not just talking about different tomato varieties either -- I do that too -- but trying completely new types of plants. Last year it was Malabar spinach (beautiful but nothing I'd eat unless I had no choice). This year it's garlic, rat-tail radish, and today's subject: Mexican sour gherkins, also known as "mouse melons".

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Another vine

One vine that I forgot to mention in yesterday's post is in some ways the most important one I grow. It's not the most beautiful, it doesn't take the heat too well, doesn't produce an abundance of flowers, but it delivers in another way.

If you haven't already guessed, it's melon. Cantaloupe to be specific. The variety called 'Ambrosia' to be very specific.

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