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Post by mnjrutherford on May 27, 2009 6:33:21 GMT -5
Back in the days when my dear daddy was a merchant marine and sailing from Las Canarias to Brazil and finally along the eastern seaboard of the US, the final step in making coffee would be to strain it through silk stockings... used he said Yep, quite a dad.
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sphinxeyes
gardener
Suburbia, small garden in side yard, containers on larger back deck. Hot humid summers.
Posts: 154
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Post by sphinxeyes on Jun 2, 2009 22:36:16 GMT -5
I have flowers on all my melon plants now. I'm assuming that each flower would ideally become a melon fruit, right? Just like with tomatoes? But several of the flowers have already dried up and fallen off. They seem to just be falling off the stems, leaving a blunt end with no sign of developing melon fruit. Has something gone wrong? Did I "fake out" mother nature by planting them too soon and now they won't produce any fruit for me?
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Post by canadamike on Jun 2, 2009 23:03:49 GMT -5
You have male flowers, the ones attached to the plant by a thin stem. They are usually the first to show up, followed by female flowers, at the tip of baby melons.The fruit is an ovary that will inflate if fertilized.
Only the flowers at the tip of a baby melon will produce fruit. You always have much more male flowers, it is a natural mechanism to ensure proper pollination.
What is happening is simply nature taking its course. Female flowers should show up soon. Male flowers die after a short open time.
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sphinxeyes
gardener
Suburbia, small garden in side yard, containers on larger back deck. Hot humid summers.
Posts: 154
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Post by sphinxeyes on Jun 2, 2009 23:40:48 GMT -5
Ah good, nothing to worry about then. I was thinking maybe they weren't in a place where the right bugs could find them. Now that there are flowers should I starting adding more compost tea or do I start that when the melons themselves appear?
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Post by grungy on Jun 2, 2009 23:57:59 GMT -5
Do it now and later as well. Melons and squash are heavy feeders.
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Post by grungy on Jun 3, 2009 0:06:54 GMT -5
Sphinx, if you look carefully at your second picture of your melons the top blossom appears to be a female. It is the one with the small bulb right below where the flower will open. You can see it in the Y of the two upper leaves. Quite often the first one or two of the female flowers will drop off as well as the male flowers. Don't panic, it looks like you are well on the way to becoming a melon farmerette.
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sphinxeyes
gardener
Suburbia, small garden in side yard, containers on larger back deck. Hot humid summers.
Posts: 154
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Post by sphinxeyes on Jul 4, 2009 3:17:36 GMT -5
The baby melons are here! ;D Spotted them just this week after I added some extra compost mixed with some dried chicken manure to the buckets. I guess it was just what they needed! The one above is about the size of a quarter, just for reference.
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sphinxeyes
gardener
Suburbia, small garden in side yard, containers on larger back deck. Hot humid summers.
Posts: 154
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Post by sphinxeyes on Jul 20, 2009 17:25:59 GMT -5
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Post by michaeljohnson on Jul 21, 2009 0:52:30 GMT -5
Also-Double FF Bra' are considered great for melons's
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sphinxeyes
gardener
Suburbia, small garden in side yard, containers on larger back deck. Hot humid summers.
Posts: 154
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Post by sphinxeyes on Aug 4, 2009 18:56:08 GMT -5
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Post by biorag on Aug 12, 2009 9:12:00 GMT -5
I'm playing alone in my little country and here is a modest contribution : two melons "noir des carmes X jaune canari hâtif", weight nearly 1300 g each. I always grew "noir des Carmes" which is the earliest here. But I found the taste inconstant depending of the weather. "Jaune canari hâtif" is ripe a little lately but is always sweet. The F1 smells very good and the flesh is a pure sugar and better than some other melons F1 I bought as "cyrano" and "orus" I harvest plenty of F2 seeds for everybody who wants .... first for Val naturally !!! ....I'm still ashamed about my negligence (?)
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Post by biorag on Aug 12, 2009 9:18:15 GMT -5
Sorry, it's not the good place for the post before .... I've just understood what "NJ" means !!! Your Minnesota Midget X is wonderful.
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Post by grungy on Aug 12, 2009 10:38:24 GMT -5
Thank you, biorag. And yes, please.
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Post by bunkie on Aug 12, 2009 11:14:09 GMT -5
sphinx, great looking melons! ours are getting loaded with small fruit now.
biorag, i would like to have a few seeds too if you have extra. thanks!
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Post by biorag on Aug 12, 2009 11:56:54 GMT -5
biorag, i would like to have a few seeds too if you have extra. thanks! No problem Bunkie ! We 'll talk about this in september if you want. I continue to collect seeds ....
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