Sunday, August 1, 2010

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!

25 comments:

Sharon said...

Hunh! I will be darned! Never heard of it, looks kind of strange on the outside, but the inside looks delicious! Any left out there, hiding? Did you save the seeds? My something new for the day! For you too, I imagine! ;-)

Melodie said...

Sharon, there are some more small ones that I will for sure let grow and it is still blooming and making which is saying something in this heat! Yep,I saved the seeds!

The Chicken Keepers said...

Never heard of them! Look good though(: learned something new today!

Blessings,
The Chicken Keepers

Anonymous said...

They look so yummy, and I've never heard of them. I bet the goats and turkeys will be knocking on the door demanding their melons back.

Teresa

Carol............. said...

That looks absolutely delicious! I think we have too short a growing season around here for those but I'd sure like to try.

The toad and dog pictures are really cute!

Callie Brady said...

Wish I could find that melon in the store or at the farmers market. Sure looks delicious! Lucky you!

Sue said...

Such a nice color inside---looks good.
I wish there were a SIMPLE way to determine when a melon is ripe. I can never tell for sure. I waste a LOT of melons..........

small farm girl said...

Wow, what a find! I can never tell when a melon is ripe. lol

~ Jackie said...

Melodie, how funny to read your post this morning, the timing couldn't be any better! I have a Seminole Pumpkin (native FL pumpkin) that I have never grown before -- and I have been eyeing it for days contemplating picking it.

Glad your melon turned out to be yummy!

the wild magnolia said...

What a nice surprise for you! It looks delicious!

Happy Summer Day!

Leslie said...

I love learning something new! I have never seen such a melon but I am so glad it turned out to be something yummy! It has a very interesting looking outside texture.

Doc said...

Melodie,
It looks delicious, I am so jealous of your growing season there, it never ends. Something like that would never make it here in Oregon.
Doc

Chicken Boys said...

I have lousy luck with veggie gardening. I only got 2 canteloupes from 7 vines and threw out a number of watermelons cause the rotted before they were ripe enough. I manage to get a few things but never enough to make all the work worthwhile.
~Randy

Texan said...

That looks so very good! yummers

the wild magnolia said...

stopping in with news. because of a "situation" where i am living i am moving. i will be moving south to stay with a friend. i will not have internet for awhile.

take care of you, the family, and the homestead.

i will miss everyone.

John Going Gently said...

I am so jelous.....no melons in wales!!!!

brokenteepee said...

Sometimes it's good when things get lost.
heh

hillybilly annie said...

that looks sooo yummy

Terra said...

What a cool experiment, I have not grown this kind of melon. Glad to hear it is tasty.

sunset pines farm said...

how yummy!
I also just found out to let dem peas grow! I have been picking premature peas until now...I left town for 10 days to come home to some real goodness and realized all along I had picked them too early...We learn.

Lin said...

Ooooh, it looks YUMMY!

Hey! You won the notecards at my blog! Send me your address so I can have them sent to you.

Congratulations!!!

Sarah Knight said...

Looks interesting & delicious : )
I'm pretty much exclusively a flower gardener — that way I don't have to suffer the disappointment of my black thumb. It's always nice to see when people can cultivate vegetables.

Nekkid Chicken said...

That looks so good.

Woody said...

Surprise...surprise! I usually just find snakes in our melon patch. I had looked at these in the spring catalog. How did they do with pests? Some of the exotics seem to fool vine bore and squash bugs.

Peace

Melodie said...

Woody,
No pest problems!