Thar She Blows!

In Missouri, we are famous for having wild spring storms and tornadoes. August, however, is usually much more calm...except this year. We have been having the craziest weather I can remember! Yesterday morning I woke up to a tree branch banging on the roof. When I looked out the window, it was dark and windy...I mean, really windy. After weathering the storm, I had to rush out to see how my melons on the trellis had done. Some of the vines had gotten blown over into the carrots, but my two biggest cantaloupes were still strapped safely into their pantyhose.

Oh, the Humanity!

My four-year-old niece came down for a visit, and I was excited to show her how much things had grown since she was last here. The last time she visited, she planted a broccoli seed for me to grow for the fall. One broccoli plant is all I have room for in my fall garden, so this tiny seed was my one shot at enjoying fresh, organic broccoli this fall. Much to my dismay, when I showed her that the little guy had not only germinated in just a week’s time but was now almost 2 inches tall, her reaction was to reach down and pluck the tiny seedling right out of the dirt! I could not believe my eyes. My one and only broccoli plant had just been uprooted right in front of me. I tried to re-pot the baby broccoli, but he just keeled over. Things were not looking good at all.


Cut to three hours later. The teeny broccoli made a miraculous comeback! He is now looking amazing and starting to get his true leaves! Is it wrong to be dreaming of steamed broccoli? Does that make me weird?

Here is the culprit after picking some things that are meant to be picked, wildflowers from my field.

Melons in Knee-Highs? What Exactly is Going on Back There?

Okay. So it’s true. My cantaloupes are wearing pantyhose. Why, you ask? Well, I’m growing my melons on a trellis. Unfortunately, I only have 16 square feet of garden space this year (I know, it’s pathetic). However, I am not willing to sacrifice growing melons so I had to resort to some drastic measures. With a little ingenuity, I now have melons growing in only 4 square feet of space.

Melon vines traditionally spread anywhere from 10 to 25 feet on the ground. Since melons are vines, you can grow them up a trellis and save a LOT of space. They will naturally climb the trellis and send out little feelers to hang on to the trellis. If you have a small container garden or if you just don’t have a lot of garden space, you should try the trellis method. A trellis could be anything from a chain-link fence, a cattle panel (if you live on a farm, like me), or just a traditional garden trellis. Stay tuned for a posting about how to make a homemade trellis for growing a variety of vegetables or fruits.

The only problem with growing your fruit on a trellis is the fact that melons are heavy. They can’t hang on a trellis by themselves. That is where the pantyhose comes in. You use the knee-highs to create slings in which your melons sit. You tie these slings on to your trellis. My melons have been growing in their slings for a couple of weeks, and they seem very happy. For best results, choose smaller varieties of melons. These are Hale's Best cantaloupes and should get no bigger than 3 pounds each. I’m sure it’s possible, but I would not want to try to strap a 20-pound watermelon to my trellis! I'll keep you updated on the progress of these little babies.