Cantaloupe Season is Over

No need for a photo today.  I was hoping the cantaloupe plant was only going through a short slump but it seems the  cantaloupe season has ended for our area.  The last fruit has been picked and is sitting in the fridge waiting to be eaten.  The vine is turning yellow and the lieaves are shriveling.  The night air is reaching the mid 60's signaling the end of summer is comming.  Time for the fall harvest to start producing!

My next project is to sprout some black currant seeds and have something in the ground in the next few weeks.  Hopefully they will have time to produce for next fall.

Cantaloupe Seed Saving

Saving seeds from cantaloupes is a messy business.  After scooping out the innards you have to clean off all of the slimy stuff.  The way I get it done is by using a lot of paper towels.  Paper towels are good at absorbing moisture and pulling off all of the stringy stuff that sticks to it when you first get it out.

After that you have to let them dry in the open air.  Paper towels are good for this too.  After they're dry then rub them to get any residue left over off of them.

I like to use a little glass bowl after this step so the seeds have good air circulation.  The tips will look dry while the main part of the seed will keep some color.  If this starts to turn then you can pretty much toss it.  The above picture is a good example of seeds that are still in good shape.

They are also second generation seeds which should pretty well imitate the fruit it came from.  It goes without saying then that if you don't like the fruit you grew then you probably don't want the seeds.  Of course it could have crossed with something else in your area but chances are it didn't.

The Cantaloupe is Producing Again

Cantaloupes have a nice little yellow flower even if they don't end up making any fruit.  Fortunately if you keep it watered you should be able to get something off of it. Fertilize and you up your chances greatly and you might just get bitten by the gardening bug.

Don't confuse this with the other bugs in the garden.

This little baby is growing nicely.  You can see the flower at the bottom and the lines already forming.  On a Tuscan cantaloupe these lines will stay and get deeper. and the mesh will for between the lines.  Our variety isn't Tuscan and therefore the mesh will wrap around the entire fruit.  Fortunately this vine has produced very juicy fruit already and should continue to do so.

Below are the two other cantaloupes currently forming on the vine. As you can see they form next to leaves and can form in pairs as seen on the bottom picture although only one flower is actually making a fruit in this case.

So, go out there and don't let the heat get to you.  It was 110 yesterday and they don't seem to mind one bit.

Guano in the Garden

I don't know if it's the guano or the diligent watering I've been doing but the cantaloupe plant has start making at least two more cantaloupes.  I was looking at a neighbor's plant yesterday, a heat tolerant cucumber vine, and it's doing way better than it.

I also have one of the tomato plants wraping around pretty well now.  I'll do a little more pulling today to get it where I want it and then wheigh it to the ground for it to root well before fall creeps in. Should have plenty of tomatoes this season.

Citrus Seeds and Others

It's amazing how popular the post on citrus seeds still is after all these years.  It gets several hits a day, probably because there really isn't much out ther on planting trees from seed or what to look for and do with them if you desire to go that route.
I am very happy that my kaffir lime tree, started from seed, is still looking good.  It needs to be repotted which I plan to do around the end of the month or beginning of next month.
Another seed I have recently gotten is from the spqghetti squash we had for dinner last night. Still needs a little processing but they should be good. It's the end of the planting time for squash so I need to step on it.  The cucumbers haven't done so well and unless they pick up I'll probably plant the seeds there.  the canteloupe on the other hand are picking up and have secured their place until winter.

Cantaloupe Flowers

I guess the cantaloupe likes the care it's getting.  There were two new flowers this morning and the leaves are getting nice and full.  I'll have to keep an eye on it and make sure it's wattered well.  The 4 o'clocks are perking up as well.
We'll be topping the temperature hump in the next few weeks and the plants will be ready for a quick sprint of growing.  In preperatoin I still need to wrap the tomato plants around so the stems can root and provide a larger nutrient base for growth and pluck more basil flowers off to keep them happy and growing.  They've been real troopers in this heat.  If I can keep them up then we'll have plenty for a nice italian dinner using fresh tomato and basil.  Mmmmm.  Maybe even a fruit salad with cantaloupe on the side.

Heat in the garden

I have done some light weeding in the side bed and it's already taking a toll on the plants.  The 4 o'clocks really don't like the heat on the ground and are showing it by having wilty leaves.  I have since put some of the dried weeds back on top to give it some shade and hopefully keep the heat off a little better.  It's a hard battle in DFW between weeds and mulching in the heat which always comes and eventually leaves it's mark on crops.
I have watered enough to keep the cantaloupe plant happy and growing.  There's even a new shoot producing nice size leaves.  If it keeps up I hope to have more cantaloupes in the fall. One of the cats loves them.
I found wasps trying to stay cool as well by making a nest on my rose bush.I haven't gotten it out entirely yet but also don't want to be stung.  I'll try again today and see how far I can get.

Wonderful Weeds

The heat is up and all of my plants are growing like, uh well, weeds.  All thanks to the actual weeds growing in among the plants  The four o' clocks especially are blooming in the morning. By this time they are usually just hanging on and waiting for September to roll around.
The cantaloupe plant has started growing again after fruiting and I hope to see new flowers soon for a possible fall crop.
The tomatoes in the back are a healthy green with many flowers. Trying to pollinate early in the morning before the heat rises in hopes of having more tomatoes.  Not much of a crop yet this year.
Planted some leek bottoms which are already double the size they started out as and are still very healthy looking. Hopefully they'll keep it up and we'll have leeks available all year.

Cantaloupe

Out of the entire garden I'm most looking forward to the cantaloupe again.  We've only one vine but it has a good size melon on it right now, larger than a softball. The last one I grew didn't get any bigger than a softball but it was big enough to eat for one person.

The tomato plants haven't put a tomato out since we bought them.  I don't know what it is about me an tomatoes, I don't think they like me much.  maybe they know I want to eat them...

We have had good success with the fig tree out back. Nearly five pounds of figs which we've eaten and mostly preserved into fig spread.  I'll probably go back out today to get some more. The birds are putting up a fight though. Last time there were over a dozen birds squawking as I picked.

Cantaloupe Fatalities

We've lost one of our troops to some sort of bug it seems. The pit right in the middle went pretty deep into the center of the fruit. It wouldn't be getting any bigger and cutting it up would have been only a bite.



After cutting in down the hole I found that the hole turned after entering. There's almost no room for the orange goodness to develop.



Cutting into the right slice reveals the hole going even deeper into the middle of the melon.



Fortunately for me there are still many melons to go. Unfortunately the weather is getting cooler and there's not much more time for the melons to develop. There are only two good candidates for maturity but they'll sure be sweet.

Backyard Cantaloupes

As I was mowing, about a week ago, I decided to just mow off some of the cantaloupe vine that had been growing out of the box, over the tile and out into the lawn. What I didn't realize was that it had already started making melons. It's the kind of thing you hope will happen but usually doesn't pan out as quickly as that. The first thing I knew about the matter was a loud thud as the blades hit a softball size melon and it rolls along the ground spilling newly forming seeds as it goes.
I have since left the escapees to their own devices.

Fortunately they have started forming in the bed and not so much outside. There is also a bitter melon plant in the corner, the only one to survive. It's flowers are much larger and I don't think it has made a melon yet.

The smaller melons still look mostly green and there's plenty of flowers for more to start forming. I scattered some pepper seeds in today to hopefully give a litle more sun cover and keep some more of the moisture in. They like lots of water.

The larger ones are starting to get some stripes but still no netting yet. Give them a few weeks and they should be netted and ready for picking. They probably won't get as big as the ones in the store but they're sweeter.

Okra

I was talking with one of my neighbors today and got an update on how his garden was faring.
Most of his crop died... That isn't surprising but at least it wasn't all of it. His okra for instance did pretty well. Okra is of course the original main ingredient for gumbo, the word coming from the french word for okra. His cherry tomatoes also survived and produced some. My one tomato plant hasn't made a tomato yet but also isn't very big.
unlike his melons, mine are doing well and will hopefully ripen soon before the weather changes again. We'll see.

Fall Yet?

They said it would get cooler yesterday.
Then they said it woud be cooler today.
Then I stopped listening to them and just waited like everyone else.
Granted, it was a little cooler today. I stayed in the truck more with the AC running. I've been out doing surveying work. The worst part is the mosquitos atacking. As I was swatting them away from my head with one hand and a hat, I failed to notice my other hand. By the time I looked down there were nearly a dozen on the one hand alone, not to mention my jeans where they couldn't get to me anyway. I smacked them off and red smears were left.
All things said though, it is a little cooler. Not as much as I would like just yet but it'll be here soon enough.
We'll be cruising out of Baltimore November 4th. Then I may just be thinking why I wanted the cool weather to come so soon.
The cantaloupe is still growing. It's been netted for some time now and just hasn't ripened. So far I haven't found a reason for this. In the mean time I guess I'll keep it watered and fed.
The cooler weather has done wonders for the weeds in the yard too. I pulled out a bunch of them recently just to have them replaced with a new batch.

Cantaloupe Cantastrophy!

Cheesy? Probably.
This doesn't make the horror any less upsetting. I was mowing the lawn and decided to clip one of the cantaloupe plants to try and shock it into making melons. What I didn't realize is that there was a softball size melon hiding under the leaves. A thud and out rolled the clipped and cracked melon. I still have others starting so I'm not devastated.
It's amazing how easy melons are to grow and how easy it is not to notice the fruit.

Cantaloupes

The second cantaloupe is growing nicely. The webbing is getting more pronounced but the underside is still green. It has gotten a little bigger so I really don't mind the wait. Just a little longer for sweet juicy cantaloupe!
One of the vines in the back has a few little starters on it. The vine is a little bigger than the other one but it's been growing in the back. The shade hasn't let it get too hot and the soil is better so maybe I'll get some nicer melons back there.
The tomato plant, the only on left, seems to be doing fine. I'm going to have to build a mound around it soon so it can grow fast enough to make tomatoes before the frost comes. I might even get around to making a cold box for it.

Saving Melon Seeds

After you grow your beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots and any thing else you usually see in a typical garden you might want to grow melons. It's nice to get some good seeds and plant them, knowing that what you bought is what's coming up. After you harvest your first melons though there's no point to throwing all those seeds away! You may have spent three or four dollars on a pack of 20 seeds and there on the cutting board there's probably hundreds of them. You know the taste of the melon. You know it will grow in your area. You also know your family loves them. What you don't know is how to make sure the seeds will be stored properly. Fortunately you came here.

You of course have your melon. So, cut it open and get the seeds.

Now you have a mass of pulp and seeds. There may be seeds still stuck to the strands than used to run down the middle of the melon. If so, just pick up the strands and let them hang. Run your hand down the length, stripping off the seeds as you go.

What you are left with now is a bit of wet seeds and a little pulp. At this point I use a strainer and put all of the seeds in it. Run water over the seeds and swish it around. The strainer will help scrub off most of the rest of the pulp leaving you wet seeds with just a little bits of stubborn pulp clinging on. As you dry them the little bits of pulp will be removed. What I like to do is use paper towels for this. The seeds will stick a little at times but the pulp really likes to hang on. As pulp dries it gets sticky. As seeds dry they slip.

Now you have dry seeds. Well, mostly dry. You don't want to stop just yet. If you run your fingers through them they will feel cold. This is due to the moisture still in them that will rot them if not removed. I've stored too many seeds when I "thought" they were dry to make that mistake again. Pick through them again looking for any hidden pulp and remove it usually just a film.

After the film is gone and you think they are dry enough to store you might let them sit out for a day on a paper plate to fully dry. They will feel a little cool still but not cold to the touch.

I use plastic bags or canisters but if yo want to use paper for storage it breathes a little better and will help pull out moisture just in case some is left. Check the bags for problems for a few days. If a problem starts you can usually save most of the seeds and remove the problem.

Next season you can plant.

Heat

The heat is once again getting unbearable. Surprisingly the patchouli is doing well as well as the melon plants and tomato plant that seems to have planted itself in one of the beds. I'm not going to complain since we wanted some tomato anyway.
The cats have started sleeping behind the turk's cap. I guess it's one of the shadier spots in the yard. It's also near one of the sprinkler heads and when I turn it on they shoot out of there like nothing.
One of the lavender bushes died. It was planted where the last one died so I think there might be something wrong with the location, bugs or something.

Cantaloupe - Home Grown

I went outside today and checked on my cantaloupe vine, particularly the cantaloupe itself and it decided to fall off the vine. So, I brought it in and placed it in the fridge so it would be nice and cold when we decided to eat it.

As you can see it has a nice orange undertone.

The seeds are also nicely developed and can be saved for next year's planting. This time I'm going to label it better.

Now we just have to make sure we get more than the cat. She loves cantaloupe as well as strawberry yogurt.

10% Chance of Flooding and Monsoons

I looked just yesterday and the forcast was a 10% chance of rain. This morning I checked with someone who's iphone said it would only be partly cloudy the rest of the day.
When five-o-clock rolled around there was a sudden loud clap of thunder and the sky got realy dark. It poured for nearly an hour making streams of water flowing in the streets.
At what point did 10% turn into a monsoon?
The up side is that I don't have to water the plants today. The cantaloupe really likes the rain water better anyway.
The down side is that it's now too wet to mow the rest of the yard.

Cucumber - Watermelon - ????

Ok, I have grown cucumber before which is why when what I thought were cucumber seeds came up I assumed they were cucumbers. They had the prickly stems and the leaves looked good enough to be right. The fruit even looked the same when it was really small.

Then there came the shape and texture of the fruit as it got bigger... They were smooth and round and began to show long stripes. A watermelon, right?

Nope... I got up this morning and checked on the progress. I figured with all the rain a watermelon would have gotten to the point I would have to do something about it again. When I looked at it there was a strange grey weaving pattern all around the round fruit. It will soon turn a little orange in the middle and be really sweet, I hope. That is what cantaloupe does after all...