Of the 4 melons I planted in the old chicken run, 3 are chewed up like this. One of them even started growing straight up and escaped the varmint long enough to sprout some female flowers, but those were gobbled when I checked in today.
Somehow one escaped even though it’s planted quite close—directly on the other side of the gate. The sole survivor is nursing a couple of little cantaloupes, the largest not yet palm sized
Hami melons have a VERY long history. But the originals were not what I expected and definitely not up to snuff compared with modern breeding results. They were grown in part for storage being picked and hauled into cities to market. The Hami melons in stores today to my knowledge are all hybrids.
To follow up on another item above, Oriental melons are a different species within the melon group. They tend to have very sweet white flesh with a flavor that some find undesirable. I’ve grown Sakata Sweet a few times. I can eat them but they are not one of my favorite types.
Might try some mouse traps. Looks similar to my vole/mouse damage.
Unfortunately my toddler loves the garden so mousetraps are not an option. And the night I posted the picture I heard some ruckus and the next morning the smaller melon had vanished
You can get traps that are mostly kid safe. We have to be constantly trapping/killing mice and voles and began when my kids were just walking. The ones that work the best are these black boxes that cost a stupid amount of money.
There are live trap ones that are also pretty kid safe. I say that, but every little kid is different, so maybe nothing is safe around yours. Mine listened when they were told what they were and not to touch them.
Among the many reasons are that mines likes to touch and/or smack anything he’s told not to
Well, even with traps and daily sprays, I had a few melons eaten out by vermin last year. There would be a hole and the entire melon carved out. I considered making hardware cloth mesh enclosures for them this year, but didn’t have the energy and thus far haven’t had any tragedies…
Went to check on the melons this after the storm yesterday and two had liberated themselves. I didn’t trace the vines, but Hannah’s Choice (left) and maybe Rocky Ford (right; that needed to try a bit harder).
edit: picked a second large one. There’s a decent sized Rocky Ford that’s just developed the netting and still green.
Will Honeydew still be slightly hairy when fully ripe? I don’t know if they defuzz and wax them at the store or not? I’m guessing the furthest along one still has a few days more to mature.
I wait until my honeydew are smooth (no hair). It’s hard, because they begin to lighten in color and look ripe and they are usually my earliest melons so I want to eat ‘em. They don’t slip, so for me, smoother and lighter color are the best way to tell. They are SO GOOD when you get the timing right!
Came back from a week away to find a whole cantaloupe vine dead with disease. These two barely have any aroma. We’ll see if they become edible on the counter. 2 years ago I rocked cantaloupes so many and such healthy plants. They were amazing. Last year and this year have been awful and it’s not the weather. They don’t do well in my raised beds. Going back to putting them in ground in my orchard melon patch again next year.
Second to last early moonbeam finally ready to pick. Likely overripe and needed to be picked while I was away. Oddly, this melon had 2 tendrils. One was crispy brown and the other bright green and on another planet.
The melons I rushed to pick last weekend were underripe as expected. Even pale, they had good flavor and sweetness, would’ve been great. Bunch more that hopefully ripen in the few weeks before I have to leave again.
