posted June 24, 2003 11:19 PM         

Just threw another mushy, insipid junker in the trash. Has the world gone totally nuts? We can read a license plate from space, send each other pictures on our cell phones but somehow the things that really matter, like the art of growing sweet, crisp, crimson fleshed watermelons has been lost. Damn!

posted June 24, 2003 11:35 PM         

You know things are so chemically/genetically altered lately that in the next 5 years scienitsts(haha)say there won't be one sigle strain of an original corn grain left.

Sad to report but true.

posted June 25, 2003 01:38 AM         

I wish I lived a little closer to a community garden -- I'd apply for a plot of my own.

posted June 25, 2003 08:14 AM         

They`re succulent, sweet and I have to fight the racoons for them They just know when they`re ripening!

posted June 25, 2003 09:33 AM         

Then... it's a mushy watermelon!

posted June 25, 2003 11:27 AM         

Here in PA we also can buy produce from the Amish, and that stuff is pretty darn spectacular!

I haven't had any watermelon yet this year, but your mention of it has me thinking yummmmmy thoughts!

posted June 25, 2003 01:49 PM         

Harpyr, organic is best but do you trust that little sticker on the product that says "organically grown"?

Lunargirl, sweet talk seems appropriate when we're talking about watermelon. Yeah, I could probably do that but the delivery charges might be astronomical. I don't know any women here who grow their own watermelons and the local growers are likely to be immune to my sweet talk. You would probably have better luck in that regard.

N_wEvil, all I can say is practice makes perfect. Perhaps you need to refine your technique.

Oxy, most produce isn't grown locally so the weather may be a factor. It's been hot here with lots of rain. Perfect weather for watermelon. Hmmm, a berry fan. Well, there was a time I could have taken you to the farm where blackberries and raspberries grew wild on the hillsides, big as my thumb. Pick all you want but watch out for the copperheads and chiggers.

juniperb, those raccoons have good tastes. Just make sure you stow a nice ripe watermelon under your seat when you fly in for the barbecue.

1scorp, right, got to have salt with watermelon. Nope, you don't need to send it, just bring it with you----I'll supply the salt.

trillian, you have to really get out into the country here to find a real farmers market or roadside stand on the edge of a produce field. Those Amish folks really know how to grow quality fruit and produce----the old fashioned way.

jwhop

posted June 25, 2003 03:37 PM         

Right now, we're getting melons grown in Mexico, Central or South America and it's obvious they were grown in poor soil---alkaline. In addition, they weren't grown for their taste but for the rigors of shipping.

posted June 25, 2003 05:08 PM         

Chiggers... well, if you ever roll around in the grass and get to itching in some crazy nooks and crannies... that's them!

By the way... y'all might know this but... if you get chiggers.. put clear nail polish on the red spots and it smothers them out.

posted June 25, 2003 05:36 PM         

But I'll think of you, jwhop, when I practice my sweet talk with my local market growers. Unfortunately they usually staff the booths with women, who are immune to that sort of thing!

posted June 25, 2003 08:22 PM         

Chiggers are sooo itchy 'ugh' We have probs with ticks and blood suckers (leechs). Nasty little S Ticks you can scrape off, but you don`t want to know how to get the leechs off in the backwoods swimming hole

I have blossoms set on the watermelon, squash, cukes & gourds. A late cold spring set all our crops back 3-4 weeks

posted June 25, 2003 08:55 PM         

Found a lot of melons that just went thudddd when thumped and a couple overripe ones that went rippppppppppe--sorry about that
Thought you were the one hiding out.

Hey, that sounds good juniperb. And if you get stopped on the way home and asked how many drinks you had---you can answer truthfully and say, only one.

Well proxie, the only way to get good strawberries here is to drive to Plant City were most of them are grown for this area. It should be illegal to call those hard, sour little things they sell in the markets
strawberries.

Hmmm, don't know how to break this to you but it's been 90* here for some time. Feels like summer to me and I'm ready for watermelon.

He, he, that's right 1scorp and also the reason you pick wild berries in the early morning while the dew is on the chigger weeds which holds the chiggers in suspension. And the best reason to not go berry picking in the hot afternoons is because that's when the copperheads are out sunning themselves.

You ready to go berry picking Oxy?

That sounds right to me N_wEvil. Glad you're getting some good berries.

Think I understand the problem Lunargirl. Guess that means you need to bypass the booths and go right to the office with your request.

posted June 25, 2003 09:03 PM           

I think that she may be trying her hand at some WMs, too - want me to FedEx ya one when they're ripe?

posted June 25, 2003 10:13 PM         

Juniperb-I was looking for a way to incorporate that VERY idea!! Great minds think alike, methinks.

1scorp, I feel pretty dumb..still don;t know what chiggers are. And yeah, I knew what copperheads were, it just didn't seem to ring a bell when I read it.

posted June 26, 2003 12:19 AM         

You could just bring a WM to the barbecue

Gee, when the humidity is only 98% here, we have public service announcements advising us to slather ourselves with body lotion to prevent dry skin.

Chiggers are almost microscopic, red in color and are the larval stage of a type of mite. They're found in the grass but prefer to hide out in the flowers of chigger weed that grows to about waist high and has several white flowers resembling broccoli spears---except for the color. They burrow into a hair follicle or pore which causes swelling, a red welt and intense itching for up to 4 days after which time they disengage, fall off and advance to their adult stage. So, I don't advise wearing an apron when berry picking However a light coating of kerosene repels them Commercial products with high deet content does too.

jwhop