Our biggest watermelon to date weights 13.8 pounds. We picked it today and gave it to Brenda to do a taste test. Brenda just texted pictures in the slideshow below and said it was the sweetest watermelon she had ever tasted and the consistency was perfect. We think this was a Crimson Sweet (Seed source: Baker CreeK Heirloom Seeds, Mansfield, Missouri 65704)
Below are the two smaller watermelon we picked yesterday (pictures 1-4). Both had good texture, but the smaller watermelon, a different variety than the others, was not sweet. The larger of the two (Crimson Sweet) was delicious even though it was small.
Below: (Pictures 1-4) Last night, the deer ignored the deer repellent and grazed on the pumpkin leaves again. Pictures 5-10 are the pumpkins we harvested this morning.
Pictures 1-3. These pumpkins are still very small, but are already turning orange and will most probably be ready for harvest in a week. I guess they didn’t get as much water, sun, and nutrients as the pumpkins that grew larger. Picture 4 is a male pumpkin flower filled with bees and picture 5 is one of the many new pumpkins sprouting from seeds. We truly hope these new pumpkin plants grow fast so we will have pumpkins for Halloween.
Picture 1 below is the only bush bean that sprouted. We think the temperature played a part since beans are supposed to sprout at 80 degrees or lower. (It has been in the high 90’s since we planted.). Pictures 2-13: The Honeydew and Cantaloupe are starting to flower, so fruit is not far behind. The flowers closely resemble watermelon flowers. Just like Pumpkins and Watermelon, both Honeydew and Cantaloupe have male and female flowers. Also, just like pumpkins and watermelon, the female flowers have the bulb below the flower and the male flowers appear before the female flowers. All the flowers we saw today appear to be male flowers.
Pictures 1-4 below: The Corn has tassels and silk, and the bees are getting busy. Each silk (picture 1) has to be pollinated in order to produce a kernel of corn. Look closely at the tassels in pictures 2-7. You will see small packets hanging from a stem. Each packet contains pollen. The packets break open and the pollen is spread by gravity, the wind, the bees, and other insects. It takes a lot of pollen to contact each and every silk. Pictures 8-10 are the new watermelon vines and flowers. Pictures 11-13 are blackberries. The blackberries are producing flowers again, so there is hope that we may have some more blackberries before the summer is over.
