Surprises in the garden

[catherine]

Let's just say that I'm not the most scientific gardener there is--last couple of years I have not paid attention to exactly what and where I was planting, so stuff would come up and I'd be asking myself and DH, "What the heck is this?"

But this year, I'm growing cucumbers, as always. I have them trained on the poles of the hoops on my raised bed. But one cucumber seemed particularly furry and round… until I realized it's probably a cantaloupe!! How did I get a cantaloupe? That's not been a crop I've considered growing, even for a moment! I love cantaloupe, but never thought it would be one of those easy-to-grow things.

So my question is--it's hanging from the hoop and it might start to get very heavy. Should I de-tangle it and let it grow on the ground, or is it OK to grow it vertically?

[Tussiemussies]

Hi Catherine, It's neat when you get surprises like that! You can take an old pair of pantyhose and put the cantaloupe in it all the way to the bottom and then tie it to the cage if you want to keep it vertical otherwise in the past I had no harm in letting it grow on the ground! Enjoy...Christine

PS Are you surer it is a cantaloupe since you said it was furry? How big is it so far?

[catherine]

Hi Catherine, It's neat when you get surprises like that! You can take an old pair of pantyhose and put the cantaloupe in it all the way to the bottom and then tie it to the cage if you want to keep it vertical otherwise in the past I had no harm in letting it grow on the ground! Enjoy...Christine

PS Are you surer it is a cantaloupe since you said it was furry? How big is it so far?

Great idea with the pantyhose!

Here are pics.. the little bud plants are furry, but the large one outgrew the "peach fuzz" as you can see in the first pic (click on it to enlarge it)

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[Tussiemussies]

It's been quite awhile since I grew cantaloupe so I didn't remember the fuzzy phase. I love them. It's neat that it came from somewhere, a nice surprise!

[CathyA]

Catherine..........here's a page/discussion on gardenweb about cantaloupes. Yes, they are fuzzy when they are little. You may not be interested in the whole page, but maybe some of it.
As far as where the cantaloupe came from........sometimes seed companies make a few mistakes. Sometimes an animal might deposit a seed among other seeds. One year, a cantaloupe grew out of our compost pile, where I had thrown some out the year before. It was growing beautifully, but before I could pick it, an animal enjoyed it.
Good luck with your surprise.
http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/2166849/cantaloupes-with-first-flowers