Waiting for Melons

I just got home after spending the past two days in New York City with my son and his fiancee. Good times! One highlight was a terrific outdoor farmer's market in the Park Slope area of Brooklyn and I just loved seeing all the yummy fruits and veggies for sale, plus artisan cheeses and meats. Had myself I juicy ripe peach...but I digress. This post is about melons. Or waiting for them.

 I have never successfully grown a melon. Last year I tried a honeydew variety called Honey Yellow and a watermelon called Blacktail Mountain. I got one honeydew the size of a golfball. It tasted marvelous however, so I tried again this year, plus I added a Korean variety. The watermelon in my hand didn't change size for weeks so I picked it. Yeah. It wasn't ripe.

 The Blacktail mountain above is the size of a child's bouncing ball. Small, but I'm leaving it alone and hoping at least to get a little taste of watermelony goodness. It's pretty much the only one I have because the other one or two are the size of that one sitting in my hand! The honeydews have three little guys that are a bit misshapen but if they make it to ripening we just might get a taste of them.

 But here's what I'm pinning my hopes on. The two melons pictured here are a Korean variety called Sun Jewel. They are a medium sized melon that grow quickly and are prolific. I have at least five of them sizing up nicely and they will be ready to pick when they are bright yellow. They look like large cucumbers.

 I've read mixed reviews about their taste and I really hope I like them because for my garden and my climate they are ideal. The plants are hardy and doing great.

Well, I haven't been in my garden since I was away but we got some substantial rain the past two days so things should be growing merrily. I'll have to get down there and see what's cooking as soon as I get back from church. I'm sure the weeds are loving it!