September 2009

Melon assortment

In the Trial Garden: Summer Melons and Fall Sowing
- by Lindsay Del Carlo, Trial Garden Manager

The melon harvest is in full swing in our Northern California Trial Garden. We have been enjoying delicious melons in many shapes and colors from all over the globe. My new favorite is ‘Pixie’ Mini Cantaloupe. These vines are very productive, yielding incredibly flavorful fruit. Their small size makes each melon a nice sized serving for two people. Our Tuscan Melons are perfect ovals with deeply lobed skin. The vines have shown to be quite productive with intensely sweet, rich orange flesh. New varieties of multi-colored Watermelons are a real treat to break open and enjoy right in the garden on warm afternoons.

And as we harvest the fruits of summer, we are also beginning our fall sowings. Some of the cool weather crops on the list include: multi-colored Cauliflower, deep green Kale, Rhubarb and many varieties of Asian Greens and Lettuces. Fall is also prime time in this mild climate to sow flowers like Columbine, Foxgloves, Poppies, Nigella, and Sweet Peas. We will hold these over the winter as small seedlings, to be evaluated in Spring of 2010.

Fall vegetable seedlings