Well the answer is yes and ... no! We cut into the mystery object mentioned in my last post and this is what we found...
The object WAS a melon but when we tasted it - it tasted of nothing - not sweet and juicy like the ones grown in the greenhouse. It had changed from the really dark green colour and was fairly soft and looked quite juicy but obviously hadn't ripened properly. The fruit was found hidden amongst the squash plants so it wouldn't have benefitted from the limited amount of sunshine that we had over 'summer'. Maybe this meant that the fruit hadn't sweetened. Anyway next year we are going to have another try at growing melons outdoors this time with a bit more tender loving care as at least we now know we can get fruit to develop even during the abyssmal summer that is now just a memory!
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That's a shame, can melons really ripen outside in this country? I know they can grow in cold frames or a greenhouse. Hope you have better luck next year.
ReplyDeleteMark this down as a success - melon outside this far north? So maybe there is hope for my dreams of apricots in north west Cumbria!
ReplyDeleteYou got healthy growth and size, flavour will come next year, well done!
like you say, always next year :D do you have to have a greenhouse for melons? any sweet outdoor varieties you can recommend, I think some of them are tasteless.
ReplyDeleteHi Damo - we'll try again next year and hope for a better summer to see.
ReplyDeleteHi BW - We are also going to give our indoor melons a bit more attention next year to try and get larger ones - is your apricot outside. We have a nectarine in a tub which was newly planted this year - we intend to take in inside over winter.
Hi Craig.
ReplyDeleteThe other plant was in the greenhouse and produced 3 small but really delicious fruit. It was Noir des Carnes - see photos on previous post
What a shame it didn't ripen, but I think you can count it as a success seeing as you got it to this stage outdoors, and there's always next year to improve on this.
ReplyDeleteHi Jo
ReplyDeleteWe always need a challenge don't we? And this one was ignored - forgotten about and got to this stage on its own so who knows with a bit of help ...
Hi GLA, no apricots yet, just plans (which you know is a fatal four-letter word at Bag End).
ReplyDeleteI have a couple of potential locations where they might get enough sun and have shelter, on "The List" for next Spring!
So melons outdoors too...I think I may experiment a little more with them next year then and see what happens..I have a strange fruit on my plot at the minute...I will hopefully get some pictures and post about it tomorrow!!
ReplyDeleteSounds intriguing Tanya.
ReplyDeletetoo bad it didn't get sweet enough, but it does look very tasty.
ReplyDeleteGood luck for next year