Summer gardens reach sweet peak when they start smellin’ of melon
Melons aren’t the easiest crops to grow — but what a payoff. Store-bought varieties, selected for shelf life and ability to endure long-distance shipping, simply can’t compare with a fragrant, juicy, homegrown specimen.
Late summer is prime melon time, so either pick up one at your local farmers market or, if you planted seeds in spring, savor every mouthful of your sweet harvest.
In any case, next year consider trying two new winners from All-America Selections. The nonprofit organization, based in Downers Grove, Illinois, aims “to promote new garden varieties with superior garden performance judged in impartial trials in North America” and announces new winners every year.
• For the Great Lakes region, including Ohio, Cal Sweet Bush watermelon was chosen for “exceptional taste and texture,” according to All-America Selections.
“These watermelons have compact, bushy vines that grow only 14-18 inches long and still provide enough foliage cover to protect the fruits,” the group says.
As a result, Cal Sweet Bush can be grown in a pot, so even container gardeners can try it.
• Orange SilverWave
— “an exotic melon bred in South Korea with an extremely sweet, orange flesh and unique rind color” — won for the Northeast and Southeast regions but would still fare well in Ohio. Even gardeners with limited space can grow Cal Sweet Bush watermelon. An array of summer goodies features cantaloupe, with orange flesh; watermelon, with green stripes; and honeydew, with light-green flesh.
This variety can thrive in a large container or in the ground, but either way “it’s best to grow the vines on a trellis (bracing the melons) for better disease control,” All-America Selections advises.
Cultivating these tasty treats is a bit of a challenge compared with, say, lettuce or zucchini, but success is within reach for home gardeners. (Watermelons and muskmelons, such as cantaloupes and casaba melons, are related and share similar growing needs.)
For starters, melons like heat. Sow them outdoors too early in spring and nothing happens. So you might wish to start them indoors, then transplant seedlings outside once both soil and weather warm up.
Fertile soil with good drainage, full sun and lots of Cantaloupe and thinly sliced ham such as prosciutto make a mouthwatering combination.
room for plants to sprawl are keys.
“Melon quality — flavor, aroma, texture and sweetness — is best when the sugar content of the fruit is high,” the University of Minnesota Extension says.
“Sweet melons need lots of sunlight, warm temperatures, enough water and freedom from diseases and insects.”
If possible, use a soaker hose rather than overhead watering, so that leaves stay dry and disease-free. To improve flavor and heighten sweetness, taper off watering as melons ripen.
Muskmelon is ripe when “the netting on the skin surface becomes coarse and rough” and “the background color of the fruit turns from green to yellow and loses its shine,” the extension says.
Watermelon and honeydew Orange SilverWave melon features an unusual light-green rind with darker splotches.
are ready when “tendrils near the fruit stem become brown and dry” and “the leaf closest to the fruit becomes yellow.”
Watermelon offers an additional clue: The lightcolored patch underneath turns yellow.
If a fresh melon survives for more than a few minutes in your kitchen, you could use it in recipes such as salsa, smoothies, desserts or salads with other fruits and vegetables.
According to the Ohio State University Extension, melons are high in vitamins A and C and low in calories — so eat up, because their sweet season doesn’t last long. With more sun, water and time, a young watermelon will grow into a delicious treat. Bronze fennel, smoky fennel
Light: full sun to part shade Height: 4 to 6 feet
Spread: 18 to 24 inches USDA Hardiness Zones: 5 to 11
Origin: Southern Europe
Plants that can serve multiple purposes are fantastic, and bronze fennel (Foeniculum vulgare dulce ‘Rubrum’) is one such multi-tasker.
This fennel has smoky-brown foliage with red undertones. Slightly aromatic, the featherlike leaves of bronze fennel smell like a mixture of carrots and licorice.
Tall spikes of golden-yellow, umbel (umbrella-shaped) flowers appear in mid- to latesummer and attract many types of pollinators — including bees, butterflies and beneficial insects such as hoverflies and parasitic wasps.
This non-bulbing fennel is also edible, a tasty addition to salads or fish dishes.
In central Ohio, bronze fennel is a short-lived perennial; cut it back in the fall and let it regrow next spring. This plant does self-sow, but small plants can be easily pulled if not left to create a naturalized garden look.
See bronze fennel in the Scotts Miracle-Gro Company Community Garden Campus at Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens.