But it is June none-the-less and the only really terrifying questions at this point are whether squash boring bugs have found the melon garden I added last year and whether the blight that swept across NE in 2009 will return with all the rains we've had.
This picture (left) is Cocozella de Napoli from Landreth's seed company. It did not germinate well in peat discs as was the case with all of my squashes. I need to rethink my approach for next year but I am very excited to have 2 new varieties of squash this year.
On the right, is Ronde de Nice from Baker's Creek seed company. This was highly rated in the comments on the company's web site which I really found to be helpful.
Baker's Creek is one of the Companies that brought a legal claim against Monsanto for spreading genetic contamination of our nation's seed supply. Let's hope that - like the microbrew industry before the 1980s - we are just at a low point and will experience a resurgence of plant diversity in our food supply. I'm not overly optimistic but I'm hopeful it works out that way.
Some of my melons (Petit gris de Rennes, Sweet Freckles) have been chewed up by some kind of insect although not fatally so. This picture is Sweet Freckles that is a crenshaw type melon originally from central asia, probably Afganistan, Uzbekistan or the like, that was popular in the pacific northwest before almost disappearing from the United States. It is now sold by Adaptive Seeds - the only company to carry it from what I understand. I am really looking forward to it. The Bozeman Watermelons I grew last year from Adaptive Seeds were ripe in mid-August, an amazing thing for N.H. In any case, I'm happy it's june and the promise of summer still lies ahead.
