Premature Melon Picking

You all know how it is, the spring seed catalogs arrive in the dead of winter and we become like kids in a candy store! The,"Oh..look at that, I have to order some seed for it," routine!  One of the new things I tried this year was a Banana Melon. I had never grown this before so when it started making I was going by the size of the picture in the seed catalog on when to pick them.They were hard and tasted like...well...a hard cucumber! The goats and turkeys loved them! I had no intentions of eating these things and just wrote them off as something not to replant next year. I left them growing because they were doing good and like I said the critters loved them. Then , this morning look what I find "hiding" in the thick vines....

Hmmm...I say to my self....that is pretty big,I am going to take this baby in the house and check it out! Imagine my surprise when I sliced it open and saw this beautiful bright orange flesh!

It smelled really good too! I think it might should have stayed out a little longer because the rind is still a little thick...but I don't know this is my first time with this melon!

Sliced it looks like cantaloupe and kind of taste like it too....only a little different,but in a good way!

I found it to be very good and I will be planting it again and I will have to say, "Sorry goaties and turkeys,you aren't getting any more of these!" Well,they can have the rinds...and they seem just fine with that! So the lesson I have learned is ...let them melons grow!