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Post by walt on Sept 16, 2019 10:37:14 GMT -5
Both types of melons I mentioned were truely wild. There was no history of domestic melons being used in Niger until recent introductions of domestic melons from Europe.
Actually, though agriculture is ancient in that area, with sorghum, cowpeas, and pearl millet being domesticated in that general area, gardening has little history there.
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Post by imgrimmer on Sept 16, 2019 11:26:52 GMT -5
Today I picked the first ripe direct seeded Barattiere or Carosello ( round armenian cucumber). There was a long armenian cucumber but snails ate it before it got ripe.
There are more to come. My own landrace is on its way  Watermelons should be ripe too but I am afraid they might not. Can`t judge it.
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Post by mskrieger on Sept 25, 2019 17:20:55 GMT -5
None of my melons have tasted particularly good this year--it was just too cool for the varieties I grow (I planted too late, so they matured in late August/September.) So I evaluated mostly on "potential". Does it smell good? Do the flavors taste like they could be good if the fruit developed in the heat? I intend to plant earlier next year. imgrimmer, how did yours taste? |
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Post by imgrimmer on Sept 26, 2019 2:54:36 GMT -5
I tasted only an unripe Citron x Watermelon cross that tasted like a sweet cucumber. Very nice. And a ripe Carosello that tasted a bit less sweet melon.
I let the other fruits on the vines as long as possible to be sure as many as possible seeds are ripe.
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Post by keen101 (Biolumo / Andrew B.) on Sept 26, 2019 7:03:18 GMT -5
I tasted only an unripe Citron x Watermelon cross that tasted like a sweet cucumber. Very nice. And a ripe Carosello that tasted a bit less sweet melon. I let the other fruits on the vines as long as possible to be sure as many as possible seeds are ripe. Nice! I think seeds continue to develop in the fruit after picked if picked early. Kinda Like pumpkins and squash. |
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Post by mskrieger on Sept 26, 2019 7:46:38 GMT -5
That's good news imgrimmer that you have some sweetness in your melons! Hopefully you have another fruitful breeding season next year |
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Post by imgrimmer on Oct 7, 2019 5:27:05 GMT -5
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Post by steev on Oct 7, 2019 22:12:09 GMT -5
How many plants did it take to produce that range of fruit?
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Post by imgrimmer on Oct 8, 2019 3:40:17 GMT -5
many hundred seeds --> around 20 plants---> 11 fruits my first year with more than only 1 fruit... |
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Post by keen101 (Biolumo / Andrew B.) on Oct 8, 2019 10:37:35 GMT -5
You should watch the spot these were planted (unless you'll be reusing it next year) as I'm wondering if some of the seeds will be delayed by a year to germinate. I should have had way better germination from what I planted and did not.
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Post by imgrimmer on Oct 14, 2019 13:05:30 GMT -5
The germination of all plants was very irregular this year due to the drought. I made the mistake and soaked the seeds in water before sowing. I thought this would give them a quicker start. They probably dried out after that. Who knows..... I will look at the patch next year.
Yesterday I found more fruit. They were covered by weeds.
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Post by steev on Oct 14, 2019 20:35:13 GMT -5
When I have melon seeds in limited numbers, I always seed for transplants, rather than direct; much safer.
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Post by mskrieger on Oct 17, 2019 10:59:05 GMT -5
True seeding for transplant is safer steev, but I'd argue that transplanting reduced the plants' ability to deal with subsequent drought. Directed seeded melons are pretty drought tolerant otherwise. If imgrimmer can manage it, I'd say direct seed dry, unsoaked seed. Then irrigate thoroughly (1" or a little more), then wait for them to sprout; then water thoroughly one inch once/week if there is no rain. Once the seedlings have a couple real leaves, they will have good enough root systems to not need irrigation except under extreme circumstances (assuming from imgrimmer's location that he's in a place that is generally well watered, drought being relative). |
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Post by imgrimmer on Oct 17, 2019 13:08:23 GMT -5
Next year I will direct seed unsoaked seeds. Normally we are not in an arid area at all but in 2018 we had nearly no rain after March. 2019 there was more rain but the ground was so dry that it didn`t really help. I have sandy ground in my garden it dries out very fast even in wetter years. In normal years we have plenty of rain in summer this was the first really drought which deserves this name since decades. Now it is raining again and I already miss the sun |
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Post by flowerbug on Dec 24, 2019 1:20:37 GMT -5
i'm excited to have some small melon seeds from a friend to try out for the coming season. i can't recall the exact name at the moment. in the past i've tried to grow melons here but with my lack of experience with them and an early season some years it wasn't all that productive of melons i'd consider useful for the effort. so i'll try with a different melon this coming season and learn some more. |
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