big juicy pink melons

Watermelon every where In the spring, as I was shopping for plants for my vegetable garden, I stumbled across watermelon plants. My daughter was with me, she likes watermelon and asked if I would get some to plant in our garden. SURE, why not.

I planted my four tiny plants at one end of my garden, about 2-3 feet apart. I think it was about 2-3 feet, I didn't measure it, my husband always tells me my perception is off. Anyway, I watered my tiny watermelon plants, gave them some vegetable food after they had set roots in the ground for a couple of weeks, and I watched them grow, literally. The vines got huge. I had to keep moving them back into their spot in the garden. NO NO, we want to mix with the cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, and beans is what they kept saying. I also had to keep flipping them back, for fear my husband would wack them off with the lawn mower. These vinie plants soon had beautiful tiny flowers. The bees seemed to enjoy the buds a lot. My crop was abundant, I wasn't sure how to tell if the watermelon was ripe, so I googled it. Yeah, I still use google. I came across a great video on YouTube. In the video the person said when the "spoon leaf" and the curly q thingy (technical term;-) ) turn brown the melon is ready for pickin'. I was so happy when I picked my very first beautiful melon. Oh yum, I can't wait to eat it. I cut open the fruit, it was white. I thought maybe it was just a white watermelon, what do I know, I ain't never grown no melon before'. Yeah NO, it wasn't ripe. I kept a closer eye on the rest of the melons, checking them twice a day. I waited until the "spoon leaf" died and fell off. This time I had a juicy, pink, ripe gourd. There were melons everywhere. There was no way my family of four could consume this much fruit. I had so many watermelon, I was giving them away. I juiced a few melons. Poured the juice in ice cube trays,then froze them, for consumption later. I've since used up the frozen treats. I've enjoyed them in juice, & smoothies. There must be a way I can can these beautiful fruits. Again I turned to the Internet, and found a recipe for jelly. What did we do in the olden days without Internet? Here is the recipe I tried to follow; -Watermelon Jelly makes 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 pints 6 cups pureed watermelon (remove any seeds prior to pureeing) 5 cups white sugar 6 tablespoons bottled lemon juice 1 packet powdered pectin Whisk together sugar and powdered pectin until they are fully integrated. Combine watermelon puree, sugar/pectin and lemon juice in a large, non-reactive pot. Bring to a boil and let cook until the temperature of the nascent jelly reaches 220 degrees. This can take anywhere from 15-30 minutes, depending on the width of your pot, the heat of your stove and even the weather you’re having. Check set using saucer test before removing it from the heat, to ensure that it will set. Remove from the heat and pour into prepared jars. Wipe rims, apply lids and screw on bands. Process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes. When time is up, remove from canner and let jars cool. When they’re cool enough to handle, remove rings and test seals. You can eat immediately or store unopened jars in a cool, dark place for up to a year. *Note: This jelly can take up to one week to set. Please give it time.- My first batch of jelly did not jell. I even followed the directions:-(. I asked an experience jelly maker if I could re process it. She said sure, or I could use the failed batch in cookies. I decided to re cook it. I added a little more pectin. It worked, I got JELLY. My watermelon were all picked. My plants looked like they were withering up and dieing. Oh no, watermelon plants produce two harvests a year. Yea more melons, more juice, and more jelly. good thing my son LOVES the jelly & frozen cubes.

Watermelon are very good for you. Besides tasting great and being low in calories they are an excellent source of Vitamin C. They have a high beta carotene concentration, thus offering a fair amount of vitamin A, and vitamin B, especially B1and B6. They also have potassium and magnesium. EAT YOUR MELONS. (Unfortunately I am not responsible for the creative watermelon art, or photo. I do take a very awesome screen shot though;-))