Cantaloupe Success – Sort of
Last week, I harvested our first Hale’s Best cantaloupe fruit from the vines growing in our vegetable garden, as shown in this picture. This is the same cantaloupe shown in the photo in my July 25 post. Although I can’t say it was the best cantaloupe I have ever eaten, it was sweet and more flavorful than the typical store bought cantaloupe. However, it was small – only about 5 inches long. But I am happy just to get a small cantaloupe that’s tasty. Last year, we harvested a larger cantaloupe, but it wasn’t at all sweet.
I know that our climate is not ideal for melon growing, because the average summer high temperatures are not hot enough. So I consider this cantaloupe a partial success. I have also harvested a few more cantaloupes that are only about 3 inches long. Now I just have to figure out how to get them to set larger fruit, like grocery store cantaloupe. Perhaps, they need more fertilizer. I only gave our cantaloupe plants a few applications of water soluble fertilizer back in the spring. Perhaps, many more applications of fertilizer might work better. Maybe I will try more fertilizer next year.
August 30 2009 12:17 pm | Melons