Snapped this pic this morning on my watermelon Thought you might like to see I am sure your bees are enjoying your melon blooms
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Lookslike a honeybee
That is great Mark! Thanks to a rainy spring that kept me out of the garden all spring, my melons are so late this year that I might be having watermelons for Thanksgiving! haha. They are just now starting to bloom. I have high hopes that my new bees will do their job just like in your photo.
Oh well we are both in the same boat late melons are better than no melons
I didnāt want to say it, but from the photo I was kind of thinking you must be running a little late this year too! Nice to know Iām not alone, and like you said, late melons beat no melons!
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When did you plant, Mark?
I am not 100% sure. Probably June 15th
Great. About a week later than me and TX is obviously further south. It will be interesting to see how our melons develop. Thanks man.
What size are your melons? Mine are ping pong balls at best
Greatā¦we really are on just about the same time table. I have a few that are tennis ball or even softball size, but most are ping pong ball sized. But to be completely honest, the majority of mine have really not even set fruit. My vines are still expanding and blooming every day, and MOST of my plants just have marble sized melons or none at all.
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I know this is an old thread, but was that a papaya at the very front of your cart? Iām the worldās biggest lover and eater of fruit, but that is the one fruit Iāve just never been fond of. Not very sweet (the ones Iāve had, anyway) and a taste I find a bit off. Just curious, do you eat them plain or use in smoothies or what do you do with them?
Kevin,
That did look like a papaya. Papaya is an acquired taste. I know many people who do not like it. It has a certain taste to it that no matter how ripe, how sweet, it turns some people off.
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Glad to know Iām not alone!!! It REALLY REALLY turns me off, but I certainly donāt mean that as an insult to those who enjoy itā¦goodness knows I eat a lot of things that many people would find more disgusting than I find Papaya. Iāve only tried it a few times, and always wondered if Iād just had terrible luck in getting bad ones. Your response tells me I probably didnāt! ha. Thanks
Yes, I think itās an acquired taste, Kevin, but itās one of my very favorite tropical fruits. I make a delicious papaya salad with avocado. I make my own home made salad dressing for it. Family adores it. I will only use the Solo papaya. I donāt care for the Mexican papayas at all. The Solo (or Hawaiian, as they are often marketed in the supermarkets) is very, very sweet and tasty. It does have a particular aftertaste that some donāt care for, but I just love it. Yes, it does need to be ripe. I am going to try to grow one (again) right up against my south-facing wall of windows. It needs lots of heat, VERY VERY frost tender, and does not like cool winter rainy soil. Which is the exact weather we have here. So, Iāll have to put plastic down over the roots, and also spray the trunks with a fungicide. I am also going to pre-treat the soil with either Agrifos or Kocide 300, as well. It is very, very susceptible to a type of Phytophthora, that causes rapid root rot, and catastrophic failure. If it will grow, this is the spot.
Itās just facinating to me that youād go to all that trouble to grow such a thing, but you and your papaya salad make it sound good. I will say that 2 of the 3 times Iāve eaten Papaya its been in Mexico, so undoubtedly I got the ones you say arenāt very good. The other was in Puerto Rico, so probably the same bad kind. And IT IS THE AFTERTASTE that makes it bad to me, so its interesting you say that. Taste likeā¦well, not good to me. But I certainly respect your love of the fruit and wish you all the best in your efforts to grow it!
The Trader Joeās around here used to sell Caribbean Red papayas, havenāt seen them labeled as such lately, and they to me are the absolute best. The papayas out of Hawaii are all GMO, and not something that Iām going to argue about or support with my hard-earned dollars.
There are certain things that I will buy on sight: They are Reed avocados, Emerald Beaut plums and Caribbean Red papaya. I might be adding Hatch Valley chiles to the list as well.
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Iāll have to look out for those papayas, Clint. Iām not worried about GMO. Heck, most sports we have are technically āGMOsā, only created via nature by the sunās UV radiation. I will continue to enjoy them, they are just about my very favorite fruit. Maybe right behind pears. So, definitely going to keep my eyes peeled for a āredā papaya. What do they look like? Same size as Solo, larger, smaller, red?
Patty S.
Caribbean Red are typically huge, never GMO and always labeled on the fruit, and displayed with signage. There are wanna be reds from other regions, but CR is the bomb.
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This is the watermelon I wish I grew but didnāt. It did come from a local farm a few miles from here that raised it down in the river bottoms. Not sure what type it is but hoped some of you might know. For the $3 or $4 I paid for it the money was well spent. Thought I might try and save the seeds but what are your thoughts? My girlfriend just ate one and she rated them as great to excellent! I would attribute some of that good flavor to the extremely hot summer. I think Texas and Arkansas as examples raise some of the best watermelons for that same reason. I think soil is another factor on raising good tasting fruit eg, Georgia peaches. Thatās a kitchen chair itās sitting on.
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Thatās a big melon for sure. It looks a little like the Star Brite I grow but is likely something else.
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