Watermelon
We had a great watermelon harvest. This is the last of over a dozen fruits we picked. Among the varieties we grew were Crimson Sweet, Alibaba, Moon and Stars, and Orangeglo. Most were quite a bit larger than this one. Of course, they all ripened at nearly the same time, so we have been gorging on melons for the last several weeks.
Split Watermelon
This one turned out to be close to perfect inside and exceptionally sweet. I’m getting better at judging ripeness, but I still made some mistakes.
Our watermelons were one of the happier garden results this year. I think my growing method helped. I started seeds on elevated mounds built on top of the already raised beds. This is the way I had been growing summer squash and zucchini with good success for the last few years. The melon plants really liked it up high and the plants were quite vigorous.
We are being told that this will be the wettest year ever recorded in this area of Wisconsin. I think that helped a lot, too.
Watermelons are great, but one can only consume so much. Next year we’ll plant less.
Noel and Judy,
One of the Master Gardener melon growers made watermelon jelly with some of his excess! Very tasty on biscuits!
Great report! Have you tried storing them long term? There is a children’s book (famous, no doubt, but I can’t remember the title; may “Caddie Woodlawn”?) where they talked about the hired men storing watermelons in the middle of the loose hay in the barn hay mow; intending to bring them out at Christmas time for a treat. Unfortunately, the children found them and ate them all before Christmas! But I’ve always wanted to try it. I have a barn full of hay…
Watermelon jelly could have been a help. We knew we couldn’t dehydrate them.
I’ll have to check this out, but I’m dubious. I think once the melons start to get ripe, there is no slowing them down except for refrigeration and even that only lasts so long.
I’ve got my doubts that they would store well as whole melons.