What a great cantaloupe year! Last year, because June was rather cool, we got skunked, but this year more than made up for it. There were so many cantaloupes in July that Linda, when she ranch-sat, gave them away as well as fed them to the horses. A total favorite with Buggsy, who has a sugar addiction, and who had to be brought down from the stall ceiling when we returned. There is nothing like having a horse with an addictive personality ... (he also cribs). Good thing he is such a sweet horse.
Back to the cants. We have been eating them almost daily all summer and ate our last one this week, so today I pulled up the plants in the garden. Fruit was not ripening any more, and Bermuda grass had invaded the beds and was driving me crazy. But, there were still some overripe/rotten ones on the vine and the chickens had a hay day, or rather a cant day.
Next year I will mulch the plants that spend the entire season in the garden, tomatoes, cantaloupes, peppers, zucchini and cucumbers, with alfalfa hay to keep the weeds down. It contains no seeds and will add nitrogen to the soil once the plants are pulled up. It's what I love about gardening: there is always something to learn, and there is always next year.
1 comment:
Don't know what I like better - pulling your sugar high horse off the ceiling or the hens! We had good cants here, too. There's something cathartic about putting the summer garden to sleep in the fall.
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