Conquering a Worry with Mates – within the Backyard!
June 22, 2022
The bottom within the melon patch is roofed with cantaloupe vines. Twice I’ve seen a rat scurrying for canopy underneath the leaves. Regardless of many childhood summers on my grandparents’ farm, I discover the prospect of being in an enclosed area with rodents a bit off-putting to say the least.
I informed my fellow rodent averse gardening buddies about it on a current volunteer workday. Unsurprisingly, nobody else was wanting to go on cantaloupe obligation. We determined that if all six of us went to reap the cantaloupe on the similar time, any creatures would flee.
A few us went contained in the fenced enclosure to reap. Others served as melon spotters as a result of the fruit is tough to see amidst the dense leaves. As quickly as we picked the cantaloupes we handed them off to somebody outdoors the fence – – an enormous assist as a result of melons are unwieldy and there was no place to set a basket with out crushing the vines.
Working collectively we rapidly harvested 44 kilos of completely ripened cantaloupe that we donated to North Dallas Shared Ministries. We additionally harvested one other 12 kilos or so of imperfect fruit that we tasted and shared amongst ourselves.
Braveness has by no means been so scrumptious!
Beverly Allen, Dallas County Grasp Gardener Class of 2018
Images courtesy of Don Heaberlin, Dallas County Grasp Gardener Class of 2021