Would you believe . . .

. . . a raccoon stole my only ripe cantaloupe? I came out this morning to see if it was ready to pick and it was just GONE! There were also a marigold and a small tomato plant uprooted, but no evidence of what happened to the cantaloupe. I checked with every human who had access to the garden and nobody claimed responsibility. We have no loose dogs and I don't think a skunk could manage it, so the raccoon gets the blame, but I can't imagine why there's no disturbance. Has anybody else had any mysterious disappearances from the garden? (I'm starting to question my sanity, here. )

GRRRRRRRRR.....I'm beginning to hate rodents!

Ugh! I'm so sorry. So far my veggies have been untouched but something has been eating all the leaves off of everything all summer ... including my morning glories, which are my annual pride and joy on the front porch railing! 

I lost to stunted vegetable plants this summer but I gained in fence-building skills.

This story kinda falls in the realm of dark humor ... One of my cats is a hunter and she usually leaves the bodies of mice and voles and small critters on our side porch. Last weekend she left the head of a rabbit. Just that. Nothing else. My husband and I were like bleh!! and ewww!!!! and ohhhhh!! and we wonder if that was the culprit, because this week unprotected leaves have remained untouched. Our cat came through for us? If so, I think we should be a little scared of her 

I was thinking the cantaloupe would be too heavy.  Then I read this.  

brianj555 wrote:I was thinking the cantaloupe would be too heavy.  Then I read this.  

 Brian. Sounds like a great idea! This was a very small cantaloupe, but still bigger than a softball. I still think we should have found some evidence, but there's no sign of it anywhere on the property.

OK different scenario, but when we went on vacation, I came home to one of my Mammoth sunflowers being chewed off....the entire head missing, and it was a good 6-8" across.  Just clean gone.  I blame the gray squirrels.  

Scorpio Rising wrote:OK different scenario, but when we went on vacation, I came home to one of my Mammoth sunflowers being chewed off....the entire head missing, and it was a good 6-8" across.  Just clean gone.  I blame the gray squirrels.  

I love gray squirrels, but the cats keep them away. Maybe that's a good thing. I definitely don't need any more trouble-makers in the garden.  I've been trying for 2 years to get a cantaloupe and now this!

Bummer!  I grow Minnesota Midgets.  58 days to maturity.  Size of a softball.  Personal size.  Delish!  And dependable.  Quick.  This is my first year trying a more conventional melon; Charentais.  Will see?  I haven't even had a chance to go out there and see for a week.

Scorpio Rising wrote:Bummer!  I grow Minnesota Midgets.  58 days to maturity.  Size of a softball.  Personal size.  Delish!  And dependable.  Quick.  This is my first year trying a more conventional melon; Charentais.  Will see?  I haven't even had a chance to go out there and see for a week.

SR you sent me Sakatas Sweet seeds and some other larger unnamed seeds. I have a plant from the larger seeds that has produced a couple of softball sized melons. Could those melons be Minnesota Midgets?

ARGH! I'm sorry, CN! That's horrid. I hope your temperatures get into the right range that you can get another!

My mystery is - did my winter squash actually pull itself out of the MM due to wind on the trellis? It was wilting, so I followed the vines on the trellis down to... a 2" root with a few very short sub roots on the end, hanging in the air? I couldn't pull it back down enough to bury it, so I mounded up some MM and fresh compost to cover it up and watered well. The vine itself has recovered, but I don't know if the squash that was forming will make it. It got all wrinkly. 

I grew the Minnesota Midgets this year as a result of SR's recommendations, yes, about softball size or a little larger, netted, with slight 'slicing' indentations. First one was good, but could have been sweeter. I let the next one sit at room temperature for two days after it slipped, based on something I read online - and it was sweeter/better, but could have used a *little* more flavor. Worth growing. Way better than the Golden Crispy melons I grew from Baker Creek freebie seeds, they just weren't sweet enough and I couldn't tell when they were ripe - I don't like my cherry tomatoes to be 'sugary', but my melons, definitely.

I tried Charentais my first year of SFG-ing, but it got the mildew very quickly and died, and I never got fruit. I've heard if you can get fruit they are very good, but they don't keep long. I look forward to hearing about your experience with them, SR.

I'm impatiently waiting for one of my Sierra Gold cantaloupes to ripen so I can compare with the Minnesota Midgets. My melons are on my front porch in an Earthbox, so I hope the proximity to the front door is deterrent enough for mammals. The possum footprints left in the snow one year make me uncertain.

I also have a Blacktail watermelon (from SR's seeds - thank you!) waiting for me to taste...

This pantyhose thing sounds like a good idea for my winter squash, too. My garden fence failed to stop *something*  (?squirrel - the garden-sitter said it was gnawed) from attacking one of my few precious winter squash and I don't want to lose them again this year.

trolleydriver wrote:

Scorpio Rising wrote:Bummer!  I grow Minnesota Midgets.  58 days to maturity.  Size of a softball.  Personal size.  Delish!  And dependable.  Quick.  This is my first year trying a more conventional melon; Charentais.  Will see?  I haven't even had a chance to go out there and see for a week.

SR you sent me Sakatas Sweet seeds and some other larger unnamed seeds. I have a plant from the larger seeds that has produced a couple of softball sized melons. Could those melons be Minnesota Midgets?

Are they mini muskmelon-looking?  Or greenish/yellowing?  If they are Sakatas sweets, which is what i sent you, they will grow small greenish melons that when ripe will yellow a bit and smell sweet

Yeah, MN Midgets aren't super sweet....I am hoping to give a review on the Charentais growing now....still have 2 watermelon varieties too....

I want everything sweet, Sweet, SWEET! I think my cantaloupes are Hales. At the rate I'm going, I may never know if they're sweet or not.  Definitely gonna dig out some pantyhose tomorrow. I have 3 more cantaloupes out there that are still green. I WANT 'EM!

Scorpio Rising wrote:

trolleydriver wrote:

Scorpio Rising wrote:Bummer!  I grow Minnesota Midgets.  58 days to maturity.  Size of a softball.  Personal size.  Delish!  And dependable.  Quick.  This is my first year trying a more conventional melon; Charentais.  Will see?  I haven't even had a chance to go out there and see for a week.

SR you sent me Sakatas Sweet seeds and some other larger unnamed seeds. I have a plant from the larger seeds that has produced a couple of softball sized melons. Could those melons be Minnesota Midgets?

Are they mini muskmelon-looking?  Or greenish/yellowing?  If they are Sakatas sweets, which is what i sent you, they will grow small greenish melons that when ripe will yellow a bit and smell sweet

SR this is what they look like. When small they are a uniform darkish green color with a slight fuzz on the outside. The more mature melon has now got beige/white lines crisscrossing it. I would say it is mini muskmelon-looking.

The "mature" melon.



The young melon.

I don't recognize either fruits, TD.  MN Midgets look like softball sized Indiana melons.  Sakatas Sweets are Lime green that yellow a bit when fully ripe, smooth skinned.  Wonder what you have there?  Have you trie it?

Scorpio Rising wrote:I don't recognize either fruits, TD.  MN Midgets look like softball sized Indiana melons.  Sakatas Sweets are Lime green that yellow a bit when fully ripe, smooth skinned.  Wonder what you have there?  Have you trie it?

Have not tried it yet but I'm sure the plant grew from those larger (than the Sakatas Sweet) unnamed seeds that you sent to me. I think they still need to mature before I take a taste.

CN & SR, sorry to hear about your critter trouble...

Scorpio Rising wrote:OK different scenario, but when we went on vacation, I came home to one of my Mammoth sunflowers being chewed off....the entire head missing, and it was a good 6-8" across.  Just clean gone.  I blame the gray squirrels.  

In sympathy for your sunflower, I found most of my strawberry leaves missing yesterday morning. "Just clean gone," too. No evidence of chewing, worms, slugs, etc. Could or would a raccoon do that, too?

Not taking any chances on my one-and-only honeydew. If that #%^& raccoon gets it anyway, I'm gonna cry.  (Pantyhose aren't easy to come by these days, either. )

Fingers crossed for you.

sanderson wrote:Fingers crossed for you.

Thanks. I have a beautiful patty pan that's starting to turn. I think I'll dress it up in pantyhose tonight, too.

countrynaturals wrote:

sanderson wrote:Fingers crossed for you.

Thanks. I have a beautiful patty pan that's starting to turn. I think I'll dress it up in pantyhose tonight, too.

Love them!!!  They were the impetus to move to a raised bed after 4 years of losing to the dreaded SVBs!

Scorpio Rising wrote:

countrynaturals wrote:

sanderson wrote:Fingers crossed for you.

Thanks. I have a beautiful patty pan that's starting to turn. I think I'll dress it up in pantyhose tonight, too.

Love them!!!  They were the impetus to move to a raised bed after 4 years of losing to the dreaded SVBs!

Somebody gave us one last year and we fell in love with it. This one is bigger than my fist and perfect. If something happens to it, my poor little heart will break. It's the only one we have. 

Pick it and sautéed with garlic and onion , actually whatever!  Very nutty and toothsome.  

Scorpio Rising wrote:Pick it and sautéed with garlic and onion , actually whatever!  Very nutty and toothsome.  

But it isn't yellow, yet. It's still a very pale green. .