More Melon Musing

The Melons are not done yet. In fact they seem to be bouncing back against the Squash bug horde a bit and the horde itself appears to be lessening. Not really sure how or why but I am wondering if perhaps these other plants they attack just do not give em enough to sustain their numbers. If I can break the cycle this year it may mean less Squash bugs next year.

Anyway I keep finding more Melons each time I go out and look. Picked up another four Sugar Babies last night that were hiding under some volunteer Cowpeas I left to grow. I also chopped up three Melons like the picture you see above for more Jelly. This time I am assuming the Jelly will turn out almost clear.

The Melon above is a Cream of Saskatchewan. Supposedly this Melon variety was introduced by Russian immigrants and thrives better in cooler climates than most Melons. Perhaps that's why I had pretty good luck with them this year despite the Squash bug attack. They are not a Melon you will find at the stores because they have an extremely thin rind. Because of the thin rind they tend to split easily and you have to watch em close depending on the growing conditions. They have a pretty light taste which some people really enjoy and they are one of the easiest Melons I have found to remove the seeds from.

This is the first year the wife and I are trying to make distinct batches of Water Melon types. Usually we just mixed em together but this year we are making specific batches of the Saskatchewan Cream and the Sugar Babies along with perhaps a straight Banana Melon if we get enough and the typical mixed one we did earlier.

All in all as I dig through the tall over grown Melon patch I am discovering this years harvest wasn't as bad as I first thought. I just let too many volunteer Tomatoes and Cowpeas grow up in there and they are hiding the Melons.

Eventually I imagine planting these various varieties of Melons will have to come to a stop. Unless I want to begin either limiting myself to one variety a year or making beds that are separated well apart for each variety when the seeds are no longer available I will be forced to only grow cross pollinated Melons. I should start looking into a Small-Hold specific variety from saved seeds just to see what I get but for now I have more than enough set back to continue growing many different varieties.

Keep Prepping Everyone!!!