Florida Backyard header image

All images © Daniel & Stacy Tabb and Boondock Studios

«   •   Home   •   »

“Men and Melons are Hard to Know”

(Benjamin Franklin)

Thusfar, this has been a good year for melons here in the Backyard.  We’re still having some fungus issues, and those will no doubt continue once the rainy season gets it’s arse properly in gear, but production-wise, things are looking pretty good.

Sunday, in the midst of humping a metric buttload of dirt around to the new tobacco boxes, we noticed the Amarillo Oro melon had been chewed a bit on the bottom, so even though it was not even remotely the correct color we pulled it.  We also pulled the first Gold Baby watermelon, even though it could have stood another week or two on the vine, because…well, because Husband wanted to nom on it.

DSC_0002

And, lo, he stood over the sink and ate half.

DSC_0004

The Amarillo Oro is a honeydew type that should have been yellow-rinded before harvest, if not for the stupid bugs, but was still quite tasty in the very center.  The Gold Baby is so called for it’s beautiful yellow flesh, which is extremely sweet.  It only gets about 5 lbs but don’t let anyone tell you that makes it an ideal small garden variety…our vine is over 20 feet long with dozens of 8 foot long perpendicular offshoots.  It honestly takes up  more room than the two pumpkin vines.  But the reward, oh the reward…there are, at last count, over 15 tiny melons in progress out there, so, totally worth it!