Yep, the watermelon fell out of it's slings, and broke the stem......Dangit! It was already about 5 pounds, too. I hate it when that happens.......Oh well, that'll teach me to not check the position of the knee highs every single evening....
The largest growing right now is a Moon and Stars that's reached about 10 lbs. already, and some rope and bird netting has already been put into place to keep the same thing from happening to it.
I noticed another small watermelon that was completely covered up with various sizes of leaf-footed bugs. When I see something this significant in the garden, it's time to abort normal hand-picking for pest control, and put the proverbial "Shock and Awe" campaign into action.....Yep, Spectracide concentrate is my choice.
However, sometimes the good guys show up and take care of things for ya... :)
Anyway, that's it for the melons right now.... :)
Jeff
13 comments:
Thank goodness for the cavalry. So far, my pumpkins are holding themselves up. I'm telling myself I won't have to sling them but I may have to bow to the inevitable and tear up some t-shirts. Those melons are pretty impressive. I wish I could grow them but we never really know if it's going to be hot enough.
Good heavens, how big are those bugs?
Sorry about the melon. You need some big girl pantyhose!
Stef - you'll be doing something for those pumpkins, because my main problem was the weight pulling the vine down.
Granny - seeing that group of bugs was quite alarming, but we took care of them.
I keep waiting for the cavalry to show up with my aphids. Usually I get a ton of ladybugs, but so far just a few. I've seen some lacewing larva too, but the dill crop isn't doing well so just not attracting them to the garden as much.
What is the benefit to growing them vertically? Is it just a space thing?
Those bugs are horrible! And so many of them. Unfortunately, spectracide doesn't do anything for the deer and raccoons that get some of my melons. The deer have even been grazing on the greens of my onions in the south garden. I really didn't think anything would care to eat onions. I was wrong.
All your melons look so nice. My plants have only begun growing.
Daphne - the aphids don't cause much of a problem for me.Maybe the cavalry is taking care of business for me???? Beats me.
Langela - yes, utilize less space for maximum yield, easier to find pests, and less disease.
Welcome back! If it isn't too late and already composted, you could make watermelon rind pickles?
How are those melons? Sweet? I like your blog, very informative. Thanks for sharing.
Shame about the melon that fell. I still love your use of the hose!
Hi EG, I have missed so many of your posts...been so busy but just had a few minutes and randomly thought of you. I miss all my online blogger friends. Hope all is well with you.
Sue ...aka Sunny :)
We're big on growing squash vertically. Maybe we should try melons too.
Those are some freaky bugs. We get something similar to these but a 1/4 of the size.
Good lord! I have never seen that many different bugs on one melon before. Just goes to show you that gardening is not the faint of heart.
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