Its the mash melon season. Our modus operandi is to purchase this fruit from the market. But now its time to make a change. I plan to relish the fruit and then scatter the seeds outside the kitchen window. This time I want to grow the Mash Mellon in my backyard. It so happened that at the end of the monsoons, in the month of September, the mash melon plant had spread its bows and large leaves on the ground of my backyard just outside my kitchen window.
Obviously, some of the seeds scattered in the previous season had germinated during the monsoon; a season that boosts the growth of all green foliage as it nourishes the soil with the nitrogen floating in the atmosphere.
The monsoons simply drain the atmospheric nitrogen into the ground injecting the soil with a fresh supply of this essential element. I took a walk in my backyard in the midst of the foliage consisting of weeds, wild grass, and foliage from the vegetation of newly germinated seeds. I look into the mash melon foliage.where I can see a few tiny yellow flowers blooming. The sight enlightens my soul. I may get lucky this year. and then came the much-awaited surprise; a fruit hidden behind a large leaf. I guess this is the specialty of the fruit. It likes to hide.☺
I have taken time to browse the internet and educate myself with the nature of this fruit. Scientifically. this lovely fruit belongs to the melon family specifically a "Musk Melon". Other than the taste, the only difference I found is that the Mash Melon's outer coat is soft and smooth while the Musk Melon has a hard or a netted skin. Interestingly, this plant is a creeper which blooms yellow flowers and it grows naturally without a gardener's hand. Nature has empowered the seeds with a lifespan of 4 years.
At the end of September, the climate tends to favor the Mash Melon, with a combination of ample morning sunlight and rains towards the evening. The soil is warm enough to incubate the seeds and water just enough for the growth of the plant and bearing of the fruit. Once the fruit displays a tinge of yellow color, we need to harvest it, else it will rot in its place.
The Leaves are heart-shaped that tend to cover the budding fruits allowing them to grow away from prying eyes. The leaves are lush green in color. As nature allows, sometimes the leaves get eaten by caterpillars and other insects thriving within nature among its lush foliage. As nature as deemed it fit, the leaves dry up as they are replaced by new ones.
The Mash Melon plant is a creeper. But it does not venture up, rather this creeper spreads itself on the ground itself. These pictures show the creeper growing on the ground, at the foot of a tall coconut palm tree.
I took the liberty to observe the development of one specific fruit and checking on its status on a daily basis.It seemed to remain hard displaying a rich green color with white longitudinal stripes. I wondered how long it would take to ripen; it seemed either lazy or stubborn. In the next two days, we had a few heavy showers. I ventured to check it out on the evening of the third day. Voila! A lovely shade of yellow covered its skin. Yes, it had ripened very well and the whole fruit turned a golden yellow. I understand that it needs a lot of water to yield good fruit.
The First Mash Melon Fruit of 2017, ripe and ready to eat. Look at the inner texture; it's nice and smooth and seems to bear color similar to peaches. I separated into a bowl, the jelly that carries the seed. I have cut the flesh of the fruit into small cubes. I season the jelly juice with lime and honey and then strained it to separate it from the seeds. I pour this juice into the freshly cut cubes and stir gently. It tastes lovely. We all Enjoyed !!!!!! It's a different feeling to relish homegrown fruit.
I would like to add that Nature has a lot to offer, we just need to care for it and appreciate its fruitfulness.
nice
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