I never realized how heart-wrenching gardening could be. I grew quite emotionally attached to the little watermelons that were interspersed among the foliage. As they grew I would gleefully count them and perchance perform a happy little jig. I thought to myself “Gardening is fun! I can grow anything.” But my happy little bubble was popped as I began to see some of the fruits as big as 3 inches begin to rot and wither. O tragedy! How could this happen? I thought of each one as a promise of fruit. Why is it that my bountiful harvest keeps changing in number? I keep my chin up and harden my heart at the thought of no harvest at all. Yes, it is my first attempt at gardening. Yes, it is a learning experience. But who knew gardening had such a steep learning curve? Gardening is transformed. Now I see that it is not a cut and dry hobby, not merely a means to an end -or harvest, but it is a path that you walk upon. My enrichment is optional. All you need is water, soil, and sun? Yeah, right. Chalk one up for me.
By the way, when the watermelon cycle is complete, I’ll let you know how it ends.
Live and learn little grasshopper. And steel your heart. This is vegetable gardening’s first rule. You may not get what you wanted….but you will not leave a failure. You have enriched the ground and your learning. If you plant melons again, you’ll have figured out yet one more thing. What happened to you happens to all of us who, on our first attempt, planted only one tomato plant, only to have every single tomato ripped away before ripening by tomato hornworms or birds or neighbors, or sigh…disease. Now, we plant 3-4 plants, each one a different variety, in the hope that one, or perchance all of them will actually grow and produce an edible harvest. Next year, your yard will be full of watermelon vines. Nana will see to it.
This is so sad!
My heart goes out to you, but you are building yourself a mountain of experience that will, without a doubt, lead to success. Hang in there!
Ya know Meloncholy,
You should try a calcium foliar spray. Watermelons are huge calcium sources, and that means they need calcium from the soil, which is so easy to leach with heavy watering (which watermelons love). Since you can’t side dress right now with Gypsum, you might get more melons and be able to save the ones you have if you spray on some calcium. Use Enz-rot concentrate. It is organic and can be used on melons as well as tomatoes. You have nothing to lose, and it might brighten your day if it answers your problem. Just don’t let Bob help you spray it, ok?