Next Change!

The winter melon had to go to make way for other plants. Anyway after producing a second melon of 13 kg, the subsequent potential melons did not survive. I already have some pumpkin seedlings that I will plant in its place and I hope that they be able to produce some pumpkins in a few months time.



Meanwhile, I have been harvesting my okras one by one and this weekend I am going to have No. 6, 7 & 8 for dinner. :) There are 2 new flowers today and one tiny okra growing. Usually the okras have to harvested after 5 days after they flower to ensure that they are not too fibrous to enjoy. All five plants have produced at least one okra! And they are the best and sweetest okras I have ever eaten in my life, really!



Oh and I am so happy - after all these months of growing papaya plants, it has started to bear fruit, literally. This is the first fertilized female flower and hopefully it will grow to term and I will get my first taste of my own-grown organic papaya!

Will it be bigger?

The second winter melon has grown somewhat and I have secured it from falling into the drain with a milk crate hooked to the fence. :) It is now almost 20 inches long and slimmer than the first melon but then, it is only 3 weeks old. Hopefully it still has another 2 weeks of growth because my messing around with the crate yesterday caused it to suddenly crash, pulling and tearing the part where the melon's stem joins the vine. There was a tear and sap seeped out but hopefully, it can still hold on.



Okra flowers are so pretty and the stigma is so velvety. This is the picture of my first flower taken yesterday. Today, the flower is gone and in its place is a fertilized pod (hopefully)!




Yesterday was also significant in that I fed the plants with my own homemade compost. Vegetable and fruit waste were composted for 6 months and the resulting compost was actually smell free and dry, nothing yucky at all ;)

The vine grows on!

On Saturday, I cut and distributed the winter melon to my neighbours and friends. From the centre of the melon which is more spaced out, it can be seen that this melon has grown larger and longer than most melons found in the market which have compact centres.



I had thought of uprooting the winter melon plant once I harvested the melon two weeks ago but then there were signs of more melons developing - so I left the plant alone. Those potential melons died but new ones started developing. Just earlier this week from under the green leaves, I discovered this 10-day old melon outside the fence. I will have to look into ways of securing it from being stolen or from falling into the drain.



Two other female flowers were spotted too - one outside the fence and the other within my garden. But from experience I think they do not look like they will survive!





This okra flower was photographed yesterday but has fallen off today without even having bloomed :(

A Happy Day!

Today marks a great day, almost 5 months to the day I started my gardening. A first harvest - rather significant for me as the winter melon is the first plant that I had planted from seeds to finally culminated into a first harvest. The sole winter melon decided to "self-harvest" by breaking off from the vine in the heavy morning rain.

I quickly retrieved the prone melon when the rain stopped, trying my best not to further damage the skin as I struggled to move the heavy load from behind the pineapple plant. In the end I took a big piece of rag and laid it on the wet earth near the fallen melon and lightly heaved it over to the cloth before lifting it up to move it indoors to clean it up.

Here is how big it is :) 26.5 inches long, 30.5 inches in girth and 19 kg. The hair on the skin fell off easily when I wiped it and the skin became waxy and shiny. Indeed it is a deep green! For the record it took just 5 weeks for the winter melon to grow to this size!



Meanwhile the second fertilized female flower is looking rather shapely and I think it may survive yet!

Round 2!

In a few days time I will know whether this female flower was pollinated - if it was not, it will start to die. But if it was, then it would be interesting to see if it will grow to term and how the heavyweight will hang from the vine and not drag the whole plant down with it.



The new female flower starting out and I plan to help ensure pollination by taking one of the male flowers and brushing it when it blooms.



Just bloomed pale yellow flower of the papaya already have the tiny pollinators working hard first thing in the morning. It looks like it is not bisexual after all :( - because there seem to be only stamen or stigmas in the centre.



Top down view of the current pride of my garden!

Waiting!

I have been waiting to harvest my sole winter melon for the past 2 weeks. As this will be the first time, it is no wonder that I am still waiting since I have no idea at all when is the right time. It is something to look forward to everyday as I check on it when I water the garden in the morning.

The winter melon is still growing in girth but less in length although I think it is more than 2 feet long already. The colour is slowly turning a darker shade of green but I think there is still a long way to go. Googling on when to harvest the winter melon yielded a range of advice from waiting for all the surface hair to drop off or for the skin to turn a waxy white or the skin to turn a deep green. I think the winter melon now weighs about 18 kilograms or heavier.





Meanwhile the cucumber vine and the other winter melon plant were attacked by mites and I had to uproot the two plants before the mites spread to my precious winter melon plant. Even now it is iffy - anytime the mites may strike and I will be forced to harvest my winter melon before its time. Keeping my fingers crossed!



Since the diseased plant has been cleared the other plants struggling in the shadows before get better sunlight now and are starting to flourish again - like the chilli and the okra which have grown many new shoots after I fertilized them with more chicken dung.









And the papaya plant has started to flower (above) and I think this is a bisexual flower which means I may get some papaya fruits. I hope :)

P.S. there are 2 new female winter melon flower that look likely to be pollinated and may yield more new fruits if the plant survives disease. I will revamp the garden and plant less densely - guess I was over enthusiastic and inexperienced! :D:D

Cycle of life!

Even as the sole winter melon grows and matures the vine is dying! That is the cycle of life and death I am witnessing in my garden! The seed has fulfilled its destiny and now that there is one fruit to bring forth hopes of a next generation of crops, the plant is dying in parts even as new shoots with more flowers are still spreading their tendrils and grip over whatever is in their way.



The winter melon is almost touching the ground as it gets bigger and turning a darker shade of green! I have been advised to harvest it only when it is a deep green - maybe in a few days' time.