A Cantaloupe Love Affair

Sweet, sweet cantaloupe. I remember you when you were just a seedling...

Oh, wait.

But then, I was so proud of you when you started growing for real.

One day, I was on a trip and when I came home and you had grown over the edge of the garden and were covered with little yellow flowers!

And before I knew it, there were a couple little fuzzballs growing. One day I was fussing with the vine and one of the fuzzballs fell off. I thought it was no big deal because there were others. Little did I know that only one fuzzball would survive.

That fuzzball (you) amazed and confused me. I checked, double checked and triple checked that I had planted CANTALOUPE in that square. Everything I had ever known was telling me that my little fuzzball had turned into a watermelon instead of a cantaloupe! I was sad yet excited for some watermelon. It reminded me of parents whose children who get sexual reassignment surgery that I had seen on TV. They're always like, "I loved my son, John, but now I love my daughter Joan." I loved my baby cantaloupe, but now I love my watermelon!

But then my Joan went back to John! And, I held you in my hand to show off your new webbing.

For weeks, I checked on you and flipped you so you would ripen evenly. I wondered on a daily basis how I would know when it was time to pick you.

Then one day, I was watering the garden and I noticed a sweet (almost rotten?) fruit smell. That's when I knew it was time. I gave you a little squeeze and your tough skin gave a little. I pulled you off the vine instantly and rushed you inside. You had been laying out in the sun all day and I think I should've let you cool before cutting into you but I couldn't wait. This day had taken so long to arrive. As I sliced into you, I got kind of grossed out because you were warm like a live animal. I was thrilled to see that you were completely ripe all the way to the skin except for one little part.

You were so juicy and your sweet smell filled the kitchen. Laika was going crazy for a nibble as I sliced you up. 

 

I chunked you up and ended up eating it all in just two sittings. I brought a big bowl to work to share with people and brag that I had grown you from a tiny little seed but guess what, I didn't share a single bite.

The one and only piece that I shared was the very last piece, which I gave to Laika for sitting like a good girl while I devoured half of a cantaloupe. A delicious cantaloupe that I grew from seeds.

Clear Out

I finally gave up on my cucumbers because, well, they looked like this:

And even the most novice gardener (me!) knows that this crispy, brown mess is not good. So, I cleared it out. I tore out the cucumbers, green beans, cauliflower and broccoli. The cucumbers were dead. The green beans had been eaten very badly by the bugs. And the broccoli and cauliflower just never made any progress.

Here's a before:

And after (notice the big pile of dead cucumber plants on the right):

As I was pulling everything out, the bugs were ANGRY.  They were swarming, attacking and biting. I had at least 10 big bug bites on my legs from this adventure.

Garden Bugs

Beetles in Love

Waiting on Dusk

I appreciate your services

...And yours

Cucumber Murderer

...And His Partner in Crime

Pretty and Creepy All at the Same Time

Jiminy...Grasshopper

Weekend Update

I was in Canada all week which meant David was in charge of my garden. Nothing is any more (or less) dead than expected. It seems like he was a capable water-er and picker of tomatoes and cucumbers. I came home to this line-up on the kitchen counter (plus one cuke that I ate pre-picture.) And as you can tell, the Tums seem to have helped my tomatoes. No more rotting!

The cucumber plants (thanks to the cucumber bugs) are dying, dying, dying. Still, I've gotten 14 cucumbers so far this year. I haven't checked on current cucumber prices lately ('cause why would I?!) but I'm guessing my 14 have more than made up for what I paid for the seed packet. They may have even made up for the price of the trellis. There are a couple more cukes that are still growing but after they're done, I'm going to yank those cucumber plants. I'm considering replanting them and picking them early for pickling. Considering.

  

The broccoli went a little crazy when I was gone. I read somewhere that if you pick the main head, smaller heads will sprout. The main head was weak and flowering and just funky. So, I picked it over the weekend and now I'm just waiting to see what happens. Soon though, very soon, I'm going to pull the broccoli and cauliflower and start over. I'll probably replant my beans too. All three are listed as cooler weather plants.

I planted pumpkins last weekend. They were sprouting already when I got home on Thursday. The seed packet said 7-10 days for germination. I really hope these suckas are carvable by October!

I haven't posted any baby plant pictures like that in a while, eh?

I picked my first pepper today. It was from the Hot Pepper Mix square, but I think it was just a jalapeno. Whatever it was, it was HOT! I used it and about 10 Romas to make homemade pico de gallo. It's so delicious!

Before mix-up-- onion, jalapeno, tomato, garlic, cilantro, lime juice:

Post mix-up:

Stay tuned for Garden Invadors 2010. :)