Where have I been? I saw these pictures of square watermelons and got all excited about them. The first thing I thought of was what lovely Christmas presents they would make. They’ve already got the pattern on them, so just throw a red ribbon around them like a box and a Xmas tag and you’ve done your shopping. Of course the fact that they really aren’t winter plants is another matter, but the thought was there. Then I found out they’ve been grown in Japan for more than 20 years. I guess I’m just now waking up and coming to the party!
Then I learned that they cost about twice as much as a regular watermelon. I happen to like the Dulcinea “personal” watermelons that are very pricey – costing about $1.00 per bite. Well, they cost $4.00 each, so maybe they are only 50 cents a bite. But the flavor and texture is worth every penny of that. I’d give a square watermelon one chance to taste perfect at that inflated price and if it wasn’t perfect, then its squareness would have no draw for me.
I saw on the internet that the British food market “Tesco” had, in 2006, developed its own version of the square watermelon that was expected to be sold at a much more reasonable price. And apparently in the U.S. it’s being grown experimentally now. In England and Japan, these melons are grown in tempered glass boxes, but I also noted that some horticulture magazines here in the U.S. has suggested growing them using cinderblocks as molds.
I’m past the point of wanting to grow my vegetables. When we first retired and moved to Loma Linda, we signed up for a free plot at the Community Garden. That first year we did very well with a crop of all kinds of tomatoes, Japanese eggplant, green peppers, yellow squash and a few herbs. But because it is so hot out that way, every evening after dinner we had to jump in the car, drive to the community garden, water our plants, and then drive home. We did that from about April until the last tomato came off the vine. Now it was awfully good eating fruit of one’s labor, but it was a lot of work. And the worst part of all was there were flocks of gnats that hovered around the garden, and about the only way you could keep the gnats from getting in your nose, mouth and ears was to tie a scarf around your face like a bandido. It was funny to see all of us Loma Linda gardeners looking like a bunch of cowpokes on a cattle drive.
The second year started out well but within two weeks of planting, the Loma Linda gophers had found our community garden. The first time they hit our little plot they got all but one of the tomato plants. The next night they got the last one. That was the end of our gardening.
There is a community garden where we live now, but even with the excitement of possibly growing square watermelons, I just couldn’t work up any enthusiasm for starting in again. It may be the lack of tools, it may be the bad gopher experience, or it just may be my age – but whatever the cause, I’d just as soon get my watermelons at the market. It’s too late to expect square ones this year, but maybe next year, since we now have a new Fresh and Easy British market in our area.
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