The best summer for melons in the midwest in recent memory.

If you could beat the mildews, it sure was.

Wow, I don't think even I could eat a 37-pound melon. I like the medium size that a person can polish off without feeling like a complete hog afterwards....

Wayne_5 Nice, Great Job, but I am not surprised.
You know so much about soil,gardening & many different plants.

Hi Folks,

We've been eating a 37lb. watermelon all week...:-) Probably another 4-5 not as big, but "hefty" left in the patch. The bird house gourds are also producing beyond any expectations and then some. Guess the drought and watering heavily once a week with soaker hoses made them happy?

Rest of the garden was interesting, garlic was harvested a month early, French Music. San Marzano tomatoes just now coming on heavy which is typical for them. Beans, Bush Blue Lake didn't do much at all and we grow them every year.

Drought seems to be over for us, the residual rain from the hurricane got here and dumped 2" in 45 minutes and it's been raining off and on ever since. Wish the 2" of rain had been spread out more, the ground was so dry it essentially just ran off, but we were happy to see it!!!

Every year in the garden is interesting, but this year seems more interesting, inland hurricanes and drought.

Be well,

Ev

We just brought in 2 more large Burpee crenshaws...so good.

It is about to rain again...had some yesterday. It seems that once the soil and air are moist that the rains come often and conversely, when it is bone dry, the rains don't even reach the ground. There has been almost no run off yet and I don't believe that any water has reached tile drains yet.

Wayne, you just reminded me of something the old farmers used to say when I was growing up on the farm in the '50's. We would occasionally have droughts and the "common wisdom" was that the ground had to be damp to "draw" rain. It seems that was the way at the end of a drought, it would "threaten and threaten," with only a coule of minutes of rain, then eventually, damp ground or otherwise, we'd get a good rain. Don't know what NOAA would say about that one.

Ev

LOL, I'm having a hard time eating the five little "personal size" Pony Yellow or Yellow Doll melons from my 2 irrigated plants. Unfortunately, not feeling so well these days, so I don't have much of an appetite. Have to have some "medical stuff" done soon, will be back in full form by spring!

I've had to throw out more than a half dozen melons that went bad while we were trying to eat them all.