Gardeners who love the sweet taste of melons and are new to the world of melons might try growing this cute and charming Korean melon
They are not as common as cantaloupe or honeydew but are easy to grow
The scientific name of the Korean melon is Cucumis melo var
In the United States the ‘Korean melon’ is mainly marketed as Oriental melon
averaging 4 to 7 inches in length; shape is oval
slightly waxy and entirely edible so that it can be consumed without peeling; most varieties are bright lemon yellow with pronounced white sutures
Seeds that fill the gelatinous seed cavity are small
ivory and connected to the flesh by white fibers
The flesh has a mild floral flavor with essence of banana
Plant seeds when danger of frost has past and up through June
are drought tolerant and disease resistant
Locate in full sun with ample growing space so that vines can be trained to a trellis
Harvest melons at their varietal days to maturity; do not allow to ripen on the vine as they will be past prime time
The Korean melon of the variety in the photo requires 40 days after fruit set to mature
Fruit at prime harvest time will be fully colored with bright
Harvest melons by snipping fruit from the vine with pruners
The variety in the accompanying photo is ‘Dae Jang Geum Hybrid’ (Kitazawa Seed Co.
It is a delightful addition to the summer garden
Note: Some information from specialtyproduce.com
of Lubbock adds a cactus to the list of suggested plants given in the A-J Aug. 18 column on moon gardens: the night blooming Cereus
a cactus native either to South America or to Arizona and the Sonoran Desert
Cereus is known as ‘Queen of the Night’ because the flower is nocturnal
The large flower is trumpet-shaped and is usually white but may be pink
The generic name Cereus translates from the Latin to torch or candle
referring to the columnar shape of the tall upright growth of the cactus
Ellen Peffley taught horticulture at the college level for 28 years
during which time she developed two onion varieties
She is now the sole proprietor of From the Garden
You can email her at gardens@suddenlink.net