Yes we Cantaloupe!

The dog days of summer are definitely in and the continual temps above 100 degrees are bringing our summer garden to a close. I wasn’t sure how well the garden would perform since we were a little late getting the garden ready this year, but we’ve managed a few fun harvests. One was quite a surprise as It seems one of our seed packets was mislabeled. Instead of big, juicy watermelons we ended up with a batch of pie pumpkins. The cantaloupe crop this year was out of this world though!

Because we were a little late in planting this year, our cantaloupe harvest would have been even better, but the summer heat brought the end to the plants before many of the melons were ready. That’s okay though as the chickens have really enjoyed their extra treats. What surprised me this year was that one of the vines produced incredibly large melons nearly the size of a basketball! So far these melons have also proven to be about the sweetest cantaloupes I have ever tasted. The seeds from this variety are already drying on a rack for next year’s planting.

If you have never tried cantaloupe in your garden, it truly is quite a sweet, healthy treat in the hot summer months. I like to bring the melons in the house for a day or two before cutting them up so that they come to room temperature. If you like cantaloupe as much as I do, the whole house smells deliciously sweet! Once cut up, they go into a bowl and cooled off in the refrigerator for a refreshingly cold treat after a day of sweating outside. We’ve also incorporated these naturally sugar sweeteners into berry smoothies for a very healthy breakfast.