Sweet Sweet Rain

The last week or so has brought the storm clouds. We've been having regular rain now for a while, and it's been magnificent. I can't remember being so happy for the grey skies.  Everything in the garden  has been thankful for the deep and soaking precipitation. I think we've had around 5 inches in the past little while. It's been great. I've never seen it so green. The hot Texas sun just saps the life out of everything sometimes. I'm excited for fall.  

Cantaloupe? Yes You Can.

Early stage of melon development,
note the remnant of the blossom on it's end .

Horrible puns aside, I've found it really easy to grow Cucumis melo, aka muskmelon aka cantaloupe. I grow the Earlichamp variety, an f1 hybrid that has is quick to mature, which makes my long growing season that more abundant in fruits from one vine. Some of the people I've talked to shy away from this large edible, because it takes up too much space and is a magnate for all manner of pests. Generally this is true, but I'm able to successfully grow them because I do so vertically. It only takes up one square foot of ground



This one is about 4 inches across,
its about this size that I usually put
the melon in a net and tie it to the trellis.

space, but it requires the support of a strong trellis. Eventually it's also wise to place the heavy melons in a net, or old rags or anything that can be tied around the fruit and the vertical support. Pests are nominal because most of the enemies of the Cantaloupe lurk on the ground. The verticality also helps to prevent melons from fungal attacks because air circulation is much better up there. It one of those killing-two-birds-with-one-stone ideas. For someone like me, who has a very very small area to garden, the vertical growing is ideal. As long as you have a sunny spot, good rich soil, temperatures in the 80s or 90s and a vertical support, you can grow tasty juicy aromatic melons in a mere square foot. There's no reason the urbanites can't enjoy a taste of the country.

My muskmelon vine scampering up the
modified room divider I found in a dumpster
and resurrected for the advancement
of urban agriculture.

Fall Beginings

It's September, which means that temperatures are in the high 80s and still flirt with the low 90s. So in other words its a northern summer. We probably won't get our first frost until mid November. That's what happened last year.

So, I've heard that this is the best season to grow things in this climate. I can understand why. I'm actually excited to get started. I planted nine broccoli seedlings. I am ashamed to say that I did not grow them from seed. My summer garden was almost exclusively from seed. I suppose that's just gardener's hubris.

I've also direct seeded some salad greens and a few root veggies. It will be interesting to see what works and what doesn't