Fenton Friday: Melon Melody

The Minnesota Midget Melon I started from seed finally ripened last week in my Fenton Street community garden plot. This heirloom variety (introduced in 1948) is great for us procrastinators in zone 7 and for those with very short growing seasons in more northern zones. It  matures quickly at about the size of a softball as is the perfect size for a single-person household like mine.

I planted 3 seeds originally and let the two stronger vines grow; pinching out the smallest one. I ended up with only one vine that fruited and that had 3 melons on it. Two of those developed fully (see pictures here), but the third never made it past goose-egg-sized. The vine had succumbed to powdery mildew in our humid climate and so that one never had a chance. 

The flavor was pretty good. Not the best muskmelon I have ever had, but decent. I chalk part of that up to our summer this year being so unusually mild. I bet if we had our usually sultry heat that the flavors would have developed more.

How is your edible garden growing this week?