Pete! Sunken Civ is looking for seeds for the Cob Melon. Can you help track some down?
Posted on 10/01/2025 5:23:58 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
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If it's not, it ought to be! Fried, with garlic!
“And a little obscure, because the amounts are a bit arbitrary.”
My Grandma Anita’s Everyday Bread recipe is just like that! She would just mentally ‘adjust things’ depending upon the humidity, wind speed, daylight hours available or if she saw the first Robin of Spring, LOL!
I was the only one that ever helped her bake bread, and even *I* still can’t get it right!
Thanks for your links, again.
“One year our family sold pumpkins that father bought from a local farmer. I think that we made about $300, a lot for a pumpkin stand run by kids around 1950.”
My FIL, ‘Big John’ would plant an acre of pumpkins and any Grandkid that came to help during the growing season could take all the pumpkins they wanted to sell them.
My boys made good money doing that for several seasons - as they were the Grandkids that lived closest to Grandpa - about a mile down the road. ;)
Now that I think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever had to buy a pumpkin in my entire adult life!
The pumpkin Mom gave to her ‘Grand Chickens’ on Monday is completely hollowed out, now. I think I’ll give the remainders to Ithaca - just to see him do a back flip in happiness, LOL!
“If it’s not, it ought to be! Fried, with garlic!”
I do that. Zucchini sticks, sliced sweet onion, and LOTS of garlic; don’t skimp on the garlic! A little Teriyaki Sauce at the finish, a sprinkle of Sesame Seed if you’ve got it. Yum!
Duplicated the recipe from a favorite local Japanese restaurant - one where they stir-fry your meal right in front of you.
Pete! Sunken Civ is looking for seeds for the Cob Melon. Can you help track some down?
Thanks Diana! Amy G’s “Melons” book is the source of the pic, I think.
My garlic has been going for many years, maybe 10. Got from a gardening thread member emeritis, tubebender. I have enough cloves leftover by September to plant the next years crop. RIP tubebender. You are not forgotten.
The ends and sides are still wide open so I'm not under a high tunnel yet and pests can come and go at will right now. And unless I get insect netting for the sides, whenever they're open, pests can come and go as will. By the time I'm keeping it closed 24/7, the pests will be gone. I'll be starting to buy tunnel materials in a week. Need about $900 worth and can probably get most of it next week. Sidewall insect netting at $155 not included. Maybe next Spring.
I've got some napa cabbage seeds so I'm going to plant some of those too. The cabbage is 70 days but all else is 40-50. Cabbage also prefers neutral to alkaline soil so it might not do very well here anyway but napa cabbage is something I can buy. I won't be planting many. Same with carrots, will try a few but not expecting much results and those are 75 days.
Will also be succession planting my favorite Bok Choy, Yellow Heart Winter(aka Golden Flower in the Snow). Dual purpose as the leaves are thick and textured enough to hold up in a salad and the stalks are good for stir fry or soups. Soup and Salad. The Bok Choy I know will grow here and am hoping for good results from the daikon. I really haven't had any failures with oriental veggies aside from pests.
Perplexity.AI says soils in Southern China and most all of Japan are acidic. The daikon I have is Japanese Minowase Daikon. Ishikura Bunching Onions are also Japanese. Shishito do good here and are Japanese as well. Maybe I should make a Japanese Zen Garden and mix in veggies. Wikipedia has 135 pics in the gallery for Japanese Garden. Still useful for something - non political.
We only get a few hard freezes here and they only last a day or three. It usually doesn't freeze under a pile of leaves or mulch. The ground might never freeze under the tunnel. We get plenty of ice where it starts off raining by day and gets cold at night and we end up with a coating of ice on everything by morning but the tunnel will protect from that. I need a tunnel for the car. Dec/Jan/Feb are the cold months like most of the US and Day length of 10 hours or more is from Jan 22nd to Nov 19th.
First thing first, I need to fill a water tank for the tunnel. It's dry as a bone under the tunnel so I'm going to stick a few micro sprinklers on stakes in the ground and give it a good soaking this morning, go get more water and sow seeds in the afternoon. I never did get it covered with black poly because of the chiggers and ticks. I raked off the mulch and mowed it down yesterday. The existing rows were mulched pretty heavy with sq bale hay cards so they're bare and I'll just start pulling and/or digging out the remaining grass/weeds as a Fall/Winter project and cover with black poly as I go.
My water hauling method has changed with the truck being down. I swapped the 220 gal tank on the water trailer for a 275 gal IBC tank and the 220 gal tank will sit on pallets and eventually a pressure treated frame against the house so I'll no longer have to precisely park the trailer there and disconnect/connect every time I make a water run. Parking it is something I had to do with the tractor due to space limitations. I'll be able to build a lean to shed around the 220 gal tank now too. Between that and the tank heater, we'll hardly ever freeze up. With no longer parking the water trailer at the house, I'll be able to put it in a spot that's easy to back up to, and most of the year, park it full.
I can't find a tank heater that will fit down the smaller lids of the IBC tanks. They do make heat mats and wraps for IBC tanks but they have a four digit price tag. I think I may have watered once or twice last winter and just waited for a warm spell and thaw to do so. I might put a tank in the tunnel for Winter. If the ground freezes in the tunnel, all bets are off because drip and hoses will freeze too and so would the veggies. That wouldn't happen until Dec/Jan/Feb anyway, if at all.
The temperature was FORTY degrees when Dolly (Beagle) and I took our walk this morning. It was BRACING and it. was. GLORIOUS! Finally!
Big old one-day-past-full Moon hanging in the NW sky. The only wildlife we saw was a squirrel “SQUIRREL!” and some birds. The path we walk on has many deer crossings, so I’m always half expecting to get run down. Happened to me once on a Night Land Nav course in the Army. You never forget the first time you are knocked sideways by a Whitetail, LOL!
They harvested the soybeans yesterday - what a dusty MESS - but my house is usually dusty - we have a gravel driveway - and, ya know, it’s a working FARM!
“Clean Enough to be Healthy, Messy Enough to be Happy!”
Yesterday Beau & Cattle Rancher Nick got 63 head through the chute for shots and *GULP* castration. Black Angus. It went slower than normal as they had a ‘new’ Veterinarian on crew - the daughter of the ‘old’ Vet. She wasn’t as speedy as Dear Old Dad, but she’ll improve with practice. ;)
Guy in Bar: “Hello, Sweetheart! What do YOU do for a living?”
Ms. Veterinarian: (Having a Cold One at the end of a LONG day!) “I castrate cattle.”
LOL!
Nice video on why you should never wash home-grown eggs. And what they do to ‘process’ store-bought* eggs.
*This does not, however, apply to Eggplant, LOL!
Zucchini, like mushrooms, have muted taste on their own, but are excellent sponges for garlic, olive oil, butter, herbs and spices!
I love Mushrooms. My BFF* hates them. If we’re out to dinner and she accidentally gets mushrooms in her meal they are transferred to my plate immediately, LOL!
*And if you FORGET to bring her a cold glass of milk WITH her meal and she has to ASK you for it, you will NOT get a tip! ;)
I’ve grown the Mushroom Kits, before. I used to have a Fieldstone basement that stayed at 50 degrees year-round. The mushrooms LOVED it there. Good production.
Where we live now we harvest Morel Mushrooms and Golden Oyster Mushrooms when the temps and the spring rains are right. :)
Freeze warning here from 2 to 9 AM tomorrow, temps as low as 29. :-( For the week after, overnights are 40’s & 50’s. Fingers crossed we just get frost - I have stuff covered.
GLAZED JAPANESE SALMON TERIYAKI
Ing---1/2 cup Japanese soy sauce 1 tbl Mirin 1 1/2 lb salmon filets, garnish
SIDES: Udon noodles
Salad of Cherry tomatoes baby spinach green onions vinaigrette
Have ready combined 1/2 c Japanese soy sauce (shoyu), 1 tbl Mirin; pan salmon or grill; when nearly done (will begin to be opaque), brush on sauce generously, then return to pan/grill; brown both sides.
Vinaigrette: To dress salad, combine 4 tb peanut or light olive oil, 1 tb rice wine or red wine vinegar or fresh lemon juice, 2 crushed gar/cl, pinch of hot pepper flakes, 1/2 tsp sea salt.
Chef Notes: Japanese Shoyu is in the Intl section of supermarket. Mirin is cooking wine---most important ingredients for Japanese cooking. Sauterne may be used instead of Mirin by adding teaspoon of sugar. Fresh recipe of sauce may be used as a dressing for Udon noodles.
"The cob is a unique muskmelon variety brought to America over 125 years ago by Germans from Russia originating in Ukraine, known for its seeds growing in the center like a cob of corn. It is similar in appearance to a honeydew melon. The source of this melon is reportedly Horus Botanicals, as noted by melon authority Amy Goldman." But I did NOT find it on their lists.
I did find the book Melons for the passionate grower , which had your picture.
Native Seeds Org Collections Melons
It was not here....but this sight has some native beans, peppers, and melons grown in the desert southwest. (They sell packages of Tepary beans which are not supposed to be as gassy.) worth checking!
From Alanbishop Pro boards:
"The Cershownski melon is a type of muskmelon, specifically noted for its historical significance and unique characteristics. It is believed to have been brought from Ukraine by great-grandparents in 1874, making it an extremely rare heirloom variety. This melon is also known by the name "Queen Anne's Pocket Melon," which was popular in Victorian times for its perfume-like qualities and was often carried in the pockets of Victorian women. The Cershownski melon is a muskmelon that grows in a manner similar to a cob of corn, with seeds developing in the center of the fruit, a trait shared with the cob melon, which was brought to America by German immigrants from Russia over 125 years ago. The melon is cultivated for its short growing season, sweetness, and tolerance to drought. It has been available for purchase from seed suppliers such as Heritage Harvest Seeds and Prairie Seeds. The plant produces melons with deep green coloring and mustard-yellow striations, and the flowers emit a sweet scent. The variety is often grown in greenhouses to manage the challenges of fluctuating seasons, particularly in northern climates."
Sunken Civ; Here you be! (Both types)
Heritage Harvestseeds Cershownki Melon
Heritage Harvestseeds Queen Anne's.
I did not check Prairie Seeds which is at WWW.PRAIRIESEEDSHOP.CA
I had to explain that we washed our eggs and they did not.
Thanks Pete! Alas, Cershownski isn’t the same, nor is Collective Farm Woman.
Another cool lookin’ green flesh melon (I’ve never grown it) is the Nutmeg:
https://shop.seedsavers.org/green-nutmeg-organic-melon
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