I checked on Baby Melon this afternoon:
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| Baby Melon |
That's when I noticed that all was not quite well with Baby Melon. I moved it a little bit to see better and, apparently, it had a splitting headache!
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| Oh, No! |
Poor Baby! I guess the recent heat followed by the watering it received on Friday was too much for it! Too much water and irregular watering were the main reason for watermelons to split, I read, followed by excess heat. I cut it off the vine and brought it in. Washed the dirt off:
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| That Doesn't Look Good, Does It? |
Then, I cut it open to see:
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| Just Turning Pink! |
It was a good color for being only about 5 inches in diameter. Daughter and I sampled it a bit - it hadn't had enough time to become very sweet, but, it wasn't bad. We kept it in the fridge to get cold and we had some of it, after dinner. It tasted better, chilled. I will be checking Wawa and Walter III every day, now! Might also reduce watering them!
I saved some of the seeds to grow again, next year. Thank you, Baby, for blessing us with your fruit!
Today, I am grateful for:
- Being able to harvest my first watermelon!
- The damage caused by the fruit splitting hadn't spread too far in and most of the fruit was good
- Fresh watermelon for dessert
- Getting plenty of seeds for next year
- There is another baby watermelon growing on the same vine!
Today's joyful activity was harvesting my first watermelon!
Have you grown watermelon before? Did you know when to harvest them? Did you experience them splitting before you could harvest them?
Here where we get more rain, splitting fruit (tomatoes and melons, especially) is pretty common--usually after a heavy rain. We have tried growing cantaloupes several times in the past, and I don't think we ever got one to ripen on the vine before it split. And once things split, the insects invade. I'm glad you were able to rescue this one before that happened.
ReplyDeleteI've had oranges and pomegranates split - again, due to inconsistent watering! But, this is the first time I've grown watermelon, so, I didn't really know what to expect. Yes, I was already afraid that insects might have got into the fruit and was happy to see that they hadn't!
DeleteHi Bless, Congratulations on growing the watermelon. I grew one once. I was huge! It wasn't very sweet, though. I harvested it in Sept. It didn't split.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Stephenie. Apparently, you have to ease off on watering them towards the end in order to sweeten them! It's fun to grow things and learn as you go, isn't it? :)
DeleteOh poor baby melon!
ReplyDeleteI have never grown watermelon before, but experienced splitting with tomatoes this year. We had a very wet summer
Some of the very last tomatoes on the Early Girl plant had started to split when we picked them. We haven't had any rain, but, I suppose we might have overwatered them to compensate for the heat!
DeleteHow fortunate that you spotted the split before Baby Melon became inedible. I've never grown melons, maybe I need to be more adventurous : )
ReplyDeleteYes, it was a good thing I noticed it, wasn't it? It must have split in the night or early morning; no insects had got in yet and it hadn't begun to spoil. Maybe you should try planting some watermelon, next year! Apparently, the seeds won't germinate until the soil temperatures reach 70F (21C), but, maybe you can cover the soil with black plastic to warm it up or use a cold frame?
DeletePoor Baby, but at least he was edible so didn't go to waste.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't have a clue about growing watermelons so knowing when to harvest is a complete mystery to me! You were probably expecting me to say that though, weren't you. xx
No, Baby didn't go to waste. :) Oh, I don't know, it's entirely possible that you might have expert knowledge about watermelon growing and harvesting! :D From what I've read, the watermelons are ready when they give a hollow sound when thumped! Or, when the tendrils closest to the stem start to brown. Or, when they split, I suppose! :D
DeleteIt still looks good though. :)
ReplyDeleteI've never grown watermelon. Though I like to eat them. Hehee
Thank you, Nil. I'm sure they will grow well in your climate. Maybe try growing them next year?
Deletelol
ReplyDeleteYour title is so funny :)
I'm glad you enjoyed the little melon. Hopefully the others will be a bit sweeter.
Thank you! :D Yes, I think we will hold off on watering the other two to see if that will help concentrate the sugar. There is also another tiny watermelon forming on the vine that Baby grew on, but, I am not sure if it will be able to grow big enough before it gets too cold for watermelons to grow. We shall see. :)
DeletePoor Baby Melon. At least you've still been able to eat it. X
ReplyDeleteYes, Baby Melon should have been given a few more days on the vine to ripen, but, we enjoyed it and it didn't go to waste. :)
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