Gardening Adventure Update

If you remember, a while back I started a new adventure. Gardening. Things were looking so very good, but then we went on a week-long vacation. Not good. Our smaller plants (peppers) didn't get enough water or got too much, and our larger plants were wilting or drying.

One thing that I did notice and was excited about was that our Galia melon and summer squash bushes were growing very well. The Galia melon bush began growing like crazy, and I remembered a trip that my husband and I had taken while at Disney World for our honeymoon (10 years ago).

August 15, 2012

At EPCOT, they have an agriculture boat ride where you learn about what foods Disney World grows on property and some alternative growing techniques. They had melon growing on trellis and being shaped into Mickey Mouse icons. They had tomatoes hanging upside down and hanging from their root. They were growing vegetables and trees in sand. Herbs were being treated by way of a vitamin wash and hydroponics. Way cool! If you get the chance to visit, I highly recommend it!

I digress.

Based on what I had witnessed on that tour, I decided to use an old chair back and create a makeshift trellis.  The result was amazing!  It started growing like mad! We had our first melon within a week.

The melon did get too heavy and began bending the vine, so much so that the vine began to crack. I decided to figure out a way to give the melon some support so that it didn't break the vine and kill the fruit. It is a VERY yummy fruit.

August 19, 2012

Then another little melon showed up three days later and I felt the need to give them both a little support.  I had an abundance of soda bottles so I created a makeshift clamp with which to hold each melon individually.  What I did for each was cut the top of a 2-liter bottle off. I then cut the bottle in half from top to base. The very bottom of those bottles are much thicker and harder to cut, so I left them intact to act as an anchor.  The result of which is below. I know how it must look to a few of you, but believe me, it was unintentional. That just happened to be where the melons grew. The irony is not lost on me. Hehe.

August 22, 2012
Notice the change from August 15th?

The other day, we noticed that the supports themselves were slipping because the melons were causing the "clamps" to expand, pulling them back through. My husband suggested wiring the bottles to the trellis. What our minds came up with together, was so much better.  

We took a thicker gauged wire hanger and cut it into pieces taller than the space between the slats. We brought one half of the bottle through the opening between the slats and punched the wire through, allowing the other half to remain on the other side of the trellis still allowing a shelf of support.

Wire holding the 2-liter bottles to the "trellis.

Bottles hanging out

 

August 28, 2012
Can you see the difference from
just six days prior?
Just wow!

The Galia melon vine continues to grow and is attempting a takeover of the entire bed. It looks as though it is making an effort to mate with both the tomato and summer squash plants. We have to keep redirecting it, but may soon have to move the tomato plant. Every redirect seems to cause it to attempt to reach out to the plants again. It's stubborn for sure, but luckily we are on top of what's going on.

I have seen bees pollinating the flowers on the plant, so I am sure the growth is partially due to their diligent efforts. The songs from the Bug's Life show at Disneyland keep playing through my mind. Some bugs are good for gardens.

My little nieces come over two to three times a week and keep wanting to go outside to look at the plants. They want to help water them, but I have to disappoint them on the days they come over later in the afternoon. They are getting so excited, I'm considering having them help me plant our next round of seeds.

August 31, 2012

The growth has been progressing so well that we found a new baby melon very quickly!

So yesterday, we saw what you see in the picture on the left (below). It was time to loose it from its vine! We were stoked. 

September 8, 2012 - Ripe and ready to snip!

In little over a month, we have gone from seed to snip. We have at least two more melons on the vine. We can't wait to get going on more items. And to think this was all a practice round to see if we could do it.

I gave the melon a day to rest and then, this morning I cut it open. Isn't it pretty?!

Now, I just need to figure out how to save the seeds for next year!

Happy Gardening!