Sure enough, this morning I smelled the blossom end just like some of you had suggested, and I could smell "melon"! I couldn't get it off the vine fast enough!
It weighed 4 lbs, 11 oz
(notes: It was direct sowed in a container on April 6th which makes exactly 104 days from sowing to harvest in an intensely humid and hot summer)
Not being a melon fan, I was hoping that the only reason I didn't like them was because I have only ever had store-bought. Not the case, unfortunately. This was cut still warm from the morning sun, juice running out and lovely scent... I still didn't like it! This may be because it is so sweet, I usually go for sour puckering type fruit, I actually like eating lemons and such! I put on my "yum face" and presented to eager children who have never tasted canteloupe:
They seemed to enjoy it, but they may have been being nice, since neither one finished their slice. Finn usually hoards fruit and won't let anyone else have "his" bowl of berries, so I cubed the rest and put it into separate "Loch" and "Finn" containers in the fridge. I'll keep checking to see who is actually eating it! I really wish hubby was here, I know he would eat it! Luckily, these will only come ripe sporadically so I won't be inundated with them, and they definitely won't go to waste considering that I can put them in a smoothie with other fruit and they will be consumed quickly that way!
I had to take all the grapes in today. I was mowing the lawn this morning and wondered "hey, where's my grapes?"... BIRDS! It's always a narrow window to be able to harvest them before mockingbirds and wasps eat them, and apparently I missed the window while I was busy being a mom all weekend, because half of them were already gone. I picked what was left and brought them in, good thing I like sour tastes, since they are not all quite ready yet! This is a big improvement, however... the past 2 years I didn't get any harvested before the birds got them.
Monday's Harvest: Tomatoes, Blackberries, Canteloupe, Cucumbers, and a total of 2.2 lbs of Grapes
I'm still holding out high hopes for the watermelon, I am told they aren't as sweet as the canteloupe so I am eager to try it... it's still not ready!
Oh, Erin, Erin, Erin. What are we going to do with you?
ReplyDeleteHere I am drooling as you're writing about your canteloupe and YOU DON'T LIKE IT!!! Do you know how many of us would have taken it off your hands and snarfed it right down to the rind before you could say, "Do you like it?"?
It looks so perfect and succulent that I could almost smell it right on the screen. Now go eat your sour grapes. ;o)
Lovely harvest! Everyone on my mom's side of the family SALTS their cantaloupe? It might be worth a try?
ReplyDeleteMamaPea, see what happens when my mother is 1200 miles away? I don't get scolded nearly enough, LOL! (She doesn't eat it, either!), although I think my dad does. I'm strange that way, I will always take a potato over candy - must be a sweets issue I am having!
ReplyDeleteMelissa, thanks! ...an excellent idea - I will give it a try tonight at dinner!
That's a beautiful harvest. I'm so glad you were able to beat the birds to your grapes this year!
ReplyDeleteAnd about that canteloupe - you can send it my way!! Caleb would gobble it all up in one sitting if I let him.. One of the few fruits that kid can't get enough of.
Couple more canteloupe comments: I always eat mine with salt on it, too!
ReplyDeleteMy dad didn't like sweets and I don't think I ever saw him eat a piece of pie or cake. But the one thing he did like was canteloupe with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on it.
P.S. I will be glad to act as your quasi-mom now and then just to try to keep you in line. ;o)
Oh man oh man! What a wonderful harvest!
ReplyDeleteI have a friend who can't stand sweet things (white bread and tomatoes either), and me being a sugar and sweet addict, I just don't get it! That cantaloupe looks mouth-wateringly delicious! I'm looking forward to going to the Gilroy Garlic Festival this weekend where they serve garlic ice cream in the center of melons...
What will you do with the rest of the cantaloupe, and with the watermelons if you/the boys don't like them?
Erin, Erin, if only I had grown melons this year.....warm and juicy from the sun.....I'm drooling all over Mama Pea!
ReplyDeleteWell, I will keep on trying until I find a melon I like! They are fun to grow, and you know us gardeners are kind of addicts that way - we'll keep on chasing that "high" LOL, I'll be surfing the melon pages again this winter in the seed catalogs!
ReplyDeleteI love to chase the gardening "high"! Beautiful harvest - I'm drooling over the berries.
ReplyDeleteOh what I would do for that melon!
ReplyDelete