Square Watermelons (forum)

Brendan starts with ...
I've seen this before, but someone sent it to me again. They grow them in a square container. This is so they don't roll around in the fridge, and stack better?
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Time: 10th April 2011 8:03am

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snottiegobble says...
Wow the mind boggles! Just think, we could have square pumpkins,square potatoes, & square peas that wouldnt roll off your fork! No more ESCAPEAS!

Time: 11th April 2011 12:39am

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adamus says...
Just when you think you have a handle on reality.!!
The sixties were very good to some people.

Time: 11th April 2011 7:14am

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KjW says...
Exploding Melons.

Have a look at what's happening with their Watermelons in china > http://www.news.com.au/weird-true-freaky/fields-of-watermelon-explode-in-china/story-e6frflri-1226058156163

Time: 18th May 2011 6:52pm

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amanda says...
Just heard about the exploding melons this morning KjW! Looked up the MSDS for the chemical they are using to hasten ripening:

http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/DisplayMSDSContent.do

Time: 18th May 2011 8:49pm

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KjW says...
Yeah, same here(the wee hours of this morning).forgot all about it until tonight.

Your link isn't opening to anything either Amanda.


Time: 18th May 2011 9:18pm

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snottiegobble says...
Look what happens when we f---- with nature by adding chemicals! These days everyone wants to make a bigger buck using whatever means! Its a hard lesson, but next year these Chinese farmers will know better!!

Time: 18th May 2011 11:27pm

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KjW says...
Ditto SG... Will they learn, or just use a lesser amount of chemical

Although, I can remember my ol man growing melons years ago and "some" of them would split as soon as your put the point of the knife into them...There was NO growth promotents used then

Maybe growing the square melons would help hold em together

Time: 19th May 2011 4:36am

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KjW says...
While I'm at it, I thought I'd share this with yous.

This Champagne melon was picked in Dec 09, I kept it and cut it in Dec 10, it was the only one of a couple-a-dozen that lasted that long, some lasted 6mths before they went rotten

It was starting to dry out and get a bit slimey around the seed area, but the centre of it looked normal

Surprisingly it was edible but had lost all taste and sweetness

I only ate enough to taste it, but kept a lot of the seeds from it

GREAT tasting melons when fresh tho...TMO

Cheers
KjW..aka Ken
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Time: 19th May 2011 5:07am

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Original Post was last edited: 19th May 2011 11:30am

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BJ says...
Yum! Champagne Melon is one of my favourites. Unfortunately, my patch got over run by the neighbouring pumpkin vine, which went feral yet failed to produce more than a mere few decent fruits.

Time: 19th May 2011 9:20am

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Julie says...
A bit off-topic, but re food from China: read ALL labels carefully in the supermarket.

A friend bought split peas last week, and only found they were from China when she got home. I was buying walnuts yesterday, and looked at the label of the ones on special at IGA. Chinese! I didn't buy them of course, but had to buy from the USA - don't we grow enough in Oz? I am being super aware from now on.



Time: 23rd May 2011 6:35pm

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Chris says...
Only problem Julie is that practically any food you buy does not disclose its origin. How many times do you read "Made in Australia from local and imported ingredients"?
Even on single ingredient products like rice or fresh orange juice, it's extremely frustrating to read this lax labeling.
Even some fresh produce at Woolies has produce listed as "mix of local and imported produce."
Both sides in Canberra have sold Australian primary producers short.


Time: 23rd May 2011 10:16pm

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amanda says...
To be fair - that chemical used on the exploding watermelons is also used here....

Time: 23rd May 2011 10:32pm

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Julie says...
Yeas Chris, I agree. I actually had this conversation with my son on Sunday and he said the same thing. I feel like going on a campaign to try and change this, but it wouldn't be easy. And I probably wouldn't see any changes in my lifetime!

Time: 24th May 2011 9:06pm

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Jason says...
The only way to change stuff like that is bypass the government and go straight to the companies pockets.

Only buy stuff that says 100% Australian grown etc or ring them up and ask to be sure. I generally only buy stuff from ALDI when I can now, it's not supporting Australia 100% but more of their stuff is Australian than safeway/woolies is and the rest if European, which I'd rather send my money to than the US or China.

Not just for political reasons and that I think the Germans are more responsible peoples but also because the European union has much more modern laws and bans on dodgy additives in foods and phosphates in washing detergent and ALDI stuff has to pass those laws

Time: 25th May 2011 3:40pm

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amanda says...
Good point Jason - the EU is quite stringent about food additives - and usually set the precendents for banning anything dodgy. They can be more proactive with hazardous waste disposal etc, also.

It may be that a few more 'scares' will see people changing their minds about food sourced from particular countries. Heavy metal contamination (lead in particular) is reputedly a big environmental problem in China....

What is ALDI?

Time: 25th May 2011 4:41pm

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Chris says...
I guess Aldi hasn't made it out west, Amanda!
Don't be so sure about Chinese food and Aldi, Jason. I was in there the other day and I was stunned to see fresh snow peas from China. A lot of other goods there are also Chinese origin, from rice crackers, water crackers to tinned baking apples.


Time: 25th May 2011 8:18pm

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amanda says...
I saw Californian strawberries in Woolies again recently - but - equal or cheaper than local ones...surely they can't be air freighted for the price..?
Anyway - I bought a pack just 'to see' - the fruit looked great but was dreadful - no flavour and sort of soggy after one day - so I am assuming they were gassed to ripen on arrival..?

I would prefer US produce to Asian, myself, but I can't believe the food miles involved here...it's crazy?

And isn't part of the joy of 'eating in season' the anticipation of having to wait for your fave fruit/veg to come 'in season'....? and super fresh....it makes a huge difference. I can't understand these 'trade agreements'... :-(


Time: 25th May 2011 8:40pm

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Jason says...
There's a strawberry farm about 5 minutes away so I don't have that problem (being 5 minutes away they grow just as easy in the garden anyway). I bought some mandarins today just so I could have some sweet ones because I have to race the birds and eat mine pretty sour :0 but after tasting some commercial ones, sweet sure but seemed like 99% water compared to mine which are LOADED with flavours :0 (just a bit sour)

Time: 25th May 2011 10:57pm

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amanda says...
What Jason..?! :) Don't all home grown Mandys have that 'tang' to them? That's the part I love myself....
I have 2 mandys Jason and the fruit is never sour at all...I am no hero grower at all - so what's the difference I wonder? You are much more experienced that I...and I am also very slack with my citrus. U are not confusing tang with sour are u maybe..? I always associate a good mandarin with 'tang' myself (but it is true that females have much more sensitive taste buds than males....lol)
Intersting! ps - I can grow heaps better strawberries than the s/market - the problem is the varieties in Bunnings. The best one I have found is "sweet heart"..?


Time: 26th May 2011 12:19am

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Jason says...
Mine go really sweet eventually, I have a a tree "daisy" that tastes like mandarin jam if I can leave it on the tree long enough but the birds will have eaten them all by then :). Confusing tang with sour... Well perhaps they start sour, then move to tang then move to sweet. They are "tang" right now maybe :) but two months ago were definitely sour and the birds go for them at that stage so I have to as well :).

I used to know lots about strawberry's and which types taste best but I've forgotten now, I seem to remember the types that only fruit once for a short time of the year taste best (typical :) )

Time: 26th May 2011 10:18am

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Original Post was last edited: 26th May 2011 10:19am

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amanda says...
Wow - I have never had birds attack my citrus Jason....what kind are they? Little sods! >:-(

Time: 26th May 2011 7:13pm

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snottiegobble says...
Sorry Amanda, but our beautiful Redcap parrots love mandarins, but hell who is going to deny them a few? Not me?

Time: 26th May 2011 7:57pm

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Julie says...
amanda, the parrots where I live have learned to eat citrus over the years. I used to lose about 20%/30% of my oranges, now it is more like 70%.

Hardly any oranges this year, so they are going for the mandarins as they turn orange. Luckily, they are small enough to drape a net over. Oh, and they are just the common 28s.





Time: 26th May 2011 8:11pm

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Brad says...
the 28s took my first crop of sunrise limes. not that I thought they'd have seen them before.

and since we're in a multi conversation thread, Hokowase is my recommended tasting strawberry. I still want to try Cambridge rival but haven't found it

Time: 27th May 2011 10:53am

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amanda says...
Ah - I don't have parrots - large flocks sometimes visit Gero but only for the gum trees. Any 28's, lorikeets etc get hunted down by the authorities...
Now I was wondering why Heinz is now going to make tomatoe sauce in NZ of all places?
Surely NZ wouldn't grow enuf' tom's - so is this a 'backdoor' method to introduce imported ingredients, I wonder?
I know there was a big kerfuffle over the labelling of imported NZ frozen veg not so long ago too.

Time: 27th May 2011 7:05pm

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BJ says...
The big sulphur crests eat my passionfruit vine. Not so much the fruit, but they look for specific points on the vine that they can sever that will cause the most damage. Im not too bothered though. Too many passionfruits.

Time: 27th May 2011 8:11pm

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Julie says...
I agree with Brad re Hokowase strawberries. Really nice flavour, very sweet. Size of the berries varies a lot, but I don't really care about that.

I believe several of the Japanese varieties are pretty good - you should be able to find some of them amanda. The Hokowase originally came from Bunnings.

Time: 27th May 2011 9:10pm

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amanda says...
yup - did try the hokowase from Bunnies. I am sure they had cambridge rival too - I will check next week Brad. I planted quite a few and lost track of the varieties.
Diggers has/had it tho' Brad.

Don't mean to sound depressing - but what is happening to our fruit? - it's either over the top sweet with no 'complexity' of flavours (eg: apples) or impossible to buy the fruit (eg: loquats, cape gooseberries) or imported and not fresh (eg: oranges) or utterly tasteless and/or gassed (eg: tomatoes, strawberries, plums)

My 7yr olds favourite apple is a Granny Smith - would u believe. She won't eat a lot of fruit from the shop (eg nectarines) because she says they are too sweet..!? She adores our home grown mandarins - despite the seeds even. It's been a revelation for me to re-experience the taste of fruit thru her taste buds - I thought it was just me (having been a part of a generation that enjoyed much better tasting fruit n veg than today)

I am sure it's not just the breeding - I suspect it may also be skimping on fertilisers and pumping everything with water (to increase the weight)...refrigerating past season and gassing...a whole gamut. Thumbs down! ;-)

Time: 27th May 2011 9:48pm

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Jason says...
Amanda, every kids favourite apple is granny smith?! got me beat why but that's normal. There must be a reason for this other than the sour factor.

It's still my favourite apple now.... but with age I've learned it's better left to ripen properly rather than picked a couple months early so it's nice and green for the shops. I wouldn't eat a green one these days. It's a top class apple when it's picked yellow and fully ripe

Time: 28th May 2011 12:13pm

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amanda says...
haha - there u go Jason (I only have one kid - so didn't know that!) Yes - just got some fantastic new seasons ones yesterday - looks a bit different to the usual dark green one - smaller and more a lime colour? Superb flavour, juicy and crunchy...mmmm :)

Time: 28th May 2011 12:22pm

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