I guess this melon couldn’t decide on which side of the fence it wanted to hang, so is now wedged in the middle. I had to bend the wire on both sides to free it. (I chose to have it outside the fence because it was less likely to become dog food there. Griffin likes ripe melon.)
There are currently about 10 melons developing on the vines I planted at the beginning of Spring. This is the second round of set melons for these vines. The pollinators have been busy!
On a lark, I planted some winter squash seeds in my stock tank garden bed. There should be enough time before our first freeze for the squash to develop (I hope), and the melons have been doing so well there, maybe squash will too.
It was very exciting when the seeds sprouted 5 days later! We had a whopper of a rain (for here, and especially with the drought) that brought 3.5 inches in a day, according to my glass rain gauge. It is damp all over, and my frog army has dispersed. I will have to get my sprays back out since my vines have lost their multitude of guardians.
My eldest and I have been experimenting with fruit smoothies and we have stumbled on a really good combination: Melon and vanilla. I’m growing Aspire melons, which are small 1-2 pound melons with sweet orange flesh. They taste like what I grew up calling cantaloupe. The flesh scoops out of the rind like a dream, and it blends well with our smoothie base.
For two shakes:
Add ingredients in order in a blender, blend until smooth.
This is reminds me of a treat we would have when I was young: a scoop of vanilla ice cream in a cantaloupe half. Nom nom.
After collecting the leaves I needed for my recipe (Thai Chicken Basil uses at least three cups of fresh basil), I took the branches that still had leaves out to the chickens. My chickens really like basil.
I shove the thick stems into a hole in their chicken swing, which holds it secure so the hens can rip off leaves.
It doesn’t take long for the flock to strip off all the leaves!
The melon vines have produced a continuous harvest of ripe fruit, and the basil is growing nicely. I collected a ripe melon, and a large amount of basil! Since those are the only things I seem to be able to grow, that is all I planted this year. The new stock tank garden is doing better than the small multiple container garden from last year. The addition of the frog army (attracted by adding a standing water dish), has helped yields as well.
Critters and Craft 